Dani Clos

Dani Clos is a Spanish racing driver who raced a lot in different single-seater competitions, including being a test driver for the HRT F1 Team in 2012, but he never started a race in the world's premier racing championship. He spent five seasons in the GP2 Series between 2009 and 2013.

Dani Clos

Karting champion in his debut season

Born in October 1988 in Barcelona, Daniel Clos Alvarez started a racing career in 1991, entering karting competitions in Catalan district and immediately becoming a champion. He won numerous races and titles in the following years, stepping up to car racing in 2004.

His first competition was the Spanish Formula Junior 1600, in which he finished in the fourth place. In 2005, he moved to Formula Renault 2.0, participating in the Italian championship and in the Eurocup.

In 2006m Clos was the Formula Renault champion with Jenzer Motorsport

Italian Formula Renault champion in 2006

Scoring no wins or podium in his first Formula Renault season, Clos joined Jenzer Motorsport in 2006. He continued to participate both in the Eurocup and Italian championship, scoring eleven victories in total.

He was a race winner eight times in the Italian Formula Renault, taking a championship title ahead of Adrian Zaugg. In the Eurocup, Clos has won three times to finish 7th in the points.

Two seasons in the Formula 3 Euro Series

The next step on the single-seater racing ladder was the Formula 3 Euroseries in 2007. He was driving a Dallara-Mercedes for Signature Plus team, not scoring wins or podiums in twenty races. He finished 12th in the final standings.

For the 2008 F3 Euroseries season, Clos joined Prema Powerteam. He improved his results, scoring two podiums, but in the overall standings, he was 14th.

Dani Clos in 2009

GP2 Series debut in 2009

In 2009, Dani Clos progressed to the GP Series, joining Racing Engineering to drive the #8 Dallara-Renault. He scored his first points and a podium in the final race of the season, finishing third at the Autodromo Algarve. In the off-season, Clos contested in two rounds of the GP2 Asia Series for Trident Racing.

In 2009, Clos also participated in two rounds of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, replacing Adrian Valles in the Epsilon Euskadi team.

Best GP2 season in 2010

For the 2010 GP2 Series season, Clos stayed with Racing Engineering. It turned to be his best of all GP2 seasons. He became a regular podium contender, finishing on a podium five times, including a victory in the sprint race at Istanbul Park.

It remained his only GP2 victory in a career. At the end of the season, he was fourth in the points, behind Pastor Maldonado, Sergio Perez and Jules Bianchi.

Dani Clos in 2010

Third season with Racing Engineering

Clos didn't change a team for the 2011 GP2 Series season, continuing to drive the #7 car for Racing Engineering. He scored two podiums, finishing second at Circuit de Catalunya and at Silverstone. At the end of the season, he was 9th in the points. The team also contested GP2 Asia Series, where Clos participated in four races and scored a victory at Imola.

In November 2011, Clos participated in Abu Dhabi young drivers' test, driving for HRT F1 Team. It wasn't his first experience with an F1 car as he had an opportunity to try Williams F1 Team's car back in 2008.

Dani Clos (right) with HRT teammate Pedro de la Rosa

HRT F1 Team's test driver in 2012

In February 2012, Dani Clos was announced as the HRT F1 Team's test driver. He made his debut in the fifth round, the Spanish Grand Prix in May.

Later in the season, he participated in five more Grand Prix weekends – British GP, German GP, Hungarian GP, Belgian GP and Korean GP. HRT's main drivers were Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan, Clos never gets a chance to drive in the race.

Two half-seasons in the GP2 Series

While working as HRT's test driver, Clos joined Barwa Addax team in four races of the 2012 GP2 Series season, replacing Josef Kral.  After four races, Kral returned to the team.

In 2013 GP2 Series season, Clos joined MP Motorsport in the seventh round and stayed with the team for four more rounds until the end of the season. His best result was the second place in the very last race of the season at Yas Marina Circuit.

Dani Clos in 2017

Occasional racing and announcement of the Electric GT Championship

After leaving Formula 1, Clos never again participated full season in some competition. In 2014, he appeared in one round of the Formula Acceleration 1 (FA1) series, driving for UK Team at season's finale at Circuit Assen. He finished second in the second race, behind champion Nigel Melker. In the same year, he worked as a mentor of the Iberian team in the Nissan Playstation GT Academy.

In 2016, Clos appeared in the Spanish Endurance Championship and then, in 2017, in the North American Pirelli World Challenge, where he scored two podiums. He also announced a participation in the inaugural season of the Electric GT Championship, which is still under preparation.

Photos: Dani Clos FB, speedsport-magazine.com,