Michael Herck
| Michael Herck | |
|---|---|
 Michael Herck at the 2011 Nürburgring World series by Renault round | |
| Nationality |
 Romanian |
| Born |
4 August 1988 Bucharest (Romania) |
| Previous series | |
| 2008-2011 2008–2011 2007, 2009 2006–07 2005 2005 2005 2005 2004 2004 2004 2003 |
GP2 Series GP2 Asia Series Formula Renault 3.5 Series Formula 3 Euro Series Austrian Formula Three British Formula Three German Formula Three Formula Renault 2.0 Italia FR1600 Belgium Formula Junior 1600 Spain Formula Renault Monza FRenault Monza W. Series |
| Championship titles | |
| 2005 2004 2004 |
Austrian F3 Formula Junior 1600 Spain Formula Renault Monza |
Michael Herck (born 4 August 1988 in Bucharest, Romania) is a retired[1] Belgian-Romanian[2] racing driver.
Career
Early life
Michael was adopted at the age of one and a half years by millionaire André Herck, a Belgian citizen born in Bucharest.[3] Michael grew up in Monaco, and began his racing career in karting in France.
Formula Renault
After karting, Herck moved to the Formula Renault Monza Winter Series in 2003 and competed in the full series the next year. He won the 2004 championship with five wins and 375 points. He also competed in the Belgian and Spanish 1.6-litre series in 2004, winning the latter championship.
In 2007 he drove in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series for the Comtec Racing team, but failed to score any points.
Formula Three
Herck moved to Formula Three for 2005, winning the Austrian championship. He also made selected appearances in that year's British and German championships. In 2006 he competed in the Formula 3 Euro Series with backing from compatriot Bas Leinders, scoring twelve points to finish fifteenth in the championship.
GP2 Series
Herck competed in the first eight races of the inaugural GP2 Asia Series in 2008 for the FMS International team before breaking his wrist in an accident, missing the last round of the season.[4]
He was scheduled to drive in the main GP2 Series for 2008 as well, but was initially replaced by Giacomo Ricci in the David Price Racing team until his wrist healed.[5] After two rounds of the championship, Ricci was dropped in favour of Andy Soucek as Herck continued to recover.[6] He finally made his GP2 début at Magny-Cours. He continued with DPR for the 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season,[7] and also the 2009 GP2 Series season. At the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Herck finished sixth on the road during the feature race. However, his first GP2 points were stripped from him due to irregularities with his DPR machine. His first points eventually came during the 2009–10 GP2 Asia Series, finishing seventh in the feature race of the second Abu Dhabi round. After overtaking Max Chilton at the start of the sprint race, Herck was heading to his first podium and victory in the series, but Davide Valsecchi passed him just before the race's conclusion. Herck ultimately finished thirteenth in the championship standings.
Herck continued his improved form in the 2010 main series, finishing in the points on a number of occasions. He also qualified on pole position for his "home" race in Belgium, but lost it due to an infringement.[8] He finished sixteenth in the drivers' championship.
Following the withdrawal of DPR from GP2, Herck switched to the Coloni team for 2011. In the Asia series, we was partnered variously by James Jakes and Luca Filippi, and finished eighth in the championship after scoring points in three of the four races. In the main series, he scored only a single point and finished 21st in the standings.
Retirement
Following a disappointing 2011 season in the main GP2 Series, Michael Herck decided not to compete in the 2011 GP2 Final non-championship race in Abu Dhabi, and retired from professional motor racing in order to focus on his studies, as later confirmed by adoptive parent André Herck.[1]
Racing record
Career summary
| Season | Series | Team Name | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Final Placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Formula Renault Monza Winter Series | Dynamic Engineering | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 8th |
| 2004 | Formula Renault Monza | Dynamic Engineering | 16 | 3 | 5 | 375 | 1st |
| Formula Junior 1600 Spain | ? | 9 | 6 | 4 | 119 | 1st | |
| Formula Renault 1600 Belgium | ? | 4 | 0 | 1 | 65 | 11th | |
| 2005 | Austrian Fomula Three Championship | Junior Racing Team | 7 | 6 | 3 | 75 | 1st |
| British Formula Three | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
