Manuel Espírito Santo (born 13 August 2003) is a Portuguese racing driver who currently drives for Cool Racing in the LMP3 category of the European Le Mans Series.[1]
| Manuel Espírito Santo | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Espírito Santo in 2024 | |||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Portuguese | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 13 August 2003 Portugal | ||||||||||||||
| European Le Mans Series career | |||||||||||||||
| Debut season | 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Current team | Cool Racing | ||||||||||||||
| Racing licence |  FIA Silver | ||||||||||||||
| Car number | 17 | ||||||||||||||
| Former teams | Team Virage | ||||||||||||||
| Starts | 8 (8 entries) | ||||||||||||||
| Wins | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Poles | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Fastest laps | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Best finish | 11th in 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Previous series | |||||||||||||||
| 2023 2019, 21–22 | Ultimate Cup Series F4 Spanish Championship | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Early career
editJunior formulae
editAfter starting his career at the comparatively late age of 14, Espírito Santo made his racing debut in single-seater machinery at the end of 2019, driving for Drivex School at Barcelona in the final round of the F4 Spanish Championship.[2][3] He finished eighth in his maiden race.
After a year of senior-level karting, the Portuguese returned to Spanish F4 in 2021. Despite starting out with multiple points-scoring weekends for MP Motorsport, Espírito Santo managed just two further points finishes in the season's second half, ending up 17th in the standings.[4] He switched to Teo Martín Motorsport for the 2022 season, where he would fail to score points in the opening two events before moving to Campos Racing.[5][6] The results swiftly improved, as Espírito Santo scored a pair of podiums at Valencia — his first weekend for the team. Further points followed at Spa, Aragón, and Barcelona, results which helped Espírito Santo to 12th place in the championship. At the end of the year, he represented Team Portugal in the Formula 4 Cup of the FIA Motorsport Games, where he qualified in fifth, placed second during the qualifying race, and ended up second overall in the main race.[7][8][9]
Sportscar career
edit2023 saw Espírito Santo enter prototype racing, as he would drive in the European Le Mans Series alongside gentleman drivers Michael Jensen and Nick Adcock, driving an LMP3 car for Team Virage.[10] He managed to impress in his debut season, scoring pole positions at Spa and his home track in the Algarve.[11][12][13] However, retirements at Aragón and the Algarve blighted the team's season, as Espírito Santo and his teammates ended up tenth in the teams' standings.[14]
Additionally, the Portuguese driver joined the team in the Ultimate Cup Series that year.[15] The team dominated, as Espírito Santo helped them towards three victories whilst scoring four fastest laps; he ended up second in the drivers' championship after missing one race.[16] He also raced in the Road to Le Mans, a preliminary event ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Espírito Santo took pole and crossed the finish line first during the opening race, though he and teammate Martin Rich were demoted to fourth after the Portuguese received a five-second penalty for overtaking under safety car conditions.[17][18]
At the start of 2024, Cool Racing brought in Espírito Santo for the final two races of the Asian Le Mans Series at Abu Dhabi.[19] There, he helped the team towards the LMP3 class title by scoring two pole positions and two second-place finishes.[20][21] This would prove to be preparation for Espírito Santo's main campaign, which he would contest with Cool in the ELMS alongside fellow silver-ranked driver Cédric Oltramare and Portuguese bronze Miguel Cristóvão.[22] The opening round at Barcelona brought another pole position to the youngster, who later crossed the line in second.[23][24]
Karting record
editKarting career summary
edit| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | CIK-FIA European Championship - OK | Cabo Junior Team | ? |
| CIK-FIA World Championship - OK | ? |
Racing record
editRacing career summary
edit| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | F4 Spanish Championship | Drivex School | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† |
| 2021 | F4 Spanish Championship | MP Motorsport | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 17th |
| 2022 | F4 Spanish Championship | Teo Martín Motorsport | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 12th |
| Campos Racing | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 Cup | Team Portugal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 2nd | |
| 2023 | European Le Mans Series - LMP3 | Team Virage | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 11th |
| Le Mans Cup - LMP3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | ||
| Ultimate Cup Series - Proto P3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 133 | 2nd | ||
| 2023-24 | Asian Le Mans Series - LMP3 | Cool Racing | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 38 | 7th |
| 2024 | European Le Mans Series - LMP3 | Cool Racing | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 75 | 5th |
| Ultimate Cup Series - Proto P3 | Bretton Racing | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10* | 15th* |
† As Espírito Santo was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score championship points.
* Season still in progress.
