Oliver Webb

Oliver "Oli" James Webb (born 20 March 1991 in Manchester) is a British auto racing driver. He is a 2004 Karting Champion, 2007 Formula BMW Scholarship winner, 2010 Formula 3 competitor, 2014 European Le Mans series Champion, 2015 Dubai 24 Hour Champion, and W Motors Ambassador.

Oliver James Webb
Webb in 2013.
Nationality British
Born (1991-03-20) 20 March 1991
Manchester, Greater Manchester, England
FIA World Endurance Championship career
Debut season2015
Current teamByKolles Racing Team
Car number4
Former teamsSard Morand
Wins17
Poles15
Fastest laps22
Best finish1st in
Previous series
2011-12
2010
2009
2008–09
2008
2008
2007–08
2007
2005
2005–06		Indy Lights
British Formula 3
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0
Formula Renault 2.0 UK
FR2.0 Portugal Winter Series
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC
FR2.0 UK Winter Series
Formula BMW UK
T Cars Autumn Trophy
T Cars
Awards
2006, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2015Formula BMW Scholarship, 2014 European Le Mans Championship, 2014 Le Mans podium, 2015 Dubai Champions

Career

Karting

Webb began his career in karting at the age of nine, progressing up through the ranks in the Greater Manchester karting scene with the help of management from British Touring Car Championship driver Michael Bentwood.[1] With more experience, Webb started to win races at the Three Sisters Karting Circuit in Wigan, eventually winning that circuit's Mini Max Championship in 2004. He finished fourth in the Junior Max Championship in 2005, combining that with a season in T Cars.

T Cars

Webb moved into T Cars with Graham Hathaway Engineering in 2005,[2] combining the campaign with schoolwork and his karting career. He continued into the 2005 Autumn Trophy, finishing second to Adrian Quaife-Hobbs.[3] He finished third in the 2006 main series,[3] winning three races, a non-championship double-header at Brands Hatch,[4] and achieved a record seven fastest laps in a season.[1]

Formula BMW

At the conclusion of the 2006 season, Bentwood entered Webb into the Formula BMW Scholarship Programme where drivers had the opportunity to be awarded with a financial contribution towards their racing budget, and an education and coaching programme from BMW Motorsport. Webb was one of the six chosen drivers for the scholarship, moving into Formula BMW UK in 2007. Webb drove for Carlin Motorsport, alongside Henry Surtees. Webb finished ninth in the championship, despite not finishing on the podium in any of the twenty races.[3]

Formula Renault
Webb competing during the 2008 Formula Renault UK season at Oulton Park.

He moved to the British Formula Renault Championship to compete in the Winter Series in 2007. Competing for Fortec Motorsport, Webb finished fifteenth in the four-race series, with a best race result of eleventh at Croft.[5] Webb continued his progression up the British motorsport ladder, by moving into the main British series for the 2008 season. Staying with Fortec, Webb finished every single race in the points en route to eighth in the overall championship.[3] His best result was fourth place at round seventeen, at Silverstone.[6] He finished third in the Graduates Cup for first-year drivers, behind Dean Stoneman and James Calado.

Webb competing during the 2009 Formula Renault UK season at Oulton Park.

Webb competed in three other Formula Renault series during the season, competing in the Northern European Cup, and the British and Portuguese Winter Series championships. In the NEC, he recorded a fourth-place finish at Spa, and added a twelfth at Zolder to wind up 25th in the standings.[7] In the UK Winter Series, Webb finished fourth overall in the four-race series, finishing on the podium at Rockingham.[8] A retirement in the second race cost him a top-three championship spot.[3] Finally, he finished as runner-up to team-mate Calado in the Portuguese Winter Series, with the two taking all four victories, Calado with three and Webb with one.

