Jon Lancaster

Jon Lancaster
Jon Lancaster
Nationality	British
Born	10 December 1988 (age 36); Leeds, Yorkshire
European Le Mans Series career
Debut season	2015
Current team	JMW Motorsport
Racing licence	FIA Gold
Car number	66
Former teams	Greaves Motorsport, Algarve Pro Racing
Starts	16
Wins	2
Poles	4
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	1st in 2015
Previous series
2012–2015; 2011; 2011; 2009–10; 2008; 2007; 2007; 2006–07; 2006	GP2 Series; FIA Formula Two Championship; Auto GP; Formula Renault 3.5 Series; Formula 3 Euro Series; Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0; French Formula Renault 2.0; FR2.0 UK Winter Series; Star of Silverstone
Championship titles
2015	European Le Mans LMP2

Jon Francis Lancaster (born 10 December 1988 in Leeds) is a British auto racing driver.

Career

Early life and karting

Lancaster was born on 10 December 1988 in Leeds, Yorkshire. He used to watch Formula One from the age of three and always liked the cars. After getting his full karting licence, Lancaster initially competed at Wombwell Kart Circuit in Barnsley, where he won in his sixth ever race in the Cadet class.^[1] The first competitive kart he owned was a basic 100 British pounds kit with engines supplied by Jenson Button’s father, John. Lancaster's father was a former racing mechanic and wanted his son to go karting but also attend Horsforth School. Some years later, he was approached by Paul Lemmens, a talent scout. After having a talk with Lemmens, the talent manager Harald Huysman went to England to see Lancaster and was impressed, saying that he had "everything to be the best in the world". In 2006, as a 16-year-old, Lancaster mainly appeared in the Formula A karting category with Italian team Birel, finishing second in the World Championship and third in the European Championship.^[2]

Formula Renault 2.0

At the end of 2006, he moved up to single-seater formula racing, by competing in the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Winter Series with the AKA Lamac team. Lancaster finished sixteenth in the championship, recording a best finish of 8th during round 2 at Brands Hatch.

Lancaster driving in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 in 2007.

2007 saw Lancaster move up into the Formula Renault Eurocup driving for SG Formula's second team, SG Drivers Project. Lancaster struggled in the early part of the season, amassing only a second-place finish at the Hungaroring from the first six races, but he improved his form in the last eight races. Four consecutive wins during the last four races gave Lancaster a second place in the championship, behind Brendon Hartley.^[3] He dovetailed that European campaign with a season in the French Formula Renault Championship, competing in eleven of the series' thirteen races, finishing sixth with two wins coming at Magny-Cours and Barcelona. After those seasons, he competed for Hitech Racing's Junior team in the Formula Renault UK Winter Series, finishing fourteenth in the championship despite recording a third place at Donington Park in round two.

Formula 3 Euro Series

Lancaster moved up to the Formula 3 Euro Series for the 2008 season, driving for multiple champions ART Grand Prix. It was a testing year for the Yorkshireman, finishing twelfth in the championship including a win at the Nürburgring. The season wasn't without incident though, as Lancaster survived a horrendous crash during the season-opening race at Hockenheim. In a similar crash to that of Lucas di Grassi in 2005, Lancaster clipped the rear wheel of Jean Karl Vernay's car, while battling for sixth place and flipped over, skating over the tarmac runoff upside-down, before returning to its wheels in the gravel trap. The Englishman would sit out the second race, due to being at hospital for checkups. In non-championship races, Lancaster finished third at Zolder, for ART at the Masters of Formula 3 event and was 11th at the Macau Grand Prix for Manor Motorsport.

Formula Renault 3.5

Jon Lancaster – World Series by Renault Formule 3.5 – Fortec Motorsport – Silverstone 2010

Lancaster had been expected to return to the F3 Euroseries for the 2009 season, driving for SG Formula alongside Toyota junior drivers Henkie Waldschmidt and Andrea Caldarelli,^[4] but a pre-season disagreement with the team^[5] led to Alexandre Marsoin driving for the team.^[6] He joined Comtec Racing for the rest of the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season,^[5] taking his first win, during the series' first race at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão. He ended up thirteenth in the championship. He returned to the series in 2010, moving to Fortec Motorsport.^[7]

Formula Two

Lancaster began 2011 without a regular drive, but moved to Formula Two to take part in the Magny-Cours event only,^[8] driving with sponsorship from Silver Lining. He scored points in both races in which he competed.

