Nicolás Martín "Nico" Varrone[1] (born 6 November 2000) is an Argentine racing driver. He is the 2023 WEC champion in the LMGTE Am class, having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the category with Corvette Racing.[2] Varrone has also won the race in the LMP2 Pro-Am subclass with AF Corse in 2024.[3]
| Nicolás Varrone | |
|---|---|
 Varrone in 2023 | |
| Nationality |  Argentine |
| Born | 6 November 2000 Ingeniero Maschwitz, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| FIA World Endurance Championship career | |
| Racing licence |  FIA Gold |
| Car number | 33 |
| Starts | 2 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
Early career
editHaving competed in karting, Varrone made his car racing debut in the national Formula Renault category at the end of 2016. He remained in the series the following year and ended up 20th in the standings.
A move to Europe followed in 2018, as Varrone joined the V de V Challenge Monoplace, first driving for Inter Europol Competition before switching to TS Corse. The Argentine dominated, taking six wins from 14 races and claiming the title. This made him the final champion of the series' history.
In a 2019 season plagued by monetary concerns, Varrone took part in three rounds of the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Hillspeed, where he was able to win the reversed-grid race at Spa-Francorchamps.[4] As a consequence, the youngster signed for Chris Dittmann Racing for the 2020 season.[5][6] However, plans of running the entire season were scuppered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that Varrone was forced to abandon his season after the opening pair of events.
Sportscar career
editAfter being forced to stop his British F3 campaign, Varrone returned home to Buenos Aires, thinking that he would have to abandon his racing career to work in the family business. However, manager Jose Balbiani managed to connect Varrone to Rinaldi Racing owner Michele Rinaldi, giving Varrone the chance to test an LMP3 car and subsequently partake in the final round of that year's Le Mans Cup.[7]
In 2021, Rinaldi paired Varrone with Alexander Matschull for the entire Le Mans Cup season, where three podiums earned the duo third place overall.[8]
In 2022, Varrone made his debut at the IMSA SportsCar Championship where he entered the Six Hours of The Glen in the LMP3 category.[9] He then signed with the Canadian racing team AWA for the 2023 season.[10]
In January 2023, Varrone signed for Corvette Racing to contest the LMGTE Am class of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship, driving a Chevrolet Corvette C8.R alongside Nicky Catsburg and Ben Keating. [11][12] He and his team had a successful year, not only winning their 24 Hours of Le Mans category but also their whole World Endurance Championship category.[13] The campaign contained three race wins, as well as a fastest lap set by Varrone at Le Mans. As a result, Varrone was upgraded to the FIA Gold ranking ahead of 2024.[14]
Ahead of the 2024 season, the Argentinian became a Corvette factory driver in lieu of a campaign in the GTD class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship.[15][16] However, after retiring from the opening two races of the campaign due to car issues, Varrone's team, AWA racing, and his teammate Anthony Mantella decided to withdraw from the series.[17][18] Varrone would soon find another drive, joining reigning 24 Hours of Nürburgring winners Frikadelli Racing for the 2024 event together with Luca Ludwig, Daniel Keilwitz, and Felipe Fernández Laser.[19]
Racing record
editCareer summary
edit| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Fórmula Renault 2.0 Argentina | MS Racing Car | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 27th |
| 2017 | Fórmula Renault 2.0 Argentina | MS Racing | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 103 | 20th |
| 2018 | V de V Challenge Monoplace | Inter Europol Competition | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 546 | 1st |
| TS Corse | 10 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 8 | ||||
| Fórmula Renault 2.0 Argentina | MS Racing | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 18th | |
| TC2000 Championship | Riva Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | |
| 2019 | Porsche GT3 Cup Trophy Argentina | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 14 | 9th | |
| BRDC British Formula 3 Championship | Hillspeed | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 109 | 17th | |
| 2020 | International GT Open | Team Lazarus | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| Le Mans Cup - LMP3 | Rinaldi Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 24th | |
| BRDC British Formula 3 Championship | Chris Dittmann Racing | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 20th | |
| 2021 | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | Rinaldi Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| Le Mans Cup - LMP3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 68 | 3rd | ||
| 2022 | European Le Mans Series - LMGTE | Rinaldi Racing | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 11th |
| IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP3 | FastMD Racing | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 315 | 29th | |
| 24H GT Series - GT3 | Wochenspiegel Team Monschau | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | NC | |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am | Iron Lynx | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 17th | |
| Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - VT3 | Team Mathol Racing e.V. | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | NC† | |
| Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - VT2-FWD | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | ||
| 2023 | Asian Le Mans Series - LMP3 | WTM by Rinaldi Racing | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 5th |
| FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am | Corvette Racing | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 173 | 1st | |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | N/A | 1st | ||
| IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP3 | AWA | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 882 | 13th | |
| GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | AF Corse | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| 2024 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD | AWA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 251* | 29th* |
| IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2 | DragonSpeed | ||||||||
| Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9 | Frikadelli Racing Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | * | |
| 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | N/A | 12th | ||
| European Le Mans Series - LMGT3 | AF Corse | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 12th | |
| 2024-25 | Asian Le Mans Series - GT | AF Corse | |||||||
| Source:[20] | |||||||||
† As he was a guest driver, Varrone was ineligible to score points.
