Jody Firth (born 11 July 1981) is a British

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

, who most recently competed in the

British GT Championship The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports GT ...

. Having raced in a number of lower formulae, Firth has competed in the British GT Championship, the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

, the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

, the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...

, the

SPEED EuroSeries In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quantity. ...

and the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' hea ...

. He won the GT4 category of the British GT Championship in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, and has since won the SPEED UK Series in 2010 and the SPEED EuroSeries in 2011

Career

Early career

Firth, born in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, England, started his career in karting, finishing sixth in the Lincolnshire Kart Racing Club Rotax Max Senior in 2003, and nineteenth in the Lincolnshire Kart Racing Club Winter Series Rotax Max Senior in 2004. He made his car racing debut in 2004, entering the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Winter Series, driving for

Embassy Racing Embassy Racing was a British auto racing team founded by Jonathan France in 2003. Initially created as a conjunction with Xero Competition in the British GT Championship, the team expanded to become an independent team and began to win races i ...

, and he finished fourteenth overall. He then competed in twelve rounds of the

Formula Renault 2.0 UK British Formula Renault Championship referred to one of two Formula Renault championships that were held in the United Kingdom. The main series was Renault Sport UK's Formula Renault 2.0 UK championship which was held from 1989 to 2011 and was g ...

in 2005 for Team JLR, without great success; finishing 26th overall. He became team manager of

in mid-2005, and stepped back from driving.

2009

Firth returned to the cockpit in April 2009, partnering Nigel Moore in the

, driving for Team WFR in a GT4-class

Ginetta G50 The Ginetta G50 is a specialist GT4 class-developed racing car, designed by Ginetta Cars. A road version of the car was planned, but did not enter wide-scale production; instead, the smaller Ginetta G40 was launched. Development In late 2007, ...

. However, his first professional race since 2005 actually came in the

Ginetta G50 Cup The Ginetta GT4 Supercup is a one-make racing, Sports car racing series based in the United Kingdom, using identical Ginetta G50 and G55 sports cars. The championship currently supports the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). The cham ...

season opener at the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, driving for Hepworth International, with his best finish of the weekend being a fifth place in the second race. His first race in the British GT was the 2009 season's opening event, held at

Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection a ...

, where he and Moore finished eighth in race one, and ninth in race two, taking the GT4 class victory in both races. He and Moore were then entered in the

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

round of the

GT4 European Cup The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Cham ...

, taking a victory in race one, before retiring in race two. Moore and Firth entered all eight rounds of the British GT Championship in 2009, with their best overall finish being seventh. The pair were GT4 class champions for that year, taking eleven class victories in total. During the season, Firth also entered two rounds of the MR2 Racing Series, driving a first-generation

Toyota MR-2 The Toyota MR2 is a line of two-seat, mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability ...

prepared by Matthew Coggins.He qualified on pole, and won one of the two races he entered, taking the fastest lap. He also drove for Team WFR alongside

Warren Hughes Warren Hughes (born 19 January 1969) is a racing driver from Newcastle, England. He has raced in a variety of different series, most notably the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), the FIA GT1 World Championship, the Le Mans Series, ...

and

Darren Manning Darren Manning (born 30 April 1975) is a British motor racing driver who has raced in the IRL IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Career history Early career Manning was born in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, ...

in the 1000 km of Silverstone, part of the

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

, entering an Embassy WF01-

Zytek Gibson Technology is an automotive and motorsport company based at Repton, Derbyshire, England. It was founded by Bill Gibson as "Zytek Engineering" in 1981. In 1981 Gibson founded the "Zytech Group" with two main divisions: Zytek Automotive, b ...

in the

LMP2 A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were create ...

category, and finished fourth in class.

2010–2011

For 2010, he and Hughes entered the SPEED UK Series, driving for Team WFR in a Ligier JS49. The partnership proved to be a successful one, with Hughes and Firth taking the title in the final round of the season. Firth also entered three rounds of the

Formula Le Mans The Le Mans Prototype Challenge (shortened to LMP Challenge or LMPC) was a spec sports prototype formula created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), organisers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and sports car constructor Oreca. The formula is inte ...

, driving for

DAMS A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

alongside Hughes, and they won the 1000 km of Algarve and 1000 km of Silverstone. The two victories saw the pair finish twelfth in the championship, with 30 points. In 2011, Firth and Hughes stepped up from the SPEED UK Series into the

, once more driving for Team WFR, but this time in the team's new WFR03 car. The pair won three of the nine races that season, and took a total of seven podiums on the way to the title. Firth also entered all five rounds of the Le Mans Series in 2011, driving for

TDS Racing TDS Racing (Top Drive Services, also known as Pouchelon Racing) is a French racing team, currently competing in the European Le Mans Series, FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. History Eurocup Mégane Trophy (2005-201 ...

and partnering

Mathias Beche Mathias Beche (born 28 June 1986 in Geneva) is a Swiss professional racing driver. He finished eighth overall and second in the LMP2 class of the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans and is the reigning champion of the European Le Mans Series in the LMP2 clas ...

and

Pierre Thiriet Pierre Thiriet (born 20 April 1989 in Épinal) is a French racing driver. He finished eighth overall and second in the LMP2 class of the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans and won the European Le Mans Series in the LMP2 class in 2012. Career After competi ...

in a LMP2 class

Oreca 03 The Oreca 03 is a Le Mans Prototype built by Oreca in 2011. It is built within the revised 2011 ACO regulations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car made its début at the 12 Hours of Sebring run by Signatech Nissan and set to race at the 2011 ...

. The team took two class wins, at the 1000 km of Spa and

6 Hours of Estoril The 4 Hours of Estoril was a sports car endurance race held at the Autódromo do Estoril in Estoril, on the Portuguese Riviera. The race was first held in 1977 as a round of the World Sportscar Championship. It was revived in 2001 for the Europ ...

