Nathalie Maillet (11 May 1970 – 15 August 2021) was a French-Luxembourgish architect, promoter, and racing driver. She previously competed in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and was the former CEO of Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for five years before her passing in 2021.
| Nathalie Maillet | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Luxembourgish |
| Born | 11 May 1970 Verdun, France |
| Died | 15 August 2021 (aged 51) Gouvy, Belgium |
| NASCAR Whelen Euro Series career | |
| Debut season | 2012 |
| Former teams | Racing Club Partners, RCP / Marc VDS |
| Starts | 22 (ENPRO), 10 (EN2) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 12th in 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Finished last season | 12th in 2014 |
Biography
editMaillet was born on 11 May 1970 in Verdun into a family immersed in automotive sport. Her father was a driver and her uncles directed a racing circuit.[1] She married Franz Dubois, also a racecar driver.[2][3][4]
Maillet earned a degree in architecture from the University of East London[5] before starting a career in which she specialized in eco-architecture.[1] In 2000, she founded Churchill-Hui International, based in Luxembourg.[5]
In 2004, at the age of 33, Maillet became a racing driver.[1] She participated in a number of events, such as the 25 Heures VW Fun Cup in 2006.[6][7] Maillet competed in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series championship for three seasons under a Luxembourgish racing license, driving for the Racing Club Partners team that she and Dubois owned. She competed in the top Elite 1 class (now known as EuroNASCAR PRO) for two seasons before she stepped down to the Elite 2 class (now EuroNASCAR 2) in 2014 following her team's merger with Marc VDS Racing Team. In the Elite 1 class, she scored a best finish of 8th on the first race at Spa-Francorchamps in 2012 while she scored a best finish of 6th in Elite 2, which she achieved twice in both Nürburgring and Circuit Bugatti. She scored a best championship finish of 12th, a feat she achieved in all three seasons that she competed.[8][9][10] Maillet retired from racing at the conclusion of the 2014 season and she began to take up promoter duties. She played a role in organizing and promoting the American Festival Finals at Circuit Zolder, which was added to the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series calendar in 2015 and is still part of the Euro Series calendar as of the 2022 season.[11]
In June 2016, she became Director of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, succeeding Pierre-Alain Thibaut. She took office on 1 July of that year.[12][13] Under Maillet's watch, Spa-Francorchamps began hosting the FIA World Rallycross Championship in 2019.[14] Maillet also unveiled an €80 million dollar renovation project to the circuit that started its work in October 2020. The upgrade would see gravel traps being placed at La Source, Raidillon, Blanchimont, Les Combes and Stavelot and expansion of the runoff on corners such as Raidillon as part of Spa-Francorchamps' plan to host motorcycle races again. The upgrade will also include a grandstand at the top of the Eau Rouge/Raidillon hill and a new, shortened corner with more run-off space is added to the circuit at the Jacky Ickx corner that is due to be used for motorcycle racing purposes.[15]
Death
editOn 15 August 2021, Maillet was found shot dead at her home in Gouvy with her partner, Ann Lawrence Durviaux. The discovery came after she had missed a scheduled showing during that year's Ypres Rally.[16][17] The investigation would reveal that Dubois committed the killings and then committed suicide after calling the police.[18][19]
Legacy
editTributes to Maillet were made within hours after her death was first reported. Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps described Maillet as "the face of the Circuit" and a woman that "embodied the passion for racing that we all share" in their official statement. Frédéric Lequien, CEO of Le Mans Endurance Management, stated that Maillet was "a woman full of energy, ideas and was a great pleasure to work with". NASCAR Whelen Euro Series described her as "a fierce competitor and a wonderful member of the EuroNASCAR family". Automobile Club de l'Ouest, Formula One Group, and websites such as Dailysportscar and Jalopnik also expressed their condolences in the days that followed after her death.[11][20][21]
