Derek Patrick Daly (born 11 March 1953) is an Irish former racing driver. He won the 1977 British Formula 3 Championship, and competed as a professional racing driver for 17 years participating in 64 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 April 1978. He scored a total of 15 championship points, making him Ireland's most successful F1 driver, and he also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races. After F1, Daly raced in CART and IMSA, where he achieved much success with Nissan.

Derek Daly
Daly at Zandvoort in 1982
Born (1953-03-11) 11 March 1953 (age 71)
Ballinteer, Dublin, Ireland
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityRepublic of Ireland Irish
Active years19781982
TeamsHesketh, Ensign, Tyrrell, March, Theodore, Williams
Entries64 (49 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points15
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1978 United States Grand Prix West
Last entry1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix

Racing career edit

After honing his skills in the Irish Formula Ford Championship, Daly had his first drive in the European Formula Two Championship in 1977. In 1978 and 1979, he competed in both Formula Two and Formula One, finishing third in the Formula Two championship in both seasons. From 1980 to 1982, he focussed on Formula One, his best year being 1980, when he scored two fourth-place finishes and finished 11th in the Drivers' Championship. His two most memorable moments in F1 both came in the Monaco Grand Prix. In 1980 he crashed spectacularly at the first corner after vaulting three other cars. In 1982 he suddenly found himself in contention for the win when the four cars ahead of him ran into problems with under two laps to go, but ended up on the sidelines himself when his gearbox seized moments later.

 
Daly qualifying for the 1987 Indianapolis 500

In 1982, Daly began driving in the CART series and continued through 1989. He started 66 CART races, including each Indianapolis 500 from 1983 to 1989, except for 1986. He finished in the top ten a total of 21 times, including one podium finish, 3rd position, at Milwaukee in 1987. In September 1984 he was nearly killed in a crash in the CART PPG Detroit News Grand Prix 200 at Michigan International Speedway. The front end of his car was sheared off and he suffered multiple injuries including a crushed left ankle, double compound fracture to the left tibia and fibula, fractured left hip socket, severely fractured pelvis, several broken left side ribs, broken left hand, 3rd degree burns to the left arm, dislocated right foot and ankle, deep abrasions and soft tissue to right heel, and internal bleeding.

Daly won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1990 and 1991 driving a Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo. In 1990, he had the unusual distinction of driving both the first and second-placed cars.[1][2]

Broadcast and business career edit

Daly is known in motor sports circles around the world as a driver, writer, broadcaster, racing advisor, and businessman. He runs a professional services company called MotorVation, and had been a commentator for American broadcasts of the Champ Car series, as well as a public speaker. One of the agencies that represents him is the National Speakers Bureau.[3]

In 2018, Daly was fired from a racing analyst position he had at WISH-TV when WISH-TV attributed a racial slur that was uttered by Indianapolis Colts announcer Bob Lamey in 1983 to him. While not disputing saying the slur, Daly contends that he did not use the offending language in the context Lamey alleged (Lamey claimed that Daly had once stated "... there aren't any (racial slur) in this race"), but instead used the word as part of a common Irish colloquialism during a 1983 radio interview.[4] Daly filed a $25M lawsuit as a result.[5] Later that year, U.S. district court judge Richard L. Young ruled in favor of WISH-TV and the station's former parent company, Nexstar Media Group, in all claims in Daly’s lawsuit and ordered him to pay Nexstar's legal costs.[6]

Personal life edit

Daly became a US citizen[when?] and now resides in Carmel, Indiana.[7] He has three sons, Conor, Colin and Christian.

Daly's son Conor is also a racing driver. He made his debut in full-time open-wheel racing in 2012, driving for the Lotus GP team in GP3,[8] before moving GP2 in 2014 driving for Venezuela GP Lazarus.[9] Conor made his IndyCar Series debut in 2013 and was a full-time driver from 2016 to 2023.[10] He also competed in the Daytona 500 in 2023, finishing 29th.

Daly's niece, Nicola Daly, is an Ireland women's field hockey international and was a member of the squad that won the silver medal at the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup. She also works as a data engineer for Juncos Racing.[11][12][13][14][15]

