| Ryan Briscoe | |
|---|---|
Briscoe atSonoma Raceway in August 2014 | |
| Nationality | |
| Born | Ryan John Briscoe[1] (1981-09-24)24 September 1981 (age 44) Sydney, Australia |
| IndyCar Series career | |
| Racing licence | |
| Years active | 2005–2015 |
| Former teams | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (2006) Luczo-Dragon Racing (2007) Team Penske (2008–2012) Ganassi Racing (2005, 2013–2014) Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (2015) |
| Starts | 131 |
| Wins | 8 |
| Poles | 13 |
| Fastest laps | 10 |
| Best finish | 3rd in2009 |
| American Le Mans Series | |
| Years active | 2007,2008,2013 |
| Teams | Penske Level 5 Motorsports |
| Car number | 551 |
| Starts | 22 |
| Wins | 8 (6 class, 2 outright) |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 2 |
| Best finish | 3rd (LMP2) in 2007 |
| Previous series | |
| 2001 2002 2003 2006 | ItalianFormula Renault Formula 3000 andGerman F3 Formula Three Euroseries Champ Car World Series |
| Championship titles | |
| 2001 2003 | ItalianFormula Renault Formula Three Euroseries |
Ryan John Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly racedopen-wheel andsports cars in Europe and America.
InIndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third in the2009 season, fifth in2008 and2010, and sixth in2011 and2012. In sports car racing, he has won the2020 24 Hours of Daytona and the2020 Petit Le Mans, was runner-up at the2007American Le Mans SeriesLMP2 class, and won the201312 Hours of Sebring LMP2 class, the2008 and2013Petit Le Mans LMP2 class, the201524 Hours of DaytonaGTLM class, and finished third overall at the2008 24 Hours of Daytona.
Like many racing drivers, he started his career inkarting, first racing in 1993. After winning Australian, North American and Italian championships, he moved toFormula Renault in 2000. He won theItalian Formula Renault Championship in 2001 (winning five races) and finished fourth running a limited schedule in theEurocup (with two wins in six races).
In 2002, he becametest driver for theToyotaFormula One team which made its debutthat season. He started that year racing in theFormula 3000 series, but struggled and left his ride after seven races.[2] He finished the year in theGerman Formula Three Championship, taking three podiums in the last six rounds. He also won theFormula Three Euroseries in 2003 (winning eight races in the process). He became the Toyota F1 team's 'third' driver (i.e., drove the team's test car on Fridays at Grands Prix) for the last third of the2004 season, after previous third driverRicardo Zonta was called up to replaceCristiano da Matta.
There were rumours that Briscoe was set to race for theJordan Grand Prix F1 team in2005, due to the team's acquisition ofToyota power.[3][2] Instead, Briscoe moved to America and raced for TargetChip Ganassi Racing in theIndyCar Series, including a tenth place finish in theIndianapolis 500.[3] He also made his RolexGrand-Am début with Ganassi at the24 Hours of Daytona.
In the2005 IndyCar Series, Briscoe took pole position atSears Point, but struggled on the ovals and was involved in several crashes. On 11 September 2005, he was involved in a violent crash atChicagoland Speedway, breaking bothclavicles among other injuries. His car climbed on top of theCheever Racing entry driven byAlex Barron and went airborne into the catch fencing above the retaining wall and snapping in two. He was released from hospital on 19 September and following some initial treatment in the US, moved to the specialist Formula Medicine facility inViareggio, Italy, for the bulk of his rehabilitation. It took eight weeks for Briscoe to recover from the injuries he sustained in the crash. His official web site announced his return to the USA on 14 November 2005.
Briscoe was dropped by Ganassi for 2006, replaced by 2005 IndyCar championDan Wheldon. During the winter, he tested with fellow Australian andChamp Car ownerKevin Kalkhoven'sPKV Racing team. Briscoe also tested for theConquest Racing team. Briscoe competed in the200624 Hours of Daytona with 2005 championsWayne Taylor,Max Angelelli andEmmanuel Collard, but the team withdrew due to accident damage before Briscoe's turn to drive.
