David Koczo

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Template:F1 driver

David Koczo (born December 12, 1986 in Hungary) is a Hungarian racing driver known for his successful F1RWRS career, a series in which he is one of ten drivers to have entered all 51 race weekends in the first four seasons. His run of consecutive entries came to an end with the demise of Team Calinetic at the end of the 2013 season, leaving him without a drive for 2014. However, following the buyout of Trueba by Scuderia Alitalia Koczo's career was resurrected as he was signed to drive for the team alongside Dave Simpson, replacing Giovanni Roda.

Koczo is the only Hungarian driver to have competed in the series.

Early Career

Karting and F3000

David Koczo entered Hungarian karting at the age of thirteen. Koczo followed the career path of HWNSNBM and went to Formula Renault in 2000. He stayed there for three years, gaining mild success and he was picked up by Coloni in the International F3000 Series. Koczo drove in F3000 for one year, winning one race in his F3000 career. Hungarian liquor manufacturer Zwack decided to sponsor David in his attempt to get into Formula One. However, there was only room for one Hungarian driver in the sport so no one offered David a drive. Koczo raced DTM for 2005 and 2006 (where he achieved almost nothing) before moving to the GP2 Series for 2007.

GP2

Koczo was successful in GP2, taking four wins throughout his tenure there. However, he remained in the series for three years as he was always passed over by F1 teams. Frustrated at his lack of success, David chose to leave GP2 in 2009 for Formula 2. David spent one year there before leaving for the F1RWRS. He was hired by Prospec and was present for the first race of the 2010 F1RWRS season.

F1RWRS

2010

David Koczo quickly became one of the best drivers in the F1RWRS. He scored a podium in the first race of the season at 2010 F1RWRS German Grand Prix Hockenheim and was in competition for the championship until the last race of the season at the Australian Grand Prix. He lost out to the more consistent Gary Cameron but did become the first driver to win back-to-back F1RWRS races at the Tasman and Bahrain Grand Prix. Koczo would finish fifth in the Drivers' Championship and was instrumental in giving Prospec their first Constructors' title.

2011

Koczo was retained for the 2011 F1RWRS season, again partnering Nathanael Spencer. Koczo was competitive again, taking three podiums and a win at the 2011 F1RWRS Chinese Grand Prix en route to a third place finish the Drivers' Championship. However, he was not in the race for the championship as his teammate Spencer and Daniel Melrose battled it out, with Spencer emerging victorious. Prospec took the Constructors' Championship for the second year in a row. Despite all this success, Koczo was inconsistent near the end of the season and gave no help to Spencer's championship challenge, culminating in a back-to-back double-DNPQ. Koczo decided to leave for Team Calinetic for the 2012 F1RWRS season, a move that would destroy his F1RWRS career.

2012

Koczo debuted for Team Calinetic at the 2012 F1RWRS Bavarian Grand Prix. Unfortunately, he and teammate Gary Cameron recorded Calinetic's first double-DNPQ in their history. This setback set the tone for the rest of the season as it became clear that the Calinetic was just not up to scratch with the rest of the field. Cameron jumped ship after only six races and he was replaced by Nicolas Steele. Koczo handily outperformed Steele and recorded the team's best finish (a fourth place in Germany). Still, Koczo finished a lowly twenty-third in the Drivers' Championship and Calinetic finished seventeenth in the Constructors'.

2013

Koczo decided to remain at Calinetic for 2013 but results were poor. Koczo only qualified for two out of the sixteen races and scored no points. Koczo had four different teammates as the team neared financial collapse. Finally, Calinetic closed up shop at the end of 2013 and David was left out of a drive for 2013. Despite his credentials, no offers came calling and Koczo prepared for a career in touring cars.

2014

Koczo had stopped actively looking for a job at the start of the 2014 F1RWRS season. However, he was suddenly thrust back in to the series as Alessandro Linari, team boss of the newly formed Scuderia Trueba Alitalia team decided to hire both him and Dave Simpson to drive in 2014. Koczo's midseason return began brilliantly with a seventh place finish in France. Unfortunately, Koczo failed to pre-qualify for the remainder of the season as Alitalia focused their efforts on 2015. Koczo was resigned for 2015

2015

Koczo returned in 2015 at age 28, ready to compete for his sixth season in the F1RWRS. Scuderia Alitalia's hard work from the previous season enabled Alitalia to move up the grid. After only pre-qualifying twice last season, Koczo and his teammate Ben Fleet led Alitalia to five trips to regular qualifying. Still, a huge imbroglio broke after the 2015 F1RWRS Canadian Grand Prix when Koczo announced his shocking retirement. A furious Alessandro Linari sacked Koczo immediately and opened the seat to anyone with a Reject Superlicense. Linari's harsh decision drew instant criticism from his many detractors. Koczo was also criticized for not notifying the team of his decision. The controversy ended when Linari re-hired Koczo for the rest of the season.

Motorsport Results

Complete F1RWRS Results

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Pts
2010 Prospec GER
2
LUX
18
SAX
6
CHN
10
TAS
1
BHR
1
BEL
11
GBR
3
AUS
7
5th 47
2011 Prospec BAV
17
GER
3
SAX
13
LUX
Ret
BEL
8
GBR
3
ENG
3
KEN
6
NED
11
TAS
19
AUS
DNPQ
NSW
DNPQ
SUR
Ret
CHN
1
USA
14
=3rd 46
2012 Team Calinetic BAV
DNPQ
SAX
DNPQ
GER
4
LUX
DNPQ
BEL
13
NED
DNPQ
GBR
DNPQ
KEN
18
ENG
DNPQ
TAS
Ret
SUR
8
NSW
16
AUS
Ret
CHN
17
USA
19
500
20
23rd 7
2013 Team Calinetic TAS
DNPQ
AUS
DNPQ
MEX
Ret
USA
DNPQ
MON
DNPQ
FRA
DNPQ
GBR
DNPQ
GER
DNPQ
NED
DNPQ
BEL
9
POR
DNPQ
MED
DNPQ
MAC
DNPQ
CHN
DNPQ
JPN
DNPQ
BRA
DNPQ
=30th 0
2014 Scuderia Trueba Alitalia TAS AUS BRA MEX USA MON FRA
7
GBR
DNPQ
GER
DNPQ
BEL
DNPQ
ITA
DNPQ
MED
DNPQ
NED
DNPQ
MAC
DNPQ
CHN
DNPQ
JPN
DNPQ
=26th 0