Racing record edit

Career summary edit

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
1977 Super Visco British Formula Three Derek McMahon Racing 15 4 1 0 7 69 1st
Vandervell British Formula Three 7 0 0 0 1 34 5th
FIA European Formula 3 4 1 1 0 2 13 9th
European Formula Two Chevron Racing 1 0 0 0 0 2 18th
1978 European Formula Two Chevron Racing 12 2 1 2 4 27 3rd
Formula One Olympus Cameras/Hesketh Racing 0 0 0 0 0 1 19th
Team Tissot Ensign 6 0 0 0 0
1979 European Formula Two Project Four Racing 9 1 1 2 5 33 3rd
Formula One Team Ensign 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Candy Tyrrell Team 3 0 0 0 0
1980 Formula One Candy Tyrrell Team 14 0 0 0 0 6 11th
BMW M1 Procar Championship BMW Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1981 Formula One March Grand Prix Team 8 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1982 Formula One TAG Williams Team 12 0 0 0 0 8 13th
Theodore Racing Team 3 0 0 0 0
1982 World Sportscar Championship Ford Motor Company 1 0 0 0 0 1 117th
PPG Indy Car World Series Wysard Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1983 PPG Indy Car World Series Provimi Racing 5 0 0 0 0 4 27th
Wysard Racing 2 0 0 0 0
European Formula Two McMahon Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
World Sportscar Team Ikuzawa 0 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1984 PPG Indy Car World Series Provimi Racing 11 0 0 0 0 26 19th
1985 PPG Indy Car World Series Tom Hess Racing 1 0 0 0 0 1 40th
1986 PPG Indy Car World Series Curb Motorsports 3 0 0 0 0 11 23rd
1987 PPG Indy Car World Series Raynor Motorsports 12 0 0 0 1 27 15th
Pace Racing 1 0 0 0 0
1988 PPG Indy Car World Series Raynor Motorsports 15 0 0 0 0 53 9th
24 Hours of Le Mans Silk Cut Jaguar 1 0 0 0 0 30 4th
1989 PPG Indy Car World Series Raynor Motorsports 15 0 0 0 0 25 12th
24 Hours of Le Mans Silk Cut Jaguar 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
1990 IMSA GT Championship Nissan Performance 4 4 1 0 4 N/A NC
24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
1991 IMSA GT Championship Nissan Performance 1 1 1 0 1 N/A NC

Complete European Formula Two Championship results edit

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

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Pts
1977 Chevron Racing Chevron/B40 Hart SIL THR HOC NÜR VAL PAU MUG ROU NOG PER MIS EST
5
DON 18th 2
1978 Chevron Racing Chevron/B42 Hart THR
6
HOC
9
NÜR
Ret
PAU
9
MUG
1
VAL
1
ROU
11
DON
Ret
NOG
3
PER
3
MIS
9
HOC
Ret
3rd 27
1979 Project Four Racing March/792 BMW SIL
2
HOC THR
2
NÜR VAL MUG
Ret
PAU
Ret
HOC
2
ZAN
11
PER
2
MIS
Ret
DON
1
3rd 33
1983 McMahon Racing March/822 Hart SIL THR HOC NÜR VAL PAU JAR DON
9
MIS PER ZOL MUG - 0

Complete Formula One World Championship results edit

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Pts.
1978 Olympus Cameras/Hesketh Racing Hesketh 308E Ford V8 ARG BRA RSA USW
DNPQ
MON
DNPQ
BEL
DNQ
ESP SWE 19th 1
Team Tissot Ensign Ensign N177 Ford V8 FRA
DNQ
GBR
Ret
GER AUT
DSQ
NED
Ret
ITA
10
USA
8
CAN
6
1979 Team Ensign Ensign N177 Ford V8 ARG
11
BRA
13
ESP
DNQ
BEL
DNQ
NC 0
Ensign N179 Ford V8 RSA
DNQ
USW
Ret
MON
DNQ
FRA GBR GER
Candy Tyrrell Team Tyrrell 009 Ford V8 AUT
8
NED ITA CAN
Ret
USA
Ret
1980 Candy Tyrrell Team Tyrrell 009 Ford V8 ARG
4
BRA
14
RSA
Ret
11th 6
Tyrrell 010 Ford V8 USW
8
BEL
9
MON
Ret
FRA
11
GBR
4
GER
10
AUT
Ret
NED
Ret
ITA
Ret
CAN
Ret
USA
Ret
1981 March Grand Prix Team March 811 Ford V8 USW
DNQ
BRA
DNQ
ARG
DNQ
SMR
DNQ
BEL
DNQ
MON
DNPQ
ESP
16
FRA
Ret
GBR
7
GER
Ret
AUT
11
NED
Ret
ITA
Ret
CAN
8
CPL
DNQ
NC 0
1982 Theodore Racing Team Theodore TY01 Ford V8 RSA
14
13th 8
Theodore TY02 Ford V8 BRA
Ret
USW
Ret
SMR
TAG Williams Team Williams FW08 Ford V8 BEL
Ret
MON
6
DET
5
CAN
7
NED
5
GBR
5
FRA
7
GER
Ret
AUT
Ret
SUI
9
ITA
Ret
CPL
6

