Richie Stanaway

Richie Stanaway is a racing driver from New Zealand who spent three years as a factory driver for Aston Martin Racing in different sports car competitions and then switched to the Australian Supercars Championship in 2018.

Between 2013 and 2015, Stanaway had a double programme in sports car racing and open-wheel competitions. Earlier in a career, he clinched championship titles in the 2011 German Formula 3 and 2010 ADAC Formel Masters.

Richie Stanaway

Lots of success early in a career

Born in November 1991 in Tauranga on the North Island of New Zealand, Richie Stanaway was active as a kid in motocross and speedway. In 2007, he tried to race go-karts but decided to switch immediately to formula racing after being selected for the New Zealand SpeedSport Scholarship.

In his first year of car racing, he was the best rookie in the 2007/08 Formula First New Zealand Championship, finishing third overall in the points. The next step was the New Zealand's Formula Ford with TSR Racing. He finished third in the winter series and then dominantly won the 2008/2009 National Formula Ford Championship,  becoming only the second driver in history to win the title as a rookie.

Moving to Australia and then to Europe

In 2009, Stanaway made a debut in the Australian Formula Ford Championship with Adelaide-based  Team BRM. Scoring one victory and six podiums, he finished sixth in the points, despite missing out six races due to test commitments in Europe.

In April 2009, Stanaway also made a one-off appearance in New Zealand's Toyota Racing Series, winning both races at the Hamilton 400 Trophy event.

In July 2009, Stanaway traveled to Europe to join German team Ma-Con Motorsport during a test at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. He impressed the team and was offered a seat for the remaining six races of the ADAC Formel Masters at Nürburgring, Sachsenring and Oschersleben. In six races, he scored one pole position and two podiums.

ADAC Formel Masters champion in 2010

Impressive performance secured Richie a management contract and a seat for the 2010 ADAC Formel Masters season. He was driving the #9 car, scoring twelve wins in eighteen races to dominantly take the championship title.

During 2010, Stanaway made guest appearances in New Zealand's Toyota Racing Series and UK's Formula Renault Winter Cup. He scored race wins in both competitions.

Richie Stanaway in 2011

German Formula 3 champion in 2011

For 2011, Stanaway changed a management contract and moved to the German Formula 3 (ATS Formel 3 Cup). He was driving the #5 Dallara F306-Volkswagen for the Dutch team Van Amersfoort Racing. He repeated a domination from the previous season, winning thirteen races to take his second championship title in a row.

In 2011, Stanaway was also a race winner in the GP3 Series, replacing Pedro Nunes in Lotus ART team in the last two rounds. He won the race at Spa-Francorchamps.

Half a season in the Formula Renault 3.5

In November 2011, Stanaway tested the new BMW M3 DTM car as one of three young drivers and then in December he tested for Formula Renault 3.5 Series team Gravity-Charouz Racing at Aragon. In 2012, he moved to Formula Renault 3.5 Series to drive the #11 car for the team under the Lotus banner.

Unfortunately, his season was short, as he was injured in an accident during the third round at Spa-Francorchamps. He was forced to miss the remainder of the season.

Richie Stanaway joined Aston Martin Racing in 2013

Racing with Aston Martin and Porsche in 2013

In 2013, Richie started his sports car racing career, joining Aston Martin Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He participated in six FIA WEC rounds, but not at 24 hours of Le Mans, driving the #99 Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE.  His partners were Pedro Lamy and Paul dalla Lana. Their best result was second place in the GTE Pro class at Shanghai. Besides FIA WEC, Stanaway had one-off appearances in the British GT Championship and Grand-Am Rolex Series.

Parallel to commitments with Aston Martin, Stanaway spent a season in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, driving for DAMS. In nine races, he scored no wins or podiums, finishing 12th in the points.

Richie Stanaway in 2013

2014 - two GP3 Series wins and three FIA WEC podiums

In 2014, Stanaway returned to single-seater competition but also stayed with Aston Martin Racing. Driving for Status GP team in the GP3 Series, Stanaway was a race winner two times and he finished 8th in the points.

In the sports car racing, he made a debut at Daytona 24 Hours with Aston Martin and participated in three FIA WEC rounds. He was on the GTE Am class podium in all three races, sharing the #95 Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE with Kristian Poulsen and David Heinemeier Hansson.

Richie Stanaway spent two seasons with Status Grand Prix

2015 – two GP2 Series wins and maiden FIA WEC victory

In 2015, Stanaway progressed to GP2 Series with Status Grand Prix team, driving the #23 car. He was a race winner two times, at Monaco and Sochi Autodrom. He missed the last two rounds and finished 10th in the points.

Parallel to GP2 Series commitments, Stanaway spent the FIA WEC season in the #99 Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE, sharing a car with Alex MacDowall and Fernando Rees. Richie scored his maiden FIA WEC victory in the second round, at 6 Hours of Spa. In June, he made a debut at Le Mans 24 Hours. Stanaway and his teammates finished in the sixth place.

Richie Stanaway left single-seater racing in 2016

V8 Supercars debut in 2016

A season in the GP2 Series, the highest single-seater competition below Formula 1, was the last for Stanaway in the open-wheel racing. He didn't return in 2016, staying with Aston Martin Racing in the World Endurance Championship. Sharing the #97 car with Jonny Adam and Fernando Rees, he was sixth at Le Mans and scored a victory at 6 hours of Mexico. Stanaway also participated in two North American endurance races with Aston Martin in the GTD class, finishing fourth at Daytona and tenth at Sebring.

In 2016, Stanaway made a debut in the Australian V8 Supercars Championship, joining Super Black Racing in three endurance rounds, at Sandown, Bathurst and Gold Coast. He was sharing the #111 Ford Falcon with Chris Pither. They were 12th at Bathurst 1000.

Richie Stanaway and Cameron Waters at Sandown

Victory at Sandown 500

In 2017, Stanaway participated in just three FIA WEC rounds with Aston Martin Racing, as a part of the #95 crew together with Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen. At Le Mans 24 Hours, they finished 9th in the GTE Pro class.

In 2017, Stanaway returned to V8 Supercars Championship to participate again in three endurance rounds, as a co-driver to Cameron Waters in the #6 Prodrive Racing Ford Falcon. They were third in the first race at Sandown and then won the second race. After 16th place at Bathurst 1000, they were on a podium again in the first race of the Gold Coast 600 event. They finished third in the final Enduro Cup classification.

Full-time switch to Supercars Championship in 2018

In 2018, Stanaway made a full-time switch to the Supercars Championship, joining Tickford Racing to drive the #56 Ford Falcon. His results were pretty disappointing as he reached the top 10 in just one race. In the endurance races, his partner was Steve Owen.

Stanaway finished 25th in the points in 2018 and then joined Garry Rogers Motorsport in 2019 to drive the #33 Holden Commodore.

Richie Stanaway in 2018

Photos: richiestanaway.com,