Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and

sports cars 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. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

in Europe and America. In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third in the 2009 season, fifth in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

and 2010, and sixth in 2011 and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. In sports car racing, he has won the 2020 24 Hours of Daytona and the

2020 Petit Le Mans The 2020 Petit Le Mans (formally known as the 2020 MOTUL Petit Le Mans for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd running of the Petit Le Mans, and was held on October 17, 2020. It was the 9th race in the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, ...

, was runner-up at the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

American Le Mans Series LMP2 class, and won the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

12 Hours of Sebring LMP2 class, the

and

Petit Le Mans LMP2 class, the 2015 24 Hours of Daytona GTLM class, and finished third overall at the

2008 24 Hours of Daytona The 2008 Rolex 24 at Daytona was the first round of the 2008 Rolex Sports Car Series season and the 46th running of the 24 Hours of Daytona. It took place at Daytona International Speedway between January 26–27, 2008. Qualifying In the Dayton ...

Career biography

Early career

Like many racing drivers, he started his career in karting, first racing in 1993. After winning Australian, North American and Italian championships, he moved to Formula Renault in 2000. He won the Italian Formula Renault Championship in 2001 (winning 5 races) and finished 4th running a limited schedule in the Eurocup (with 2 wins in 6 races).

2002–04: Toyota F1 test driver

In 2002, he became test driver for the

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

team which made its debut that season. He started that year racing in the Formula 3000 series, but struggled and left his ride after 7 races. He finished the year in the German Formula Three Championship, taking 3 podiums in the last 6 rounds. He also won the Formula Three Euroseries in 2003 (winning 8 races in the process). He became the Toyota F1 team's 'third' driver (i.e., drove the team's test car on Fridays at Grands Prix) for the last third of the 2004 season, after previous third driver Ricardo Zonta was called up to replace Cristiano da Matta.

2005: Move to IndyCar with Ganassi

There were rumors that Briscoe was set to race for the Jordan Grand Prix F1 team in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

, due to the team's acquisition of

power. Instead, Briscoe moved to America and raced for Target

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship ...

in the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

, including a 10th-place finish in the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...

. He also made his Rolex Grand-Am début with Ganassi at the 24 Hours of Daytona. In the

2005 IndyCar Series The 2005 IRL IndyCar Series began on Sunday, March 6 and ended on Sunday, October 16. The season, which consisted of 17 races, was the 10th season of the IRL IndyCar Series since it split from CART in 1995. Dan Wheldon was the dominant driver i ...

, Briscoe took pole position at Sears Point, but struggled on the ovals and was involved in several crashes. On 11 September 2005 he was involved in a violent crash at

Chicagoland Speedway Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval Oval track racing, speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has als ...

, breaking both

clavicle The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the rig ...

s among other injuries. His car climbed on top of the Cheever Racing entry driven by Alex Barron and went airborne into the catch fencing above the retaining wall and snapping in two. He was released from hospital on 19 September and following some initial treatment in the US, moved to the specialist Formula Medicine facility in

Viareggio Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city within the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as ...

, Italy, for the bulk of his rehabilitation. It took 8 weeks for Briscoe to recover from the injuries he sustained in the crash. His official web site announced his return to the USA on 14 November 2005.

2006–07: Limited campaigns

Briscoe was dropped by Ganassi for 2006, replaced by 2005 IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon. During the winter, he tested with fellow Australian and

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Team ...

owner Kevin Kalkhoven's PKV Racing team. Briscoe also tested for the Conquest Racing team. Briscoe competed in the 2006 24 Hours of Daytona with 2005 champions Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli and

Emmanuel Collard Emmanuel Collard (born 3 April 1971) is a French professional racing driver. He is a former member of the Porsche Junioren factory team, but also drives for other marques. Born in Arpajon, Essonne, Collard is the winner of the Le Mans Series ...

, but the team withdrew due to accident damage before Briscoe's turn to drive. Briscoe1

In 2006, Briscoe was announced as an endurance driver for

Holden Racing Team Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton, Victoria, Clayton. The team currently fields two Holden Commodore (ZB), Holden ZB Commodores in the Supercars Championship for Nick Percat a ...

in the Australian

V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

series. He partnered Jim Richards at the

Sandown 500 The Sandown 500 (formally known as the Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The event's name, distance – and the category of cars c ...

and

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most re ...

, with Richards crashing the car before Briscoe could drive a race lap at Bathurst. Briscoe also drove in the A1 Grand Prix race at

Laguna Seca Laguna Seca may refer to: * Laguna Seca Formation, a geologic formation in California * Laguna Seca (Mexico), see Convention of London * Laguna Seca (Santa Clara County), a seasonal lake in California * Laguna Seca, Texas, United States * Rancho L ...

in the US for

A1 Team Australia A1 Team Australia was the Australian team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series. Management The team chairman is former Formula One world champion Alan Jones, backed by general manager and former NASCAR driver Peter Nolan. The se ...

