Nicholas Leventis is a British former professional endurance racing driver, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the founder of Strakka Racing and has competed internationally in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, achieving multiple class wins and setting several endurance-racing records. One of his most memorable successes was winning the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category with Danny Watts and Jonny Kane, breaking five records in the process.[1] In 2013, he claimed another victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, this time in the top class of LMP 1 privateers. He is currently based in Monaco.
Nicholas Leventis was born in Kensington, London of Persian / Greek Cypriot heritage, and educated at Harrow School with a notable mention, and later studied at the University of Edinburgh. After completing his studies, Leventis lived and worked in Romania and Nigeria. He initially pursued a career as a competitive alpine skiing but a back injury ended his trajectory in winter sports and led him to motorsport. He began racing with EDM Motorsport before founding Strakka Racing in 2006.
Personal life
Leventis is married to Ukrainian-born former model and PR entrepreneur Olga Leventis. The couple met in Los Angeles before later marrying in Monaco.[2]
Net worth
Leventis is a member of the prominent Leventis family, which built its wealth through the Nigerian Bottling Company and later Coca-Cola HBC, one of the largest Coca-Cola anchor bottlers, operating in 43 countries across Europe and Africa by the end of 2026.[3] The Leventis family were ranked 60th in the 2024 list of the wealthiest people in the United Kingdom, with an estimated combined fortune of about €3.5 billion, mainly due to their long-standing Coca-Cola bottling interests and properties around the world.[4]
Racing
2004 - Start of racing career, driving a BMW M3 in the BMW LMA Euro Saloon Championship, dominating Class B and finishing runner-up in the overall standings. He proved his merit in endurance racing and achieved a class win and 6th overall in the first-ever Silverstone Britcar 24 Hour.[citation needed]
2006 and 2007 - Victories in the Roy Salvadori Trophy at the Silverstone Classic meeting with a 1957 Aston Martin DBR1. In 2007 he reached a personal landmark with a Le Mans podium in the Legends race driving a Ferrari P3.[citation needed]
Leventis also competed in the Belgian and Italian Touring Car Series, gaining several podiums, two class victories at Spa and consecutive wins in the prestigious Vallelunga 6 Hour Silver Cup. Other successes included podium in the Epilogue of Brno 6 Hour race and a GT1 class win and second overall in the highly competitive Vallelunga Gold Cup.[citation needed]
2010 - Raced an LMP2 twin-turbo V6 engined HPD ARX-01c in the Le Mans Series, recording one of the most remarkable seasons in sportscar racing, scoring an LMP2 victory at the Le Mans 24 Hour race, breaking five records. Memorably the team also achieved the first ever LMS outright win for an LMP2 chassis, with victory at the 1,000km race at the Hungaroring.[citation needed]
2011 - Became the first LMP2 driver to achieve two overall victories in the Le Mans Series.[citation needed]
2012 and 2013 - Raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship with an LMP1 class HPD ARX-03a with Johnny Kane and Danny Watts. The team finished on the FIA Endurance Trophy for Private LMP1 Teams' podium in all eight races – achieving the 100% record with an outstanding final stint in Shanghai by Leventis when he took the car from fourth to third in the closing stages of the race. The highlight of the season was a third overall finish at the 6 Hours of Bahrain.[citation needed]
2012 - Leventis was the brainchild behind the creation of Strakka Performance in 2012, a driver development programme designed to nurture young talent to the best they can.[citation needed]
2013 - Leventis took over the P1 Motorsport Formula Renault 3.5 team, integrating it into Strakka Racing's driver development programme.[citation needed]
2015 – Leventis spearheaded the design and production of Strakka's own car, the DOME S103 at the 6 Hours of Silverstone, claiming a third place on its debut.[citation needed]
2016 – He became a member of the prestigious BRDC (British Racing Drivers' Club), home to the most successful racing drivers from Great Britain and the Commonwealth.[citation needed]
2018 - In 2018, he would expand Strakka Racing's GT activities beyond Europe, forming a new partnership with Mercedes-AMG which will see them carry Performance Team status for the German marque. The Silverstone-based team will run three new Mercedes-AMG GT3s in the Intercontinental GT Challenge alongside Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup.
2019 - On the 24th of July, it was revealed that Leventis had tested positive to banned substances. He was thus banned for four years.[5] Following this incident, he announced his retirement.[citation needed]
Leventis has been involved in charitable work connected to his family's long-standing philanthropic tradition through the A. G. Leventis Foundation, which supports education, culture and environmental projects in Europe and Africa and has funded thousands of scholarships worldwide.[10][11] In 2010, Leventis took part in the Everest Skydive project in Nepal as an ambassador for the charity Global Angels, completing a tandem skydive from around 30,000 feet above Mount Everest to raise funds for vulnerable children and communities.[12] In 2012, Leventis abseiled down The Shard in London as part of a charity event supporting the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund, joining fellow World Endurance Championship drivers in the fundraiser.[13]
In 2018, Leventis participated in a charity football match with Manchester United football player Dimitar Berbatov to raise money for charity in Bulgaria, supporting children's orphanages and the conservation of the Orthodox church.[14] Leventis has also participated in long-distance running events, including the New York City Marathon in 2011, finishing in 3:11:33, in support of charitable causes. [15]
After retiring, Leventis expanded his charitable focus by developing the Uprise Project—later known as the Uprising Project- aiming to inspire large-scale positive action by channelling collective motivation into meaningful environmental and social initiatives. [16]
Awards and honours
2010 LMP2 class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Strakka Racing, setting multiple category performance records, the Michelin Green X Challenge (Prototype category) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Nigel Moores Trophy as a private entrant who has established the most meritorious performances in international motor racing.[17][18]
2013, became the first privateer to achieve an overall podium in the World Endurance Championship.[19]
2016 BRDC Woolf Barnato Trophy (with Jonny Kane and Danny Watts) for being the highest-placed British drivers in a British car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and RMA Trophy of driver of the year for outstanding performance.[20]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
British 
FIA Bronze