Auto GP

Lancaster also competed two rounds in Auto GP with Super Nova Racing in 2011. He won at Donington in wet conditions.

GP2 Series

Lancaster at Silverstone during the 2014 GP2 Series season.

Lancaster made his GP2 Series début in 2012.^[9] He signed to drive for Ocean Racing Technology with fellow rookie Nigel Melker.^[10] He was replaced by Brendon Hartley after the first event of the season for budgetary reasons.^[11]

On 8 May 2013, newcomer GP2 team Hilmer announced that Lancaster would drive alongside Formula Renault champion and Sauber test driver Robin Frijns for the third round of the 2013 GP2 season. On his return, he finished on the podium in the feature race, benefitting from a penalty given to Carlin's Jolyon Palmer. With his team mate winning, it was a double podium for Hilmer.

Lancaster went on to take his maiden GP2 win on 30 June 2013 at his home round at Silverstone, the fifth round of the season. He won the sprint race, repeating the British success that weekend along with Sam Bird who also won that weekend the day before in the feature race.

Racing record

Lancaster competing at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2006	Star of Silverstone	Silverstone Motorsport Academy	2	1	0	?	2	?	?
2006	Formula Renault 2.0 UK Winter Series	AKA Lemac	4	0	0	0	0	30	16th
2007	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0	SG Drivers Project	14	5	4	3	6	102	2nd
	French Formula Renault 2.0	SG Formula	10	2	1	1	3	64	6th
	Formula Renault 2.0 UK Winter Series	Hitech Junior Team	4	0	0	1	0	33	14th
2008	Formula 3 Euro Series	ART Grand Prix	19	1	0	1	2	19	12th
	Masters of Formula 3	ART Grand Prix	1	0	0	0	1	N/A	3rd
	Macau Grand Prix	Manor Motorsport	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	11th
2009	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	Comtec Racing	12	1	1	2	2	39	13th
2010	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	Fortec Motorsport	17	0	1	2	1	39	13th
2011	FIA Formula Two Championship	MotorSport Vision	2	0	0	0	0	14	10th
2011	Auto GP	Super Nova Racing	4	1	0	2	1	51	11th
2012	GP2 Series	Ocean Racing Technology	2	0	0	0	0	0	34th
2012-13	MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship	MRF Racing	10	0	1	0	3	91	4th
2013	GP2 Series	Hilmer Motorsport	16	2	0	2	3	73	11th
2014	GP2 Series	MP Motorsport	2	0	0	0	0	6	23rd
2014	GP2 Series	Hilmer Motorsport	14	0	0	0	0	6	23rd
2015	European Le Mans Series - LMP2	Greaves Motorsport	5	2	1	0	3	93	1st
2015	GP2 Series	Hilmer Motorsport	2	0	0	0	0	0	32nd
2020	European Le Mans Series - LMP2	Algarve Pro Racing	5	0	0	0	0	13	17th
2021	GT Cup Championship - Group GTH	Greystone GT	4	0	0	0	0	14	9th
2022	GT Cup Championship - Group GTH	Greystone GT
2022	Indian Racing League	Chennai Turbo Riders	6	0	0	1	2	70	9th
2023	European Le Mans Series - LMGTE	JMW Motorsport	6	0	3	0	1	47	6th
	GT Cup Championship - Group GTH	Greystone GT	4	3	4	3	4	0	NC†
	McLaren Trophy Europe - Artura Trophy
	McLaren Trophy Europe - 570S Trophy
	Indian Racing League	Chennai Turbo Riders	3	0	0	1	3	83‡	2nd‡
2024	GT4 European Series - Pro-Am	RAFA Racing Club
2024	Indian Racing League	Chennai Turbo Riders	5	3	0	0	3	147‡	2nd‡

^* Season still in progress.

‡ Team standings.

