Maxime Martin (born 20 March 1986) is a Belgian professional racing driver and son of four-time Spa 24 Hours winner Jean-Michel Martin. He is currently a factory driver for

Mercedes-AMG Mercedes-AMG GmbH, commonly known as AMG (Aufrecht, Melcher, Großaspach), is the high-performance subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz AG. AMG independently hires engineers and contracts with manufacturers to customize Mercedes-Benz AMG v ...

set to compete in the

2025 FIA World Endurance Championship The 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship is the thirteenth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The s ...

with Iron Lynx. Martin had previously been a

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

factory driver between 2013 and 2017, racing full-time 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 racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...

for BMW Team RLL in 2013, as well as acting as BMW's DTM test and reserve driver. In late 2013 at BMW Motorsport's yearly review, Martin was confirmed as a full-time BMW DTM driver for the 2014 season. In 2018 Martin joined Aston Martin Racing for which he competed in the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

between 2018 and 2020.

Early career

Born in

Uccle Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...

, Martin finished fourth in 2006 in the

Formula Renault Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to auto racing, motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before mov ...

1.6 Belgium series. In 2007 he began racing in the Eurocup Mégane Trophy, finishing third overall with one victory. The following year he finished as runner-up, with six wins. He also won the French Renault Clio Cup title. In 2009 he raced mainly in the FIA GT3 European Championship for AutoGT Racing in a

Morgan Aero 8 The Morgan Aero 8 is a Sports car, sports automobile, car built by Morgan Motor Company at its factory in Malvern Link, England from 2000 until 2018. The Aero 8 shape evolved in the traditional Morgan way of form following function and the main ...

, winning at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

Sportscar racing

For 2010 Martin began racing in the new

FIA GT1 World Championship The FIA GT1 World Championship was a world championship sports car racing series, developed by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. I ...

for the Marc VDS Racing Team in a

Ford GT The Ford GT is a Mid-engine design, mid-engine two-seater sports car manufactured and marketed by American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company, Ford for the 2005 model year in conjunction with the company's 2003 centenary. The second gene ...

. Along with teammate Bas Leinders he scored two podium finishes and ended the season 14th in the standings. In 2011, Martin teamed with

Frédéric Makowiecki Frédéric Makowiecki (born 22 November 1980) is a French professional racing driver who currently competes as a factory driver for Alpine Endurance Team in the Hypercar category of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Career After competin ...

to win 4 races, including both rounds at Ordos. Between 2011 and 2013 Martin raced in the

Blancpain Endurance Series The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports G ...

mainly driving a BMW Z4 GT3 also for the Marc VDS Racing Team. His best result came in 2012, where he finished runner-up together with his teammates Bas Leinders and Markus Palttala.

BMW factory driver (2013–2017)

After strong results in the Blancpain Endurance Series driving the BMW Z4 GT3, Martin was promoted to a factory driver for 2013. In 2013 Martin mainly competed in the

with BMW Team RLL in the all new BMW Z4 GTE. He and his team mate Bill Auberlen won in only the second race and finished 6th in the Drivers' standings. 2014 DTM HockenheimringII Maxime Martin by 2eight DSC6714

2014 DTM HockenheimringII Maxime Martin by 2eight DSC6714

In 2014 Martin made his debut in the DTM championship for

. He won a race at the Moscow Raceway, the first victory for a Belgian in the DTM. In 2015, he won another race, this time at the

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

. In 2016, he only managed to finish twice on the podium, and ended the year winless. 2017 was his most successful season yet in the DTM, ending the season with one victory and four podiums. In 2016 Martin won the Spa 24 Hours together with Alexander Sims and Philipp Eng, driving a BMW M6 GT3. By winning this race, he followed in the footsteps of his father Jean-Michel Martin, who won the race four times, and his uncle Philippe, who won twice alongside Jean-Michel.

Aston Martin Racing factory driver (2018–2022)

In late 2017 Martin announced he would leave

after 5 years as a factory driver. He later announced he would join Aston Martin Racing as a factory driver to race in the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship. In September 2020 Martin won the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

in the LMGTE Pro class together with

Alex Lynn Alexander George Lynn (born 17 September 1993) is a British people, British racing driver who is from Great Dunmow. He currently competes in the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship driving the No. 12 Cadillac V-Series.R for Jota Sport. Lynn h ...

and Harry Tincknell for Aston Martin Racing. He took four more podiums during the season and finished runner-up in the Drivers' standings. While Aston Martin Racing officially ended its factory involvement in the FIA WEC after the 2019-2020 season, Martin was retained as a factory driver to support the customer racing program. However, due to a lack of opportunities in 2021 he raced on Porsche cars on several occasions. In 2022 Martin will race in the

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

on an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 from The Heart of Racing Team. This marks his return to a full time program in North America for the first time since 2013. Martin ended up winning two races in the GTD class during the season, one of which was the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, helping his teammate Roman De Angelis win the title. At the end of the season he and Aston Martin decided to part ways after five seasons.

Return to BMW Motorsport (since 2023)

On October 26, 2022 it was announced that Martin would return to the squad of BMW factory drivers. In 2023 Martin will mainly compete in the GT World Challenge Europe series partnering

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

legend Valentino Rossi driving a BMW M4 GT3 for

Team WRT W Racing Team (known as Team WRT) is a Belgium, Belgian auto racing team founded in 2009 by engineer and former head of Volkswagen Motorsport René Verbist, racing driver Vincent Vosse, and entrepreneur Yves Weerts. Between 2010 and 2022 the team ...

. Beside his GT program Martin will also be involved in WRT's testing program of the BMW M Hybrid V8. On July 16 he and Rossi won the second sprint race at the Misano circuit which marked Rossi's maiden win in the championship.

Racing record

Career summary

^† As Martin was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
^* Season still in progress.

Complete GT1 World Championship results

Complete FIA GT Series results

^‡ As Martin was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

Complete GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup results

^* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Spa results

Complete 24 Hours of Nürburgring results

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

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

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results

Complete British GT Championship results

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

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^* Season still in progress.

Complete 24H GT Series results

Complete 24 Hours of Zolder results

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Maxime Living people 1986 births People from Uccle Belgian racing drivers French Formula Renault 2.0 drivers FIA GT Championship drivers Eurocup Mégane Trophy drivers FIA GT1 World Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers American Le Mans Series drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers International GT Open drivers ADAC GT Masters drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers British GT Championship drivers Racing drivers from Brussels Rowe Racing drivers OAK Racing drivers TDS Racing drivers Aston Martin Racing drivers Racing Bart Mampaey drivers Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers Belgian Formula Renault 1.6 drivers R-Motorsport drivers BMW M drivers Porsche Motorsports drivers KCMG drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers Boutsen Ginion Racing drivers 24H Series drivers W Racing Team drivers GT4 European Series drivers TF Sport drivers Iron Lynx drivers