Richard Westbrook
Westbrook in 2023
Nationality	British
Born	(1975-07-10) 10 July 1975 (age 49) Chelmsford, Essex, England, UK
IMSA SportsCar Championship career
Debut season	2014
Racing licence	FIA Platinum
Car number	02
Former teams	Spirit of Daytona Racing Chip Ganassi Racing TF Sport JDC-Miller Motorsports
Starts	76
Wins	11
Poles	7
Fastest laps	6
Best finish	2nd in 2015 (Overall), 2016, 2018 (GTLM)
Previous series
2013–14 2008–09 2008–13 2011–2013 2010–13 2005–10 2007–10 2009 2006–08 1996 1996 1993	FIA WEC FIA GT Championship American Le Mans Series Blancpain Endurance Series British GT Championship Belcar Le Mans Series ADAC GT Masters Porsche Supercup Austria Formula 3 Cup German F3 Formula Vauxhall Winter Series
Championship titles
2009 2006–07 2004	FIA GT2 Porsche Supercup Porsche Carrera Cup GB
Awards
2007 2006 1994	BRDC award for Outstanding Achievement Autosport International Driver of the Year Nomination McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award Nomination

Richard Westbrook (born 10 July 1975) is a British professional racing driver noted for his success in racing Porsche and International sports cars. As a junior, he attended St Joseph's College, Ipswich. He has won both the Porsche Supercup international championship (in 2006 & 2007) and the Porsche Carrera Cup in his native Britain (2004). At the end of the 2007 season, Richard signed a factory contract deal with the German marque Porsche, and the British ace proceeded to take on the world's best on the other side of the Atlantic. The next year (2009), Westbrook won the highly coveted FIA GT2 Championship, taking four victories in the process, establishing himself firmly on the World motor sport stage and in the upper echelons of elite sports car drivers.

In 2011 Westbrook signed with Corvette as a factory driver, competing in both the Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series. Notably, in 2013 Richard won the 12 Hours of Sebring. For the 2016 United SportsCar Championship, he will join the Chip Ganassi Racing to drive the new Ford GT.

Born in Chelmsford, Westbrook began karting in 1986.

Following a successful Formula Vauxhall Winter Series campaign in 1993 (2nd place in the series, 1 win), he headed to Europe to compete in the Formula Opel Lotus Euroseries. After a promising showing (4th place in the series, 1 win) in his debut year, he returned in 1995 and took three victories, narrowly missing out on third place in the series.

In 1996 Westbrook moved up to Formula 3 and headed for the highly competitive German Formula 3 Series (with Tokmakidis Motorsport) and the Austrian Formula 3 Cup (Achletiner Motorsport). In German F3, he was up against a number of European drivers, including future F1 stars like Nick Heidfeld and Jarno Trulli and he took one win in a short campaign.

In Austria, having missed the opening pair of races due to cutting a late deal, Westbrook saw off the challenge of German racer Tim Bergmeister and a host of local drivers to take two victories in 1996 before missing the final two rounds due to budgetary issues.^[1]

Having been unable to secure the budget required to compete and advance his career, Westbrook was forced to take a lengthy six-year break from racing, before convincing a friend to loan him the money to buy a Porsche GT3 Cup Car for the 2002 season.

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB commenced in 2003 and Westbrook was immediately a front-runner. Between 2003 and 2005, he was dominant; taking the title in 2004 (7 wins, 17 podiums, 8 pole positions, 4 fastest laps) with Redline Racing and finishing as runner-up in 2003 (Team BCR), and 2005 (Redline Racing). Indeed, his 2005 totals for victories and pole positions (14 wins, 8 pole-positions) are both series records and he went on to take 16 podiums across the season.

Having done a few Supercup races in 2002 with Kadach Racing Team and in 2003 with Porsche Cars Great Britain, he returned in 2005 in a Lechner Racing School Team prepared Porsche in rounds which did not clash with his UK commitments. He won the season opener in Bahrain and came 9th overall, adding a fastest lap to his tally too.

In 2006 with RT Morellato PZ Essen (4 wins, 11 podiums, 4 pole positions, 3 fastest laps), he finished every Supercup race on the podium, wrapping up the title with two races to go, against drivers such as Uwe Alzen, Alessandro Zampedri and Patrick Huisman. He has also competed in several Carrera races in Germany (EMC Buchbinder ARAXA Racing – 1 win, 4 podiums, 2 fastest laps) and also back in the UK (Red Line Racing – 4 races, 3 wins, 2 fastest laps) where he alternated with Danny Watts.

