Zachary Claman DeMelo

Zachary Claman DeMelo (born April 20, 1998) is a Canadian professional race car driver from Montreal, Quebec. He has competed in Formula Renault 2.0, the IndyCar Series and other open-wheel series, most recently competing for Belardi Auto Racing in Indy Lights in 2019.

Zachary Claman DeMelo
Nationality	Canadian
Born	(1998-04-20) April 20, 1998 (age 25) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Indy Lights career
Debut season	2016
Racing licence	FIA Silver
Former teams	Juncos Racing Carlin Motorsport Belardi Auto Racing
Starts	38
Wins	2
Poles	1
Fastest laps	6
Best finish	5th in 2017
Previous series
2017-2018 2015 2014	IndyCar Series MotorSport Vision Formula Three Cup Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup

Racing career

Karting and lower formula

 

Claman DeMelo driving a Formula Renault 2.0 at Monza.

Claman DeMelo began competing in various regional and national karting events in 2008. In 2010, at the age of 12, he clinched his first Canadian National Karting Championship as well as his first Eastern Canadian Karting Championship. By the age of 16, he had won 3 Canadian National Karting Championships, 5 consecutive Eastern Canadian National Championships, and earned a 3rd-place finish at the Rotax Karting World Championships.^[1] Claman DeMelo made his car racing debut in the 2014–15 Formula Skip Barber winter series, where he won two of the four races.

In 2015, Claman DeMelo moved to Europe and participated in a handful of races in several Formula Renault 2.0 series, including Formula Renault 2.0 NEC, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, and Formula Renault 2.0 Alps. From there, he moved on to the Invitational class of the MSV F3 Cup, where he claimed a win in all 8 races he drove in.^[2]

Indy Lights

In 2016, he entered Indy Lights as the youngest driver on the grid (at 17 years old) with defending championship team Juncos Racing.^[3] In his rookie campaign, Claman DeMelo put up 9 finishes in the top 10 and 3 finishes in the top 5.^[4] In 2017, Claman DeMelo raced for the 2016 defending championship team, Carlin Motorsport.^[5] He captured his first series win at Road America and captured a pair of podium finishes in Toronto. He finished fifth in points, just four points behind teammate Matheus Leist in fourth.

Unable to secure a full-time ride in the NTT IndyCar Series, Claman DeMelo chose to return to Indy Lights for the 2019 season, this time with Belardi Auto Racing.^[6] After winning the season-opening round at St. Petersburg, the season went south for the team, and budget issues ended Claman DeMelo's season before the Freedom 100.^[7]

 

Claman DeMelo driving for Dale Coyne Racing at the 2018 Indianapolis 500

IndyCar Series

In July 2016, Claman DeMelo participated in an IndyCar Series test with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.^[8] He made his IndyCar debut in the 2017 season finale at Sonoma Raceway with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.^[9]

In February 2018, Claman DeMelo was named a part-time driver of the No. 19 Paysafe Honda for Dale Coyne Racing in the 2018 IndyCar Series.^[10]

Personal life

One of Claman DeMelo's grandmothers spent time in a Nazi concentration camp. She was freed on a Friday the 13th, and the tattoo numbers added up to 13. He has used number 13 on his racecars during most of his career.^[11]

In 2016, Claman DeMelo and his sister launched a shoe brand called ZCD Montreal.

Racing record

American open-wheel racing results

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Rank	Points
2016	Juncos Racing	STP 11	STP 16	PHX 11	ALA 5	ALA 7	IMS 13	IMS 14	INDY 13	RDA 5	RDA 4	IOW 8	TOR 13	TOR 13	MDO 7	MDO 7	WGL 9	LAG 12	LAG 7	9th	199
2017	Carlin	STP 8	STP 7	ALA 5	ALA 14	IMS 2	IMS 11	INDY 6	RDA 10	RDA 1	IOW 6	TOR 2	TOR 3	MDO 5	MDO 4	GMP 6	WGL 6			5th	274
2019	Belardi Auto Racing	STP 1	STP 2	COA 7	COA 10	IMS 5	IMS 2	INDY	RDA	RDA	TOR	TOR	MDO	MDO	GTW	POR	POR	LAG	LAG	10th	124

IndyCar Series

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
2017	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Dallara DW12	13	Honda	STP	LBH	ALA	PHX	IMS	INDY	DET	DET	TXS	ROA	IOW	TOR	MDO	POC	GTW	WGL	SNM 17	31st	26	^[12]
2018	Dale Coyne Racing		19		STP 17	PHX	LBH 23	ALA 19	IMS 12	INDY 19	DET	DET	TXS 17	ROA 21	IOW 18	TOR 14	MDO	POC	GTW	POR	SNM	23rd	122	^[13]

* Season still in progress.

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2018	Dallara	Honda	13	19	Dale Coyne Racing

References

1. Schindel, Cody. RMCGF Team Canada Driver Preview: Zachary Claman DeMelo, Canadian Karting News, November 9, 2014, Retrieved 2015-12-15
2. . infinity management. 18 August 2015. Archived from the original on 25 February 2017.
3. "Canadian Zachary Claman DeMelo joins Juncos Racing for 2016 Indy Lights campaign". Juncos Racing. December 15, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
4. "2016 Indy Lights Series Year in Review: Zachary Claman De Melo – POPULAR SPEED". popularspeed.com. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
5. "Carlin adds Claman De Melo to Indy Lights lineup". NBC sports. February 6, 2017.
6. "Zachary Claman Demelo will return to race full-time in Indy Lights in 2019". NBC sports. December 11, 2018.
7. Wood, Elliot (20 May 2019). "Zachary Claman DeMelo to miss rest of Indy Lights season". Formula Scout. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
8. Barnes, Joey (July 22, 2016). "Schmidt Peterson Duo Experience It All at Mid-Ohio Test". Indycar.com. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
9. . Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. September 6, 2017. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
10. Malsher, David (2018-02-07). "De Melo confirmed at Coyne with Paysafe sponsorship". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
11. Sonoma notes: No. 13 carries special meaning for Claman DeMelo - IndyCar Series, 16 September 2017
12. "Zachary Clamen DeMelo – 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
13. "Zachary Clamen DeMelo – 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.

External links

• Zachary Claman DeMelo career summary at DriverDB.com