Richard Westbrook: Porsche Champion and Le Mans Podium Finisher

Richard Westbrook is a former British sports car driver from Chelmsford who won the Porsche Supercup twice and the 2009 FIA GT2 class title. His career later took him through Corvette, Ford, Glickenhaus and Cadillac programmes, with two third-place finishes at Le Mans and a retirement announced in 2024.

How did Westbrook's early career unfold?

Westbrook began karting in 1986 after studying at St Joseph's College in Ipswich. He was second in the 1993 Formula Vauxhall Winter Series with one win, then moved to Europe for the Formula Opel Lotus Euroseries, where he took three victories in 1995 after a debut season with one win.

His 1995 Euroseries season ended narrowly short of third place in the standings. The following year he stepped up to Formula 3, with Tokmakidis Motorsport in the German series and Achletiner Motorsport in the Austrian Formula 3 Cup.

In Germany he competed against several future Formula One names, including Nick Heidfeld and Jarno Trulli, and collected a single win during the brief German season. In Austria a late deal meant he missed the first two races, but he then beat Tim Bergmeister and the local drivers to two victories before budget problems ended his season early.

Two Porsche Supercup titles, a 2009 GT2 crown and two third-place finishes at Le Mans framed a sports car career built across three decades of racing.

How did a career break shape his return to racing?

Unable to find the budget needed to keep advancing, Westbrook stepped away from racing for six years. A friend agreed to lend him the money for a Porsche GT3 Cup car, and that purchase brought him back for the 2002 season.

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB started in 2003, and Westbrook was at the front from the first round. He finished runner-up that year for Team BCR, then took the 2004 title with Redline Racing, winning seven races, scoring 17 podiums and claiming eight pole positions.

In 2005 he was runner-up again, this time with Redline Racing. His 14 wins and eight pole positions that season are both series records, and he added 16 podiums to his tally.

How did Westbrook win the Porsche Supercup?

Westbrook won the Porsche Supercup in 2006 with RT Morellato PZ Essen, finishing every race on the podium and sealing the title with two rounds still to run. He retained the crown in 2007 with HISAQ Competition, winning in Spain and Hungary along the way.

The 2006 campaign produced four wins, 11 podiums, four pole positions and three fastest laps. His rivals included Uwe Alzen, Alessandro Zampedri and Patrick Huisman, and he also raced in several Carrera events in Germany and the UK, where he shared the drive with Danny Watts.

In 2007 he added five further podium finishes to his Supercup total and fastest laps as well. Carrera Cup Deutschland provided a second front that year, and he finished second in that championship for ARAXA Racing with five wins.

What did the Porsche factory years bring?

Westbrook signed with Porsche as a factory driver and became the first British factory driver for the marque since Derek Bell. His programme covered the FIA GT Championship with Prospeed Competition, the Le Mans Series with Farnbacher Racing and the American Le Mans Series with Farnbacher Loles Motorsport.

Only he managed to win at least one race in each of those three categories. He also took part in three 24-hour races that season, with a sixth place in GT2 at Spa for Prospeed Competition, a second place in GT at Daytona for TRG, and a run in the Dubai 24 Hours for Proton Competition in class A6.

In 2009 he competed in the American Le Mans Series for VICI Racing, including the Sebring 12 Hours, and took fourth at Long Beach with Johannes Stuck. The bigger story was the FIA GT Championship, where he finished as GT2 class overall winner after taking victories at Silverstone, Adria, the Hungaroring and Zolder, with second places at Algarve and Paul Ricard, in a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (997).

When did Westbrook first race at Le Mans?

Westbrook made his first 24 Hours of Le Mans start in 2010. He raced in the GT2 field with BMS Scuderia Italia, using a Porsche 997 GT3-RSR, and his co-drivers were Marco Holzer and Timo Scheider. The three finished 14th overall and third in their class.

That year he also raced at Spa, the Nurburgring and Daytona: the Spa event for Prospeed Competition, the Nurburgring 24-hour race for Haribo Team Manthey and the Daytona 24-hour race. At Daytona he finished third overall in a Crown Royal/NPN Racing BMW Riley, sharing the car with Ryan Hunter-Reay, Lucas Luhr and Scott Tucker.

Later in 2010 he drove a Matech Ford GT1 in the final six rounds of the FIA GT1 World Championship, scoring three podiums alongside Thomas Mutsch. He also contested the British GT Championship that year, and his efforts helped David Ashburn of Trackspeed win the title.