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2008	ART Grand Prix	Dallara F308/070	Mercedes	HOC 1 Ret	HOC 2 DNS	MUG 1 23	MUG 2 25	PAU 1 3	PAU 2 7	NOR 1 5	NOR 2 Ret	ZAN 1 Ret	ZAN 2 Ret	NÜR 1 7	NÜR 2 1	BRH 1 9	BRH 2 10	CAT 1 10	CAT 2 22	BUG 1 12	BUG 2 Ret	HOC 1 Ret	HOC 2 20	12th	19

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Pos	Points
2009	Comtec Racing	CAT 1	CAT 2	SPA 1	SPA 2	MON 1	HUN 1 9	HUN 2 10	SIL 1 22	SIL 2 15	BUG 1 8	BUG 2 5	ALG 1 1	ALG 2 Ret	NÜR 1 9	NÜR 2 Ret	ALC 1 3	ALC 2 20	13th	39
2010	Fortec Motorsport	ALC 1 4	ALC 2 Ret	SPA 1 9	SPA 2 7	MON 1 7	BRN 1 10	BRN 2 7	MAG 1 10	MAG 2 Ret	HUN 1 Ret	HUN 2 22	HOC 1 3	HOC 2 8	SIL 1 13	SIL 2 17	CAT 1 14	CAT 2 9	13th	39

Complete FIA Formula Two Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pos	Points
2011	SIL 1	SIL 2	MAG 1 7	MAG 2 6	SPA 1	SPA 2	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	BRH 1	BRH 2	SPL 1	SPL 2	MON 1	MON 2	CAT 1	CAT 2	10th	14

Complete Auto GP results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Pos	Points
2011	Super Nova Racing	MNZ 1	MNZ 2	HUN 1	HUN 2	BRN 1 4	BRN 2 6	DON 1 1	DON 2 4	OSC 1	OSC 2	VAL 1	VAL 2	MUG 1	MUG 2	11th	51

Complete GP2 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	DC	Points
2012	Ocean Racing Technology	SEP FEA Ret	SEP SPR 17	BHR1 FEA	BHR1 SPR	BHR2 FEA	BHR2 SPR	CAT FEA	CAT SPR	MON FEA	MON SPR	VAL FEA	VAL SPR	SIL FEA	SIL SPR	HOC FEA	HOC SPR	HUN FEA	HUN SPR	SPA FEA	SPA SPR	MNZ FEA	MNZ SPR	MRN FEA	MRN SPR	34th	0
2013	Hilmer Motorsport	SEP FEA	SEP SPR	BHR FEA	BHR SPR	CAT FEA 3	CAT SPR 10	MON FEA 12	MON SPR 17	SIL FEA 5	SIL SPR 1	NÜR FEA 7	NÜR SPR 1	HUN FEA 23	HUN SPR 18	SPA FEA	SPA SPR	MNZ FEA 13	MNZ SPR 17	MRN FEA 9	MRN SPR 5	YMC FEA Ret	YMC SPR Ret			11th	73
2014	MP Motorsport	BHR FEA 17	BHR SPR 15	CAT FEA	CAT SPR	MON FEA	MON SPR	RBR FEA	RBR SPR																	23rd	6
2014	Hilmer Motorsport									SIL FEA 22	SIL SPR 13	HOC FEA Ret	HOC SPR 5	HUN FEA 17	HUN SPR 16	SPA FEA 19	SPA SPR Ret	MNZ FEA 11	MNZ SPR 15	SOC FEA 12	SOC SPR 16	YMC FEA 18	YMC SPR 14			23rd	6
2015	Hilmer Motorsport	BHR FEA	BHR SPR	CAT FEA	CAT SPR	MON FEA	MON SPR	RBR FEA	RBR SPR	SIL FEA 16	SIL SPR 17	HUN FEA	HUN SPR	SPA FEA	SPA SPR	MNZ FEA	MNZ SPR	SOC FEA	SOC SPR	BHR FEA	BHR SPR	YMC FEA	YMC SPR			32nd	0

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2014	Race Performance	Michel Frey Franck Mailleux	Oreca 03R-Judd	LMP2	342	12th	8th
2015	Greaves Motorsport	Gary Hirsch Gaëtan Paletou	Gibson 015S-Nissan	LMP2	71	DNF	DNF

