Loris Kessel (1 April 1950 – 15 May 2010) was a
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 ...
from
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
Biography
Kessel was born in
Lugano
Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...
.
He participated in six
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 ...
World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 2 May 1976. He scored no championship points.
In 1976, he drove a
Brabham
Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...
for
RAM
Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to:
* A male sheep
* Random-access memory, computer memory
* Ram Trucks, US, since 2009
** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans
** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks
Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
, and in 1977 he drove his own
Apollon-
Williams, although this car was not a success.
Kessel ran a series of car dealerships in Switzerland and his own racing team, competing in
Ferrari Challenge
The Ferrari Challenge is a One-Design, single-marque Auto racing, motorsport championship that was created in 1993, initially catering to owners of the 348 Challenge who wanted to race their cars. The first European season took place in 1993, ...
series in Italy and the main European series. The team also competes in the
FIA GT3 European Championship with the same car.
In 2010, he died in
Montagnola
Montagnola () is a small Switzerland, Swiss village in Collina d'Oro municipality. Located in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, it is close to the border between Switzerland and Italy. It looks over Lake Lugano and the city of Lugano upon it ...
following a long illness.
Racing record
Complete European Formula Two Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(
key)
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
References
External links
Loris Kessel Auto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessel, Loris
1950 births
2010 deaths
Sportspeople from Lugano
Swiss racing drivers
Swiss Formula One drivers
Swiss motorsport people
European Formula Two Championship drivers
Deaths from leukemia in Switzerland
RAM Racing Formula One drivers
World Sportscar Championship drivers
International GT Open drivers
ADAC GT Masters drivers
Sports car racing team owners