Nicolás Varrone

Nicolás Varrone
Varrone in 2023
Nationality	Argentine
Born	(2000-11-06) 6 November 2000 (age 24) Ingeniero Maschwitz, Buenos Aires, Argentina
FIA World Endurance Championship career
Racing licence	FIA Gold
Car number	33
Starts	2
Wins	1
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0

Nicolás Martín "Nico" Varrone^[1] (born 6 November 2000) is an Argentine racing driver. He is the 2023 WEC champion in the LMGTE Am class, having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the category with Corvette Racing.^[2] Varrone has also won the race in the LMP2 Pro-Am subclass with AF Corse in 2024.^[3]

Early career

Having competed in karting, Varrone made his car racing debut in the national Formula Renault category at the end of 2016. He remained in the series the following year and ended up 20th in the standings.

A move to Europe followed in 2018, as Varrone joined the V de V Challenge Monoplace, first driving for Inter Europol Competition before switching to TS Corse. The Argentine dominated, taking six wins from 14 races and claiming the title. This made him the final champion of the series' history.

In a 2019 season plagued by monetary concerns, Varrone took part in three rounds of the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Hillspeed, where he was able to win the reversed-grid race at Spa-Francorchamps.^[4] As a consequence, the youngster signed for Chris Dittmann Racing for the 2020 season.^[5][6] However, plans of running the entire season were scuppered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that Varrone was forced to abandon his season after the opening pair of events.

Sportscar career

After being forced to stop his British F3 campaign, Varrone returned home to Buenos Aires, thinking that he would have to abandon his racing career to work in the family business. However, manager Jose Balbiani managed to connect Varrone to Rinaldi Racing owner Michele Rinaldi, giving Varrone the chance to test an LMP3 car and subsequently partake in the final round of that year's Le Mans Cup.^[7]

In 2021, Rinaldi paired Varrone with Alexander Matschull for the entire Le Mans Cup season, where three podiums earned the duo third place overall.^[8]

Varrone driving the No. 17 Duqueine M30 - D08 at the 2023 6 Hours of The Glen

In 2022, Varrone made his debut at the IMSA SportsCar Championship where he entered the Six Hours of The Glen in the LMP3 category.^[9] He then signed with the Canadian racing team AWA for the 2023 season.^[10]

In January 2023, Varrone signed for Corvette Racing to contest the LMGTE Am class of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship, driving a Chevrolet Corvette C8.R alongside Nicky Catsburg and Ben Keating. ^[11][12] He and his team had a successful year, not only winning their 24 Hours of Le Mans category but also their whole World Endurance Championship category.^[13] The campaign contained three race wins, as well as a fastest lap set by Varrone at Le Mans. As a result, Varrone was upgraded to the FIA Gold ranking ahead of 2024.^[14]

Ahead of the 2024 season, the Argentinian became a Corvette factory driver in lieu of a campaign in the GTD class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship.^[15][16] However, after retiring from the opening two races of the campaign due to car issues, Varrone's team, AWA racing, and his teammate Anthony Mantella decided to withdraw from the series.^[17][18] Varrone would soon find another drive, joining reigning 24 Hours of Nürburgring winners Frikadelli Racing for the 2024 event together with Luca Ludwig, Daniel Keilwitz, and Felipe Fernández Laser.^[19]

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2016	Fórmula Renault 2.0 Argentina	MS Racing Car	4	0	0	0	0	15	27th
2017	Fórmula Renault 2.0 Argentina	MS Racing	24	0	0	0	0	103	20th
2018	V de V Challenge Monoplace	Inter Europol Competition	4	1	3	2	3	546	1st
		TS Corse	10	5	10	6	8
	Fórmula Renault 2.0 Argentina	MS Racing	14	0	0	0	0	107	18th
	TC2000 Championship	Riva Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
2019	Porsche GT3 Cup Trophy Argentina		?	?	?	?	?	14	9th
	BRDC British Formula 3 Championship	Hillspeed	9	1	0	0	2	109	17th
2020	International GT Open	Team Lazarus	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Le Mans Cup - LMP3	Rinaldi Racing	1	0	0	0	0	10	24th
	BRDC British Formula 3 Championship	Chris Dittmann Racing	7	0	0	0	0	58	20th
2021	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup	Rinaldi Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Le Mans Cup - LMP3		7	0	0	2	3	68	3rd
2022	European Le Mans Series - LMGTE	Rinaldi Racing	6	1	1	0	1	39	11th
	IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP3	FastMD Racing	1	0	1	0	0	315	29th
	24H GT Series - GT3	Wochenspiegel Team Monschau	1	1	0	1	1	0	NC
	24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am	Iron Lynx	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	17th
	Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - VT3	Team Mathol Racing e.V.	3	2	2	2	2	0	NC†
	Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - VT2-FWD		1	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
2023	Asian Le Mans Series - LMP3	WTM by Rinaldi Racing	4	0	4	1	1	31	5th
	FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am	Corvette Racing	7	3	0	1	5	173	1st
	24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am		1	1	1	1	1	N/A	1st
	IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP3	AWA	4	1	0	0	2	882	13th
	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup	AF Corse	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2024	IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD	AWA	2	0	0	0	0	251	56th
	IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2	DragonSpeed	1	0	0	1	0	230	54th
	Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9	Frikadelli Racing Team	1	0	0	0	0	*	*
	24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9		1	0	0	1	0	N/A	12th
	European Le Mans Series - LMGT3	AF Corse	5	0	0	1	1	43	12th
2024-25	Asian Le Mans Series - GT	AF Corse
Source:[20]

† As he was a guest driver, Varrone was ineligible to score points.