, scoring three points. At the Indy 500 he was a surprise late driver of the #48 car for A. J. Foyt Racing – the deal was so late he was still having his seat fitting with less than half an hour of Bump Day qualifying left, and he never got out on the track to attempt a qualifying run. He returned to the IRL the following week and drove the #5 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara to a third-place finish at

Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...

, a road course. He returned to the Dreyer & Reinbold team on a three race deal for the short speedways in the second half of the season, but recorded DNF's in 2 of his 3 races with the team. He then was tabbed to replace the injured Cristiano da Matta in the final two races of the

season for the RuSPORT team, including his home country's race at Surfers Paradise. Briscoe signed a deal to drive for

Penske Racing Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organiza ...

's Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 car in the American Le Mans Series. He took three wins in a full campaign driving with

Sascha Maassen Sascha Maassen (born 28 September 1969 in Aachen, Germany) is a veteran sports car driver. Early career Maassen began his career in karts, and moved to cars in 1989, in Formula Ford 1600. During the early 1990s, he raced in the German Formula 3 s ...

. Briscoe continued to drive the RS Spyder in a limited campaign in 2008. He scored his only class victory that year at Petit Le Mans, winning with fellow IndyCar driver

Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with W ...

. Briscoe's ties to Penske were also strengthened in 2007 when he was named to drive in the Indy 500 in a car owned by Stephen J. Luczo and Jay Penske, with equipment leased from defending '500' champion Penske Racing. Driving the #12 Symantec Luczo-Dragon Racing machine, Briscoe qualified 7th with a four lap average speed of 224.410. In the race on 28 May 2007, he completed all 166 laps before the race was called due to inclement weather. Briscoe finished 5th amongst the 33 participants earning him $302,305 and 30 driver points.

2008–2012: IndyCar contender with Penske

Ryan Briscoe signed to drive for Penske's IndyCar team as a full-time race driver for the

2008 IndyCar Series season The 2008 IndyCar Series was the 13th season of the IndyCar Series. It was the 97th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing. On February 26, 2008, the managements of Indy Racing League and Champ Car came to an agreement to bec ...

, replacing Sam Hornish Jr., who started racing full-time in Penske's NASCAR team in 2008. Briscoe knocked himself out of the 2008 Indianapolis 500 along with

Danica Patrick Danica Sue Patrick (; born March 25, 1982) is an American former professional racing driver. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win by a woman i ...

when Briscoe came out of the pits and ran into Patrick tearing up her suspension and tearing the front end of Briscoe's car. Patrick and Briscoe were fined $100,000 and placed on probation at the end of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

. Briscoe earned his first career win at the Milwaukee Mile just one week after Indy, holding off

Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...

and avoiding a late crash involving Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, and Vítor Meira. Briscoe became the sixth driver in IndyCar history to score his first win while driving for Penske, following Mark Donohue (in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

Tom Sneva Thomas E. Sneva (born June 1, 1948) is a retired American race car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1983. He primarily raced in Indy cars, and was named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. A former math teacher from Spok ...

(

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (1 ...

( 1978), Paul Tracy (

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

), and teammate

(

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

). He followed up his first career win with a second victory, shortly after the halfway point of the season, at the Honda 200 on the

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regi ...

. Briscoe also became the first Australian to claim victory at their home event, the 2008 Nikon Indy 300, on 26 October 2008, after countryman and favorite Will Power crashed out early in the race. The race, however, was not held for championship points and was the last major open-wheel event held at the

Surfers Paradise Street Circuit The Surfers Paradise Street Circuit is a temporary street circuit in Surfers Paradise, in Queensland, Australia. The beach-side track has several fast sections and two chicanes, having been shortened from an original length in 2010. It is th ...

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 ...

was Briscoe's best season in the championship, with 3 wins and 8 further podiums. Briscoe was leading the championship by 25 points before the penultimate round, the Indy Japan 300 at the

Twin Ring Motegi Mobility Resort Motegi (モビリティリゾートもてぎ) is a motorsport race track located at Motegi, Tochigi, Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Originally named Twin Ring Motegi (ツインリンクもてぎ), the circuit's name came from ...

. Briscoe then hit the wall exiting accelerating from the pit exit and had to retire, dropping to third in the championship behind

Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the India ...

and Dixon. Briscoe remained in championship contention heading into the final event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, however in a three-way battle between the title contenders, Briscoe could only finish second behind Franchitti, who became champion. Briscoe won a single race at

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 2 ...

in 2010, but could not recapture the heights of 2009 and did not win another race until

Sonoma Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the souther ...

. Briscoe did, however, take pole for the

2012 Indianapolis 500 The 96th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 27, 2012. It was the premier event of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season. For the first time since 1996 all entries featured turbocharged en ...

, becoming the first Australian to do so. Briscoe matched his best finishing position of fifth in the race.

