Marin Čolak (born 4 March 1984 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

) is a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

auto racing 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 ...

driver.

Career

Early years

He started racing in karting with much of his young career was spent in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, including

Formula Renault 2.0 Germany In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwe ...

and the German SEAT Leon Cupra Cup. He also competed in some races of the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup in 2001 and 2002. In 2008 he competed in the new SEAT León Eurocup, where he ended the year as runner-up.

Accident

In November 2010, according to Croatian reports, Čolak was involved in a road accident in Croatia. The reports say that a female passenger, Ivana Opak (20), was killed in the crash. Čolak escaped with minor injuries. In 2016, he was sentenced to six years in jail for this deadly crash.

World Touring Car Championship

As a reward for winning a race at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

, he was entered in two rounds of the FIA

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sing ...

with the SEAT backed

SUNRED Engineering Sunred (short for ''Sun Race Engineering Development S.L.'') is a Spanish-based auto racing team and constructor. They are best known for competing in the World Touring Car Championship. Racing History While in the past Sunred had participated i ...

team. For 2009, he entered the WTCC for a full season with an independent petrol powered

SEAT Leon A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

, under the Croatia Čolak Ingra Seat banner. Marin Čolak to drive petrol SEAT Léon

Racing record

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

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

References

1984 births Living people German Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers World Touring Car Championship drivers SEAT León Eurocup drivers European Touring Car Cup drivers Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Sportspeople from Zagreb Croatian racing drivers {{germany-autoracing-bio-stub