In 2007 with HISAQ Competition, he won his second Porsche Supercup title in a row, with wins in Spain and Hungary, along with five other podium finishes and fastest laps. He again competed in Carrera Cup Deutschland, finishing second in the championship for ARAXA Racing (5 wins, 1 pole position, 4 fastest laps). In the same year, he made his debut in the Le Mans Series in a GT2 Porsche for James Watt Automotive and in the Rolex Sports Car Series at Daytona and Watkins Glen with Synergy Racing in a Porsche GT3 Cup Car.

2008 – see next chapter 'Porsche Factory Driver'.

In 2009 Westbrook drove for VICI Racing (T-Mobile VICI Racing) in the American Le Mans Series (including the Sebring 12h) and for Prospeed Competition in the FIA GT Championship. In his first ALMS race of the year he finished fourth at Long Beach, alongside Johannes Stuck. However, it was in the FIA GT Championship where he would achieve his biggest success, winning the GT2 class overall after victories at Silverstone (UK), Adria (Italy), Hungaroring (Hungary) and Zolder (Belgium) backed up by second places in Algarve (Portugal) and Paul Ricard (France), in a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (997). In the same year he also made appearances in International GT Open, ADAC GT Masters, Rolex Sports Car Series (including the Daytona 24h – 15th), Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, Porsche Supercup, and Belgian GT.

In 2010 he made his debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GT2 class,^[2] driving a Porsche 997 GT3-RSR for BMS Scuderia Italia alongside Marco Holzer and Timo Scheider; the trio finished 14th overall and third in class (GT2). He also competed in three further 'twice round the clock' events, the 24 Hours of Spa (Prospeed Competition), the 24 Hours of Nurburgring (Haribo Team Manthey), and the 24 Hours of Daytona where he finished third overall in the Crown Royal/NPN Racing BMW Riley alongside Ryan Hunter Reay, Lucas Luhr, and Scott Tucker.

There were also outings for Westbrook in the Le Mans Series for Prospeed Competition, but it was his stand-out star performances in a Matech Ford GT1 during the final six rounds of the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship that would turn heads, taking three podiums alongside Thomas Mutsch.

He also took part in the British GT Championship in 2010 (3 podiums, 1 pole position, 1 fastest lap), helping Trackspeed team owner/racer David Ashburn to the title that year.^[3]

After multiple successes in Porsches, Westbrook signed with the German marque to become the first British Porsche factory driver since Derek Bell in the 1980s. He competed in a global programme that included the FIA GT Championship (Prospeed Competition), Le Mans Series (Farnbacher Racing) and American Le Mans Series (Farnbacher Loles Motorsport). He was the only driver to win at least one race in all three categories. He also competed in three 24-hour races; Spa 24h (Prospeed Competition – GT2 – 6th), Daytona 24h (TRG – GT – 2nd) and the Dubai 24 Hours (Proton Competition – A6)

Following nine successful years racing predominantly in Porsches, in 2011 Westbrook joined Corvette Racing as the third driver in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R. Westbrook and his co-drivers Jan Magnussen and fellow Brit Oliver Gavin posted fourth-place finishes in 2011 in Sebring and Road Atlanta, and they were leading at Le Mans at the 16-hour mark when the car was involved in an accident and subsequently retired.^[4]

He had a second year in that role for 2012, teamed with young American driver Tommy Milner and again with Oliver Gavin in the major American Le Mans Series endurance events: Sebring 12-hour, Le Mans 24 Hours, and 1000-mile Petit Le Mans. Also in 2012, he received a new challenge, a full-season in the Rolex Sports Car Series in Spirit of Daytona Racing's all new Corvette Coyote DP alongside Spaniard, Antonio García. The pair took three wins and one further podium, with Westbrook securing three pole-positions too.

