Jacky Eeckelaert is a Belgian automotive engineer who has worked in many categories of motorsport

Auto racing

Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...

. He is currently the technical director of the HRT Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 team.

Career

A native of Antwerp, Eeckelaert studied mechanical engineering at the Catholic University of Leuven

Catholic University of Leuven

The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...

 and then spent four years working in Ford

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

's engine development department, before becoming head of the technical department of Champion

Champion (spark plug)

Champion is an American brand of spark plugs.Originally Champion was a Fortune 500 Company founded by Robert A. Stranahan and Frank D. Stranahan in 1908 in Boston, MA and then moved to Toledo, OH in 1910 to be close to the Willys-Overland Auto Company....

's European wing.

He also competed as a racing driver, competing for privateer teams in Formula Ford

Formula Ford

Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing....

 and Formula Three

Formula Three

Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...

. In 1985 he left Champion to become Team Manager of the Keerbergs Transport Racing team, which competed in the German

German Formula Three Championship

The German Formula Three Championship – currently titled the ATS Formel 3 Cup – is Germany's national Formula Three series. In the hierarchy of motor racing formulae, Formula Three is placed between national Formula Renault and championships such as GP2...

 and French

French Formula Three Championship

French Formula Three Championship is the name of a former French Formula Three racing competition.Starting in 1964, the series ended in 2003, changed, and became part of the Formula Three Euroseries.-Champions:-External links:*...

 F3 series. He moved to the DAMS

DAMS

Driot-Arnoux Motorsport is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. DAMS was founded in 1988 by Jean-Paul Driot and former Formula One driver René Arnoux. It is headquartered near Le Mans, only 2 km from the Bugatti Circuit.- History :The year after its foundation,...

 International Formula 3000 team in 1991 and then to the Danielson team, which ran Peugeot 905

Peugeot 905

The Peugeot 905 is a Sports-prototype racing car introduced for Sportscar racing.The car was initially unveiled in February 1990 and was developed throughout 1990 before making its race debut in the final two races of the 1990 World Sportscar Championship season .The car won the 24 Hours of Le Mans...

 sportscars

Sports car racing

Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....

, a year later.

In 1994, Eeckelaert moved directly into the employ of Peugeot Sport

Peugeot Sport

Peugeot Sport is the department of French carmaker Peugeot responsible for motorsport activities.-Beginnings in rallying:Peugeot Sport was formed in 1981 under the name of Peugeot Talbot Sport, after Jean Todt, a World Rally Championship co-driver for Talbot driver Guy Fréquelin, was asked by...

, successfully overseeing the marque's championship campaign in that year's French Supertouring Championship

French Supertouring Championship

The Championnat de France de Supertourisme was a touring car racing championship organised by the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile between 1976 and 2005....

 with Laurent Aïello

Laurent Aïello

Laurent Aïello is a race car driver.In 1990 he won the Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race. His two seasons in International Formula 3000 were not successful however, and though he won the French Formula Three Championship. 2005 was his final competitive season...

. For , he was placed in charge of Peugeot's Formula One engine testing programme, in which capacity he liaised between the Jordan

Jordan Grand Prix

Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team is named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan...

 team and the Peugeot headquarters. For the 1998 season

1998 Formula One season

The 1998 Formula One season was the 49th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 8, 1998, and ended on November 1 after sixteen races.-Season summary:...

, Peugeot switched to supplying the Prost

Prost Grand Prix

Prost Grand Prix was a Formula One racing team managed by former world champion Alain Prost. The team participated in five seasons from 1997 to 2001.-Purchase of Ligier:...

 team, and Eeckelaert joined the outfit as its Chief Engineer, although his role was downgraded to cover only the test team the following year. At the end of , he was offered a similar role at the Sauber

Sauber

Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....

 team and two years later returned to the Grands Prix as Kimi Räikkönen

Kimi Räikkönen

Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered...

's race engineer. In , he was appointed the team's Head of Track Engineering.

He moved to the Honda team in as Chief Engineer in the Advanced Research programme. In , he was promoted to Engineering Director, after predecessor Mark Ellis moved to sister team Super Aguri

Super Aguri F1

Super Aguri F1 was a Formula One team that competed from to . The team, founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki, was based in Tokyo, Japan but operated from the former Arrows factory at the Leafield Technical Centre, Oxfordshire. The cars were referred to as Super Aguri Hondas, with the team...

. Eeckelaert himself then moved to Super Aguri, only for the team to shut down after running out money part-way through the season. After spending a year in sportscars, he returned to F1 in with the new HRT team, and has been placed in charge of the team's car after Geoff Willis

Geoff Willis

Geoffrey "Geoff" Willis is the Technology Director of Mercedes GP. He was also the Technical Director of Red Bull Racing team from 2007 to 2009 and Technical Director of Hispania Racing from 2010 to 2011....

 left the team and plans to hire Jörg Zander

Jörg Zander

Jörg Zander is a German Formula One car chief designer.Zander graduated from Cologne University in 1990 before joining Toyota...

 fell through. The Hispania F112 will be the first F1 car over which Eeckelaert will have chief responsibility to design.