Complete European Le Mans Series results

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	Rank	Points
2015	Greaves Motorsport	LMP2	Gibson 015S	Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8	SIL 1	IMO 4	RBR 4	LEC 1	EST 2		1st	93
2020	Algarve Pro Racing	LMP2	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	LEC 6	SPA 12	LEC Ret	MNZ 8	ALG 12		17th	13
2023	JMW Motorsport	LMGTE	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8	CAT 3	LEC 6	ARA 5	SPA Ret	ALG 11	ALG 4	6th	47

Indian Racing League results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Franchise	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pos.	Pts
2022	Chennai Turbo Riders	HYD1 1 C	HYD1 2 C	HYD1 3 C	IRU1 1	IRU1 2 3	IRU1 3 Ret	IRU2 1	IRU2 2 2	IRU2 3 Ret	HYD2 1	HYD2 2 4	HYD2 3 4	9th	70
2023‡	Chennai Turbo Riders	IRU1 1 3	IRU1 2	IRU2 1	IRU2 2 2	IRU3 1 3	IRU3 2							2nd	83
2024‡	Chennai Turbo Riders	IRU 1 1	IRU 2	IGR 1 Ret	IGR 2	IRU 1 1	IRU 2	KAR1 1 1	KAR1 2	KAR2 1 4	KAR2 2			2nd	141

‡ Standings based on entry points, not individual drivers.

* Season in progress.

Personal life

Lancaster went to Calverley Church of England Primary and Horsforth High School, and is interested in karting, football and cycling. He is also a supporter of English football team, Leeds United.

References

^ Hac, Rachel (8 October 2013). "F1 Young Drivers – An Interview with GP2 Driver Jon Lancaster". Sportpulse. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
^ Eason, Kevin (29 December 2005). "Lancaster taking the Button route to Formula One". The Times. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
^ Allen, Peter (10 July 2013). "Back in business: Jon Lancaster". Formula Scout. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
^ "Lancaster to lead SG line-up". autosport.com. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Comtec Renault deal ends Lancaster's wait". Autosport. Vol. 196, no. 11. 11 June 2009. p. 27.
^ "The 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series – impressive top-class grid". Formula 3 Euro Series. 13 May 2009. Archived from the original on 22 June 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
^ English, Steven (29 March 2010). "Lancaster joins Fortec for FR3.5". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
^ "Jon Lancaster signs up to F2". 11 May 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
^ "Jon Lancaster joins Ocean for GP2". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
^ Elizalde, Pablo (14 November 2011). "Nigel Melker graduates to GP2 full time with Ocean Racing". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
^ "Ocean GP2 team hopes Jon Lancaster's absence from Bahrain round is a one-off". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.

External links

Official website
Jon Lancaster career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Oliver Webb Nelson Panciatici Paul-Loup Chatin	European Le Mans Series LMP2 Champion 2015 With: Björn Wirdheim & Gary Hirsch	Succeeded by Harry Tincknell Giedo van der Garde Simon Dolan

[1] Hac, Rachel (8 October 2013). "F1 Young Drivers – An Interview with GP2 Driver Jon Lancaster". Sportpulse. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2022.

[2] Eason, Kevin (29 December 2005). "Lancaster taking the Button route to Formula One". The Times. Retrieved 29 April 2022.

[3] Allen, Peter (10 July 2013). "Back in business: Jon Lancaster". Formula Scout. Retrieved 28 April 2022.

[4] "Lancaster to lead SG line-up". autosport.com. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.

[Autosport-5] "Comtec Renault deal ends Lancaster's wait". Autosport. Vol. 196, no. 11. 11 June 2009. p. 27.

[6] "The 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series – impressive top-class grid". Formula 3 Euro Series. 13 May 2009. Archived from the original on 22 June 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2009.

[7] English, Steven (29 March 2010). "Lancaster joins Fortec for FR3.5". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 29 March 2010.

[8] "Jon Lancaster signs up to F2". 11 May 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.

[9] "Jon Lancaster joins Ocean for GP2". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.

[10] Elizalde, Pablo (14 November 2011). "Nigel Melker graduates to GP2 full time with Ocean Racing". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 14 November 2011.

[11] "Ocean GP2 team hopes Jon Lancaster's absence from Bahrain round is a one-off". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.

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