Francesco Dracone (born 21 September 1983) is an Italian racing driver who currently competes in the European Le Mans Series with BHK Motorsport.

Francesco Dracone
Nationality Italian
Born (1983-09-21) 21 September 1983 (age 41)
Turin, Italy
IndyCar Series career
Debut season2010
Current teamDale Coyne Racing
Racing licence FIA Silver
Car number19
Former teamsConquest Racing
Starts7
Wins0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finish34th in 2015
Previous series
201114
200609
200205
Auto GP
Euroseries 3000
Italian Formula Three

Career

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Born in Turin, Dracone began racing professionally in the Italian Formula Three Championship in 2002. He raced in that series until 2005. In 2006 he moved to Euroseries 3000 driving for Euronova Racing. He finished 21st in points. He returned in 2007 driving for ASR and 2G Racing finishing 23rd in points. In 2008 he drove for Emmebi Motorsport and improved to 17th in points. He returned to the team and series in 2009 and improved further to 7th in points with a best finish of 5th at Monza. He also competed in the International Superstars Series season finale at Kyalami for Ferlito Motors. In July 2010 he participated in an IndyCar Series rookie test with Conquest Racing. After passing the test he signed on to compete with the team at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Infineon Raceway.[1]

He was slowest among drivers who logged a qualifying time at Mid-Ohio but started 23rd on the 27 car grid due to being in the same group as Milka Duno who elected not to participate in qualifying and Graham Rahal who was penalized. Dracone finished the race 3 laps down in 22nd place. He started last at Infineon, despite being a second quicker than Duno. The race saw Dracone spin off track close to the finish and he was credited with 20th place. He finished 37th in the championship.

After four years in Auto GP he returned to IndyCar in 2015, signing a deal to drive the first four races for Dale Coyne Racing. At NOLA Motorsports Park he spun on the first lap but rejoined, before hitting his mechanic Todd Phillips after losing control of his car in the pit lane.[2]

Racing record

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American open–wheel results

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(key)

IndyCar Series

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Year Team Chassis No. Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref
2010 Conquest Racing Dallara 34 Honda SAO STP ALA LBH KAN INDY TXS IOW WGL TOR EDM MDO
22
37th 24 [3]
36 SNM
20
CHI KTY MOT HMS
2015 Dale Coyne Racing Dallara DW12 19 STP
23
NLA
23
LBH
21
ALA
23
IMS
22
INDY DET DET TXS TOR FON MIL IOW MDO POC SNM 34th 38 [4]
Years Teams Races Poles Wins Podiums
(Non-win)
Top 10s
(Non-podium)
Indianapolis 500
Wins
Championships
2 2 7 0 0 0 0 0 0

Complete Auto GP results

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

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pos Points
2011 Emmebi Motorsport MNZ
1

10
MNZ
2

13
HUN
1

12
HUN
2

12
BRN
1

Ret
BRN
2

14†
21st 1
Ombra Racing DON
1

Ret
DON
2

10
OSC
1

Ret
OSC
2

12†
VAL
1

14
VAL
2

13
MUG
1

14†
MUG
2

11
2012 Virtuosi UK MNZ
1
MNZ
2
VAL
1
VAL
2
MAR
1

10
MAR
2

8
HUN
1

10
HUN
2

14
ALG
1

13
ALG
2

10
CUR
1

8
CUR
2

9
SON
1

Ret
SON
2

9
16th 14
2013 Super Nova International MNZ
1
MNZ
2
MAR
1
MAR
2
HUN
1

11
HUN
2

11
SIL
1

Ret
SIL
2

13
22nd 0
Ibiza Racing Team MUG
1

Ret
MUG
2

13
NÜR
1
NÜR
2
DON
1
DON
2
BRN
1

13
BRN
2

14
2014 Ibiza Racing MAR
1

9†
MAR
2

9†
LEC
1
LEC
2
HUN
1
HUN
2
13th 31
Super Nova International MNZ
1

6
MNZ
2

10
IMO
1

6
IMO
2

10
RBR
1
RBR
2
NÜR
1

8
NÜR
2

10
EST
1

Ret
EST
2

7

† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete European Le Mans Series results

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(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
2019 BHK Motorsport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC
16
MNZ
15
CAT
11
SIL
10
SPA
11
ALG
10
24th 4
2020 BHK Motorsport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC
Ret
SPA
Ret
LEC
14
MNZ
13
ALG
13
26th 1.5
2021 BHK Motorsport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT
13
RBR
15
LEC
11
MNZ
18
SPA
9
ALG
9
27th 6
2022 BHK Motorsport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC
WD
IMO
16
MNZ
14
CAT
15
SPA
13
ALG
12
26th 0

References

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  1. ^ Elizalde, Pablo (3 August 2010). "Conquest signs Italian Dracone". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  2. ^ "Francesco Dracone collides with pit worker Todd Phillips in IndyCar". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  3. ^ "Francesco Dracone – 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  4. ^ "Francesco Dracone – 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
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