In 2006, Briscoe was announced as an endurance driver forHolden Racing Team in the AustralianV8 Supercarstouring car series. He partneredJim Richards at theSandown 500 andBathurst 1000, with Richards crashing the car before Briscoe could drive a race lap at Bathurst.[2] Briscoe also drove in theA1 Grand Prixrace atLaguna Seca in the US forA1 Team Australia, scoring three points.
At theIndy 500, Briscoe was a surprise late driver of the No. 48 car forA. J. Foyt Racing – the deal was so late he was still having his seat fitting with less than half an hour of Bump Day qualifying left, and he never got out on the track to attempt a qualifying run. He returned to the IRL the following week and drove the No. 5Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara to a third-place finish atWatkins Glen International, a road course. He returned to the Dreyer & Reinbold team on a three race deal for the short speedways in the second half of the season, but recorded DNF's in two of his three races with the team. He then was tabbed to replace the injuredCristiano da Matta in the final two races of theChamp Car season for theRuSPORT team, including his home country'srace at Surfers Paradise.
Briscoe signed a deal to drive forPenske Racing'sPorsche RS SpyderLMP2 car in theAmerican Le Mans Series. He took three wins in a full campaign driving withSascha Maassen. Briscoe continued to drive the RS Spyder in a limited campaign in 2008. He scored his only class victory that year atPetit Le Mans, winning with fellow IndyCar driverHélio Castroneves.
Briscoe's ties to Penske were also strengthened in 2007 when he was on loan to drive in the Indy 500 in a car owned byStephen J. Luczo andJay Penske, with equipment leased from defending '500' champion Penske Racing. Driving the No. 12 SymantecLuczo-Dragon Racing machine, Briscoe qualified 7th with a four lap average speed of 224.410. In therace on 28 May 2007, he completed all 166 laps before the race was called due to inclement weather. Briscoe finished fifth among the 33 participants earning him $302,305 and thirty driver points.

Ryan Briscoe signed to drive for Penske's IndyCar team as a full-time race driver for the2008 IndyCar Series season, replacingSam Hornish Jr., who started racing full-time in Penske's NASCAR team in 2008. Briscoe knocked himself out of the2008 Indianapolis 500 along withDanica Patrick when Briscoe came out of the pits and ran into Patrick tearing up her suspension and tearing the front end of Briscoe's car. Patrick and Briscoe were fined $100,000 and placed on probation at the end of theseason.[4]
Briscoe earned his first career win at theMilwaukee Mile just one week after Indy, holding offScott Dixon and avoiding a late crash involvingMarco Andretti,Ed Carpenter, andVítor Meira. Briscoe became the sixth driver inIndyCar history to score his first win while driving for Penske, followingMark Donohue (in1971),Tom Sneva (1975),Rick Mears (1978),Paul Tracy (1993), and teammateHélio Castroneves (2000). He followed up his first career win with a second victory, shortly after the halfway point of the season, at theHonda 200 on theMid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Briscoe also became the first Australian to claim victory at theirhome event, the2008 Nikon Indy 300, on 26 October 2008, after countryman and favouriteWill Power crashed out early in the race. The race, however, was not held for championship points and was the last major open-wheel event held at theSurfers Paradise Street Circuit.
2009 was Briscoe's best season in the championship, with three wins and eight further podiums Briscoe led the championship for most of the season with him trading the lead with Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon. He was leading the championship by 25 points before the penultimate round, theIndy Japan 300 at theTwin Ring Motegi. Briscoe then hit the wall exiting accelerating from the pit exit and had to retire, dropping to third in the championship behindDario Franchitti and Dixon. Briscoe remained in championship contention heading into the final event atHomestead-Miami Speedway, however in a three-way battle between the title contenders, Briscoe could only finish second behind Franchitti, who became champion.[5]
Briscoe won a single race atTexas Motor Speedway in2010, but could not recapture the heights of 2009 and did not win another race untilSonoma Raceway in2012. Briscoe did, however, take pole for the2012 Indianapolis 500, becoming the first Australian to do so.[6] Briscoe matched his best finishing position of fifth in the race.
