Ian James (racing driver)

Ian James
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Born (1974-07-22) July 22, 1974 (age 50)
Epsom, Surrey, England
IMSA SportsCar Championship career
Debut season2014
Current teamHeart of Racing Team
Racing licence FIA Bronze
Former teams3GT Racing, Team Seattle
Starts52
Championships0
Wins5
Podiums15
Best finish4th in 2015
Previous series
American Le Mans Series
Rolex Sports Car Series

Ian James (born 22 July 1974 in Epsom[1]) is a British-American racing driver and principal of the Heart of Racing Team, competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. James has 11 total sportscar wins.[2]

In 2004 he had a class victory (LMP2) at the 2004 12 Hours of Sebring and won the LMP2 driving title in the 2004 American Le Mans Series.[3]

James competing in the 2014 12 Hours of Sebring

In 2015 James had a class victory (GTD) at the 2015 12 Hours of Sebring.[4][5]

In 2020 James founded the Heart of Racing Team.[6]

In 2023 James not only won the GTD class at the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona, but was the top GTD performer, beating out the more highly structured GTD Pro teams.[7] This win was the first for Aston Martin at the 24 Hours of Daytona, 59 years after their first attempt.[8]

  1. ^ "Ian James". fiawec.com. FIA World Endurance Championship.
  2. ^ Staff, Speedway Digest (January 30, 2023). "Transcript: Ian James, Marco Sorensen, Darren Turner, Roman DeAngelis". speedwaydigest.com.
  3. ^ "dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com.
  4. ^ Camber, Negative (March 22, 2015). "Ian James, #23 team win 12 Hours of Sebring".
  5. ^ Pruett, Marshall (March 21, 2015). "IMSA: Action Express throttles field at Sebring". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  6. ^ "James leading rapid rise for Heart of Racing in GTD". April 2, 2021.
  7. ^ Dagys, John (January 29, 2023). "Engel Reflects on GTD Pro/GTD "Dogfight" of a Finish – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com.
  8. ^ "Decades in the making: Darren Turner on Daytona 24 win with Aston Martin". Motor Sport Magazine. January 31, 2023.