20.9.2005
An outstanding sportsman says "good-bye"

Opel DTM driver Laurent Aiello has announced that he will retire from motor sport at the end of the 2005 season. “I have decided to end my career. I have received so much reward in motor racing, but now I’m tired of competition,” the Frenchman explains.

“Over the last 25 years, Laurent has established a track record that would be every racing driver’s dream," says Opel’s motor sport director Volker Strycek. “We thank him very much for his commitment to Opel and his good teamwork in the past two years. Especially in Germany, where Laurent has been competing for the major part of his professional career, he will be remembered by motor sport fans as a fair sportsman and a fighter.”

Aiello won his first motor racing title in karting in France in 1983 at the age of 14. In 1988, he competed in the karting world championship and then stepped up to race in French Formula 3. Since 1992, his career has been marked by a unique spell of success: in every championship in which he competed, he did not only win races, but also various championship titles:

• French Formula 3000 Championship in 1992
• French Super Touring Championship in 1994
• German Super Touring Car Cup in 1997
• 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998
• British Touring Car Championship in 1999

Since the revival of the German touring car series (DTM) in 2000, he has competed in this championship. To date, he has won seven races and in 2002 he won the title racing for Audi. For the past two seasons, Laurent has been racing in a Vectra GTS V8.

Off the race track, the 36-year old father of a daughter and a son is a passionate jet-skier and a music fan. Even in the DTM, Aiello frequently acted as a DJ at parties.