Stuart Leonard

Last updated

Stuart Leonard
Stuart Leonard 2017.jpg
Nationality Flag of the United Kingdom.svg British
Born (1991-06-13) 13 June 1991 (age 33)
London, United Kingdom
Current team Team WRT
Racing licence FIA Silver Driver.png FIA Silver

Stuart Leonard (born 13 June 1991) is a British racing driver who is currently competing in the Blancpain GT Series for W Racing Team (also known as Team WRT), driving an Audi R8 LMS (GT3).

Contents

Career

Caterhams

In 2012, whilst studying for a degree in Finance, Leonard started his motorsport career in the Caterham Tracksport category. Due to his university commitments, he was only able to compete in some of the scheduled races. In Leonard's first year he took home two podiums, [1] consisting of a win, and third place position, both at the Nürburgring GP circuit in Germany.

In 2013 Leonard moved up to the top of the Caterham ladder (R300 Superlight Championship), whilst being coached by the 2012 R300 Champion, Paul Wilson. That year, Leonard entered the second to last round leading the championship, however due to mechanical difficulties finished the championship second on points. [2]

Aston Martin GT3

In 2014 Leonard started driving for Prodrive in the GT3 category. After a successful debut driving their Aston Martin GT3 at VLN Nürburgring Nordschleife, Leonard started competing in the Blancpain GT Endurance Series, racing his first 24 hour race at the Spa 24 Hours (Pro-Am). [3]

In 2015 Leonard won the Silverstone round of the Blancpain GT Endurance Series (Pro-Am) with Michael Meadows and Paul Wilson, [4] completing the Blancpain GT Endurance Championship in fourth position. Leonard also participated in the British GT series at Spa-Francorchamps with Michael Meadows, finishing third overall and first in class (Silver Cup).

Audi R8 GT3

In 2015 Leonard moved from Prodrive to W-Racing Team, driving an Audi R8 GT3. Leonard competed in an all pro line-up in the Sepang 12 Hours, part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. Leonard achieved his first win with Audi, alongside his teammates Laurens Vanthoor and Stéphane Ortelli. [5]

In 2016 Leonard entered the Dubai 24 Hour, alongside his teammates Laurens Vanthoor, Michael Meadows and Alain Ferté. The team won the race, making it Audi’s first win in the Dubai 24 Hour. Later that year Leonard competed with Michael Meadows in the Blancpain GT Sprint Cup for the Silver Cup Championship, and the Blancpain Endurance Cup, adding Robin Frijns to the team line-up in the Pro Cup.

Leonard also competed in the 24 Hours Nürburgring, with teammates Robin Frijns, Frederic Vervische and Edward Sandstrome, finishing eighth overall.

In 2017 Leonard joined teammate Robin Frijns for the Blancpain Sprint Pro Cup. Together they became the 2017 Blancpain Sprint Cup champions. Leonard also competed in the Blancpain Endurance Pro Cup, taking a second place finish in the Barcelona round with teammates Robin Frijns and Jake Dennis.

Leonard also teamed up with Alain Ferté for the two British GT races at Spa-Francorchamps, finishing second in both races [6]

Hyundai Motorsport

In 2017 Leonard became involved in the development of Hyundai’s road car, the i30N. [7] He was also entered in the first and second rounds of the VLN Endurance Championship, finishing third in class for both, [8] and later finishing fourth in class at the 24 Hours Nürburgring.

Racing Record

SeasonSeriesTeamCarRacesPodiumsWinsPosition
2012Caterham, TracksportDPR MotorsportCaterham Tracksport821N/A
2013Caterham, R300 SuperlightDPR MotorsportCaterham R300 Superlight14513rd
2014VLN ChampionshipProdriveAston Martin GT3400N/A
Blancpain Endurance Championship (ProAm Cup)ProdriveAston Martin GT3300N/A
2015Blancpain Endurance Championship (ProAm Cup)ProdriveAston Martin GT35114th
British GT Spa-Francorchamps (Overall)ProdriveAston Martin GT31103rd
12 Hours of Sepang (Pro)WRTAudi R8 LMS GT31111st
2016Blancpain Sprint Championship (Silver Cup)WRTAudi R8 LMS GT310523rd
Blancpain Endurance Championship (Pro Cup)WRTAudi R8 LMS GT350044th
24 Hours of Dubai (Pro)WRTAudi R8 LMS GT31111st
24 Hours of Nürburgring (Overall)WRTAudi R8 LMS GT31008th
2017Blancpain Sprint Championship (Pro Cup)WRTAudi R8 LMS GT310421st
Blancpain Endurance Championship (Pro Cup)WRTAudi R8 LMS GT351010th
Blancpain GT Championship (Pro Cup)WRTAudi R8 LMS GT315524th
British GT Spa-Francorchamps (Overall)WRTAudi R8 LMS GT32202nd
24 Hours of Dubai (Pro)WRTAudi R8 LMS GT310013th
8 Hours of Laguna Seca (Pro)WRTAudi R8 LMS GT31006th

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results

YearCar#TeamCo-DriversCarClassLapsPos.Class
Pos.
2018 37 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Audi Sport Team WRT Flag of the Netherlands.svg Robin Frijns
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Dries Vanthoor
Audi R8 LMS APP2711st1st

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References

  1. "2012 Season Review: Caterham Tracksport Championship". BRSCC.co.uk. 21 December 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  2. "2013 Season Review: Caterham R300 Superlight Championship". BRSCC.co.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  3. "Five Aston Martins take on Spa 24 Hours". AstonMartin.com. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  4. "Blancpain Endurance Series Round 2, Silverstone". Paddock 42. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  5. "Stuart Leonard – On the hunt for two in two with WRT". Racing.GT. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  6. "Keen and Minshaw take British GT race one at Spa". Motorsport-News.co.uk.
  7. "Final test for Hyundai i30 N during the Nürburgring 24-hours race". Hyundai Media Newsroom. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  8. "Hyundai i30 N To Race At The Nurburgring". Motor1.com. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup
Champion

2017
With: Robin Frijns
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Bathurst 12 Hour
2018
With: Robin Frijns & Dries Vanthoor
Succeeded by