Dane Cameron

Dane Cameron is one of the most perspective and most talented American sportscar racers. In recent years, Cameron took three IMSA SportsCar Championship titles, in 2014 with Turner Motorsport's BMW Z4 GT3, in 2016 with Action Express Racing's Corvette DP, and in 2019 with Team Penske's Acura ARX-05.

Earlier in a career, Cameron was a successful open-wheel racer, winning Star Mazda title in 2007 and some other trophies in the junior categories.

Dane Cameron

Championship title in the first season of racing

Dane Cameron was born on October 18, 1988, in Glen Ellen, California. After a successful karting career, he switched to biggers cars in 2005, joining Jim Russell Racing School and winning the Formula Russell title in his debut season, with six wins in fourteen races.

In 2006, Cameron progressed to the US F2000 Championship, finishing in the second place, behind JR Hildebrand. That fall, Cameron won a Team USA Scholarship for the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy. He traveled to Europe and dominantly won the Trophy, with four wins in six races.

2007 Star Mazda champion

Star Mazda champion in 2007

In 2007, his third year of the competition, Dane has won his third title. It was in the Star Mazda Championship. He was driving for JDC Motorsports. The same year, Cameron debuted in the sportscar racing, driving prototypes for Finlay Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing in two races at Miller Motorsports Park.

In 2008, Dane's main competition was the Atlantic Championship. He scored a podium in his first race, but later in the season he wasn't so successful, so he finished 7th in the points.

In 2009, Cameron was driving for Racers Edge Motorsports

2009 - switching to sportscar racing with Mazda

In 2009, Cameron switched full time to sportscar racing, entering the GT class competition in the Grand American Rolex Series. He was driving the #30 Mazda RX-8 for Racers Edge Motorsports, sharing the car mostly with Bryce Miller and Tom Sutherland. At Daytona 24h, his co-drivers were Dion von Moltke, Bryan Sellers and Doug Peterson. They finished 24th overall and 13th in GT class. At the end of the season, Dane was 14th in the points.

He wasn't racing so much in 2010, just two races with prototypes (including Daytona 24h with Beyer Racing's Crawford DP) and one race with Mazdaspeed 3 in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. In 2011, he returned full time to Grand American Rolex Series, driving Mazda RX-8 in the GT class for Dempsey Racing. With three podiums in 12 races, he finished 4th in the points.

LMPC winners at 2011 Sebring 12h

Pole, fastest lap and class victory at 2011 Sebring 12h

After finishing 10th in GT class at Daytona 24h, the highlight of the season was Dane's participation at 2011 Sebring 12h with Genoa Racing's Oreca FLM 09. He was a dominant driver in the field, scoring pole position, fastest lap and finishing first in the LMPC class. His co-drivers were Jens Petersen and Mike Guasch.

In 2012, Dane continued to drive Mazda RX-8 in the Grand-Am Rolex Series, but for Team Sahlen. In September, at Laguna Seca, he scored his first Grand-Am class victory, alongside Wayne Nonnamaker in the #43 Mazda. At the end of the season, he finished sixth in the points. He also participated in several American Le Mans Series races driving prototypes for Dempsey Racing, including Sebring 12h, where he recorded the fastest lap but didn't finish the race.

Dane Cameron in 2013

Racing with prototypes in 2013

For 2013 Grand-Am season, Team Sahlen switched to DP class, running the BMW-powered Riley Mk XXVI prototype.  Dane's co-driver in the #42 car for most of the season was Wayne Nonnamaker. At Daytona 24h, they were partnered by Simon Pagenaud and finished in 21st place. After twelve races, Cameron was 10th in the points.

He was also recruited by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports for the last four rounds of the 2013 American Le Mans Series, to team with Mike Guasch in the #52 Oreca FLM 09. Cameron showed impressive performances, by taking three poles in four races. They scored one victory and three podiums together. It helped Mike Guasch to become ALMS LMPC class champion.

Dane with championship trophy in 2014

Cameron was the 2014 IMSA GTD champion with BMW

For the 2014 season in the newly formed IMSA United Sportscar Championship, Cameron joined Turner Motorsport to drive BMW Z4 GT3 in the GTD class. After four wins in eleven races, Cameron became the IMSA GTD champion. He was victorious at Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, Road America and Virginia. In all those races, his co-driver was Markus Palttala. In one race, at Long Beach, Cameron jumped into Risi Competizione's GTLM-class Ferrari 458 Italia, to drive along Giancarlo Fisichella as a replacement for Gianmaria Bruni.

Besides his commitments in the IMSA Championship, Cameron participated full season in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, driving the Nissan 370Z for Tim Bell Racing in GS class. Without wins and podiums, he finished 30th in the final classification.

Celebrating Detroit's victory in 2015

Joining Action Express Racing in 2015

In 2015, Cameron progressed to premium DP class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, driving the #31 Chevrolet Corvette DP for Action Express Racing. His partner for the season was Eric Curran, with a help of Max Papis and Phil Keen in long races (Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Petit Le Mans).

Cameron and Curran scored two wins (Detroit Belle Isle and Road America) and finished third in the final classification of the Prototype class. Cameron had a one-off appearance with Turner Motorsport's BMW Z4 GT3 in the Lime Rock's round, winning the race together with Michael Marsal.

Action Express Racing's driver line-up

2016 - victorious season for Dane Cameron and Eric Curran

The partnership Cameron – Curran was extended to 2016 IMSA season. The duo in the Action Express Racing's  #31 car won two times again, at Mosport and Road America, but they also added five more podiums to their accounts and became the champions. They had just a three-points advantage over their teammates in the #5 car Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa.

In the endurance classics, at Daytona and Sebring, Cameron/Curran's co-drivers were Simon Pagenaud, Jonny Adam and Scott Pruett. They finished 6th at Daytona and 7th at Sebring.

The #31 Corvette DP was Dane's car for two season

Championship runner-up in 2017, moving to Team Penske in 2018

For the 2017 season, the Action Express Racing retains the same driver lineup but the team switched to brand new Cadillac DPi prototypes. Cameron and Curran tried to defend a title in the #31 car but brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor were too strong in the #10 Cadillac. Scoring one victory, at the Grand Prix of Mosport, Cameron and Curran finished second in the points.

In the 2018 IMSA Championship season, Dane Cameron accepted a new challenge by joining Team Penske to drive the #6 Acura ARX-05 DPi prototype. The team chose Juan Pablo Montoya as Cameron's co-driver. They were on a podium four times, finishing fifth in the points.

Dane Cameron pictured in 2018

One more championship title for Dane in 2019

In 2019, Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya continued to share the #6 Acura. After not so good results at Daytona (6th) and Sebring (9th), the first win came in the fourth round at Mid-Ohio. Until the end of the season, they won two more times (Belle Isle and Laguna Seca), added four more podiums and took the championship title in Prototype class.

Parallel to IMSA commitments, Cameron raced with RealTime Racing in the Blancpain GT Challenge America, driving an Acura NSX GT3 to six victories.

2019 IMSA champions Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya

Photos: danecameron.com, imsa.com, autosport.com,