Oliver Webb

Oliver Webb is a British racing driver whose greatest success so far is the championship title in the 2014 European Le Mans Series which he won as a driver of Signatech Alpine team. In the same year, he finished third in LMP2 class at 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Oliver Webb

Karting and T Cars early in a career

Born in March 1991 in Manchester, Oliver James Webb started his racing career in 2002 and the success was imminent. Oliver won his first ever club kart race and over the years he quickly progressed through the ranks. In 2003 he was Minimax Karting Championship winner, while in the following year Webb defended his title. That year he also was 2nd in the Juniormax Championship.

In 2005 Webb progressed to T Cars, saloon cars series opened exclusively to drivers between the ages of 14 and 17. He was the Winter Series runner-up that year while in 2006 he was 3rd in the T Cars main series, after winning three races and scoring seven fastest laps. Before of the end of the year, Oliver won Formula BMW scholarship in Valencia.

Switch to formula racing in 2007

In 2007 Webb, driving for Carlin Motorsport, raced in the UK Formula BMW. He finished 9th overall, without a single podium finish but was named Student of the Year in the Formula BMW Scholarship.

Oliver moved to Fortec Motorsport in 2008 to race in various Formula Renault series. His best result was the 2nd place in the Portuguese Formula Renault 2.0 Winter Series but Webb’s main occupation was racing in the British Formula Renault. However, the results were modest and he took the 8th place, again finishing the season without a podium finish.

Oliver Webb, Fortec Motorsport

Third place in Formula Renault and then third place in Formula 3

Luckily, the season of 2009 was much better. Webb scored two wins, two at Brands Hatch and at Silverstone, and had other eight podiums before finishing 3rd in the championship, behind Dean Smith and James Calado.

The stream of good results continued in 2010. Webb remained with Fortec Motorsport but racing in the British Formula 3. Oliver again did very well and scored three wins – two at Magny-Cours and one at Brands Hatch. The talented racer also had numerous podium finishes before taking the 3rd place overall, behind Jean-Eric Vergne and James Calado.

In 2011 he raced in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series with Pons Racing. The results were much worse than in the previous two years and Oliver had to settle for the 21st position in the Drivers’ Championship what was a huge step backward. The consolation was the fact that he finished 3rd in the Rookie standings.

Oliver Webb at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2012

Short spell in the Indy Lights series

In the middle of 2011 season, Webb got an opportunity to race in the Indy Lights Series with Jensen Motorsport. His debut was excellent as he finished 3rd in the race at Edmonton. Until the end of the season, he raced in another three events and recorded two Top 10 finishes.

Webb signed with Sam Schmidt Motorsports to compete full time in 2012 Indy Lights. The British racer had a good season, with numerous strong finishes and the 3rd place at Detroit as the highlight of the season. After finishing 7th in the final standings and 3rd among the rookies, it looked like Oliver will stay in the US but he opted to return to Europe.

Oliver Webb in 2013

Second try in Formula Renault 3.5 Series

In 2013 Webb returned to Fortec Motorsport to have a second try in Formula Renault 3.5 Series. However, the results again were below the expectations and Oliver was able to pick only 27 points out of 16 races what was enough only for the 15th place overall.

He stayed in the series in the following year but driving for Pons Racing, another team he has raced earlier. After unimpressive results in the opening three rounds, Webb left the team and the series to open a new chapter of his career.

Oliver Webb celebrates ELMS win at Red Bull Ring

European Le Mans Series champion in 2014

During 2013 Webb already experienced some endurance racing. He drove for McLaren in 12 Hours of Abu Dhabi, raced in Mercedes AMG SLS GT3 at 24 Hours of Spa, and appeared in the Blancpain GT Series season finale at Baku.

That’s why he decided to focus on endurance racing and signed with Signatech Alpine to race in the 2014 European Le Mans Series. That was probably the best year in Webb’s career so far as he became the ELMS champion, driving alongside Paul-Loup Chatin and Nelson Panciatici. They won the race at Red Bull Ring and also finished 3rd in LMP2 class at 24 Hours of Le Mans. That year, driving for OAK racing, he also was 8th in the class at Daytona 24 Hours.

Oliver Webb was driving for ByKolles Racing in 2016 and 2017

World Endurance Championship was the next stop

After conquering ELMS, Webb progressed to the FIA World Endurance Championship. He signed with Team SARD-Morand to race in LMP2 class alongside French pilot Pierre Ragues. The 2nd place at Spa was his best result in the season that Oli ended at the 7th place.

That year Webb also won 24 Hours of Dubai, driving a Mercedes AMG SLS prepared by Black Falcon Racing. In 2016, Webb finished 2nd in Dubai after starting from the last place of the grid.

Oliver Webb drives for ByKolles Racing since 2016

Joining ByKolles Racing in 2016

In the 2016 FIA WEC season. Oliver progressed to LMP1 class with ByKolles Racing Team. Driving alongside Simon Trummer, finished 2nd in the LMP1 Private Teams Drivers’ Trophy standings and 17th overall. Their only class victory was at Shanghai International Circuit. For the second year in a row, the Manchester-born racer failed to finish 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Webb stayed with ByKolles Racing in 2017, participating in shortened programme of just four races before withdrawal. He recorded one more DNF at Le Mans. In 2018, the team re-entered the FIA World Championship in the LMP1 class and Webb participated in five races.

Photo: pitlanepass.com, speedsport-magazine.com, dwmotorsport.blogspot.com, indycar.com, wikimedia.org, oliwebbracing.com