Hugo Valente has decided to retire from professional motorsport and leave Lukoil Craft-Bamboo Racing before this weekend’s round of the championship at the Salzburgring in Austria. Valente was considering his retirement over the winter but was convinced to stay, thanks to the opportunity given to him by the team to race in the TCR International Series.
Due to some personal reasons, it has been hard for the young Frenchman to find the motivation to compete at this level and he has ultimately decided that he would like to step away from the sport, with the team being very supportive of his decision despite losing a big talent.
Valente explained: “First of all I'd like to thank Lukoil Craft-Bamboo Racing for giving me this opportunity, everyone in the team does an amazing job and made me feel very much at home in such a short period of time. Unfortunately, the results were not as I expected so I've decided to step away from the sport. I have my own family to take care of now, my little girl is nine months old and nothing makes me happier than being with her. I want to give her the same life I've been given from my parents and I know that's nearly impossible to do as a racing driver. It's been a difficult decision and not taken lightly but I'm ready to turn the page and start doing something new. I'm convinced that it will be the right decision in the long term even though it might give me a little feeling of leaving things ‘unfinished’ at the moment. I’d like to thank everyone I've ever worked with throughout my young career, it's been a great experience overall and I have met some incredibly passionate people. Racing teaches us values from the youngest age and with those values I believe it's time to put an end to it and move forward.”
Valente is currently placed tenth in the TCR International Season, with two podium results: second and third in Bahrain.
