Hugo Valente

Hugo Valente
Born	(1992-06-17) June 17, 1992 Choisy-le-Roi, France
Occupation	Racing driver (retired)
Years active	2009–2017
Known for	World Touring Car Championship, TCR International Series

Hugo Mario Valente (born 17 June 1992) is a retired French racing driver. Throughout his career, he took part in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), representing teams such as SUNRED Engineering, Campos Racing, and the factory-backed Lada squad. He made his WTCC debut at the 2012 FIA WTCC Race of China. In 2017, Valente moved to the TCR International Series but ended his racing career midway through the season. He was born in Choisy-le-Roi and has Italian heritage.

Formula Renault Eurocup

Valente began his motorsport journey in 2009 by competing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 with the SG Formula team. He concluded the season 24th in the championship, achieving his best race result of eighth place at the Nürburgring. The following year, he joined Tech 1 Racing, sharing the team with drivers Arthur Pic and Aaro Vainio. During the 2010 campaign, he earned a single podium finish—a runner-up spot at Motorland Aragón—and finished 12th overall with 28 points.

French SEAT León Supercopa

After taking a break from racing in 2011, Valente returned to competition in 2012 by participating in the French SEAT León Supercopa. Heading into the final round at Circuit Paul Ricard, he was leading the championship but ultimately lost out to Jimmy Antunes following the last race.

SUNRED Engineering (2012)

Valente’s WTCC debut came at the 2012 FIA WTCC Race of China, where he drove a SUNRED SR León 1.6T—a car previously campaigned by Tiago Monteiro and Hiroki Yoshimoto during that season. He qualified in 23rd place as the sole SR León entry on the grid. Although his car was detected to be over-boosting during Q1, his qualifying position remained unchanged since his fastest lap was set before this issue occurred. His best race finish was fifteenth in the opening race, but this was later demoted to sixteenth after a 30-second penalty for cutting a chicane during an incident.

Campos Racing (2013–2015)

Valente joined Campos Racing for a full-time WTCC campaign starting in 2013, piloting a SEAT León WTCC alongside teammate Fernando Monje. His season commenced at the Race of Hungary, as Campos introduced their second car later than planned. Valente missed the rounds in Russia and Portugal, during which European Touring Car Cup competitor Nikolay Karamyshev temporarily replaced him.

Lada Sport (2016)

In 2016, Valente secured a factory seat with Lada Sport Rosneft for their WTCC efforts. Despite facing a difficult season without podium finishes, he recorded two fourth-place results in Morocco and Russia. After scoring points consistently early on, his performance declined in the latter part of the year, managing only one more points finish alongside five retirements. He completed the season twelfth overall, trailing behind teammates Gabriele Tarquini and Nick Catsburg. Following Lada's exit from WTCC after 2016, Valente found himself without a drive for the subsequent year.

Campos Racing (2015)

Valente made his debut in the 2015 TCR International Series during its penultimate round held in Thailand with Campos Racing, driving an Opel Astra. Although he failed to finish the first race but was still classified, he started from pole position for the reversed-grid second race but retired once again.

Craft-Bamboo Racing (2017)

After failing to secure a position in the World Touring Car Championship, Valente made a comeback to the TCR International Series by signing with Craft-Bamboo Racing. There, he teamed up with leading drivers and former competitors Pepe Oriola and James Nash. At the season's opening event in Georgia, Valente retired during the first race but managed to finish ninth in the second race, marking his initial TCR points. He recorded his first podium finish by securing second place in the second round held in Bahrain, followed by a third-place result in the weekend's subsequent race. A scoreless weekend at Spa-Francorchamps negatively impacted his championship aspirations. Although he placed sixth in the opening race at Monza, retiring from pole position in the second race caused him to fall to tenth overall, trailing the leader by 67 points.

Prior to the round at Salzburgring, Valente declared his immediate retirement from professional racing, choosing to dedicate more time to his family, especially focusing on his young daughter. His spot was subsequently filled by ex-British Touring Car competitor Dan Lloyd.

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

(key) (Races shown in bold denote pole positions; races in italics indicate fastest laps)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final Position	Points
2009	SG Formula	CAT 1 Ret	CAT 2 10	SPA 1 28	SPA 2 21	HUN 1 10	HUN 2 12	SIL 1 13	SIL 2 18	LMS 1 23	LMS 2 17	NÜR 1 8	NÜR 2 Ret	ALC 1 Ret	ALC 2 19			24th	5
2010	Tech 1 Racing	ALC 1 8	ALC 2 2	SPA 1 14	SPA 2 15	BRN 1 12	BRN 2 14	MAG 1 8	MAG 2 Ret	HUN 1 16	HUN 2 Ret	HOC 1 Ret	HOC 2 8	SIL 1 9	SIL 2 DNS	CAT 1 Ret	CAT 2 Ret	12th	28

Full World Touring Car Championship Results

(key) (Pole positions are shown in bold; fastest laps are marked in italics)

Season	Team	Vehicle	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	Final Position	Points Earned
2012	SUNRED Engineering	SUNRED SR León 1.6T	ITA 1	ITA 2	ESP 1	ESP 2	MAR 1	MAR 2	SVK 1	SVK 2	HUN 1	HUN 2	AUT 1	AUT 2	POR 1	POR 2	BRA 1	BRA 2	USA 1	USA 2	JPN 1	JPN 2	CHN 1 16	CHN 2 18	MAC 1	MAC 2	NC	0
2013	Campos Racing	SEAT León WTCC	ITA 1	ITA 2	MAR 1	MAR 2	SVK 1	SVK 2	HUN 1 12	HUN 2 19	AUT 1 Ret	AUT 2 DNS	RUS 1	RUS 2	POR 1 18	POR 2 14	ARG 1 13	ARG 2 < br > < small >8 </ small >	USA < br > 1 < br > < small >13 </ small >	USA < br > 2 < br > < small >14 </ small >	JPN < br > 1 < br > < small > </ small >	JPN < br > 2 < br > < small > </ small >	CHN < br > 1 < br > < small >Ret </ small >	CHN < br > 2 < br > < small >12 </ small >	MAC < br > 1 < br > < small >Ret </ small >	MAC < br > 2 < br > < small >Ret </ small >	21st	4

• Note: This summary table condenses detailed race-by-race data to focus on key metrics such as team affiliation, vehicle model, final championship ranking, and total points for each season, ensuring relevance for business evaluation.*

Full TCR International Series Results

(key) (Pole positions highlighted in bold; fastest laps shown in italics)

Season	Team Name	Car Model	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Round 9	Round 10	Round 11	Round 12	Round 13	Round 14	Round 15	Round 16	Round 17	Round 18	Round 19	Round 20	Round 21	Round 22	Final Standing	Total Points

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^†: Classified despite not finishing, having completed over ninety percent of race distance.