Complete F4 Spanish Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Drivex School | NAV 1 |
NAV 2 |
NAV 3 |
LEC 1 |
LEC 2 |
LEC 3 |
ARA 1 |
ARA 2 |
ARA 3 |
CRT 1 |
CRT 2 |
CRT 3 |
JER 1 |
JER 2 |
JER 3 |
ALG 1 |
ALG 2 |
ALG 3 |
CAT 1 8 |
CAT 2 18 |
CAT 3 15 |
NC† | 0 |
| 2021 | MP Motorsport | SPA 1 13 |
SPA 2 18 |
SPA 3 10 |
NAV 1 7 |
NAV 2 5 |
NAV 3 8 |
ALG 1 8 |
ALG 2 22 |
ALG 3 22† |
ARA 1 12 |
ARA 2 11 |
ARA 3 23† |
CRT 1 Ret |
CRT 2 Ret |
CRT 3 10 |
JER 1 12 |
JER 2 Ret |
JER 3 6 |
CAT 1 12 |
CAT 2 Ret |
CAT 3 19 |
17th | 30 |
| 2022 | Teo Martín Motorsport | ALG 1 17 |
ALG 2 14 |
ALG 3 Ret |
JER 1 13 |
JER 2 13 |
JER 3 Ret |
12th | 59 | |||||||||||||||
| Campos Racing | CRT 1 2 |
CRT 2 3 |
CRT 3 5 |
SPA 1 7 |
SPA 2 7 |
SPA 3 9 |
ARA 1 Ret |
ARA 2 7 |
ARA 3 22† |
NAV 1 13 |
NAV 2 13 |
NAV 3 16 |
CAT 1 7 |
CAT 2 16 |
CAT 3 10 |
† As Espírito Santo was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Complete FIA Motorsport Games results
edit| Year | Team | Cup | Qualifying | Quali Race | Main Race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Team Portugal
|
Formula 4 | 5th | 2nd | 2nd |
Complete European Le Mans Series results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Team Virage | LMP3 | Ligier JS P320 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 | CAT 8 |
LEC 8 |
ARA Ret |
SPA 5 |
PRT Ret |
ALG 5 |
11th | 30 |
| 2024 | Cool Racing | LMP3 | Ligier JS P320 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 | CAT 2 |
LEC 5 |
IMO 8 |
SPA 3 |
MUG Ret |
ALG 1 |
5th | 75 |
Complete Ultimate Cup Series results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Team Virage | LMP3 | Ligier JS P320 | LEC1 1 |
NAV | HOC 2 |
EST 1 |
MAG 1 |
LEC2 6 |
2nd | 133 |
| 2024 | Bretton Racing | LMP3 | Ligier JS P320 | LEC1 |
ALG 12 |
HOC |
MUG |
MAG |
LEC2 |
15th* | 10* |
* Season still in progress.
Complete Asian Le Mans Series results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | Cool Racing | LMP3 | Ligier JS P320 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 | SEP 1 |
SEP 2 |
DUB | ABU 1 2 |
ABU 2 2 |
7th | 38 |
References
edit- ^ "ELMS: Manuel Espírito Santo com a Cool Racing em 2024". AutoSport (in European Portuguese). 2023-11-23. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "Drivers record registration for Barcelona!". 5 November 2019. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Manuel Espirito-Santo to make single -seater debut with MP Motorsport in Spanish F4". KartXpress. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "MANUEL ESPÍRITO-SANTO TO MAKE SINGLE-SEATER DEBUT WITH MP MOTORSPORT IN SPANISH F4". 15 February 2021. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^ "Teo Martin Motorsport on Instagram". Instagram. Teo Martín Motorsport. 2022-01-18. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Manuel Espirito Santo joins Campos Racing from Valencia". Campos Racing. 2022-06-09. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
- ^ "Antonelli fastest but has late clash in Motorsport Games F4 qualifying". 29 October 2022.
- ^ "Antonelli unrivalled in chaotic Motorsport Games F4 Qualification Race". 29 October 2022.
- ^ "Antonelli wins Motorsport Games F4 Cup gold medal for Italy". 30 October 2022.
- ^ Goodwin, Graham (6 February 2023). "European Le Mans Series Confirm 42 Car Full Season Entry". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ "ELMS, Spa: Manuel Espírito Santo larga da pole". AutoSport (in European Portuguese). 2023-09-24. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "ELMS, Portimão: Algarve Pro Racing faz a pole, Manuel Espírito Santo brilha em LMP3". AutoSport (in European Portuguese). 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "Allen Delivers Second Pole Of 2023 For Algarve Pro". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "ELMS Portimão: 'Pole' para Manuel Espírito Santo e abandono na corrida". AutoSport (in European Portuguese). 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "Team Virage kicks off 2023 Ultimate Cup Series with a dominant performance - Virage Group". 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "2023 Championship Results - Proto LMP3" (PDF). series.ultimatecup.racing. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Le Mans Cup: Manuel Espírito Santo foi o mais rápido na qualificação 1". AutoSport (in European Portuguese). 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "Rossi Win Headlines 2023 Road To Le Mans Races". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "2023-2024 Asian Le Mans Series Provisional Entry List - 4h of Abu Dhabi" (PDF). Asian Le Mans Series. Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "ALMS: Pódio para Manuel Espírito Santo em Abu Dhabi". AutoSport (in European Portuguese). 2024-02-10. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (2024-02-11). "CrowdStrike Seals Title as APR Wins Abu Dhabi Finale – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "Les brèves du vendredi 24 novembre". Endurance-Info (in French). 24 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ^ "Hanley Snatches Pole For United". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "ELMS, Manuel Espírito Santo no pódio dos LMP3 em Barcelona". AutoSport (in European Portuguese). 2024-04-15. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
External links
edit- Manuel Espírito Santo career summary at DriverDB.com