Chanoch Nissany (; born 29 July 1963) is an Israeli and Hungarian former

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

and

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to other ...

. Nissany is the first Israeli racing driver to compete in some of the higher levels of the international racing sports, such as International Formula 3000 and World Series Lights. He is also the first Israeli who participated at a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

Grand Prix weekend, on his birthday, 29 July 2005, in the first free practice session of the 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix, when he drove at the

Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtai ...

as one of the official test drivers of the

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...

F1 Team. He was 6.8 seconds slower than teammate Christijan Albers in free practice at the event. After spinning the car, he was unable to take the steering wheel out of his Minardi so he was recovered with the car. Nissany is the main investor in the Balaton Park Circuit, a motorsports venue opened in 2023. His son, Roy Nissany, is also a racing driver.

Career

Nissany started racing in 2002, at the relatively late age of 38. He began his career in the 2002 Formula 2000 Hungarian National Championship, and was runner-up in his first season. In the following year, he won the same competition racing for Szasz Motorsport at the wheel of a Coloni CN-98. From 2003, he started to compete at more international events such as FIA Central European Zone and World Series Lights. In 2004, he defended his title in the Formula 2000 Hungarian National Championship. Furthermore, Nissany signed a contract with Coloni Motorsport for 2004 and he competed in

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championship ...

. Since he has progressed at Coloni, Nissany completed four tests – two with

Jordan Grand Prix Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team was named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan and was based at Silverstone, England, but raced with an Irish licence. In early 2005, the team ...

and two with Minardi. On 2 February 2005, Paul Stoddart, the owner of the Minardi Formula One racing team made an announcement at the Hilton Hotel in Tel-Aviv. At this international press conference, Stoddart announced that Nissany had become the official test driver for the team for the 2005 season. On his 42nd birthday, Nissany drove in the first practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, although his fastest time was 12.9 seconds slower than the fastest driver in the field,

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

test driver

Alexander Wurz Alexander Georg Wurz (; born 15 February 1974) is an Austrian former racing driver, motorsport executive and businessman, who competed in Formula One between and . In endurance racing, Wurz is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in ...

. His only

session ended in a gravel trap after a spin. Despite this, he initially complained that the car had too much grip. Nissany reportedly forgot how to remove the steering wheel from his cockpit, and would remain seated in his beached car while marshals removed it with a crane. At subsequent Grands Prix, he was replaced by

Enrico Toccacelo Enrico Toccacelo (born 14 December 1978 in Rome) is an Italian former auto racer with karting, GT and Formula 3000 experience. He won three F3000 events and briefly led Vitantonio Liuzzi in the 2004 championship before Liuzzi went on to win the ...

. In 2005, since Nissany focused on his international obligations with Minardi, he had to miss a couple of crucial races at the Formula 2000 Hungarian National Championship which cost him the title by six points. One year later, he regained the title and in 2007, he defended his title at the Formula 2000 Hungarian National Championship. He won all of his titles as Formula 2000 Hungarian National champion, except his last one in 2009, with Laszlo Szasz's racing team.

Racing record

Formula 2000 Hungarian National Championship

Complete World Series Lights results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)

Complete International Formula 3000 results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)

Complete Formula One participations

( key)

References

External links

Article about Nissany at Something IsraeliJewish Racing Drivers Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nissany, Chanoch 1963 births Living people Israeli Jews Israeli racing drivers International Formula 3000 drivers Scuderia Coloni drivers Sportspeople from Tel Aviv Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Hungary