Complete BRDC British Formula 3 Championship results

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

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	Pos	Points
2019	Hillspeed	OUL 1	OUL 2	OUL 3	SNE 1	SNE 2	SNE 3	SIL1 1 17	SIL1 2 4	SIL1 3 14	DON1 1	DON1 2	DON1 3	SPA 1 11	SPA 2 1^7	SPA 3 8	BRH 1	BRH 2	BRH 3	SIL2 1 13	SIL2 2 2^2	SIL2 3 13	DON2 1	DON2 2	DON2 3	17th	109
2020	Chris Dittmann Racing	OUL 1 9	OUL 2 5^1	OUL 3 Ret	OUL 4 Ret	DON1 1 Ret	DON1 2 11^8	DON1 3 4	BRH 1	BRH 2	BRH 3	BRH 4	DON2 1	DON2 2	DON2 3	SNE 1	SNE 2	SNE 3	SNE 4	DON3 1	DON3 2	DON3 3	SIL 1	SIL 2	SIL 3	20th	58

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2022	Iron Lynx	Pierre Ehret Christian Hook	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	GTE Am	324	53rd	17th
2023	Corvette Racing	Nicky Catsburg Ben Keating	Chevrolet Corvette C8.R	GTE Am	313	26th	1st
2024	AF Corse	Ben Barnicoat François Perrodo	Oreca 07-Gibson	LMP2	297	18th	4th
				LMP2 Pro-Am			1st
Sources:[21][22]

Complete European Le Mans Series results

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	Rank	Points
2022	Rinaldi Racing	LMGTE	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8	LEC 1	IMO Ret	MNZ 6	CAT 9	SPA 10	ALG 9	11th	39
2024	AF Corse	LMGT3	Ferrari 296 GT3	Ferrari F163 3.0 L Turbo V6	CAT	LEC 6	IMO 6	SPA 3	MUG 4	ALG Ret	12th	43
Source:[21]

^* Season still in progress.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Rank	Pts
2023	Corvette Racing	LMGTE Am	Chevrolet Corvette C8.R	Chevrolet 5.5 L V8	SEB 1	PRT 1	SPA 2	LMS 1	MNZ 4	FUJ 2	BHR 7	1st	173
Sources:[21][23]

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

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

Year	Team	Class	Make	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pos.	Points	Ref
2022	FastMD Racing	LMP3	Ligier JS P320	Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8	DAY	SEB	MDO	WGL 4	MOS	ELK	PET				29rd	315	[24]
2023	AWA	LMP3	Duqueine M30 – D08	Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8	DAY 1	SEB 4	WGL 3	MOS	ELK	IMS	PET 6				13th	882	[25]
2024	AWA	GTD	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	Chevrolet LT6 5.5 L V8	DAY 18	SEB 22	LBH	LGA	WGL	MOS	ELK	VIR	IMS	PET	56th	251	[26]
Source:[21]

References

1. "Pilote des 24 heures du Mans : Nicolás Martín Varrone". www.24h-en-piste.com (in French). Retrieved 15 June 2023.
2. says, Steve Vest (2023-06-11). "Corvette Racing take GTE-Am victory at Le Mans". Motorsport Week. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
3. "Ferrari goes back to back with No. 50 victorious at Le Mans". RACER. 2024-06-16. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
4. Hine, Nathan (2019-09-18). "REVIEW: 2019 BRDC British Formula 3 Round eight Donington Park – consistent Clement Novalak clinches title after clash with Hoggard". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
5. Wood, Ida (2020-03-05). "Nico Varrone make full-time move to BRDC British F3 with Chris Dittmann Racing". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
6. Taylor, Lauren (2020-03-09). "Chris Dittmann Racing confirm Nicolás Varrone for 2020 BRDC British F3 Championship". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
7. "From Covid Disruption To Corvette Glory: Varonne's Journey To The Centenary Le Mans | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
8. "LMC". www.lemanscup.com. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
9. Dagys, John (June 15, 2022). "49 Entries for 6H Watkins Glen". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
10. Dagys, John (December 21, 2022). "AWA Confirms Lineup for Two-Car LMP3 Effort for Daytona". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
11. Thukral, Rachit (14 January 2023). "Varrone completa la alineación de Corvette en el WEC GTE Am 2023". lat.motorsport.com. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
12. "Corvette Racing Rounds Out FIA WEC Lineup in No. 33 C8.R". en.endurance-info.com. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
13. "Dempsey Proton win LMGTE Am in Monza as Corvette crowned champions". www.fiawec.com. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
14. "Iron Dames drivers see classification changes in latest FIA driver rankings". Motorsport Week. 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
15. Staff, Sportscar365 (2023-11-13). "Juncadella, Bamber Among Corvette Factory Driver Additions – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
16. Euwema, Davey (2023-11-24). "Varrone: AWA Pro Role "Doesn't Change Anything" – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
17. "AWA Scales Back To Single Car For Rest Of 2024". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
18. "AWA down to one Corvette after Mantella departs". Motorsport Week. 2024-03-26. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
19. "Frikadelli-Ferrari mit drei neuen Fahrern bei 24h Nürburgring". Motorsport-Total.com (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-05.
20. "Nicolás Varrone | Racing career profile | Driver Database". Driver Database. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
21. "Nicolás Varrone Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
22. "Nicolas Varrone". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
23. "Nicolas Varrone". FIA World Endurance Championship. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
24. "Nicolás Varrone – 2022 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
25. "Nicolás Varrone – 2023 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
26. "Nicolás Varrone – 2024 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 23 May 2024.

External links

• Nicolás Varrone career summary at DriverDB.com