IndyCar team partners with French businessman convicted of murdering his wife

INDIANAPOLIS – The French businessman with whom Schmidt Peterson Motorsports plans to partner to field a third Indianapolis 500 entry is a convicted killer.

Schmidt Peterson announced Tuesday morning that Didier Calmels would partner with the team to run driver Tristan Gommendy in next year's 102nd running of the 500.

In 1990, Calmels was sentenced to six years in prison for fatally shooting his first wife, Dominique, whom he suspected was having an affair. At the time, Calmels was co-owner of Formula One racing team Larrousse & Calmels.

The courts ruled the murder was a crime of passion and Calmels was not a danger to the public. Crimes of passion have, over the past century, "consistently been treated leniently by French courts," according to a New York Times article which referenced Calmels case.

Calmels served about two years of his sentence before being released.

"The matter is of public record and we have been aware of it throughout our discussion," SPM team owner Sam Schmidt said in a statement to IndyStar. "Didier has fulfilled his obligations and gone on to become a successful businessman and team owner in European motor sport."

Calmels, a longtime motor sports enthusiast, is a specialist in recapitalization and business turnaround. He founded the French holdings company Calmels D&P Group in 1992 and was previously the chairman of Calmels Meille Harpillard & Associates.

Larrousse & Calmels competed in F-1 racing from 1987 to 1994. The team was renamed Larrousse Formula One after Calmels’ legal troubles.

Follow IndyStar reporter Jim Ayello on Twitter and Instagram: @jimayello.