At the beginning of 2013, Briscoe was unable to secure an IndyCar ride. Instead, he was hired byLevel 5 Motorsports to drive anHPD ARX-03b in the P2 class of the2013 12 Hours of Sebring. Briscoe won his class withScott Tucker andMarino Franchitti, his first ALMS P2 class win since 2008. Later, just before theToyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in April, Level 5 announced it had signed Briscoe on as a full-season P2 driver with Tucker, going on to win six times across theseason.[7] With the team Briscoe also made his debut in the24 Hours of Le Mans but the entry was not classified.
Meanwhile, just before the 2013Grand Prix of Alabama in April, Chip Ganassi Racing announced they had signed Briscoe to return to the team for the2013 Indianapolis 500 as a 3rd entry.[8] Following the 500, in which Briscoe finished twelfth,Panther Racing announced that it had signed Briscoe to replaceJ. R. Hildebrand in the No. 4 National Guard car fromDetroit onwards.
Following Dario Franchitti's retirement after a crash at theGrand Prix of Houston,Tony Kanaan moved from a planned fourthGanassi Racing car, and Briscoe took over the fourth No. 8NTT Data car from Kanaan for the2014 IndyCar Series. He finished eleventh in the points and failed to finish on the podium. He parted ways with Ganassi at the end of the season, as the No. 8 car needed more funding to continue.[9]
Having returned to the V8 Supercars Bathurst 1000 in 2010, and competing as a mandated 'international driver' in theGold Coast 600 between 2010 and 2012, Briscoe returned to Australia in 2013 to compete in the newly launched three-event series of two-driver races known as theEnduro Cup. The final race of this campaign, also at the Gold Coast 600, saw Briscoe take his first championship podium driving withRussell Ingall.

For the2015 IndyCar Series season, Briscoe had been in negotiations to race forSchmidt Peterson Motorsports, but that fell through when financial arrangements could not be made for the team to field a third car. However, the team then called Briscoe in as replacement driver forJames Hinchcliffe at the2015 Indianapolis 500 after Hinchcliffe suffered a severe injury after qualifying for the race.[10] He returned to the team at Texas and joined as permanent replacement driver fromFontana onwards. He collected four top-ten finishes in eight races in what were his final appearances in the championship.
Meanwhile, Briscoe continued a relationship withCorvette Racing in theGTLM category that had commenced in 2014 with selected entries as a third driver in the enduranceUnited SportsCar Championship (IMSA) events. In 2015, Briscoe won his class at the2015 24 Hours of Daytona and2015 12 Hours of Sebring driving theChevrolet Corvette C7.R withAntonio García andJan Magnussen. The team also entered the2015 24 Hours of Le Mans but failed to make the start after a crash in qualifying.[11]

In 2016,Ford launched a return to endurance sports car racing with Chip Ganassi Racing running aFord GT across both theFIA World Endurance (WEC) andWeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA) championships. Briscoe was selected to join the IMSA team which, alongside former IndyCar rival Scott Dixon andRichard Westbrook, also made annual appearances in the WEC's 24 Hours of Le Mans.[12] The trio scored a class podium at the2016 24 Hours of Le Mans and Briscoe claimed his 2nd 24 Hours of Daytona class win in 2018. In the IMSA championship, Westbrook and Briscoe contested full seasons with Dixon joining them for the endurance races. Westbrook and Briscoe finished second in the championship in both 2016 and 2018. The Ford works programme shut down at the end of the 2019 season.[13]
Briscoe switched to the Prototype class for the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech Championship, partnering withRenger van der Zande as full-time driver atWayne Taylor Racing. The duo won the2020 24 Hours of Daytona along withScott Dixon andKamui Kobayashi.[14] In October 2020, Briscoe, van der Zande and Dixon won the2020 Petit Le Mans atRoad Atlanta.[15]
In addition to his native English, Briscoe speaks Italian and French. He attendedTrinity Grammar School inSummer Hill, Sydney, Australia, however he had left to compete in Europe before completing his education.[2]
He has been married toESPN anchorNicole Briscoe (née Manske) since 2009 and the couple have two children. In April 2018, he became anaturalized American citizen and thus hold the Australian and American citizenships respectively.[16]
Briscoe is not related toNASCAR driverChase Briscoe.
