Christian Ledesma (born February 4, 1976, in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

) is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

racing driver. He has run in different series, with major success in

Turismo Carretera Turismo Carretera ( Road racing, lit., ''Road Touring'') is a popular stock car racing series in Argentina, and the 2nd oldest auto racing series still active in the world. The series is organized by Asociación Corredores de Turismo Carretera. ...

(2007 champion) and

TC2000 The TC2000 (''Turismo Competición 2000'', formerly ''Súper TC2000'') is a touring car racing series held in Argentina since 1979. Rules Prior to 2012, engines of up to were allowed, with only limited modifications from standard engines ...

/ STC2000 (2004 champion).

Career

Junior series

From 1987 to 1994, he took part of more than 100 races, being three times champion and four times vice-champion (Junior Category, Senior Category and Sudam Senior Series) and driving for his brother Jhonny Ledesma's team.

Formula Honda

He took part of 1994 Drivers' National Contest, ''Prodriver''. He was the winner of the first contest among 40 participants and got the right of driving for Formula Honda's Prodriver team, managed by Guillermo Kissling. He won the 1995 Argentine Champhionship by mid-season; he got 6 pole positions, 6 wins and 10 podiums in 10 races.

South American Formula 3

He took part of the 1996 championship becoming the best rookie of the season, at the wheel of a Tom's Toyota of

Víctor Rosso Victor Rubén Rosso (born 1960) is an Argentine international racing driver who competed in motorsports from 1978 to 2012. He has continued to be involved in motor sports as a Team Principal. Early and personal life Rosso was born in Argentina ...

's ProRacing team. He got a third place at

Goiânia Goiânia ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian federative units of Brazil, state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region and the 10th-larges ...

, Brazil, and finished 10th overall in the championship.

Formula Super Renault

He got the 1997 Argentine Formula Super Renault title driving a Reynard/Renault of Guillermo and Raúl Kissling's team - four wins, and eight podiums overall.

Formula 3000

He tested for

F3000 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 championships ...

Team Draco A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to info ...

Magione Magione () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italy, Italian region Umbria, located about 15 km west of Perugia. Magione borders the following municipalities: Castiglione del Lago, Corciano, Panicale, Passignan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He managed to score 1:06.500 - 0.3 seconds away from the fastest driver of the test's time.

Touring car series

His debut in

TC 2000 The TC2000 (''Turismo Competición 2000'', formerly ''Súper TC2000'') is a touring car racing series held in Argentina since 1979. Rules Prior to 2012, engines of up to were allowed, with only limited modifications from standard engines ...

was in the second race of 2003 season. That first year he got two wins, Bahía Blanca and Río Cuarto, and one third place at Mar del Plata. He crowned himself as 2004 champion, with four wins overall. It was the first time

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

got a championship inside TC2000 series. Ledesma fought the 2006 to 2008 championships, resulting 5th, 3rd and 4th respectively. After a poor 2009, he was 9th in 2010. In 2011 he continues racing for Chevrolet, now with a

Chevrolet Cruze The Chevrolet Cruze is a compact car produced by General Motors from 2008 through 2023. It was designated as a globally developed, designed, and manufactured four-door compact sedan, complemented by a five-door hatchback body variant from 2011, ...

. He competed on the Chevrolet Argentina factory team until 2012. Then he went through others in the category until 2016, his final year in the championship. In

(TC), he started driving a Ford (1998–2000). As of 2001, he has been driving a

. He clinched the 2007 championship, with six wins and 294.5 points overall. In addition to that, he broke

Juan María Traverso Juan María "Flaco" Traverso (28 December 1950 – 11 May 2024) was an Argentine racing driver. He was a multiple champion in the most important championships in Argentina and raced in European Formula Two in 1979. Traverso died due to oesop ...

's 1995 pointscoring record (five wins and 272 points). He was runner-up in 2014 and has won more than 20 races in his TC career. He also competed in

Turismo Nacional Turismo Nacional (National tourism, lit., national touring) popularly known by its acronym TN, is a touring car racing series based in Argentina that has been active since 1961. It is organized by the Asociación de Pilotos de Automóviles de Tur ...

Top Race V6 Top Race V6 is a touring car race series held in Argentina. It was founded in 1997. The cars The Top Race V6 category sees the vehicles presented in silhouette form, with identical, strictly controlled mechanical specifications. Body styles cur ...

and TC Pick Up.

References

1976 births Sportspeople from Mar del Plata Racing drivers from Buenos Aires Province Turismo Carretera drivers TC 2000 Championship drivers Argentine racing drivers Top Race V6 drivers FIA GT Championship drivers Living people Súper TC 2000 drivers {{Argentina-autoracing-bio-stub