How did the Corvette years go?

After nine years racing mostly Porsches, Westbrook joined Corvette Racing in 2011 as the third driver of the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R. He shared the car with Jan Magnussen and Oliver Gavin, and the trio took fourth-place finishes at Sebring and Road Atlanta that year.

At Le Mans in 2011 the car was leading at the 16-hour mark when an accident ended its race. In 2012 Westbrook stayed on the American Le Mans Series programme with Tommy Milner and Gavin, and he also took on a full season in the Rolex Sports Car Series for Spirit of Daytona Racing, driving a Corvette Coyote DP alongside Antonio Garcia. That pairing won three races, and Westbrook took three pole positions.

In 2013 he completed his final Rolex Sports Car Series season with the Spirit of Daytona team, driving with Ricky Taylor and finishing third at The Barber Motorsports Park. The same year he won the 12 Hours of Sebring in GT with the No. 4 Corvette, alongside Gavin and Milner. Corvette Racing had not taken a Sebring class win since 2009, so the result broke that run.

In 2014 he finished third in the first United SportsCar Championship season, with Spirit of Daytona Racing, partnering Michael Valiante, and Mike Rockenfeller joining for the longer races. Their only win came at Watkins Glen in the Sahlen 6 Hours, and a late clash with a GTD Audi in the finale cost them the runner-up place.

That June he returned to Le Mans with Corvette Racing in the No. 74 C.7.R, aiming for the overall win. The trio lost eight laps to a slipped alternator belt and a gearbox leak, but they still finished fourth in GTE Pro.

What did the Ford GT programme involve?

From 2016 Westbrook drove the new Ford GT for Chip Ganassi Racing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, alongside Ryan Briscoe, Joey Hand and Dirk Muller. The programme ran through 2019, and in 2018 it produced a GTLM class win at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

What else did Westbrook race outside the main programmes?

In 2011 he drove a Nissan GT-R GT1 for JR Motorsports in the FIA GT1 championship, finishing ninth with two podiums. The same year he joined the final two rounds of the new Blancpain Endurance Series, and he raced a Pro-AM Porsche 997 GT3-R for Haribo Team Manthey at the 24 Hours of Spa.

At the end of 2011 he travelled to Queensland for the Gold Coast 600, sharing a Jack Daniel's Holden Commodore with local driver Todd Kelly, and the pair finished thirteenth and ninth in the two races. In British GT that year, he and David Ashburn came close to defending the title, and he took two wins and three podiums along the way.

Through 2012 and 2013 he also appeared in British GT with Trackspeed. In 2013 he took a commanding win at Rockingham Motor Speedway and finished third at the Donington Park finale, which brought him recognition as Mobil Service Centre Driver of the Day.

In 2014 he had planned to race the Nurburgring 24-hour event for Haribo Team Manthey, but he joined an all-pro line-up in a Prosperia-Abt Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT3 instead. The car failed to reach the finish because of technical difficulties.

How did the Hypercar period go?

In 2021 Glickenhaus Racing signed Westbrook as one of seven drivers for its Hypercar launch in the WEC. His 2022 podium came at Le Mans, where he took third overall in a Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH with Ryan Briscoe and Franck Mailleux.

In 2023 he moved to Cadillac Racing and partnered Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn in the WEC in a Cadillac V-Series.R. The early season went badly: during practice for the 1000 Miles of Sebring he collided with the No. 88 Proton Competition Porsche, which was written off and pulled out of the race. He returned to the podium at Le Mans later that year, finishing third overall, but Cadillac dropped him at the end of the season.

In 2024 he moved into IMSA's GTP category with JDC-Miller MotorSports, driving a customer Porsche 963 alongside teammate Tijmen van der Helm. The pair finished tenth in the championship with one podium. In October 2024 he stepped away from racing, aged 49, and he then became a team advisor at JDC.

What were his most important results?

What is Westbrook's legacy?

Westbrook is remembered as a sports car specialist with Porsche one-make titles, a GT2 championship and class wins at Sebring and Daytona. His sequence of factory roles, from Porsche to Corvette, Ford, Glickenhaus and Cadillac, shows how far the sport's top manufacturers relied on him.

After his retirement he stayed with JDC as team advisor, a role that keeps his experience inside a team as the sport moves on.