Zachary Claman DeMelo

Zachary Claman DeMelo
Born	(1998-04-20) April 20, 1998 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Occupation	Professional race car driver
Years active	2008–present
Known for	Competing in Formula Renault 2.0, IndyCar Series, Indy Lights

Zachary Claman DeMelo (born April 20, 1998) is a professional race car driver hailing from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His career includes participation in series such as Formula Renault 2.0, the IndyCar Series, and various other open-wheel competitions. Most recently, in 2019, he competed with Belardi Auto Racing in the Indy Lights championship.

Karting and junior formula categories

Claman DeMelo began his motorsport journey in 2008, competing in both regional and national karting championships. By the time he was 12, he had already claimed his first Canadian National and Eastern Canadian Karting titles. At age 16, his achievements included three Canadian National Championships, five consecutive Eastern Canadian titles, and a third-place finish at the Rotax Karting World Championships. He transitioned to car racing during the 2014–15 Formula Skip Barber winter series, where he won two out of four races.

In 2015, Claman DeMelo relocated to Europe to participate in multiple Formula Renault 2.0 competitions, including the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, and Formula Renault 2.0 Alps series. Additionally, he swept all eight races in which he competed within the Invitational class of the MSV F3 Cup.

Indy Lights

At just 17 years old in 2016, Claman DeMelo entered Indy Lights as the youngest competitor on the grid, driving for defending champions Juncos Racing. His rookie campaign featured nine finishes within the top ten and three top-five results. The following year, he switched to Carlin Motorsport—the reigning champions of 2016—where he earned his inaugural series victory at Road America along with two podium finishes in Toronto. He concluded the season fifth overall, narrowly trailing teammate Matheus Leist by four points.

After failing to secure a full-time seat in IndyCar, Claman DeMelo returned to Indy Lights in 2019 with Belardi Auto Racing. He won the opening race of the season at St. Petersburg; however, financial constraints forced him to withdraw before the Freedom 100 event.

IndyCar Series

In July 2016, Claman DeMelo conducted testing sessions with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. His official IndyCar debut occurred during the final race of the 2017 season at Sonoma Raceway, driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

In February 2018, he was announced as a part-time driver for Dale Coyne Racing’s No. 19 Honda entry, sponsored by Paysafe, competing in select rounds of the 2018 IndyCar Series.

Personal life

One of Claman DeMelo’s grandmothers survived imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp and was liberated on a Friday the 13th; this date inspired him to use the number 13 on his racecars throughout his career.

In 2016, together with his sister, Claman DeMelo founded the footwear brand ZCD Montreal.

During the weekend of the Detroit Grand Prix in 2023, he was involved in an altercation with ice hockey player Daniel Sprong at a nightclub.

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

(key) (Races highlighted in bold denote pole position; those in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	DC	Points
2015	Fortec Motorsports	ALC 1 24	ALC 2 Ret	ALC 3 18	SPA 1	SPA 2	HUN 1	HUN 2	SIL 1	SIL 2	SIL 3	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	LMS 1	LMS 2	JER 1	JER 2	JER 3	NC†	0

† As DeMelo participated as a guest driver, he was not eligible to earn points

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 NEC Results

(key) (Entries shown in bold denote pole positions) (Entries in italics represent fastest laps)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final Position	Points
2015	Fortec Motorsports	MNZ 1 11	MNZ 2 12	SIL 1 20	SIL 2 19	RBR 1	RBR 2	RBR 3	SPA 1	SPA 2	ASS 1	ASS 2	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	HOC 1	HOC 2	HOC 3	30th	22

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Overall Rank	Total Points
2016	Juncos Racing	STP 11	STP 16	PHX 11	ALA 5	ALA 7	IMS 13	IMS 14	INDY 13	RDA 5	RDA 4	IOW 8	TOR 13	TOR 13	MOH 7	MOH 7	WGL 9	LAG 12	LAG 7	9th	199
2017	Carlin Motorsport	STP 8	STP 7	ALA 5	ALA 14	IMS 2	IMS 11	INDY 6	(continued)

Year	Team	Overall Rank	Total Points
(continued)

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Position	Points
2016	Juncos Racing	style="background:#CFCFFF;" | STP 11	style="background:#EFCFFF;" | STP 16	style="background:#CFCFFF;" | PHX 11	style="background:#DFFFDF;" | ALA 5	style="background:#CFEAFF;" | ALA 7	style="background:#CFCFFF;" | IMS 13	style="background:#EFCFFF;" | IMS 14	style="background:#EFCFFF;" | INDY 13	style="background:#DFFFDF;" | RDA 5	style="background:#DFFFDF;" | RDA 4	style="background:#CFEAFF;" | IOW 8	style="background:#EFCFFF;" | TOR 13	style="background:#EFCFFF;" | TOR 13	style="background:#CFEAFF;" | MOH 7	style="background:#CFEAFF;" | MOH 7	style="background:#CFEAFF;" | WGL 9	style="background:#CFCFFF;" | LAG 12	style="background:#CFEAFF;" | LAG 7	9th	199
2017	Carlin Motorsport	style="background:#CFEAFF;" | STP 8	style="background:#CFEAFF;" | STP 7	style="background:#DFFFDF;" | ALA 5	style="background:#EFCFFF;" | ALA 14	style="background:#DFDFDF;" | IMS 2	style="background:#CFCFFF;" | IMS 11	style="background:#CFEAFF;" | INDY 6	style="background:#CFEAFF;" | RDA 10</ small >	style =" background : #FFFFBF ; "| RDA < br /> < small >1 </ small >	style =" background : # CFEAFF ; "| IOW < br /> < small >6 </ small >	style =" background : # DFDFDF ; "| TOR < br /> < small >2 </ small >	style =" background : #FFDF9F ; "| TOR < br /> < small >3 </ small >	(continued)												(continued)	274
(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	(continued)	274

IndyCar Series

Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Position	Points
2017	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Dallara DW12	13	Honda	STP	LBH	ALA	PHX	IMS	INDY	DET	DET	TXS	ROA	IOW	TOR	MOH	POC	GTW	WGL	SNM 17	31st	26
2018	Dale Coyne Racing		19		STP 17	PHX	LBH 23	ALA 19	IMS 12	INDY 19	DET	DET	Rainguard Water Sealers 600 17	Kohler Grand Prix 21	Iowa Corn 300 18	Honda Indy Toronto 14						23rd	122

• Season ongoing.

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Starting Position	Final Position	Team
2018 Indianapolis 500	Dallara	Honda	13	19	Dale Coyne Racing