Rory Penttinen

Last updated
Rory Penttinen
Rory Penttinen.jpg
Nationality Flag of Finland.svg Finnish
Born (1979-10-30) 30 October 1979 (age 45)
Nykarleby, Finland
Le Mans Prototype career
Current teamGraff Racing
Racing licence FIA Bronze Driver.png FIA Bronze (until 2021)
FIA Silver Driver.png FIA Silver (2022–) [1]
Car number9
Former teamsGDL-racing
Hunday Germany
Rinaldi Racing
Kessel Racing
United Autosports
Starts88
Wins5
Best finish1st in 2007 - 2021
Previous series
GT3 Series

Rory Penttinen (born 30 October 1979) [2] is a Finnish racing driver born in Nykarleby, Finland who in 2021 drives in the Asian Le Mans Series [3] [4] with United Autosports and European Le Mans Series with Graff Racing.

Contents

Racing career

Penttinen's international career started in 2007 when he won the world championship in the Legends series finals in California USA. Since that he has raced different car types in several different series. Among other highlights in his career is the victory at the Nurburgring 24H race 2014 with Hyundai Germany and the Dubai 24H victory in 2017 in a Lamborghini Huracan with GDL-racing.

Penttinen is known for being a fast and reliable endurance driver, he has the ability to learn new cars and tracks in a short time and performs best when he is put under pressure. When Penttinen in June 2017 applied for a FIA bronze license, and made a debut in the Blancpain GT SERIES in a Ferrari 488 GT3 with Rinaldi racing, he finished third in class in the race.

2017 to 2019 Penttinen mainly raced GT3 cars (Ferrari 488 GT) with Rinaldi Racing and Kessel Racing but also did some other endurance races such as 25H VW FunCup in a Beetle and N24 with GDL Motorsport.

Racing highlights

YearPlaceSeries / Race
20211stAsian Le Mans Series - LMP3
20153rdADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nürburgring SP2T class
20072ndLegends Trophy Finland
20071stLegends Car World Finals - Pro

Season 2020

In 2020 Penttinen raced for Graff Racing in the Michelin Le Mans Cup. His teammate was Matthias Kaiser.

In the seasons first race at Paul Ricard, in July, Penttinen and Kaiser finished 3rd.

In the second race, at Spa-Francorchamps, car #26 finished 5th.

In the third round, that was moved from Spain to France (due to COVID-19) and held the 29th of August at Paul Ricard the Graff duo Penttinen and Kaiser did a phenomenal job. In the qualification Penttinen took the podium and he also led the race for 26 laps. Their final results from Paul Ricard was P2 and after the race they are now second in the series.

Before the final race in Portimao the duo was in 4th place in the fight for the championship. In theory it was possible to end the season on the podium and in the race both drivers did a great job behind the wheel and they crossed the finish line as P1, unfortunately they got a time penalty and the final result was P7. Despite this mistake they were P3 overall.

Season 2021

Started [5] in February 2021, Penttinen was then racing in the Asian Le Mans Series in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for the British team United Autosports. [6] Driving the LMP3 car #23 together with Wayne Boyd and Manuel Maldonado.

Also in 2021 Penttinen is driving for the French team Graff Racing [7] in the full 6 [8] races European Le Mans Series together with Matthias Kaiser in LMP3 car #9.

Racing Record

Career Summary

YearSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesPodiumsPointsPosition
2004Legends Trophy FinlandN/A????1069th
2005Legends Trophy FinlandN/A????4238th
2006Legends Trophy FinlandN/A14???12075th
2007Legends Trophy FinlandN/A?????2nd
Legends Car World Finals - Pro (USA)N/A1101N/A1st
2008Radical Sweden - RMJFG Motorsport12003347th
2009Radical Sweden - RMN/A2000N/A22nd
2010Legends Trophy FinlandN/A1301196810th
2011Legends Trophy Finland - ProN/A20008823rd
Radical Sweden - RMJFG Motorsport70007913th
2012Radical Sweden - RMJFG Motorsport60131031st
2014 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP2T Hyundai Motor Deutschland 11?1N/A1st
2015 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP2T Hyundai Motor Deutschland 1001N/A3rd
2016 Touring Car Endurance Series - A3 Brunswick
24H Series - A3
24H Series - 991 GDL Racing
24H Series - SP2
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP3T Hyundai Motor Deutschland 1000N/A4th
2017 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup - Am Rinaldi Racing10012014th
24H Series - SPX GDL Racing Middle East110129NC
2018 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup - Am Rinaldi Racing5001599th
24H GT Series - SPX GDL Racing Middle East10000NC
2019The Hankook 25 Hours VW Fun CupGDL Team Spain1000089th
Intercontinental GT Challenge Rinaldi Racing10000NC
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup - Am 20003115th
24H GT Series - A6 20001620th
24H TCE Series - TCR GDL Racing20008NC
TCR Spa 500 GDL Team Australia1000N/A11th
24 Hours of Nürburgring - V4 JJ Motorsport1000N/A4th
2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series - LMP3 Graff Racing 1000613th
2020 Le Mans Cup - LMP3 Graff Racing 701370.54th
2021 Asian Le Mans Series - LMP3 United Autosports 4333771st
European Le Mans Series - LMP3 Graff Racing 600124.514th
Le Mans Cup - GT3 Iron Lynx 21122512th
2022 Asian Le Mans Series - GT Bilstein Haupt Racing Team4000169th
Prototype Cup Germany MRS GT-Racing20020NC

References

  1. Goodwin, Graham (10 November 2021). "Updated 2022 Provisional FIA Driver Rankings Published". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  2. rorypenttinen.com: "Rory Penttinen", January 18, 2021,
  3. 2021 Asian Le Mans Series#LMP3 January 18, 2021
  4. www.dailysportscar.com United Autosports Announce Final Full Asian Le Mans Series Crew, 18 February 2021
  5. The season is on! Rory Penttinen Mototsport
  6. United Autosports Announce Final Full Asian Le Mans Series Crew, 18 February 2021
  7. Graff Racing Drivers, December 25, 2020
  8. 2021 European Le Mans Series#LMP3 January 18, 2021