Eric van de Poele

Who is Eric van de Poele?

Eric van de Poele is a Belgian racing driver and former Formula One driver. He participated in 29 Grands Prix, debuting on 10 March 1991. He scored no championship points.

After a difficult 1984 season in French Formula Three, van de Poele then won the Belgian and Benelux Formula Ford titles, also racing in the Belgian Touring Car Championship. He subsequently raced in German Touring Cars Championships, winning the 1987 championship despite not winning a race all season. He also won the 1987 Spa 24 Hours, sharing a car with Didier Theys and Jean-Michel Martin. He also dabbled in British Formula Three. For 1989, he moved up to Formula 3000, finishing fourth, and then runner-up in 1990.

After this, he signed for the Modena Formula One team for 1991, driving their Lamborghini cars thanks to backing from long-time sponsors Lease Plan. He was unsuccessful in the first two races, failing to pre-qualify, but made it onto the grid for the 1991 San Marino Grand Prix. There he impressed in the rain, running fifth in the last lap before the car ran out of fuel, dropping him to ninth.