Chris Clearihan
| Chris Clearihan | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Australian |
| Full name | Christopher Alfred Clearihan |
| Born | 10 September 1949 (age 75) Griffith, NSW, Australia |
| Previous series | |
| 1982 1982-88 1984 1987 1992 1993 2003-05 | Australian Formula Ford Australian Sports Car Championship ATCC WTCC Australian Drivers' Championship Indonesian Grand Prix Aussie Racing Cars |
| Championship titles | |
| 1982, 1985 | Australian Sports Car Championship |
Christopher Alfred Clearihan (born 10 September 1949) is an Australian motor racing driver and Air Race pilot.
Motor racing
[edit]Clearihan's first race car was the Canon Bolwell Nagari. It was with this car, previously operated by Terry Spooner, that he showed up at Oran Park, Toby-Lee Series in 1972. With an audience of 20,000 people, Clearihan claimed his first win. He then continued to win production sports car races in the Nagari, establishing a name for himself. Clearihan then bought a Formula Ford open-wheeled Elfin and proceeded to win the TAA Driver to Europe Formula Ford race in rainy conditions at Surfers Paradise.
Clearihan won two Australian Sports Car Championships in 1982, and 1985 (while finishing 2nd in 1984 and 3rd in 1983, 1986 and 1988), in addition to various state titles, the Pie Series and Scratch Races at Amaroo Park in Sydney. Finished in the top 10 in the Bathurst 1000, and eighth in the 1988 Indonesian Grand Prix. He competed consistently between 1986–92. After purchasing the Tony Edmondson Alfa Romeo Alfetta-Chevrolet Sports Sedan, Clearihan spent the next 10 years breaking all lap records.[1]
At the 1984 Castrol 500 touring car race at the Sandown Raceway in Melbourne, Clearihan, who was to have co-driven with David Grose in a Mazda RX-7, was excluded from the meeting after qualifying following an altercation in the pits with Allan Moffat. Moffat (also driving an RX-7) and Clearihan had tangled out on the circuit with a confrontation following in the pits. After Clearihan's exclusion, the 1983 Sports Car Champion Peter Hopwood who was driving in the final round of the 1984 Australian Drivers' Championship at the meeting, was given permission to take his place in the RX-7. Moffat went on to take second place in the 500.
He won the 2008 Wakefield 300.[2]
Aircraft
[edit]Developing an interest in aircraft in 1992, Chris Clearihan switched to flying in search of a new challenge. In 1992 and 1994 he won the Twin Engine Pylon Air Race, coming second in 1993 while still racing cars. In 1998 Clearihan won the Around Australia Air Race and continued to win other twin-engine races.
More recently he has worked on developing an airstrip in Michelago, New South Wales.[3]
Career results
[edit]| Season | Series | Position | Car | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Australian Sports Car Championship | 1st | Kaditcha Chevrolet | Chris Clearihan |
| 1982 | Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series | 10th | Bowin P4 | Chris Clearihan |
| 1983 | Australian Sports Car Championship | 3rd | Kaditcha Chevrolet | Canberra Sports Car Club |
| 1984 | Australian Sports Car Championship | 2nd | Kaditcha Chevrolet | Steve Webb |
| 1984 | Australian Touring Car Championship | 16th | Mazda RX-7 | Chris Clearihan |
| 1985 | Australian Sports Car Championship | 1st | Kaditcha Chevrolet | Chris Clearihan |
| 1986 | Australian Sports Car Championship | 3rd | JWS Kaditcha Chevrolet | Chris Clearihan |
| 1986 | Australian Endurance Championship | 46th | Toyota Corolla Holden VK Commodore SS Group A |
Toyota Team Australia Fred Geissler |
| 1988 | Australian Sports Car Championship | 3rd | Kaditcha Chevrolet | Chris Clearihan |
| 2004 | Aussie Racing Car Super Series | 25th | Falcon-Yamaha | Chris Clearihan Racing |
| 2005 | Aussie Racing Car Super Series | 50th | Falcon-Yamaha | Chris Clearihan Racing |
| 2006 | ARMS Thunder Sports Series | 3rd | Future Racer-Yamaha | |
| 2007 | Thunder Sports Series | 7th | Future Racer-Yamaha | |
| 2009 | Australian Rocket Sports Championship | 11th | Future Racer-Yamaha | |
| 2011 | Miniature Race Cars Championship | 6th | Future Racer-Yamaha |
Complete World Touring Car Championship results
[edit](key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Peter Williamson Toyota | Toyota Celica Supra | MNZ | JAR | DIJ | NUR | SPA | BNO | SIL | BAT DNQ |
CLD |
WEL | FJI | NC | 0 |
References
[edit]- ^ Griffith, Chris Clearihan Nazionalità australiano Nome e cognome Christopher Alfred Clearihan Nato 10 settembre 194972); NSW; campionato 1982, Australia Serie precedenti 1982 1982-88 1984 1987 1992 1993 2003-05 Australian Formula Ford Campionato australiano di auto sportive ATCC WTCC Campionato australiano piloti Gran Premio d'Indonesia Aussie Racing Cars Titoli di; sportive, 1985 Campionato australiano di auto. "Chris Clearihan - Wikipedia". www.no-regime.com (in Italian). Retrieved 5 April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "2011 WAKEFIELD 300 FAST APPROACHING". Wakefield Park Raceway website. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ Gocher, Keva. "Michelago airstrip proposal". Australian Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
External links
[edit]- Chris Clearihan career summary at DriverDB.com