The upgrades to Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps that Maillet unveiled during her time as the CEO of the track was completed in March 2022, a few months before FIM Endurance World Championship's visit to the track on June. FIM Endurance World Championship would honor her by giving the Nathalie Maillet Challenge trophy to the fastest rider in Qualifying for the 24H Spa EWC Motos, in which Karel Hanika became the inaugural recipient of the trophy.[22]
Motorsports career results
editNASCAR
edit(key) (Bold – Pole position. Italics – Fastest lap. * – Most laps led. ^ – Most positions gained)
Whelen Euro Series - Elite 1
edit| NASCAR Whelen Euro Series - Elite 1 results | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | NWES | Pts | |||
| 2012 | Racing Club Partners | 46 | Chevy | NOG 13 |
NOG 17 |
BRH 19 |
BRH 15 |
SPA 8 |
SPA 21 |
VAL 11 |
VAL 13 |
BUG 14 |
BUG 11 |
12th | 445 | |||||
| 2013 | NOG 16 |
NOG 11 |
12th | 475 | ||||||||||||||||
| Toyota | DIJ 18 |
DIJ 14 |
BRH 18 |
BRH 16 |
TOU 11 |
TOU 13 |
MNZ 16 |
MNZ 14 |
BUG 17 |
BUG 18 | ||||||||||
| 2014 | RCP / Marc VDS | VAL |
VAL |
BRH |
BRH |
TOU |
TOU |
NÜR |
NÜR |
UMB DNS |
UMB DNS |
BUG DNS |
BUG DNS |
32nd | 106 | |||||
Whelen Euro Series - Elite 2
edit| NASCAR Whelen Euro Series - Elite 2 results | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | NWES | Pts | |||
| 2014 | RCP / Marc VDS | 46 | Toyota | VAL 12 |
VAL 16 |
BRH 21 |
BRH 12 |
TOU 14 |
TOU 17 |
NÜR 6 |
NÜR 19 |
UMB DNS |
UMB DNS |
BUG 10 |
BUG 6 |
12th | 481 | |||
References
edit- ^ a b c Dubois, Françoise (3 June 2016). "Nathalie Maillet: une architecte-pilote à la tête du circuit de Spa-Francorchamps". RTBF (in French). Liège. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ "La française Nathalie Maillet prend les rênes du circuit de Spa-Francorchamps !". Autonewsinfo (in French). 4 May 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ "Franz Dubois". driverdb.com (in French).
- ^ "Franz Dubois". racing-reference.info (in French).
- ^ a b "Nathalie Maillet" (in French).
- ^ Lawson, Philippe (6 May 2016). "Nathalie Maillet - Un salaire de 22.000 euros qui passe mal". L'Echo (in French). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ "Mobilité : Francorchamps, un avenir 100% connecté". Waw magazin (in French).
- ^ "Nathalie Maillet". driverdb.com.
- ^ "Nathalie Maillet". racing-reference.info.
- ^ "QUI SOMMES NOUS ?" [Who Are We?]. racingclubpartners.com (in French). Racing Club Partners. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ a b Graham Goodwin (15 August 2021). "Nathalie Maillet, Spa Francorchamps CEO, Killed". dailysportscar.com. Dailysportscar. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ de Wilde, Olivier (3 May 2016). "Nathalie Maillet nommée directrice du Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps". La Dernière Heure (in French). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ "Nathalie Maillet succède à Pierre-Alain Thibaut à la tête de Spa-Francorchamps". La Libre Belgique (in French). 3 May 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ Filip Cleeren (15 August 2021). "Spa-Francorchamps CEO Maillet killed in murder-suicide". motorsport.com. Motorsport.com. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ Cleeren, Filip (9 October 2020). "Spa unveils €80million renovation project ahead of bike racing return". Autosport.com. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Nathalie Maillet et Ann-Lawrence Durviaux tuées par balles: ce que l'on sait sur le double meurtre de Gouvy". 7sur7.be (in French). 16 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ "L'avocate namuroise Ann Lawrence Durviaux est la deuxième victime du mari de la directrice du circuit de Spa-Francorchamps". L'Avenir (in French). Namur. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ Reyrat, David (15 August 2021). "La directrice du circuit de Spa-Francorchamps assassinée par son mari". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ Menten, Michael (16 August 2021). "Double meurtre à Gouvy: le mari de Nathalie Maillet est l'auteur des faits, confirme le parquet". RTL Belgium (in French). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ Chris Harris (15 August 2021). "Formula 1 Racing Boss Is Killed Along with Other Woman by Husband, Who Then Turns Gun on Himself". people.com. People. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ Chris Harris (15 August 2021). "Nathalie Maillet, Boss Of Spa-Francorchamps, Murdered By Husband". jalopnik.com. G/O Media. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "FIRST NATHALIE MAILLET CHALLENGE TROPHY GOES TO EWC POLE ACE HANIKA". fimewc.com. FIM Endurance World Championship. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.