2013–14: ALMS and return to Ganassi

At the beginning of 2013, Briscoe was unable to secure an Indycar ride. Instead, he was hired by Level 5 Motorsports to drive an HPD ARX-03b in the P2 class of the

2013 12 Hours of Sebring The 61st Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring was an endurance sports car race held on March 16, 2013 at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida, United States. It was the last edition under the American Le Mans Series rules, marking the last year fo ...

. Briscoe won his class with Scott Tucker and Marino Franchitti, his first ALMS P2 class win since 2008. Later, just before the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in April, Level 5 announced it had signed Briscoe on as a full-season P2 driver with Tucker, going on to win six times across the

. With the team Briscoe also made his debut in 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 race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

but the entry was not classified. Meanwhile, just before the 2013

Grand Prix of Alabama The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama is an IndyCar Series race held at Barber Motorsports Park, a 17-turn road course, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Officially announced on July 27, 2009, the inaugural event was on the weekend of April ...

in April, Chip Ganassi Racing announced they had signed Briscoe to return to the team for the 2013 Indianapolis 500 as a 3rd entry. Following the 500, in which Briscoe finished 12th, Panther Racing announced that it had signed Briscoe to replace

J. R. Hildebrand John Randal Hildebrand Jr. (born January 3, 1988) is an American race car driver. He currently competes in the IndyCar Series driving part-time in the No. 11 Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Enterprises. Hildebrand won the 2009 Indy Lights championship and ...

in the #4 National Guard car from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

onwards. Following Dario Franchitti's retirement after a crash at the Grand Prix of Houston,

Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...

moved from a planned fourth Ganassi Racing car, and Briscoe took over the fourth #8 NTT Data car from Kanaan for the 2014 IndyCar Series. He finished 11th in the points and failed to finish on the podium. He parted ways with Ganassi at the end of the season, as the No. 8 car needed more funding to continue. Having returned to the V8 Supercars Bathurst 1000 in 2010, and competing as a mandated 'international driver' in the Gold Coast 600 between 2010 and 2012, Briscoe returned to Australia in 2013 to compete in the newly launched three-event series of two-driver races known as the Enduro Cup. The final race of this campaign, also at the Gold Coast 600, saw Briscoe take his first championship podium driving with

Russell Ingall Russell Ingall (born 24 February 1964 in London, England) is a former full-time Australian V8 Supercar driver. He won his V8 Supercars title in 2005, and finished second in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2004. Ingall has also won the Bathurst 1000, i ...

2015: Corvette success and IndyCar substitution

Ryan Briscoe - Carb Day 2015 - Sarah Stierch

For the 2015 IndyCar Series season Briscoe had been in negotiations to race for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, but that fell through when financial arrangements could not be made for the team to field a third car. However, the team then called Briscoe in as replacement driver for James Hinchcliffe at the 2015 Indianapolis 500 after Hinchcliffe suffered a severe injury after qualifying for the race. He returned to the team at Texas and joined as permanent replacement driver from Fontana onwards. He collected four top-ten finishes in eight races in what were his final appearances in the championship. Meanwhile, Briscoe continued a relationship with Corvette Racing in the GTLM category that had commenced in 2014 with selected entries as a third driver in the endurance United SportsCar Championship (IMSA) events. In 2015, Briscoe won his class at the 2015 24 Hours of Daytona and

2015 12 Hours of Sebring The 63rd Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida was an endurance racing (motorsport), endurance sports car racing event held at Sebring International Raceway from March 18-21st. The race was the second round of the 2015 United Sp ...

driving the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R with Antonio García and Jan Magnussen. The team also entered the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans but failed to make the start after a crash in qualifying.

2016–19: Ford GT with Ganassi

In 2016, Ford launched a return to endurance sports car racing with Chip Ganassi Racing running a Ford GT across both the FIA World Endurance (WEC) and WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA) championships. Briscoe was selected to join the IMSA team which, alongside former IndyCar rival Scott Dixon and Richard Westbrook, also made annual appearances in the WEC's 24 Hours of Le Mans. The trio scored a class podium at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans and Briscoe claimed his 2nd 24 Hours of Daytona class win in 2018. In the IMSA championship, Westbrook and Briscoe contested full seasons with Dixon joining them for the endurance races. Westbrook and Briscoe finished second in the championship in both 2016 and 2018. The Ford works programme shut down at the end of the 2019 season.

2020: Wayne Taylor Racing

Briscoe switched to the Prototype class for the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech Championship, partnering with Renger van der Zande as full-time driver at Wayne Taylor Racing. The duo won the 2020 24 Hours of Daytona along with

and Kamui Kobayashi. In October 2020, Briscoe, van der Zande and Dixon won the

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

Personal life

In addition to his native English, Briscoe speaks Italian and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. He attended Trinity Grammar School in Summer Hill, Sydney, Australia, however he had left to compete in Europe before completing his education. He has been married to

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

anchor Nicole Briscoe (née Manske) since 2009 and the couple have two children. In April 2018, he became a naturalized American citizen.

Racing record