Ryan Dalziel

Ryan Dalziel is a British/Scottish racing driver who achieved the most in the sports car racing, scoring victories in two world's greatest endurance races – 24 hours of Daytona and 24 hours of Le Mans. At Daytona, he was the overall winner in 2010, driving for Action Express Racing. At Le Mans, Dalziel scored LMP2 class victory in 2012, driving for Starworks Motorsport.

Earlier in a career, Dalziel participated in different single-seater competitions, such were Formula Vauxhall, Formula Renault, Formula 3, Toyota Atlantic Championship or Champ Car, finishing few times as championship runner-up.

Ryan Dalziel

Second place in Formula Vauxhall and Formula Renault

Ryan Dalziel was born on April 12, 1984, in Glasgow, Scotland. He started a racing career in the 1999 Formula Vauxhall, scoring three wins in his debut season and finishing second in the standings, just two points behind champion Gary Paffett.

Next year, Dalziel moved to the Formula Renault, again finishing as the championship runner-up. This time, Kimi Raikkonen was a champion. The next step was a British Formula 3 in 2001, where he was a member of the Prost Junior Team. Without wins or podiums, he finished 13th in the points.

Ryan Dalziel early in a career

Moving to the United States in 2002

In 2002, Dalziel moved to the United States, entering the Toyota Atlantic Championship with Michael Shank Racing. He scored a second-place finish in the season-opening race at Monterrey and one more second-place finish in the last race at Denver, where he was driving for Hylton Motorsports. Dalziel finished 8th in the points.

Two-time Atlantic Championship runner-up

The first Atlantic Championship victory came in the third round of the 2003 season, at Milwaukee Mile. He was driving for Sierra Sierra Racing. With two wins and seven podiums, Dalziel finished second in the final standings, behind AJ Allmendinger. Dalziel scored four wins in the 2004 Atlantic Championship season, finishing again as the championship runner-up. This time, Jon Fogarty took the title.

2005 – a season in two sports car competitions

In 2005, Dalziel focused on the sports car racing, participating both in the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. In the ALMS, he was driving the #5 Chevrolet Corvette C5-R in the GT1 class for Pacific Coast Motorsports, sharing a car mostly with Alex Figge. With one podium, Dalziel finished fifth in the points.

In the Rolex Series, he recorded one attempt with Pacific Coast's Riley-Pontiac and five races with Samax Porsche 996 GT3 Cup.

Ryan Dalziel as Champ Car driver in 2007

Champ Car debut in 2005, full season in 2007

In July 2005, Dalziel debuted in the Champ Car World Series, driving for Dale Coyne Racing at Toronto Grand Prix. He finished in the ninth place.

Dalziel returned to Champ Car in 2007, spending a full season with Pacific Coast Motorsports. Driving the #28 Panoz-Cosworth, he participated in eleven races. He was unable to start in San Jose after suffering a broken collarbone while training on his bicycle. He was replaced by Mario Domínguez in that race but also at Surfers Paradise and Mexico. Dalziel's best result was seventh place at Toronto and he finished 14th in the final standings.

Podium at 2007 Daytona 24h

Before entering full Champ Car season with Pacific Coast Motorsports, Dalziel spent a full season with the team in the 2006 Rolex Sports Car Series, driving the #89 Riley-Pontiac. His full-time co-driver was Alex Figge. Their best result was second place at Phoenix.

In 2007, parallel to his Champ Car commitments, Dalziel participated in four Grand-Am races with Samax. He scored two podiums, including at 24 hours of Daytona. His partners in the #11 Riley-Pontiac were Patrick Carpentier, Milka Duno and Darren Manning.

Ryan in the 2008 Superleague Formula

Participating in the inaugural Superleague Formula season

After one season in the Champ Car, Dalziel returned full-time to the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2008, driving the Riley-Pontiac for Samax. His partner in the #2 car was Henry Zogaib. They scored one victory, in May at Laguna Seca.

In August 2008, Dalziel entered the inaugural season of the Superleague Formula championship, driving the #17 car for Rangers FC/Alan Docking Racing. The championship lasted until November. In ten races, Dalziel's best result was fifth place.

A lawsuit against former co-driver

In 2009, Dalziel's co-driver Henry Zogaib was accused of conning Dalziel and his father for US$550,000. In May, Dalziel won his judgment over Zogaib and continues to legally battle to retrieve his money.

He continued his racing career driving the Riley-BMW prototypes in the Rolex Series. He participated in two races with Alegra Motorsports and four races with Orbit Racing.

Dalziel's car at 2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona

2010 Daytona victory with Action Express Racing

In 2010, Dalziel intensified his sports car racing program, participating both in the Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series. He started a season with a sensational outright victory at 24 hours of Daytona, sitting in the #9 Riley-Porsche of Action Express Racing. His partners in that race were Joao Barbosa, Mike Rockenfeller and Terry Borcheller. Later in the season, Dalziel joined Starworks Motorsport to drive their Riley-BMW, scoring few podiums.

Le Mans debut with Jaguar RSR

In the 2010 American Le Mans Series, Dalziel was driving the #75 Jaguar XKR-S for the American Jaguar RSR team, together with Paul Gentilozzi and Marc Goossens. In June, the trio participated in 24 hours of Le Mans with #81 Jaguar XKR-S. Dalziel's Le Mans debut was extremely short, as the team retired after just four laps due to technical problems.

