Joe Ghanem (born May 8, 1990 in Falougha,

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

) is a Lebanese racing driver and son of 1980's Lebanese Rally Champion Samir Ghanem. Ghanem became the first Lebanese to stand on a podium in a single seater race in Europe when he finished 2nd place in the 2009 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series - National Class with Carlin Motorsport. He also is the first Lebanese to win a GT championship when he won the 2010-2011 UAE GT Championship (GTC). Ghanem is also a rally driver with several podium finishes in local and regional rallies.

Career

Karting

Currently, Joe works for BRN Racing Karting Team as a performance coach. Additionally, Ghanem began his career in Karting; In 2004, he won the Lebanese Junior Championship Formula A.

Formula Racing

Ghanem started his

Formula Racing Formula racing, also known as open-wheel racing in North America, is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. A "formula", first devised by FIA for its post–World War II single-seater races, is a set of regulations for ...

career in 2006, finishing 3rd overall in the

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

based Thunder Arabia Middle Eastern Series with one pole position and six podiums. In 2007 and as part of the A1 Team Lebanon Driver Development Program, he competed in eight races in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and in the Formula Renault 2.0 UK - Winter Series both with Carlin Motorsport. In 2008 and due to lack of funding he did not compete in Europe and returned in 2009 again with Carlin Motorsport, this time contesting the last two rounds of the British Formula Three – National Class, and finishing on the podium in 3 of the 4 races. In 2011 Ghanem competed in the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

based Formula Gulf 1000 with 8 wins, 5 pole positions, 12 podiums and 2 fastest laps. In 2012 and 2013 he competed in the Formula Renault 2.0 BARC Championship with Mtech Lite; his best result came in Croft when he finished in 3rd position.

GT Racing

In 2010 Ghanem moved to the Middle East racing scene where he competed in the UAE GT Championship – GTC Class with Gulf Sport Racing driving a

Ginetta G50 The Ginetta G50 is a specialist GT4 class-developed racing car, designed by Ginetta Cars. A road version of the car was planned, but did not enter wide-scale production; instead, the smaller Ginetta G40 was launched. Development In late 2007, ...

and winning the Championship with 1 win, 1 pole position and 5 podiums. In 2011 continued his championship winning streak by winning the Trofeo Maserati – Middle East with 6 wins, 7 pole positions and 8 podiums. He also contested 1st round of the Trofeo Maserati – European Series scoring a pole position, 1 fastest lap and finishing on the podium in all 3 the races.

Rallying and Hill Climb

In 2008 Ghanem took part in the 9th International Hill Climb Event that took place in Syria and won his Group category (Group N). In 2010 he finished 3rd overall in the 19th Rally of Cedars in Lebanon, 5th overall in the second National Rally in Jordan and 3rd overall in the first National Rally in Jordan.

Racing record

Racing career summary

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

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

References

External links

website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghanem, Joe 1990 births Living people Carlin racing drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers Formula Renault BARC drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Lebanese racing drivers