In 2009, Webb returned for a second season in Formula Renault UK.[3] Consistency was the key for Webb, as he finished all but one race of the season, winning two races at Brands Hatch and at Silverstone. Webb was never outside the top-five in the championship standings, leading the championship after fourteen races before falling behind Dean Smith and Calado later in the season. Webb achieved ten podiums over the course of the season.[3] He also made his first foray into the Eurocup, taking part in the rounds in Barcelona and at Le Mans.

Formula Three

For the 2010 season, Webb continued to drive for Fortec, but stepped up to compete in the British Formula 3 Championship.[9][10] Webb finished third in the championship with three wins, 14 podium finishes, and four fastest laps.

Formula Renault 3.5
Oliver Webb at the 2011 Nürburgring World series by Renault round

For 2011 Webb signed with the Spanish Pons Racing team to race in Formula Renault 3.5. He finished 21st in the championship with five points finishes, scoring a best result of sixth in the final race at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Webb returned to the series in 2013 with Fortec Motorsport. Despite previously saying that he was not expecting to race single-seaters in 2014,[11] it was announced that he would be returning to Pons Racing to race in Formula Renault 3.5 in 2014.[12]

Indy Lights

Webb made his debut in the American Firestone Indy Lights series at the 2011 double-header at Edmonton for Jensen MotorSport. Webb finished on the podium in third in the first attrition-filled race and finished fifth in the second. He rejoined the team for the race in Baltimore where he crashed out after running in the top five and made his oval racing debut at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway season finale where he finished tenth.[13]

Webb signed with Sam Schmidt Motorsports to compete in the 2012 Indy Lights season.[14] Webb finished seventh in points and won the pole and finished on the podium in third place at Belle Isle, his best finish.

European Le Mans Series

In March 2014 it was announced that Webb would join Signatech to participate in their attempt to defend their LMP2 title alongside Nelson Panciatici and Paul-Loup Chatin, following a last-minute deal to race the 24 Hours of Daytona with OAK Racing. Oliver won the championship overall with wins and poles[11]

World Endurance championship

Racing with Sard Morand, podium at Spa round 2.

Outside racing

On 17 November 2019, Webb was announced as a W Motors Brand Ambassador[15] and took part in the company's first track experience two days later.[16][17] He will drive at W Motors events and assist in the development of their upcoming supercar.[15][17]

Racing record

Career summary
Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2005 T Cars Graham Hathaway Engineering ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
T Cars Autumn Trophy ? ? ? ? ? 117 2nd
2006 T Cars Graham Hathaway Engineering 20 3 3 ? 11 133 3rd
2007 Formula BMW UK Carlin Motorsport 18 0 0 0 0 406 9th
Formula Renault UK Winter Cup Fortec Motorsport 4 0 0 0 0 29 15th
2008 Formula Renault UK Fortec Motorsport 20 0 0 0 0 267† 8th
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 4 0 0 0 0 25 27th
Formula Renault UK Winter Cup 4 0 0 0 0 64 4th
Portuguese Formula Renault 2.0 Winter Series 4 1 1 0 1 28 2nd
2009 Formula Renault UK Fortec Motorsport 20 2 0 2 10 419† 3rd
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 4 0 0 0 0 0 29th
2010 British Formula 3 Championship Fortec Motorsport 30 3 4 4 14 250 3rd
Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 18th
2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Pons Racing 17 0 0 0 0 17 21st
Indy Lights Jensen MotorSport 4 0 0 0 1 104 18th
2012 Indy Lights Sam Schmidt Motorsports 12 0 1 0 1 310 7th
2013 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Fortec Motorsports 16 0 0 0 0 27 15th
British GT Championship 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Pons Racing 5 0 0 0 0 0 26th
European Le Mans Series Signatech Alpine 5 1 0 0 3 78 1st
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 3rd
United SportsCar Championship OAK Racing 1 0 0 0 0 26 56th
2015 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Team SARD-Morand 7 0 0 0 1 70 7th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2015-16 Asian Le Mans Series Race Performance 2 0 0 0 2 33 5th
2016 FIA World Endurance Championship ByKolles Racing Team 9 0 0 0 0 19.5 17th
24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2017 FIA World Endurance Championship ByKolles Racing Team 4 0 0 0 0 8.5 30th
24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup Strakka Racing 2 0 0 0 0 4 38th
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup - Pro-Am 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Intercontinental GT Challenge McLaren 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2018 24 Hours of Le Mans ByKolles Racing Team 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship ByKolles Racing Team 7 0 0 0 0 22.5 17th
2019 TitansRX International Europe Series N/A 8 0 0 0 0 80 10th
24 Hours of Le Mans ByKolles Racing Team 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF

