Quick Facts
Biography
Valentino Catalano (born 2 November 2005) is a German racing driver who currently competes in the Prototype Cup Germany with DKR Engineering.
Early career
Karting
Catalano started karting at the Motorclub Haßloch at the age of 5. In 2018 he won the X30 Junior category of the ADAC Kart Cup with RMW Motorsport after finishing fourth in the ADAC Kart Bundesendlauf.
Formula 4
In 2019 Catalano begin testing in a privately owned Tatuus F4-T014. In 2020 he began competing in single-seaters, driving in the French F4 Championship. Having been part of the junior class given his age, the German would dominate, taking wins in every race for the juniors' standings, whilst finishing on the overall podium four times. With him finishing inside the top ten throughout each event, Catalano ended up fifth in the FFSA Academy classification.
For the 2021 season, a move to BWR Motorsports would be in order for the German, who would be driving in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship. However, Catalano ended up splitting up from the team after merely two rounds, in which he had scored a best finish of fifth.
Sportscar career
2022: LMP3 debut
Catalano made his sportscar debut in 2022, driving in the LMP3 category of the European Le Mans Series. Teaming up with Horst Felbermayr Jr. and Austin McCusker at RLR MSport, the German experienced a testing campaign, as three retirements meant that he would finish 15th in the drivers' standings.
2023: First win
At the start of 2023, Catalano paired up with Tom van Rompuy at DKR Engineering for a campaign in the Asian Le Mans Series. The second race in Dubai saw an impressive performance from the pairing, with an aggressive fuel strategy paying off to give Catalano his maiden victory in car racing. He then went on to compete in the 2023 Prototype Cup Germany with the same team and Robin Rogalski as his teammate. He took his maiden victory in the series Motorsport Arena Oschersleben and finished the season fourth in the standings.
Karting record
Karting career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | ADAC Kart Masters — X30 Junior | 3rd | |
| 2018 | ADAC Kart Masters — X30 Junior | 3rd | |
| ADAC Kart Bundesendlauf — X30 Junior | RMW Motorsport | 4th | |
| Sources: | |||
Racing record
Racing career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | French F4 Championship | FFSA Academy | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 144 | 5th |
| 2021 | ADAC Formula 4 Championship | BWR Motorsports | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 18th |
| Drexler Automotive Formula 4 Cup | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 4th | ||
| 2022 | European Le Mans Series - LMP3 | RLR MSport | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 15th |
| Le Mans Cup - LMP3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
| 2023 | Asian Le Mans Series - LMP3 | DKR Engineering | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 4th |
| Prototype Cup Germany | 12 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 130 | 4th | ||
| 2024 | Prototype Cup Germany | Gebhardt Motorsport | |||||||
| Prototype Winter Series - Class 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.67 | 14th |
Season still in progress.
Complete French F4 Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | NOG1 8 | NOG2 2 | NOG3 7 | MAG1 6 | MAG2 7 | MAG3 7 | ZAN1 6 | ZAN2 5 | ZAN3 3 | LEC11 4 | LEC12 5 | LEC13 6 | SPA1 6 | SPA2 6 | SPA3 5 | LEC21 3 | LEC22 6 | LEC23 6 | LEC31 8 | LEC32 3 | LEC33 10 | 5th | 144 |
Complete European Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | RLR MSport | LMP3 | Ligier JS P320 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 | LEC Ret | IMO 6 | MNZ Ret | CAT 8 | SPA Ret | ALG 7 | 15th | 18 |
Complete Asian Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | DKR Engineering | LMP3 | Duqueine M30 - D08 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 | DUB1 6 | DUB2 1 | ABU1 5 | ABU2 Ret | 4th | 43 |
Complete Prototype Cup Germany results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | DKR Engineering | Duqueine M30 - D08 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 | HOC1 6 | HOC2 2 | OSC1 3 | OSC2 1 | ZAN1 6 | ZAN2 2 | NOR1 Ret | NOR2 Ret | ASS1 5 | ASS2 8† | NÜR1 7 | NÜR2 Ret | 4th | 130 |
| 2024 | Gebhardt Motorsport | Duqueine M30 - D08 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 | SPA1 | SPA2 | LAU1 | LAU2 | ZAN1 | ZAN2 | HOC1 | HOC2 | NÜR1 | NÜR2 | SAC1 | SAC2 | * | * |
Season still in progress.
