Rory Penttinen

Last updated
Rory Penttinen
Rory Penttinen.jpg
Nationality Flag of Finland.svg Finnish
Born (1979-10-30) 30 October 1979 (age 44)
Nykarleby, Finland
Le Mans Prototype career
Current teamGraff Racing
Racing licence FIA Silver Driver.png FIA Silver
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) [1] is a Finnish racing driver born in Nykarleby, Finland who in 2021 drives in the Asian Le Mans Series [2] [3] 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 [4] in February 2021, Penttinen was then racing in the Asian Le Mans Series in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for the British team United Autosports. [5] Driving the LMP3 car #23 together with Wayne Boyd and Manuel Maldonado.

Also in 2021 Penttinen is driving for the French team Graff Racing [6] in the full 6 [7] 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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Onslow-Cole</span> British racing driver (born 1987)

Thomas Michael Onslow-Cole is a former British racing driver. He won the International GT Open in Pro-Am category in 2018 and in 2019 and the 24H Series in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Braun</span> American racing driver

Colin James Braun is an American racing driver. He is the 2014 and 2015 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype Challenge Champion and currently drives the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 for Meyer Shank Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Driving the ARX-06, he was part of the winning team of the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona. He formerly competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the Xfinity Series. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Buncombe</span>

Christopher James Buncombe is a British racing driver who made his last appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours was in 2011. He joined Aston Martin Racing at the end of the 2009 season when he drove in the Le Mans Series scoring a podium finish on his debut with the team at Nürburgring driving the 008 Aston Martin LMP1 car. Chris won the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class driving for Binnie Motorsports in their Lola B05/40-Zytek.

United Autosports is a sports car racing team based in Wakefield, England, United Kingdom, founded by businessman Zak Brown and former driver Richard Dean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicky Catsburg</span> Dutch racing driver

Nick Catsburg is a Dutch professional racing driver, currently competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship with Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports. He was also a factory driver for BMW from 2011 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jody Fannin</span> British auto racing driver

Jody Fannin is a British auto racing driver. He competed in the European Le Mans Series in 2017, winning the GTE Championship with Rob Smith driving for JMW Motorsport in a Ferrari 488 GTE. He was the 2012 British GT GT4-class champion, along with Warren Hughes, driving for Team WFR in a Ginetta G50.

The 2016 GT Series Sprint Cup was the fourth season following on from the demise of the SRO Group's FIA GT1 World Championship, the third with the designation of Blancpain Sprint Series or Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. After developing their partnership, Blancpain and the SRO decided that 2016 would see both the Sprint and Endurance Series further integrated into the Blancpain GT Series, putting the emphasis on the prestigious overall drivers' and manufacturers' titles causing the Sprint Series name to change from Blancpain Sprint Series to Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup.

The 2016 24H Series powered by Hankook was the second season of the 24H Series with drivers battling for championship points and titles and the ninth season since Creventic, the organiser and promoter of the series, organises multiple races a year. The races were contested with GT3-spec cars, GT4-spec cars, sports cars, touring cars and 24H-Specials, like silhouette cars. The 24H Silverstone and the 24H Epilog Brno were part of both the 24H Series and the Touring Car Endurance Series, with only touring cars eligible for racing in the English round.

The 2017 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup was the seventh season of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. The season began on 23 April at Monza and ended on 1 October in Barcelona. The season featured five rounds, with each race lasting for a duration of three hours besides the 24 Hours of Spa and the 1000 km Paul Ricard events.

The 2018 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup was the eighth season of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. The season began on 22 April at Monza and ended on 30 September in Barcelona. The season featured five rounds, with each race lasting for a duration of three hours besides the 24 Hours of Spa and the 1000 km Paul Ricard events.

The 2019 GT Series Endurance Cup was the ninth season of the GT Series Endurance Cup. The season began on 14 April at Monza and ended on 29 September in Barcelona. The season featured five rounds, with each race lasting for a duration of three hours besides the 24 Hours of Spa and the 1000 km Paul Ricard events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CarGuy Racing</span>

Car Guy Racing is an auto racing team based in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, established by Takeshi Kimura in 2016. The team currently competes in the European Le Mans Series under collaboration with Kessel Racing, fielding the No. 9 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo in the GT300 class and the No. 57 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo in the LMGTE class respectively. Car Guy is also scheduled to compete in GT World Challenge Asia with a Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo in the GT3 class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jules Gounon</span> French racing driver

Jules Jean-Louis Gounon is an Andorran-based French professional racing driver. He is best known for his victories in the 24 Hours of Spa in 2017 and 2022, and the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2020, 2022 and 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autoracing Club Bratislava</span>

Autoracing Club Bratislava, also known as ARC Bratislava, is an auto racing team based in Slovakia. The team is led by Miro Konôpka, who has been driving for the team since its inception. ARC Bratislava are currently known for competing in the Asian Le Mans Series and also the FIA World Endurance Championship, where they lasted for two seasons in the LMP2 Pro-Am class, joining the series in 2021. The team has competed in various FIA, ACO or SRO-sanctioned championships throughout its existence, using various prototypes or GT cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuel Maldonado</span> Venezuelan racing driver

Manuel Maldonado Vargas is a Venezuelan racing driver currently racing in the European Le Mans Series for Panis Racing. He is the cousin of former Formula One driver Pastor Maldonado.

The 2022 Asian Le Mans Series was the tenth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's Asian Le Mans Series. It is the fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans-based series created by the ACO, following the American Le Mans Series, the European Le Mans Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship. The four-event season began at the Dubai Autodrome in Dubai on 11 February 2022 and ended at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on 20 February 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 European Le Mans Series</span> 2022 ELMS season

The 2022 European Le Mans Series was the nineteenth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's (ACO) European Le Mans Series. The six-event season began at Circuit Paul Ricard on 17 April and finished at Algarve International Circuit on 16 October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Petit Le Mans</span> Motor race

The 2022 Petit Le Mans was the 25th running of the Petit Le Mans, and was held on October 1, 2022. It was the 12th and final race in the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the 4th race of the 2022 Michelin Endurance Cup. The race was held at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. The event was the last ever race for the DPi Class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthias Kaiser</span> Liechtenstein racing driver

Matthias Kaiser is a Liechtenstein racing driver currently competing in the European Le Mans Series with Mühlner Motorsport.

Richard Antony Dean is a former British Racing Driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans GT2 class in 2006. In 2010, Richard Dean founded the sports car racing team United Autosports with Zak Brown.

References

  1. rorypenttinen.com: "Rory Penttinen", January 18, 2021,
  2. 2021 Asian Le Mans Series#LMP3 January 18, 2021
  3. www.dailysportscar.com United Autosports Announce Final Full Asian Le Mans Series Crew, 18 February 2021
  4. The season is on! Rory Penttinen Mototsport
  5. United Autosports Announce Final Full Asian Le Mans Series Crew, 18 February 2021
  6. Graff Racing Drivers, December 25, 2020
  7. 2021 European Le Mans Series#LMP3 January 18, 2021