Martin Plowman

Martin Plowman is a British racing driver who achieved the most in the sports car racing. He reached a peak in 2013 when he won the FIA World Endurance Championship title in the LMP2 class. As a part of his championship-winning campaign, he also won the LMP2 class at Le Mans 24 Hours.

Martin Plowman

Three seasons in the European single-seater competitions

Born in Tamworth, Staffordshire, Plowman spent his teenage years in karting competitions. He switched to bigger race cars in 2006, entering the Formula Renault Championship with the Italian Prema Powerteam. He finished fifth in the Italian championship, taking the Rookie of the Year honors. In the Formula Renault Eurocup, he was 23rd.

Plowman spent one more season in the same competitions, not improving his results in 2007. The next step was the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2008. Driving for RC Motorsport, he missed scoring points.

Two seasons in the Indy Lights series

After three relatively disappointing seasons in Europe, Plowman moved to North America to compete in the 2009 Firestone Indy Lights series with Panther Racing. In his first American season, he finished 11th in the points, without wins or podiums.

In 2010, Plowman was among the front-runners, scoring one victory (Mid-Ohio)  and three podiums for AFS/Andretti Autosport. He finished third in the final standings, beating his teammate Charlie Kimball by four points.

Martin Plowman in 2011

IndyCar Series debut in 2011

Plowman made his IndyCar Series debut in 2011, participating in three races for Sam Schmidt Motorsports as a part of the partnership with AFS Racing.

He was driving the #17 Dallara-Honda at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Infineon Raceway and the Baltimore Grand Prix. He was 18th in his first race, then 12th in next race, finally finishing 11th at the streets of Baltimore.

American Le Mans Series season with Conquest Endurance team

A change of the racing discipline followed in 2012 when Plowman was hired to drive the Morgan-Nissan LMP2 prototype for the Conquest Endurance team in the American Le Mans Series. He debuted in an LMP2 prototype at Sebring 12 Hours, sharing a car with David Heinemeier Hansson and Jan Heylen. They didn't finish the race.

After few class podiums, the first ALMS LMP2 victory came at the Grand Prix of Mosport and then one more at Road America. At the end of the season, Plowman and Heinemeier Hansson were second in the points.

OAK Racing, LMP2 world champions in 2013

World champion and Le Mans winner in 2013

In 2013, Plowman stayed in the LMP2 class but returned to Europe, Joining the French team OAK Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship. His partners in the #35 Morgan-Nissan were Ricardo Gonzalez and Bertrand Baguette.

In the third round of the championship, the Le Mans 24 Hours race, a trio scored their first victory, beating their teammates in the #24 car by one lap. Later in the season, the #35 Morgan was victorious again at Fuji Speedway. At the end of the 8-event season, Plowman, Gonzalez and Baguette became the world champions.

In 2014, Plowman races at Indianapolis 500 with AJ Foyt Racing

One more American season in 2014

In 2014, Plowman was again competing mostly in North America. He joined BAR1 Motorsports in five races of the IMSA United SportsCar Championship, driving the #87 and #88 Oreca FLM09 in the Prototype Challenge class. His best result was second place at Watkins Glen 6 Hours, where he was sharing a car with Doug Bielefield and David Cheng.

In 2014, Plowman also made a one-off return to IndyCar Series, driving the #41 Dallara-Honda for AJ Foyt Racing at Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Indianapolis 500. He was 18th in the road course race and 23rd in the 500-mile race at the oval track.

2015 – Blancpain Endurance Series as the main competition

In 2015, Plowman's main competition was the Europe-based Blancpain Endurance Series, in which he was driving the #73 Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 for the German MRS GT-Racing, with Craig Dolby and Sean Walkinshaw as teammates. In one race, they contested under the banner of the American Always Evolving Motorsport. With a fifth place at Silverstone and retirement at Spa 24 Hours, they finished 15th in the final standings.

During 2015, Plowman rejoined BAR1 Motorsports in three endurance races of the IMSA Championship and participated in two British GT Championship races in a Lotus Evora GT4 for Stratton Motorsport/UltraTek Racing.

Martin Plowman

Blancpain Sprint Series season with McLaren

In 2016, Plowman stayed in the Blancpain GT Series but he was competing in the Sprint Cup only, driving the #59 McLaren 650S GT3 for Garage 59. His co-drivers were Craig Dolby, Come Ledogar and Andrew Watson. In ten races, Plowman didn't manage to score points.

He had a one-off appearance in the IMSA Championship, driving for CORE Autosport at Daytona 24 Hours, and also joined Stratton Motorsport in two British GT Championship rounds.

Plowman's ride in 2017 and 2018 - #53 Nissan 370Z GT4

Two seasons with Nissan, switch to Aston Martin in 2019

In 2017, Plowman participated full-time in the British GT Championship, driving the #53 Nissan 370Z GT4 for Team RJN/UltraTek Racing. His co-driver was Richard Taffinder. They finished just 20th in the overall GT4 standings at the end of the season. In 2018, Plowman stayed in the GT4 class of the British GT Championship, sharing the #53 Nissan with Kelvin Fletcher. They were on a podium once, finishing ninth in the final standings.

For the 2019 British GT season, both Plowman and Fletcher joined Beechdean AMR to drive an Aston Martin Vantage GT4. They finished fifth overall in the GT4 class and the best among Pro-Am crews.

Martin Plowman in 2019

Photos: Martin Plowman FB, British GT/Jakob Ebrey Photography,