Basil Shaaban (born 27 March 1980 in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

) is a

Lebanese Lebanese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic * Lebanese people The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...

racing driver.

Early racing

Shaaban began racing in Lebanon at the age of 14 at the Circuit des Champions karting center near Brummana. Eventually, he worked his way up to driving 100 cc 2-stroke karts.

Racing in university

While a student at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, Shaaban bought a 100 cc kart from Trackmagic and began racing in the

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

region alongside his studies. Over the next few years he won several races. Shaaban graduated with a bachelor degree in

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the he ...

from Berkeley.

Entry into formula cars

After graduating from Berkeley, in 2004, Shaaban began racing in

Formula Renault Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to hig ...

2000 in the USA and

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula Fo ...

1800 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He became the first Arab to win a Formula Ford 1800 race in Europe.

A1 Grand Prix

Shaaban was one of

A1 Team Lebanon A1 Team Lebanon was the Lebanese team of A1 Grand Prix, a former international racing series. Management A1 Team Lebanon's owner is Tameem Auchi. History Daniel Morad became the race driver for A1 Team Lebanon for the 2008-09 season. Alt ...

's drivers for the inaugural 2005–06 season of the series, alongside

Khalil Beschir Khalil Beschir (born 18 June 1983) is a Lebanese motorsport entrepreneur and Motorsport development consultant, as well as a former racing driver. Early years Beschir was born in Bhersaf, Lebanon. As a child, he started to watch Formula 1 on te ...

and American

Graham Rahal Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winne ...

. None of the drivers scored any points. However, Shaaban scored Lebanon's highest finishing position of the season in the feature race in

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has ...

, finishing 11th out of 24. Shaaban inaugurated A1 Team Lebanon's second season when he raced at the A1GP 2006–07 season opener in

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterda ...

, the Netherlands.

Formula Three Euroseries

Shaaban competed in the

Formula Three Euroseries The Formula 3 Euro Series was a European-based junior single seater formula for Formula Three chassis that was launched (in its current form) in 2003 as a merger of the French Formula Three Championship and German Formula Three Championship. The ...

beginning in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, which was his first full season of car racing. He spent his first two seasons (2007-2008) at HBR Motorsport, before moving to

Prema Powerteam Prema Powerteam (competing as Prema Racing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, the FIA Formula 3 Championship and European Le Mans Series and as Prema Orlen Team in the FIA World Endurance Championship) is a motorsport team from Italy. It mainl ...

for the 2009 season. In his 55th race, Shaaban took both his first top-ten finish and his first Euroseries points (seventh) in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

. In the second race, he started from the front row due to the series' reverse-grid system for the top eight finishers in the first race. Although he was passed by Alexander Sims, Shaaban finished third. In 2009, he finished 12th in the Masters of F3 at Zandvoort.

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

Official WebsiteCareer statistics at Driver Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaaban, Basil 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Beirut A1 Team Lebanon drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers Lebanese racing drivers Formula 3 Euro Series drivers Prema Powerteam drivers A1 Grand Prix drivers Ombra Racing drivers Carlin racing drivers Comtec Racing drivers