Eric Francis Edouard Ghislain Thérèse van de Poele (; born 30 September 1961) is a Belgian racing driver and former Formula One driver. He participated in 29 Grands Prix, in 1991 and 1992. He is a three-times class winner at 24 Hours of Le Mans, and won three Formula 3000 races in 1990. Before his Formula One career, he won the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft.
Driving career
After a difficult 1984 season in French Formula Three, van de Poele then won the Belgian and Benelux Formula Ford titles, also racing in the Belgian Touring Car Championship. He subsequently raced in German Touring Cars Championships, winning the 1987 championship despite not winning a race all season. He also won the 1987 Spa 24 Hours, sharing a car with Didier Theys and Jean-Michel Martin. In 2008, van de Poele competed in the Rolex Sports Car Series.
Racing record
Complete German Formula Three results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Engine
! Class
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! DC
! Pts
! Ref
|-
| 1987
! nowrap| Hartge Motorsport
! VW
! A
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| NÜR<br>
|style="background:#FFFFFF;"| AVU<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| ZOL<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| HOC<br>
| ÖST
| SIE
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| NÜR<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| NÜR<br>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| ZOL<br>
! 11th
! 29
!
|}
Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%;"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Car
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! 17
! 18
! 19
! 20
! 21
! 22
! 23
! 24
!
! Pts
|-
| 1987
! nowrap| Zakspeed BMW Team
! nowrap| BMW M3
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| HOC<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| ZOL<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| NÜR<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| AVU<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MFA<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| NOR<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| NÜR<br />
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| WUN<br />
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| DIE<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SAL<br />
|colspan=14|
!style="background:#FBFFBF;"| 1st
!style="background:#FBFFBF;"| 127
|-
| 1988
! nowrap| BMW M Team Linder
! nowrap| BMW M3 Evo
| ZOL<br>1
| ZOL<br>2
| HOC<br>1
| HOC<br>2
| NÜR<br>1
| NÜR<br>2
| BRN<br>1
| BRN<br>2
| AVU<br>1
| AVU<br>2
| MFA<br>1
| MFA<br>2
| NÜR<br>1
| NÜR<br>2
| NOR<br>1
| NOR<br>2
| WUN<br>1
| WUN<br>2
| SAL<br>1
| SAL<br>2
| HUN<br>1
| HUN<br>2
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| HOC<br>1<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| HOC<br>2<br />
! 34th
! 13
|-
| 1989
! nowrap| BMW Faltz Essen
! nowrap| BMW M3 Evo
| ZOL<br>1
| ZOL<br>2
| HOC<br>1
| HOC<br>2
| NÜR<br>1
| NÜR<br>2
| MFA<br>1
| MFA<br>2
| AVU<br>1
| AVU<br>2
| NÜR<br>1
| NÜR<br>2
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| NOR<br>1<br />
|style="background:#FFFFFF;"| NOR<br>2<br />
| HOC<br>1
| HOC<br>2
| DIE<br>1
| DIE<br>2
| NÜR<br>1
| NÜR<br>2
| HOC<br>1
| HOC<br>2
|colspan=2|
! 39th
! 4
|-
| 1990
! nowrap| BMW M Team Schnitzer
! nowrap| BMW M3 Sport Evo
| ZOL<br>1
| ZOL<br>2
| HOC<br>1
| HOC<br>2
| NÜR<br>1
| NÜR<br>2
| AVU<br>1
| AVU<br>2
| MFA<br>1
| MFA<br>2
| WUN<br>1
| WUN<br>2
| NÜR<br>1
| NÜR<br>2
| NOR<br>1
| NOR<br>2
| DIE<br>1
| DIE<br>2
| NÜR<br>1
| NÜR<br>2
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| HOC<br>1<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| HOC<br>2<br />
|colspan=2|
! 32nd
! 1
|-
!colspan="29"|
|}
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
!
! Pts
|-
| 1989
! nowrap| Players/GA Motorsports/Colt Racing
! nowrap| Lola T89/50
! Cosworth
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SIL<br>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| VAL<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PAU<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| JER<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PER<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| BRH<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BIR<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SPA<br>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| BUG<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DIJ<br>
|
! 5th
! 19
|-
| 1990
! nowrap| GA Motorsport
! nowrap| Reynard 90D
! Cosworth
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DON<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SIL<br>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| PAU<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| JER<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MNZ<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PER<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| HOC<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| BRH<br>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| BIR<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BUG<br>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| NOG<br>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 2nd
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 30
|-
!colspan="17"|
|}
† Driver did not finish the race, but were still classified as they completed 90% of the race distance.
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
! Year
! Team
! Car
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! 17
! 18
! 19
! 20
! 21
!
