Strakka Racing was a British

auto racing 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 ...

team founded by

Nick Leventis Nicholas Leventis (born 31 January 1980) is a British racing driver and founder of Strakka Racing. One of his most memorable successes was winning the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category with Danny Watts and Jonny Kane, breaking five ...

. The team was based at the

Silverstone Circuit Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Towcester, Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

. The team made history at the

2010 1000 km of Hungaroring The 2010 1000 km of Hungaroring was the fourth round of the 2010 Le Mans Series season. It took place at the Hungaroring, Hungary on 22 August 2010. It was the first time a Le Mans Series event took place at the Hungarian track. The race was ...

when they became the first team in

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 ...

history to win overall in an LMP2 class car. They also became the first team in LMS history to take overall pole position in an LMP2 class car.

History

2007 – Beginnings

The team was founded by Peter Hardman in 2007 to provide a platform for Nick Leventis to compete in contemporary

GT racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is o ...

. They entered an ex-works

BMW M3 GTR The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M GmbH. M3 models have been produced for every generation of 3 Series since the E30 M3 was introduced in 1986. The initial mode ...

in the

Britcar Britcar is an endurance sports car racing and touring car racing series in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1997, as a result of a discussion in a Nürburgring bar between Willie Moore and James Tucker. Folklore has it that James Tucker and ...

series. Leventis was accompanied by

Peter Hardman Peter Hardman (born 7 September 1964 in Redditch, Worcestershire) is an English racing driver. Hardman boasts an extensive motor racing history as a multiple race winner and one of Britain’s most experienced international drivers. He has ...

during the course of the season. Leventis also competed in classic sports car races in a Ferrari 330 P3.

2008

For 2008, the team entering the

with an

Aston Martin DBR9 The Aston Martin DBR9 is a racing car built by Aston Martin Racing, debuting in 2005 and racing actively in international sportscar racing until the end of GT1 category in 2011. The name DBR9 is derived from the original 24 Hours of Le Mans-winn ...

in the GT1 class. The team made its début at the

1000 km of Spa 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 fo ...

with Nick Leventis and Peter Hardman partnering up. They finished 24th overall and fourth in class. They also entered 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 ...

with the help from Vitaphone Racing Team. The Vitaphone team were not allowed to race their Maserati MC12 as it did not pass the ACO's technical regulations so they raced the DBR9 along with Strakka during Le Mans. Leventis and Hardman shared the car with

Alexandre Negrão Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander * Xano (disambiguation) Xano is the name of: * Xano, a Portuguese hypocoristic of the name "Alexandre (disambiguation) Alexandre may re ...

. The car retired with prop shaft failure after 82 laps around the

Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 H ...

. The team went on to compete at the 1000 km of Silverstone where the team are based. For the race, Leventis and Hardman were joined by

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated wi ...

works driver Darren Turner. The outcome was the same outcome as the event at Spa; Strakka once again finished in 24th overall and 4th in class. The team still raced in a few

events and competed at the

Britcar 24 Hours Britcar is an endurance sports car racing and touring car racing series in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1997, as a result of a discussion in a Nürburgring bar between Willie Moore and James Tucker. Folklore has it that James Tucker and J ...

in Class 2 with their BMW. The usual drivers, Leventis and Hardman, were joined by

Allan Simonsen Allan Rodenkam Simonsen (born 15 December 1952) is a Danish former footballer and manager. He most prominently played as a striker for German Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, winning the 1975 and 1979 UEFA Cups, as well as for Barc ...

and Christian Vann. They finished 13th overall.

2009

The 2009 season saw Strakka compete in every round of the Le Mans Series season. The team replaced the DBR9 with a new Ginetta-

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, ...

GZ09S to compete in the LMP1 class. The team signed new driver Danny Watts to race alongside Leventis and Hardman. The first event of the season was the 1000 km of Catalunya and saw Strakka take pole position in the brand new car, qualifying half a second quicker than the fastest of

Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Aston ...

's brand new prototypes. Not a great start from Hardman meant the two Lola-Aston Martin's overtook into turn 1. After a good and eventful race the drivers managed to finish fifth overall and in class. At the following race they produced the slowest time of any car in qualifying but managed to finish 17th overall and 12th in class at the

. A month later, the team competed at the

finishing 21st overall and 14th in class. Following the Le Mans 24 hours, Hardman decided to stepped down from both driving and his team principal role and sold his interest in Strakka Racing to Leventis. At the 1000 km of Algarve, the car retired after just 67 laps around the brand new Algarve circuit. The 1000 km of Nürburgring saw the team qualifying fourth and the Ginetta-Zytek was still running with an hour and a half left, and 141 laps completed when Danny Watts crashed into a barrier to avoid colliding with a slower GT2 car. At the 1000 km of Silverstone the team were unable to participate in qualifying meaning the car had to start from the back of the grid. Leventis and Watts finished ninth overall and eighth in class. 2009 was also the last time the team raced in Ferrari Challenge.

2010

For 2010 the team focused on the

running a

HPD ARX-01C The Acura ARX-01, later known as the HPD ARX-01 is a series of Le Mans Prototype built for sports car racing, specifically in the American Le Mans Series, Le Mans Series, and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is the first purpose-built race car by ...

which is an updated version of Acura's LMP2 car that was successful in 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' h ...

. Peter Hardman left the team but Jonny Kane was signed in time for the first round, the 8 Hours of Le Castellet. Watts took LMP2 pole, setting a time of just over two seconds faster than the next nearest LMP2 car. Strakka went on to win the LMP2 class finishing 35 seconds ahead of the LMP2 pack. The team went on to pick up its 2nd consecutive pole at the

. However, transmission failure forced the team to retire after 69 laps. At

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

the team secured pole position in LMP2, one second ahead of the

Patrón Patrón is a brand of tequila products by the Patrón Spirits Company with 40% Alcohol in each bottle. Patrón Tequilas, like all tequilas, are produced in Mexico from the "corazon" (heart or core) of the blue agave plant. Everything includin ...