† After dropped scores.

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

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

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pos Points
2011 Pons Racing ALC
1
11		 ALC
2
17		 SPA
1
Ret		 SPA
2
18		 MNZ
1
9		 MNZ
2
11		 MON
1
Ret		 NÜR
1
16		 NÜR
2
17		 HUN
1
19		 HUN
2
7		 SIL
1
7		 SIL
2
12		 LEC
1
11		 LEC
2
10		 CAT
1
Ret		 CAT
2
6		 21st 17
2013 Fortec Motorsports MNZ
1
4		 MNZ
2
9		 ALC
1
11		 ALC
2
17		 MON
1
11		 SPA
1
12		 SPA
2
9		 MSC
1
9		 MSC
2
7		 RBR
1
DNS		 RBR
2
16		 HUN
1
16		 HUN
2
10		 LEC
1
13		 LEC
2
22		 CAT
1
10		 CAT
2
10		 15th 27
2014 Pons Racing MNZ
1
12		 MNZ
2
14		 ALC
1
Ret		 ALC
2
13		 MON
1
12		 SPA
1		 SPA
2		 MSC
1		 MSC
2		 NÜR
1		 NÜR
2		 HUN
1		 HUN
2		 LEC
1		 LEC
2		 JER
1		 JER
2		 26th 0

American open–wheel racing results

(key)

Indy Lights
Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rank Points
2011 Jensen MotorSport STP ALA LBH INDY MIL IOW TOR EDM
3		 EDM
5		 TRO NHM BAL
11		 KTY LVS
10		 18th 104
2012 Sam Schmidt Motorsports STP
4		 ALA
13		 LBH
6		 INDY
15		 DET
3		 MIL
12		 IOW
12		 TOR
5		 EDM
4		 TRO
5		 BAL
6		 FON
8		 7th 310

Complete European Le Mans Series results
Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 Rank Points
2014 Signatech Alpine LMP2 Alpine (Oreca 03) Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL
5		 IMO
3		 RBR
1		 LEC
2		 EST
5		 1st 78

24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2014 Signatech-Alpine Paul-Loup Chatin
Nelson Panciatici		 Alpine A450b-Nissan LMP2 355 7th 3rd
2015 Team SARD-Morand Pierre Ragues
Zoël Amberg		 Morgan LMP2 Evo-SARD LMP2 162 DNF DNF
2016 ByKolles Racing Team Pierre Kaffer
Simon Trummer		 CLM P1/01-AER LMP1 206 DNF DNF
2017 ByKolles Racing Team Dominik Kraihamer
Marco Bonanomi		 ENSO CLM P1/01-Nismo LMP1 7 DNF DNF
2018 ByKolles Racing Team Dominik Kraihamer
Tom Dillmann		 ENSO CLM P1/01-Nismo LMP1 65 DNF DNF
2019 ByKolles Racing Team Paolo Ruberti
Tom Dillmann		 ENSO CLM P1/01-Gibson LMP1 163 DNF DNF

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

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

Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos. Points
2014 OAK Racing P Morgan LMP2 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 DAY
6		 SEB
 LBH
 LGA DET
 WGL MOS
 IMS ELK
 COA PET 45th 26