2012 24h Le Mans LMP2 class winners

Le Mans victory and championship title with Starworks Motorsport

Dalziel continued to drive for Starworks Motorsport in the 2011 Grand-Am season, scoring one victory and four podiums with #8 Riley-Ford. Ryan shared a car for most of the season with Mike Forest but his co-driver in Mid-Ohio's victory was Enzo Potolicchio.

Potolicchio was also Dalziel's partner at 2012 Le Mans 24h race, where the #44 HPD ARX-03b clinched LMP2 class victory. The third driver in Starworks Motorsport's prototype was Tom Kimber-Smith. Dalziel participated in seven races of revived FIA World Endurance Championship, scoring three wins and contributing that Starworks Motorsport took the LMP2 championship title.

2012 Grand-Am Rolex Series runner-up

Besides spending a time with Starworks Motorsport in the FIA WEC competition, Dalziel continued to drive Starwork's Riley-Ford in the Grand-Am Rolex Series, scoring one victory and six podiums to finish second in drivers' standings. His partner for most of the season was Enzo Potolicchio. At Watkins Glen, where he scored the only win of the season, his co-driver was Lucas Luhr.

In 2012, Dalziel was also successful in the American Le Mans Series, driving the Oreca FLM 09 for the CORE Autosport and scoring three wins in the LMPC class.

Ryan Dalziel and Alex Popow in 2013

2013 Grand-Am season with Alex Popow

Dalziel spent one more season in the Rolex Series, partnering Alex Popow in Starworks' #2 Riley-Ford. They got one win and five podiums, finishing fifth in the points.

In 2013, Dalziel also participated in four rounds of the American Le Mans Series in three different classes. One of his cars was SRT Motorsports' Viper GTS-R. With that car, Dalziel participated at 24 hours of Le Mans, together with Marc Goossens and Dominik Farnbacher, They finished 24th overall and 8th in GTE Pro class.

Ryan Dalziel joined Extreme Speed Motorsports in 2014

Dalziel joined Extreme Speed Motorsports in 2014

For the 2014 season, Dalziel joined Extreme Speed Motorsports to participate full season in the IMSA United SportsCar Championship but also in selected rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship. After retiring at Daytona, ESM's #1 HPD ARX 03b finished second at Sebring. Dalziel's co-drivers were Scott Sharp and David Brabham. Dalziel later added one more podium (Road America) to finish 9th in the IMSA Prototype class standings.

In the world championship, Dalziel was a part of #30 ESM crew at 6-hour races at COTA and Shanghai, scoring LMP2 podiums in both races. He was third in the American race and second in the Chinese round.

Full 2015 FIA WEC season with ESM

In 2015, Dalziel stayed with Extreme Speed Motorsports and focused on the FIA WEC campaign, participating in seven races, including 24 hours of Le Mans. His partners in the #30 car were David Heinemeier Hansson and team owner Scott Sharp. Their best result was fourth place and they finished seventh in the LMP2 teams' standings. At Le Mans, they were 10th in the LMP2 class.

In America, Dalziel joined ESM in just two races, at Daytona and Sebring, retiring in both races. He also participated in the GT class of the Pirelli World Challenge with Effort Racing's Porsche 911 GT3 R, finishing third in the final standings.

Ryan Dalziel in 2016

2016 - full-time commitments both in FIA WEC and IMSA

In 2016, Ryan Dalziel had full-time commitments both in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA SportsCar Championship. In nine FIA WEC races with Extreme Speed Motorsports' #31 Ligier JS P2, he scored four podiums and finished fourth in the LMP2 standings. Dalziel's partners in the #31 car were Pipo Derani and Chris Cumming. They were on the podiums at Silverstone, Spa, Nurburgring and Mexico. At Le Mans, the #31 car finished 16th in class.

In the 2016 IMSA championship, Dalziel spent a season with the VisitFlorida Racing, driving the #90 Chevrolet Corvette DP alongside Marc Goossens. At Daytona and Sebring, where they finished 3rd and 5th, the third driver was Ryan Hunter-Reay. With one more podium (Laguna Seca), Ryan finished 9th in the Prototype class standings.

Ryan Dalziel in 2018

Two seasons in a new Nissan prototype

For the 2017 season, Dalziel focused again on the IMSA Championship only, driving the #2 Nissan DPi for Tequila Patron ESM team. His full-time partner was a team owner Scott Sharp. At Daytona 24h, they finished fourth, partnered by Pipo Derani and Brendon Hartley. At Sebring 12 hours, they retired early in the race. Later in the season, they scored three podiums before winning the season's last race at Road Atlanta. Dalziel and Sharp finished fifth in Prototype class standings.

The same pair continue to share the #2 Nissan in 2018. Scoring just one podium, he finished 14th in the championship.

Moving to Starworks Motorsport in 2019

For the 2019 IMSA season, Dalziel joined Starworks Motorsport to drive an Audi R8 LMS in the GTD class. He participated in six races, scoring no wins or podiums to finish 24th in the points.

Next year, Dalziel stayed with Starworks Motorsport but moved to the LMP2 class, driving the #8 Oreca in a cooperation with Tower Motorsport.

Photos: ryandalziel.com,