CART results edit

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref
1982 Wysard Racing March 82C Ford Cosworth DFX PHX ATL MIL CLE MIS MIL POC RIV ROA MIS2 PHX2
25
NC 0 [16]
1983 Wysard Racing March 82C Ford Cosworth DFX ATL
22
27th 4 [17]
March 83C INDY
19
MIL CLE MIS
Provimi Racing March 82/83C Ford Cosworth DFX ROA
9
POC RIV MDO
22
MIS2 LVG
18
LS
23
PHX
22
1984 Provimi Racing March 84C Ford Cosworth DFX LBH
7
PHX
15
INDY
27
MIL POR
4
MEA
19
CLE
6
MIS
17
ROA
18
POC MDO
18
SAN
21
MIS2
21
PHX2 LS LVG 19th 26 [18]
1985 Tom Hess Racing Lola T900 Ford Cosworth DFX LBH INDY
12
MIL POR MEA CLE MIS ROA POC MDO SAN MIS2 LS PHX MIA 40th 1 [19]
1986 Team Menard March 86C Ford Cosworth DFX PHX LBH INDY
DNQ
MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MIS POC 23rd 11 [20]
Curb Motorsports MDO
6
SAN
10
MIS2 ROA
13
LS PHX2 MIA
1987 Pace Racing March 87C Buick V6 (t/c) LBH PHX INDY
15
15th 27 [21]
Raynor Motorsports Lola T87/00 Ford Cosworth DFX MIL
3
POR
15
MEA
9
CLE
11
TOR
16
MIS
24
POC
10
ROA
26
MDO
9
NAZ
16
LS
14
MIA
22
1988 Raynor Motorsports Lola T88/00 Ford Cosworth DFX PHX
13
LBH
5
INDY
29
MIL
11
POR
19
CLE
6
TOR
23
MEA
24
MIS
16
POC
4
MDO
9
ROA
6
NAZ
10
LS
7
MIA
23
9th 53 [22]
1989 Raynor Motorsports Lola T89/00 Judd AV PHX
12
LBH
9
INDY
15
MIL
21
DET
25
POR
11
CLE
22
MEA
25
TOR
16
MIS
5
POC
24
MDO
9
ROA
27
NAZ
9
LS
18
12th 25 [23]

24 Hours of Le Mans results edit

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1988   Silk Cut Jaguar
  Tom Walkinshaw Racing
  Kevin Cogan
  Larry Perkins
Jaguar XJR-9LM C1 383 4th 4th
1989   Silk Cut Jaguar
  Tom Walkinshaw Racing
  Davy Jones
  Jeff Kline
Jaguar XJR-9LM C1 85 DNF DNF
1990   Nissan Performance Technology Inc.   Geoff Brabham
  Chip Robinson
Nissan R90CK C1 251 DNF DNF

References edit

  1. ^ "Sebring 12 Hours". racingsportscars.com. 17 March 1990. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Top 5 – Sebring wins by manufacturer". ALMS. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Performance in the Fast Lane by The Master of Fast". National Speakers Bureau. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  4. ^ Ayello, Jim (26 June 2000). "Derek Daly secretly records Bob Lamey in effort to support Daly's lawsuits over use of a racial slur". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  5. ^ Drohan, Freya (28 August 2018). "Irish racing US pundit fired for using "N word" 35 yrs ago". IrishCentral.com. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  6. ^ Gibson, Brady (2 June 2021). "Federal judge rules for WISH-TV in Derek Daly lawsuit". WISH-TV. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  7. ^ "RACER CONOR DALY TO FOLLOW IN FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS ALL THE WAY TO INDY 500". 28 April 2013.
  8. ^ "Lotus GP sign American ace Daly". GP3 Series. 2 March 2012. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  9. ^ Tony DiZinno (5 May 2014). "Conor Daly confirmed for full season of GP2 with Lazarus". GP2 Series. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  10. ^ "Conor Daly gets full-time Dale Coyne Racing IndyCar deal for 2016". Autosport.
  11. ^ "Hockey in the Fast Lane". thesportschronicle.com. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  12. ^ "Q & A With Nicci Daly: From Hockey Star To Motor-Sports". chicmoto.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Meet Ireland's Nicci Daly, Hockey Player & Motor Racing Engineer". wispsports.com. 5 March 2016. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  14. ^ "Nicci Daly: "There has never been a better time for women to get in motorsport"". fast-and-fearless.com. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  15. ^ "'I feel like I'm doing something for him that I never got the chance to do when he was around'". the42.ie. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  16. ^ "Derek Daly – 1982 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Derek Daly – 1983 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Derek Daly – 1984 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  19. ^ "Derek Daly – 1985 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Derek Daly – 1986 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Derek Daly – 1987 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Derek Daly – 1988 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Derek Daly – 1989 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2023.

External links edit

Sporting positions
Preceded by Formula Ford Festival
Winner

1976
Succeeded by
Preceded by British Formula 3 Championship
BARC Series Champion

1977
Succeeded by