! Pts
|-
! 1994
! nowrap| Old Spice Nissan Racing
! nowrap| Nissan Primera eGT
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| THR<br>1<br>
|style="background:#FFFFFF;"| BRH<br>1<br>
|style="background:#FFFFFF;"| BRH<br>2<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SNE<br>1<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SIL<br>1<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SIL<br>2<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| OUL<br>1<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DON<br>1<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DON<br>2<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BRH<br>1<br>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BRH<br>2<br>
|style="background:#FFFFFF;"| SIL<br>1<br>
| KNO<br>1
| KNO<br>2
| OUL<br>1
| BRH<br>1
| BRH<br>2
| SIL<br>1
| SIL<br>2
| DON<br>1
| DON<br>2
! 22nd
! 2
|-
!colspan="26"|
|}
Complete Spanish Touring Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
! Year
! Team
! Car
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! 17
! 18
! 19
! 20
! DC
! Pts
|-
| 1995
! nowrap| Team Repsol Nissan
! nowrap| Nissan Primera
|bgcolor="#FFDF9F"|JER<br>1<br /><small>3</small>
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"|JER<br>2<br /><small>Ret</small>
|bgcolor="#DFDFDF"|JAR<br>1<br /><small>2</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|JAR<br>2<br /><small>8</small>
|bgcolor="#DFDFDF"|BAR<br>1<br /><small>2</small>
|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"|BAR<br>2<br /><small>1</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|EST<br>1<br /><small>4</small>
|bgcolor="#DFDFDF"|EST<br>2<br /><small>2</small>
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"|ALB<br>1<br /><small>Ret</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|ALB<br>2<br /><small>5</small>
|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"|CAL<br>1<br /><small>1</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|CAL<br>2<br /><small>4</small>
|bgcolor="#FFDF9F"|ALB<br>1<br /><small>3</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|ALB<br>2<br /><small>10</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|JER<br>1<br /><small>4</small>
|bgcolor="#FFDF9F"|JER<br>2<br /><small>4</small>
|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"|BAR<br>1<br /><small>1</small>
|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"|BAR<br>2<br /><small>1</small>
|JAR<br>1<br /><small>EX</small>
|JAR<br>2<br /><small>EX</small>
|bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| 3rd
|bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| 204
|-
| 1996
! nowrap| Team Repsol Nissan
! nowrap| Nissan Primera
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|JAR<br>1<br /><small>5</small>
|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"|JAR<br>2<br /><small>1</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|ALB<br>1<br /><small>4</small>
|bgcolor="#DFDFDF"|ALB<br>2<br /><small>2</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|BAR<br>1<br /><small>4</small>
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"|BAR<br>2<br /><small>Ret</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|EST<br>1<br /><small>9</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|EST<br>2<br /><small>7</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|CAL<br>1<br /><small>4</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|CAL<br>2<br /><small>8</small>
|bgcolor="#FFDF9F"|JER<br>1<br /><small>3</small>
|bgcolor="#DFDFDF"|JER<br>2<br /><small>2</small>
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"|JAR<br>1<br /><small>Ret</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|JAR<br>2<br /><small>8</small>
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|BAR<br>1<br /><small>7</small>
|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"|BAR<br>2<br /><small>1</small>
|colspan=4|
! 5th
! 139
|-
!colspan="25"|
|}
24 Hours of Nürburgring results
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Co-Drivers
! Car
! Class
! Laps
!
!
|-
! 1987
|align="left" nowrap| Zakspeed BMW-Team
|align="left" nowrap| Marc Hessel<br> Karl Senne<br>
|align="left" nowrap| BMW M3
| 8
| 119
| 19th
| 5th
|-
! 1988
|align="left" nowrap| BMW Motorsport GmbH
|align="left" nowrap| Marc Duez<br> Eddy Joosen<br>
|align="left" nowrap| BMW M3
| 9
| 40
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! 1989
|align="left" nowrap| BMW Fina
|align="left" nowrap| Marc Duez<br> Jean-Michel Martin<br>
|align="left" nowrap| BMW M3
| 2
| 70
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! 2006
|align="left" nowrap| Maserati SPA
|align="left" nowrap| Andrea Bertolini<br> Michael Bartels<br> Gianni Giudici
|align="left" nowrap| Maserati Gransport Light GT3
| E1XP
| 26
| DNF
| DNF
|-
|}
24 Hours of Zolder results
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Co-Drivers
! Car
! Class
! Laps
!
!
|-
! 2007
|align="left" nowrap| Gravity International Racing
|align="left" nowrap| Christophe Bouchut<br> Stéphane Lémeret<br> Vincent Radermecker
|align="left" nowrap| Mosler MT900 R GT3
| 1
|
| DNF
| DNF
|-
|}
Complete Grand Prix Masters results
(key) Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
|-
| 2006
! nowrap| Team Golden Palace
! nowrap| Delta Motorsport GPM
! nowrap| Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8
|style="background:#ffdf9f;"| QAT<br />
|style="background:#ffffff;"| ITA<br />
|style="background:#dfdfdf;"| GBR<br />
|style="background:#ffffff;"| MAL<br />
|style="background:#ffffff;"| RSA<br />
|-
!colspan="9"|