, and finished fourth overall in the LMP2 championship. Firth also partnered

Stefan Hodgetts Stefan Hodgetts (born 17 June 1982 in Bromsgrove) is a British auto racing driver, best known for driving a part season in the British Touring Car Championship. His father Chris was twice champion of the BTCC. Racing career After starting in k ...

in a

Century Motorsport Century Motorsport is a professional motor racing team based in Fenny Compton, Warwickshire, in the United Kingdom. They currently participate in the Ginetta GT4 Supercup, the British GT Championship, the Ginetta GT5 Challenge Championship, G ...

-entered

Ginetta G55 The Ginetta G55 is a specialist sports car, which has been built by Ginetta Cars since 2011. It is built to the FIA GT3 regulations, and the cars are raced in a one-make series; the Ginetta GT Supercup. In addition to this, they are also used in ...

at the Rockingham round of the British GT Championship, finishing fourth in race one, but retiring in race two.

2012

For 2012, Firth and Hughes joined

Murphy Prototypes Murphy Prototypes is an Irish auto racing team founded by ex-single seater racer Greg Murphy. The team is based in Dublin and currently, compete in the European Le Mans Series driving an Oreca 03-Nissan in the LMP2 class as well as competing at th ...

, who entered an Oreca 03 in the

(ELMS), with Luca Moro also sharing the drive. Firth also drove for Team WFR in the British GT Championship, partnering

Riki Christodoulou Riki James Christodoulou (born 15 July 1988) is a British racing driver, born in Sutton Coldfield. His cousin Adam Christodoulou is also a British Racing Driver. Career Karting Christodoulou began racing in 1996, and has raced karts in the ...

and driving a Ginetta G55. Having started the ELMS season with a retirement at the

6 Hours of Castellet The 1000 km of Castellet is a Blancpain Endurance Series sports car race held at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France. The race began in 1970 as a round of the European 2-Litre Sportscar Championship, and World Sportscar Championshi ...

, Firth competed in the season opener of the British GT Championship, held at Oulton Park, and finished fourteenth in race one, and sixteenth in race two. His British GT campaign would ultimately prove unsuccessful; his best result came at Rockingham, where he finished twelfth, and as a result, he and Christodoulou did not score a point all season. His ELMS season was a little more successful, with a third place during the

6 Hours of Donington The 6 Hours of Donington is a sports car race held at Donington Park in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the nor ...

being the team's best result in the series (

Brendon Hartley Brendon Hartley (born 10 November 1989) is a New Zealand professional racing driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing. He won the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, alongside his te ...

having replaced Moro). Firth eventually finished tenth in class in the ELMS LMP2 championship, with fifteen points. During 2012, Murphy Prototypes also entered Firth, Hughes and Hartley in two rounds of the

World Endurance Championship World Endurance Championship may refer to: * FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series held since 2012 * World Sportscar Championship, an auto racing series which used the title World Endurance Championship from 1981 to 1985 * Endura ...

(WEC), one round of the

(ALMS), and the

. The team's best WEC result came at the

6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Spa-Francorchamps) is an endurance race for sports cars held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. History The Spa 24 Hours had been introduced in 1924, and other races f ...

, where they finished third in class, and tenth overall; whilst they finished ninth in class, and sixteenth overall, in their other WEC race, the

6 Hours of Silverstone The 4 Hours of Silverstone (formerly the 1000 km of Silverstone and 6 Hours of Silverstone) is an endurance sports car race held at Silverstone Circuit near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. First run in 1976 a ...

. The ALMS and

ventures proved to be less successful; they retired from their ALMS event, the

Petit Le Mans The Petit Le Mans ( French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which a ...

, after 330 laps due to electrical failure, and retired from the 24 Hours of Le Mans after 196 laps due to suspension failure.

2013

On 16 April 2013,

United Autosports United Autosports is a sports car racing team, founded by American businessman and entrepreneur Zak Brown and former British racing driver Richard Dean. In 2020, United Autosports became the first ever team to win the prestigious 24 Hours of ...

announced that Firth would be replacing the injured Richard Meins for the rest of the British GT season, partnering

Mark Blundell Mark Blundell (born 8 April 1966) is a British racing driver who competed in Formula One for four seasons, sports cars, and CART. He won the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans. He was a Formula One presenter for the British broadcaster ITV until the ...

in a

McLaren MP4-12C The McLaren MP4-12C, later known simply as the McLaren 12C, is a sports car that was designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive. It was the first ever production car wholly designed and built by McLaren, and their first production road ...

GT3. In Firth's first race of the season, he retired from the event, held at Rockingham. He and Blundell retired once more in the following round, held at Silverstone, after four laps. Firth's first finish of the season came in the first race of the

Snetterton Snetterton is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. The village is about east-northeast of Thetford and southwest of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of . The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population o ...

round, an eighth place, whilst he and Geddie followed this up with a fifteenth-place finish in race two. In the next race, held at Brands Hatch, the pair completed 34 laps before retiring. Firth finished joint-26th in the GT3 driver's standings, level with

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and

Godfrey Jones "Homer Badman" is the ninth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on November 27, 1994. In the episode, Homer is falsely accused of sex ...

24 Hours of Le Mans results

2018

Firth was jailed by Leeds Combined Court for money laundering in July 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Firth, Jody 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Wakefield English racing drivers British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers British GT Championship drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers European Le Mans Series drivers American Le Mans Series drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Blancpain Endurance Series drivers Ginetta GT4 Supercup drivers Murphy Prototypes drivers United Autosports drivers TDS Racing drivers DAMS drivers