| Formula Renault 2.0 Italia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
| Recaro Formel 3 Cup | Jama Investments | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| 2006 | Formula 3 Euro Series | Bas Leinders Junior Racing Team | 19 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 15th |
| British Formula Three | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
| Masters of Formula Three | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 13th | ||
| 2007 | Formula Renault 3.5 Series | Comtec Racing | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| Formula 3 Euro Series | Bas Leinders Junior Racing Team | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| 2008 | GP2 Asia Series | FMS International | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23rd |
| GP2 Series | David Price Racing | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30th | |
| 2008–09 | GP2 Asia Series | David Price Racing | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33rd |
| 2009 | GP2 Series | David Price Racing | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23rd |
| Formula Renault 3.5 Series | Interwetten.com | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 23rd | |
| 2009–10 | GP2 Asia Series | David Price Racing | 8 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13th |
| 2010 | GP2 Series | David Price Racing | 20 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 16th |
| 2011 | GP2 Asia Series | Scuderia Coloni | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 8th |
| GP2 Series | Scuderia Coloni | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21st |
Complete GP2 Series results
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | David Price Racing | ESP FEA |
ESP SPR |
TUR FEA |
TUR SPR |
MON FEA |
MON SPR |
FRA FEA Ret |
FRA SPR 15 |
GBR FEA 23 |
GBR SPR DNS |
GER FEA 17 |
GER SPR Ret |
HUN FEA Ret |
HUN SPR 17 |
EUR FEA 12 |
EUR SPR 14 |
BEL FEA 14 |
BEL SPR 11 |
ITA FEA Ret |
ITA SPR 17 |
30th | 0 |
| 2009 | David Price Racing | ESP FEA 13 |
ESP SPR Ret |
MON FEA 16 |
MON SPR 16 |
TUR FEA Ret |
TUR SPR Ret |
GBR FEA 9 |
GBR SPR 8 |
GER FEA 14 |
GER SPR 12 |
HUN FEA 15 |
HUN SPR Ret |
VAL FEA 13 |
VAL SPR Ret |
BEL FEA Ret |
BEL SPR 9 |
ITA FEA 20 |
ITA SPR 13 |
POR FEA DSQ |
POR SPR Ret |
23rd | 0 |
| 2010 | David Price Racing | ESP FEA 17 |
ESP SPR 21 |
MON FEA 16 |
MON SPR Ret |
TUR FEA 6 |
TUR SPR 5 |
VAL FEA 8 |
VAL SPR 3 |
GBR FEA 22 |
GBR SPR 14 |
GER FEA 9 |
GER SPR 8 |
HUN FEA 7 |
HUN SPR Ret |
BEL FEA Ret |
BEL SPR 13 |
ITA FEA Ret |
ITA SPR Ret |
ABU FEA 16 |
ABU SPR 10 |
16th | 12 |
| 2011 | Scuderia Coloni | TUR FEA 14 |
TUR SPR 12 |
ESP FEA Ret |
ESP SPR Ret |
MON FEA 13 |
MON SPR 15 |
VAL FEA 10 |
VAL SPR 6 |
GBR FEA 24 |
GBR SPR 18 |
GER FEA 11 |
GER SPR 10 |
HUN FEA 12 |
HUN SPR Ret |
BEL FEA 16 |
BEL SPR 15 |
ITA FEA Ret |
ITA SPR DNS |
21st | 1 |
Complete GP2 Asia Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | FMS International | DUB1 FEA Ret |
DUB1 SPR 17 |
IDN FEA 9 |
IDN SPR 12 |
MYS FEA 11 |
MYS SPR 11 |
BHR FEA 15 |
BHR SPR 14 |
DUB2 FEA |
DUB2 SPR |
23rd | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | David Price Racing | CHN FEA 16 |
CHN SPR 16 |
DUB FEA 15 |
DUB SPR C |
BHR1 FEA 18 |
BHR1 SPR 18 |
QAT FEA 15 |
QAT SPR Ret |
MYS FEA 13 |
MYS SPR Ret |
BHR2 FEA 13 |
BHR2 SPR Ret |
33rd | 0 |
| 2009–10 | David Price Racing | ABU1 FEA 13 |
ABU1 SPR 9 |
ABU2 FEA 7 |
ABU2 SPR 2 |
BHR1 FEA 23 |
BHR1 SPR 13 |
BHR2 FEA 18 |
BHR2 SPR Ret |
13th | 7 | ||||
| 2011 | Scuderia Coloni | ABU FEA 13 |
ABU SPR 5 |
ITA FEA 4 |
ITA SPR 5 |
8th | 9 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dumitru, Mihai. "Michael Herck s-a retras din motorsport". http://rallyeracing.wordpress.com (in Romanian). Rally Racing. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
- ↑ "Michael Herck: Biography". michaelherck.com. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
- ↑ Dumitru, Mihai. "Omul nostru din GP2". topgear.ro (in Romanian). MSG Romania. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ↑ "Injury blow for Herck". crash.net. 2008-04-10. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ↑ "Ricci to replace Herck at DPR". autosport.com. 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ↑ "Soucek to stand in for Herck at DPR". autosport.com. 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
- ↑ "Sekiguchi joins DPR for Asia campaign". crash.net. 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
- ↑ Beer, Matt (2010-08-27). "Herck penalty gives D'Ambrosio pole". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
External links
- Official website
- Career statistics from driverdb.com.