The 2013 season saw Westbrook take part in the final year of the Rolex Sports Car Series again with the Spirit of Daytona Racing team in the Corvette Coyote DP. He drove alongside Ricky Taylor and the pair were regulars in the top-five, taking a podium (third place) at The Barber Motorsports Park, round three. In addition he again was drafted into the Corvette Racing squad for the American Le Mans Series and Le Mans 24 Hours, taking an impressive win in the 12 Hours of Sebring with the No. 4 Corvette also driven by Oliver Gavin, and Tommy Milner. This was Corvette Racing's first Sebring class victory since 2009. It was a perfect way to celebrate Corvette's 60th Anniversary and pay tribute to their first Sebring class victory in 1956.^[5]

In 2014, Westbrook clinched third in the inaugural United SportsCar Championship in the USA; his third season with the Spirit of Daytona Racing team. Joining Westbrook and the team for 2014 was Canadian driver Michael Valiante, with DTM Champion and Le Mans Winner Mike Rockenfeller joining the pair for the longer races. At the first race of the year, the 2014 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona race^[6] he, Valiante and Rockenfeller led, before being hit with technical issues in the Spirit of Daytona Corvette Daytona Prototype, but the trio hung on to finish fourth on the road.

He and Valiante took one win in 2014, at the Sahlen 6 Hours, at Watkins Glen International (28/29 June), but a mid-season hot-streak saw them rise up the standings and challenge for the overall title. Contact by a GTD Audi at the season finale,^[7] ended his hopes of becoming the Vice-Champion in the series, but he, Mike and Michael finished seventh at the flag to secure third.

In June 2014, Westbrook joined up with Corvette Racing in the new for 2014 no.74 Corvette C.7.R. to attempt to win the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite being an early class leader, technical issues ruled him and co-drivers Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin out of contention for the race win. The trio lost eight laps due to a slipped alternator belt and gearbox leak, but completed the race to take fourth in the GTE PRO category.^[8]

Westbrook will join Chip Ganassi Racing for the full 2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season driving the new Ford GT with Ryan Briscoe, Joey Hand and Dirk Müller.^[9]

While in his first year of Corvette duty in 2011, Westbrook also competed in the now defunct FIA GT1 championship with a Nissan GT-R GT1 prepared by JR Motorsports team, finishing ninth in championship (2 podiums, 1 pole position). He was chosen off the back of his strong performances in the Matech GT1 Ford the year before. In the same year, he also took part in the newly formed Blancpain Endurance Series in the final two races (Magny-Cours and Silverstone) for JR Motorsports in a Nissan GT-R GT3, and competed in the 24 Hours of Spa for Haribo Team Manthey in a Pro-AM Porsche 997 GT3-R. he also drove with his friend David Ashburn in the British GT Championship when available, almost helping Ashburn successfully defend his title, taking 2 wins, 3 podiums, 2 pole positions, and 2 fastest laps along the way.

At the end of 2011, Westbrook raced in Australia at the Armor All Gold Coast 600 in Queensland alongside local hero Todd Kelly in the Jack Daniel's Holden Commodore. He finished both of the races in the unique 600-kilometre event, finishing thirteenth and ninth.

Alongside his busy US commitments, in 2012 he again competed in several European series. Namely British GT (Trackspeed with David Ashburn – 1 win, 2 podiums, 2 pole positions, 1 fastest lap), the Blancpain Endurance Series (Monza and Nurburgring) for the Haribo Racing Team. He also competed in the Nürburgring 24h for the Haribo Racing Team.

In 2013, Westbrook also combined his racing in the US with another part-season in British GT for Trackspeed with Gregor Fisken, taking a dominant win at Rockingham Motor Speedway and staging an impressive fightback after his teammates' opening stint to finish third at the season finale Donington Park – this saw him also awarded the Mobil Service Centre Driver of the Day award.^[10]

In 2014, Westbrook was scheduled to again compete in the Nurburgring 24 Hours with Haribo Team Manthey, but an opportunity arose to join an all PRO line-up with Nicki Thiim, Marco Seefried and Alex Müller in the no.9 Prosperia-Abt Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT3, a car he'd driven a few weeks prior in VLN 4.^[11] Unfortunately the car failed to make the finish of the 24-hour race due to technical difficulties.