Highcroft Racing Highcroft Racing was an American auto racing team based out of Danbury, Connecticut and founded by driver Duncan Dayton in 1989. Initially founded for Dayton's involvement in historic motorsport, specifically the restoration and preparation of cla ...

team with the same HPD ARX prototype which Highcroft have been developing with Acura/HPD for three years. The driver lineup of Leventis, Watts and Kane completed 367 laps and took the LMP2 class victory, as well as fifth place overall. It was clear that the HPD ARX-01C was the dominant car as Strakka and Highcroft were for a long time battling with themselves for LMP2 lead, but the Highcroft car suffered mechanical problems resulting in Strakka finishing six laps ahead of the next nearest LMP2 class finisher, the

OAK Racing OAK Racing is an endurance racing team specialising in sports prototypes based in Le Mans, France. In 2013 it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2 class and the 2013 FIA WEC World Champion drivers and teams on LMP2 class. In 2012 the team c ...

entry. Strakka secured its 4th consecutive pole at the 1000 km of Algarve with Watts qualifying 0.6 seconds faster than the other LMP2 cars. Transmission failure caused the car to halt just after completing 120 laps. The 1000 km of Hungaroring was the first event of its type to be held at the

Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtain. Bernie Ecclestone w ...

. The tight, technical track favoured the LMP2 cars who were quick in free practice and qualifying as Watts proved by putting the HPD on overall pole, the first time in Le Mans Series history for an LMP2 car. Watts qualified nearly half a second quicker than the fastest LMP1 car. The power of the LMP1 cars however was too much to cope at the start of the race, especially the Peugeot 908 diesel car entered by

Oreca ORECA (Organisation Exploitation Compétition Automobiles) is a French racing team and race car constructor, founded in 1973 and run by Hugues de Chaunac, former team manager of F1 team AGS. Oreca has had success in many areas of motorsport. ...

. However, during the race the Oreca Peugeot developed mechanical problems and the Rebellion entries spun out. Strakka overtook the Oreca Peugeot whilst it was in the pits and went on to win overall, the first time in LMS history that an LMP2 car had won outright. The LMP1 winning car finished seventh overall, the top six finishers being LMP2 entries.

FIA World Endurance Championship

Strakka joined the

2012 FIA World Endurance Championship The 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship was the inaugural running of the World Endurance Championship. It was co-organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series replaced ...

with a LMP1 class

HPD ARX-03a The HPD ARX-03a, ARX-03b, and ARX-03c are Le Mans Prototypes race cars developed by Honda Performance Development in 2012. The 03a model utilizes a Honda V8 engine for use in the LMP1 category, while the 03b uses a turbocharged V6 engine for the ...

with drivers Jonny Kane, Danny Watts and Leventis. The team finished third overall at

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

and was runner-up in the privateer LMP1 Trophy behind Rebellion Racing. In 2013, the trio drove a LMP1 class HPD ARX-03c at the FIA WEC. They retired at Silverstone, and finish seventh at Spa-Francorchamps and sixth at the

. The team did not return for the rest of the season. The team developed a LMP2 car in partnership with Japanese manufacturer Dome, but the team did not enter any race in 2014. They debuted the Strakka Dome S103 at the

2015 6 Hours of Silverstone The 2015 6 Hours of Silverstone was a six hour endurance sports car racing event held for Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars at the Silverstone Circuit near Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England on 12 April 2015 befor ...

, claiming a third place, after which they switched to a Gibson-Nissan, finishing sixth in the LMP2 teams championship. In 2016, Kane and Leventis were co-driven by Danny Watts i the first three races and Lewis Williamson for the next four races. They did not claim any podium, and missed the final two rounds, ranking seventh in the LMP2 teams' standings.

Blancpain GT Series

In 2017, Strakka joined the Blancpain GT Series to enter four McLaren 650S GT3 with factory support team. In 2018, Strakka Racing expanded its GT activities beyond Europe, forming a new partnership with Mercedes-AMG which saw the team carry Performance Team status for the German marque. The Silverstone-based ran three new Mercedes-AMG GT3s in the

Intercontinental GT Challenge The Intercontinental GT Challenge is a sports car racing series developed by the SRO Group in 2016. It consists of international endurance races for grand tourer racing cars complying with the FIA's GT3 regulations. Format The series is aimed ...

alongside the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup.

2019

In 2019, Strakka Racing continued its GT program in the

and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. On the 24th of July, it was revealed that team principal and team racing driver team

had tested positive for banned substances. He was thus banned for four years. Following this incident he announced his retirement from motorsports.

2020

In February 2020, it was confirmed by specialist media that the team had shut down permanently, without any formal announcement to that effect. In September 2020, it was announced that all of the team's assets, which included all of their race team equipment, race cars, trucks and their race team premises close to

Silverstone circuit Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Towcester, Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 ...

, were sold to

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 ...

for an undisclosed sum.

Drivers

(2007–2019)

(2007–2009)

(2008)
Darren Turner (2008)
Danny Watts (2009–2016)
Jonny Kane (2010–2016)
Lewis Williamson (2016–2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strakka Racing British auto racing teams World Series Formula V8 3.5 teams European Le Mans Series teams FIA World Endurance Championship teams 24 Hours of Le Mans teams Auto racing teams established in 2007 2007 establishments in the United Kingdom Blancpain Endurance Series teams Formula Renault Eurocup teams Mercedes-Benz in motorsport Auto racing teams disestablished in 2020