Nick Yelloly: The British Driver Who Won Le Mans Twice, Took BMW Titles and Raced for Acura

Nick Yelloly is a British racing driver who has spent most of his recent career in sportscars. He races for Meyer Shank Racing in IMSA as an Acura factory driver and competes in the LMP2 class for Inter Europol Competition at Le Mans and in the European Le Mans Series. He is also a test and simulator driver for Aston Martin in Formula One.

His route to sportscars began in karting and Formula Renault, went through GP3 and then took in Porsche Supercup and BMW works driving. He has won the China GT title, the Nurburgring 24 Hours and the Le Mans LMP2 class, and he has been a regular podium finisher in IMSA.

Who is Nick Yelloly?

Nicholas Jon Yelloly was born on 3 December 1990. He is a British driver who has built a career across single-seaters and GT racing before settling into endurance sportscars. Most of his biggest results have come in those endurance events.

The Aston Martin Formula One team's test programme also includes him, which links him to the top of motorsport beyond endurance work.

A China GT title, a Nurburgring 24 win and two Le Mans LMP2 victories built on a career that started in British karting.

How did Yelloly start in racing?

Yelloly made his karting debut in September 2005. He moved to the ICA class in 2007, finishing 15th, and in 2008 he took eighth in the championship in the Super 1 National KF1 series. That same year he entered the Formula Renault UK Winter Series with Fortec Competition and finished 14th, scoring in all four races.

In 2009 he switched to the Hitech Junior Team for a full Formula Renault UK season. He finished 19th overall, with twelve points-scoring finishes, and seventh in the Graduate Cup. He stayed in the series the following year with Atech Grand Prix, where he improved to seventh overall. That season brought three podiums and a win at the Brands Hatch season finale.

What did Yelloly achieve in GP3 and Formula Renault 3.5?

Yelloly moved up to GP3 in 2011 with Atech CRS Grand Prix, alongside Marlon Stockinger and Zoel Amberg. It was a difficult year for the team. He finished 21st in the championship with seven points, helped by a strong showing at Silverstone, and he was the best-placed Atech CRS driver.

That season he also made his Formula Renault 3.5 debut at Silverstone with Pons Racing, partnering Oliver Webb. He was disqualified from his first race, but he scored three points finishes later in the year and a podium in the final race at Catalunya.

In 2012 he joined Comtec Racing for Formula Renault 3.5. He won the first race of the season at Aragon and added a second win at the Nurburgring. Two further podiums at Spa-Francorchamps and Paul Ricard helped him finish fifth overall.

He returned to GP3 in 2013 with Carlin Motorsport, finishing sixth overall with four podiums. In 2014 he moved to Status Grand Prix. At Yas Marina he finished second in the sprint race, but the race winner Patric Niederhauser was excluded for a technical breach, which promoted Yelloly to a first win. He ended the season sixth in the standings.

How did Yelloly's Porsche years go?

In 2016 he moved to the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany with Project 1 Motorsport. He finished the year as vice-champion of the rookie class and sixth overall. He stayed with the team in 2017, won three races and ended as runner-up in the championship. That year he also made two appearances in the Porsche Supercup.

For 2018 he went full-time in the Porsche Supercup with Fach Auto Tech. A season-long battle with Michael Ammermuller and Thomas Preining saw him take second in the championship. He won the supporting races at Monaco and the German Grand Prix along the way.

What did Yelloly win as a BMW works driver?

In February 2019 BMW confirmed that Yelloly would join its works team, and his first race for the manufacturer was the China GT Championship. Driving for Fist Team AAI, he won five of ten races and took the China GT title that season.

In 2020 he joined Schubert Motorsport for most of the ADAC GT Masters season, driving alongside Henric Skoog. He finished 22nd in the standings with one win at the Red Bull Ring, after missing two rounds. That year he also won the 24 Hours of Nurburgring alongside Nicky Catsburg and Alexander Sims. In 2021 he returned to Schubert with Jesse Krohn in a BMW M6 GT3. They scored three podiums, including second in the season opener at Oschersleben, and finished eighth overall.

How did Yelloly's GT World Challenge programme develop?

Yelloly took part in several rounds of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup from 2018. In 2022 he raced in the series full-time with ROWE Racing. The team's best chance came at the 24 Hours of Spa, where Yelloly and his teammates Augusto Farfus and Nicky Catsburg led at the intermediate classifications. A puncture then dropped them to sixth at the finish, and Yelloly ended the year twelfth in the championship.

How did Yelloly's first IMSA seasons unfold?

Yelloly moved into the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2023 with the BMW M Team RLL works effort in the GTP class, a BMW M Hybrid V8 car sharing with Connor De Phillippi. The Daytona opener was a difficult weekend, and the car finished 49th after an early hybrid system problem. Sebring brought a second place after a collision between rivals ahead.

At Watkins Glen the car finished second before inheriting the win when a Porsche was disqualified. Yelloly then finished third at Mosport and third at Indianapolis, and he took seventh at Petit Le Mans. The season ended with sixth place in the standings.

In the same year he drove with ROWE Racing in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. The team won the opening round at Monza from pole position, and at the 24 Hours of Spa he and his co-drivers Philipp Eng and Marco Wittmann took victory. The GTWC season ended with second place in the standings.

In 2024 Yelloly and De Phillippi finished eighth in the IMSA championship. Yelloly finished second at Indianapolis, and after the season BMW confirmed that he would leave the manufacturer after six years as a works driver.

What has Yelloly done with Acura and Meyer Shank?

In 2025 Yelloly joined Acura Meyer Shank Racing in IMSA. He partnered Renger van der Zande and finished fifth overall in both the drivers' and teams' championships. He won the Detroit Sports Car Classic and scored two podiums, at the 12 Hours of Sebring and the SportsCar Grand Prix. He continues the team's IMSA GTP programme in 2026.

How did Yelloly become a Le Mans LMP2 winner?

Yelloly's first LMP2 outings came in 2024, when he drove for Nielsen Racing in the Pro-Am class of the European Le Mans Series as a replacement for Albert Costa. He took a class podium at the Portimao season finale.

In 2025 he contested the Le Mans 24 Hours and the European series for Inter Europol Competition, alongside Tom Dillmann and Jakub Smiechowski. The team's car led the race from the morning and kept a lead of no more than twenty seconds for most of the day. Yelloly was given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane about 34 minutes from the finish, but a suspension failure on the rival car let him back in front, and he won by nearly two minutes. He was also the fastest driver in the team and second fastest in the class.

The European series ended with five second places in six races, which gave the team second overall, behind the VDS Panis Racing car that claimed the title. In 2026 Yelloly repeated the LMP2 programme with Inter Europol, and he defended his Le Mans win with the team.

What is Yelloly's Formula One role?

Yelloly's Formula One involvement has been in testing rather than racing. He took part in the Young Driver Test for Racing Point at Barcelona in May 2019, and he joined an Aston Martin post-season test at Yas Marina in December 2021. In July 2024 he drove the Aston Martin AMR24 on a filming day at Silverstone, after the British Grand Prix. He still works as a test and simulator driver for the team.