* Season still in progress.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points
2015 Team SARD Morand LMP2 Morgan LMP2 Evo SARD (Judd) 3.6 L V8 SIL SPA
2		 LMS
Ret		 NÜR
4		 COA
5		 FUJ
5		 SHA
4		 BHR
6		 7th 70
2016 ByKolles Racing Team LMP1 CLM P1/01 AER P60 2.4 L Turbo V6 SIL
14		 SPA
6		 LMS
Ret		 NÜR
Ret		 MEX
14		 COA
11		 FUJ
Ret		 SHA
7		 BHR
8		 17th 19.5
2017 ByKolles Racing Team LMP1 ENSO CLM P1/01 Nismo VRX30A 3.0 L Turbo V6 SIL
Ret		 SPA
6		 LMS
Ret		 NÜR
14		 MEX COA FUJ SHA BHR 30th 8.5
2018–19 ByKolles Racing Team LMP1 ENSO CLM P1/01 Nismo VRX30A 3.0 L Turbo V6 SPA
4		 LMS
Ret		 SIL
Ret		 FUJ
5		 SHA
Ret		 SEB 17th 22.5
Gibson GL458 4.5 L V8 SPA
14		 LMS
Ret
gollark: Can this be weaponized?
gollark: Hmm, I just watched a video and I now dislike tumbleweed.
gollark: It's just `/kill`.
gollark: Not a real comamnd.
gollark: Fascinating.

References
  1. "Biography". Oliver Webb. Electric Studio. Archived from the original on 3 December 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  2. "Second place keeps Williams' championship hopes alive". James Williams. MSO. 22 August 2005. Archived from the original on 21 June 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2009. Starting race two from fourth on the grid, James dropped down at the start to sixth but had got back up to fourth before a collision on lap seven between Barry Russell and Oliver Webb brought out the red flag.
  3. http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/9230/career/ Career statistics at Driver Database
  4. "MSVR's inaugural race meeting runs without a hitch". MotorSport Vision. Brands Hatch. 22 March 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  5. "2007 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Winter Cup; Race 4 - CLASSIFICATION" (PDF). tsl-timing.com. Timing Solutions Ltd. 10 November 2007. p. 29. Archived from the original (Portable Document Format) on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  6. "2008 Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin; Round 17 - CLASSIFICATION". tsl-timing.com. Timing Solutions Ltd. 31 August 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  7. "Tabelle Northern European Cup Formula Renault 2.0 2008". renault-sport.de. Renault Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  8. "2008 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Winter Cup; Race 2 - CLASSIFICATION" (PDF). tsl-timing.com. Timing Solutions Ltd. 8 November 2008. p. 24. Archived from the original (Portable Document Format) on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  9. "Webb signs to Fortec for 2010 Formula 3 campaign". fota.co.uk. British Formula 3 Championship. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  10. Simpson, Andrew (3 December 2009). "Knutsford teenager Oliver Webb to race in British F3 championship". Knutsford Guardian. Newsquest Media Group. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  11. Watkins, Gary (19 March 2014). "Oliver Webb seals Signatech Alpine European Le Mans Series drive". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  12. "Roberto Merhi and Oliver Webb join 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 grid". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 10 April 2014. Archived from the original on 11 April 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  13. Webb returns to Jensen for BGP, Vegas, IndyCar, 29 August 2011, Retrieved 2011-08-29
  14. Schmidt signs Oliver Webb for 2012 Indy Lights season Archived 6 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Racer, 1 December 2011, Retrieved 2011-12-01
  15. "W Motors New Brand Ambassador Oliver Webb". W Motors Blog. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  16. "Fenyr SuperSport Track Event at Dubai Autodrome". W Motors Blog. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  17. Aki, Sara (20 November 2019). "W Motors Announces New Brand Ambassador Oliver Webb At Dubai Track Event". Al Bawaba. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Nelson Panciatici
Pierre Ragues		 European Le Mans Series
Champion
2014
With: Paul-Loup Chatin & Nelson Panciatici		 Succeeded by
Jon Lancaster
Björn Wirdheim
Gary Hirsch

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