With the entrance of Cadillac Racing into the Le Mans Hypercar category, Westbrook would partner Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn in the FIA World Endurance Championship, driving a Cadillac V-Series.R.^[12] The start of the campaign at Sebring proved to be difficult, as Westbrook collided with the #88 Proton Competition car in Free Practice 2, leaving their car damaged beyond repair and forcing the German team to withdraw from the event.^[13] Having caused the incident, the Briton and his team were awarded a "stop and hold" penalty for the start of FP3.^[14]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 2 points awarded 2008 onwards in all races) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

‡ – Guest driver – Not eligible for points.

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class pos.
2007	Synergy Racing	Steve Johnson Richard Lietz Patrick Huisman	Porsche 997 GT3 Cup	GT	590	27th	11th
2008	TRG	Bryce Miller Ted Ballou Andy Lally	Porsche 997 GT3 Cup	GT	657	10th	2nd
2009	TRG	Steve Johnson Dave Lacey Robert Nearn James Sofronas	Porsche 997 GT3 Cup	GT	680	15th	7th
		Leh Keen Dirk Werner Wolf Henzler			676	16th	8th
2010	Crown Royal/NPN Racing	Christophe Bouchut Ryan Hunter-Reay Lucas Luhr Scott Tucker	Riley Mk. XI-BMW	DP	751	3rd	3rd
2011	Level 5 Motorsports	Scott Tucker Ryan Hunter-Reay Raphael Matos	Riley Mk. XX-BMW	DP	703	11th	11th
2012	Spirit of Daytona Racing	Antonio García Oliver Gavin Jan Magnussen	Coyote Corvette DP	DP	746	8th	8th
2013	Spirit of Daytona Racing	Antonio García Oliver Gavin Ricky Taylor	Coyote Corvette DP	DP	697	5th	5th
2014	Spirit of Daytona Racing	Michael Valiante Mike Rockenfeller	Coyote Corvette DP	P	693	4th	4th
2015	VisitFlorida.com Racing	Michael Valiante Mike Rockenfeller	Coyote Corvette DP	P	734	3rd	3rd
2017	Ford Chip Ganassi Racing	Ryan Briscoe Scott Dixon	Ford GT	GTLM	624	27th	10th
2018	Ford Chip Ganassi Racing	Ryan Briscoe Scott Dixon	Ford GT	GTLM	783	11th	1st
2019	Ford Chip Ganassi Racing	Ryan Briscoe Scott Dixon	Ford GT	GTLM	570	13th	4th
2021	TF Sport	Charlie Eastwood Ben Keating Max Root	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	GTD	744	28th	7th
2022	JDC-Miller MotorSports	Loïc Duval Ben Keating Tristan Vautier	Cadillac DPI-V.R	DPi	761	3rd	3rd
Source:[15]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

^† Westbrook did not complete sufficient laps in order to score full points.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class pos.
2010	BMS Scuderia Italia	Marco Holzer Timo Scheider	Porsche 997 GT3-RSR	GT2	327	14th	3rd
2011	Corvette Racing	Oliver Gavin Jan Magnussen	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	GTE Pro	211	DNF	DNF
2012	Corvette Racing	Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	GTE Pro	215	NC	NC
2013	Corvette Racing	Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	GTE Pro	309	22nd	7th
2014	Corvette Racing	Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner	Chevrolet Corvette C7.R	GTE Pro	333	20th	4th
2016	Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA	Ryan Briscoe Scott Dixon	Ford GT	GTE Pro	340	20th	3rd
2017	Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA	Ryan Briscoe Scott Dixon	Ford GT	GTE Pro	337	24th	7th
2018	Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA	Ryan Briscoe Scott Dixon	Ford GT	GTE Pro	309	39th	14th
2019	Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA	Ryan Briscoe Scott Dixon	Ford GT	GTE Pro	341	24th	5th
2020	Aston Martin Racing	Marco Sørensen Nicki Thiim	Aston Martin Vantage AMR	GTE Pro	343	22nd	3rd
2021	Glickenhaus Racing	Ryan Briscoe Romain Dumas	Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH	Hypercar	364	5th	5th
2022	Glickenhaus Racing	Ryan Briscoe Franck Mailleux	Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH	Hypercar	375	3rd	3rd
2023	Cadillac Racing	Earl Bamber Alex Lynn	Cadillac V-Series.R	Hypercar	341	3rd	3rd
Sources:[15][29]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

^† As Westbrook was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

• Official site Archived 8 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine
• Richard Westbrook career summary at DriverDB.com
• Article about Richard winning the Supercup