Complete BRDC British Formula 3 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 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Hillspeed | OUL 1 |
OUL 2 |
OUL 3 |
SNE 1 |
SNE 2 |
SNE 3 |
SIL1 1 17 |
SIL1 2 4 |
SIL1 3 14 |
DON1 1 |
DON1 2 |
DON1 3 |
SPA 1 11 |
SPA 2 17 |
SPA 3 8 |
BRH 1 |
BRH 2 |
BRH 3 |
SIL2 1 13 |
SIL2 2 22 |
SIL2 3 13 |
DON2 1 |
DON2 2 |
DON2 3 |
17th | 109 |
| 2020 | Chris Dittmann Racing | OUL 1 9 |
OUL 2 51 |
OUL 3 Ret |
OUL 4 Ret |
DON1 1 Ret |
DON1 2 118 |
DON1 3 4 |
BRH 1 |
BRH 2 |
BRH 3 |
BRH 4 |
DON2 1 |
DON2 2 |
DON2 3 |
SNE 1 |
SNE 2 |
SNE 3 |
SNE 4 |
DON3 1 |
DON3 2 |
DON3 3 |
SIL 1 |
SIL 2 |
SIL 3 |
20th | 58 |
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
edit| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |  Iron Lynx
|
 Pierre Ehret Christian Hook
|
Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | GTE Am | 324 | 53rd | 17th |
| 2023 |  Corvette Racing
|
 Nicky Catsburg Ben Keating
|
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R | GTE Am |
313 | 26th | 1st |
| 2024 | AF Corse
|
 Ben Barnicoat François Perrodo
|
Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 297 | 18th | 4th |
| LMP2 Pro-Am | 1st | ||||||
| Sources:[21][22] | |||||||
Complete European Le Mans Series results
edit| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Rinaldi Racing | LMGTE | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | LEC 1 |
IMO Ret |
MNZ 6 |
CAT 9 |
SPA 10 |
ALG 9 |
11th | 39 |
| 2024 | AF Corse | LMGT3 | Ferrari 296 GT3 | Ferrari F163 3.0 L Turbo V6 | CAT |
LEC 6 |
IMO 6 |
SPA |
MUG |
ALG |
10th* | 16* |
| Source:[21] | ||||||||||||
* Season still in progress.
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Rank | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Corvette Racing | LMGTE Am | Chevrolet Corvette C8.R | Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 | SEB 1 |
PRT 1 |
SPA 2 |
LMS 1 |
MNZ 4 |
FUJ 2 |
BHR 7 |
1st | 173 |
| Sources:[21][23] | |||||||||||||
Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Class | Make | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos. | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | FastMD Racing | LMP3 | Ligier JS P320 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 | DAY | SEB | MDO | WGL 4 |
MOS |
ELK |
PET |
29rd | 315 | [24] | |||
| 2023 | AWA | LMP3 | Duqueine M30 – D08 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 | DAY 1 |
SEB 4 |
WGL 3 |
MOS |
ELK |
IMS |
PET 6 |
13th | 882 | [25] | |||
| 2024 | AWA | GTD | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R | Chevrolet LT6 5.5 L V8 | DAY 18 |
SEB 22 |
LBH | LGA | WGL | MOS | ELK | VIR | IMS | PET | 29th* | 251* | [26] |
| Source:[21] | |||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Pilote des 24 heures du Mans : Nicolás Martín Varrone". www.24h-en-piste.com (in French). Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ says, Steve Vest (2023-06-11). "Corvette Racing take GTE-Am victory at Le Mans". Motorsport Week. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Ferrari goes back to back with No. 50 victorious at Le Mans". RACER. 2024-06-16. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ Hine, Nathan (2019-09-18). "REVIEW: 2019 BRDC British Formula 3 Round eight Donington Park – consistent Clement Novalak clinches title after clash with Hoggard". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
- ^ Wood, Ida (2020-03-05). "Nico Varrone make full-time move to BRDC British F3 with Chris Dittmann Racing". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
- ^ Taylor, Lauren (2020-03-09). "Chris Dittmann Racing confirm Nicolás Varrone for 2020 BRDC British F3 Championship". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
- ^ "From Covid Disruption To Corvette Glory: Varonne's Journey To The Centenary Le Mans | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
- ^ "LMC". www.lemanscup.com. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
- ^ Dagys, John (June 15, 2022). "49 Entries for 6H Watkins Glen". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
- ^ Dagys, John (December 21, 2022). "AWA Confirms Lineup for Two-Car LMP3 Effort for Daytona". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- ^ Thukral, Rachit (14 January 2023). "Varrone completa la alineación de Corvette en el WEC GTE Am 2023". lat.motorsport.com. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "Corvette Racing Rounds Out FIA WEC Lineup in No. 33 C8.R". en.endurance-info.com. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ "Dempsey Proton win LMGTE Am in Monza as Corvette crowned champions". www.fiawec.com. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
- ^ "Iron Dames drivers see classification changes in latest FIA driver rankings". Motorsport Week. 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ Staff, Sportscar365 (2023-11-13). "Juncadella, Bamber Among Corvette Factory Driver Additions – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Euwema, Davey (2023-11-24). "Varrone: AWA Pro Role "Doesn't Change Anything" – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ "AWA Scales Back To Single Car For Rest Of 2024". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ "AWA down to one Corvette after Mantella departs". Motorsport Week. 2024-03-26. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ "Frikadelli-Ferrari mit drei neuen Fahrern bei 24h Nürburgring". Motorsport-Total.com (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ "Nicolás Varrone | Racing career profile | Driver Database". Driver Database. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Nicolás Varrone Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ^ "Nicolas Varrone". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Nicolas Varrone". FIA World Endurance Championship. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Nicolás Varrone – 2022 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Nicolás Varrone – 2023 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Nicolás Varrone – 2024 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
External links
edit- Nicolás Varrone career summary at DriverDB.com