Christopher Alfred Clearihan (born 10 September 1949) is an Australian motor racing driver and Air Race pilot.

Motor racing

Clearihan's first race car was the Canon Bolwell Nagari. It was with this car, previously operated by Terry Spooner, that he showed up at Oran Park, Toby-Lee Series in 1972. With an audience of 20,000 people, Clearihan claimed his first win. He then continued to win production sports car races in the Nagari, establishing a name for himself. Clearihan then bought a

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 have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

open-wheeled Elfin and proceeded to win the TAA Driver to Europe Formula Ford race in rainy conditions at

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a list of surface water sports, surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in Glossary of surfing, tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wind wave, wave of water, whic ...

. Clearihan won two

Australian Sports Car Championship The Australian Sports Car Championship was the national title for sports car racing drivers sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport from 1969 to 1988. Each championship was contested over a series of races with the exception of ...

s in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

(while finishing 2nd in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and 3rd in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

and

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

), in addition to various state titles, the Pie Series and Scratch Races at

Amaroo Park Amaroo Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit located in Annangrove, New South Wales, in the present-day north-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Opened in 1967, the road circuit served as a venue for a variety of competitions including t ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Finished in the top 10 in the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a Touring car racing, touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supe ...

, and eighth in the 1988 Indonesian Grand Prix. He competed consistently between 1986–92. After purchasing the Tony Edmondson Alfa Romeo Alfetta-Chevrolet Sports Sedan, Clearihan spent the next 10 years breaking all lap records. At the 1984 Castrol 500 touring car race at the Sandown Raceway in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Clearihan, who was to have co-driven with David Grose in a

Mazda RX-7 The Mazda RX-7 is a front mid engine, Rear-wheel drive, rear-wheel-drive, rotary engine-powered sports car, manufactured and marketed by Mazda from 1978 through 2002 across three generations, all of which incorporated the use of a compact, light ...

, was excluded from the meeting after qualifying following an altercation in the pits with

Allan Moffat Allan George Moffat, Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 10 November 1939 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a Canadian-born Australian racing driver known for his four championships in the Australian Touring Car Championship, six wins ...

. Moffat (also driving an RX-7) and Clearihan had tangled out on the circuit with a confrontation following in the pits. After Clearihan's exclusion, the 1983 Sports Car Champion Peter Hopwood who was driving in the final round of the 1984 Australian Drivers' Championship at the meeting, was given permission to take his place in the RX-7. Moffat went on to take second place in the 500. He won the 2008 Wakefield 300.

Aircraft

Developing an interest in aircraft in 1992, Chris Clearihan switched to flying in search of a new challenge. In 1992 and 1994 he won the Twin Engine Pylon Air Race, coming second in 1993 while still racing cars. In 1998 Clearihan won the Around Australia Air Race and continued to win other twin-engine races. More recently he has worked on developing an airstrip in Michelago, New South Wales.

Career results

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clearihan, Chris 1949 births Living people World Touring Car Championship drivers Australian Touring Car Championship drivers Formula Holden drivers Formula Ford drivers Racing drivers from the Australian Capital Territory Sportspeople from Canberra