† As Briscoe was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Coca-Cola Nordic Racing | INT 12 | IMO 13 | CAT 12 | A1R 17 | MON Ret | NÜR Ret | SIL 12 | MAG | HOC | HUN | SPA | MNZ | 23rd | 0 |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Prema Powerteam | Dallara F303/008 | Spiess-Opel | HOC 1 1 | HOC 2 1 | ADR 1 5 | ADR 2 1 | PAU 1 1 | PAU 2 2 | NOR 1 4 | NOR 2 Ret | LMS 1 3 | LMS 2 Ret | NÜR 1 Ret | NÜR 2 7 | A1R 1 1 | A1R 2 1 | ZAN 1 17 | ZAN 2 1 | HOC 1 17 | HOC 2 1 | MAG 1 14 | MAG 2 14 | 1st | 110 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | WDC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | PanasonicToyota Racing | ToyotaTF104 | AUS | MAL | BHR | SMR | ESP | MON | EUR | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN TD | BEL TD | ITA TD | – | – | |||
| ToyotaTF104B | CHN TD | JPN TD* | BRA TD | |||||||||||||||||||
* Was entered as third driver, but did not run due to bad weather.[citation needed]
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | Australia | GBR SPR | GBR FEA | GER SPR | GER FEA | POR SPR | POR FEA | AUS SPR | AUS FEA | MYS SPR | MYS FEA | UAE SPR | UAE FEA | RSA SPR | RSA FEA | IDN SPR | IDN FEA | MEX SPR | MEX FEA | USA SPR 10 | USA FEA 8 | CHN SPR 9 | CHN FEA 3 | 13th | 51 |
| 2006–07 | NED SPR 13 | NED FEA 3 | CZE SPR | CZE FEA | CHN SPR | CHN FEA | MYS SPR 12 | MYS FEA 17 | IDN SPR 6 | IDN FEA 10 | NZL SPR | NZL FEA | AUS SPR | AUS FEA | RSA SPR | RSA FEA | MEX SPR | MEX FEA | CHN SPR | CHN FEA | GBR SPR | GBR SPR | 13th | 24 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)
| Years | Teams | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums (Non-win)** | Top 10s (Non-podium)*** | Indianapolis 500 wins | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 6 | 136 | 13 | 8 | 20 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| Year | Team | No. | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | RuSPORT | 10 | Lola B02/00 | Ford XFE | LBH | HOU | MTY | MIL | POR | CLE | TOR | EDM | SJO | DEN | MTL | ROA | SRF 11 | MXC 14 | 21st | 17 | [28] |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Rolex Sports Car Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Entrant | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Pos. | Pts | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Ganassi Racing | DP | Riley | Lexus | DAY 7 | HOM | CAL | LAG | MTT | WGL | BAR | WGL | DAY | MOH | PHX | WGL | VIR | MEX | 68th | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | SunTrust Racing | DP | Riley | Pontiac | DAY 29 | MEX | HOM | LBH | VIR | LAG | PHX | LIM | WGL 3 | DAY | BAR | WGL 2 | SON | MMP | 61st | 62 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Penske-Taylor Racing | DP | Riley | Pontiac | DAY 3 | HOM | MEX | VIR | LAG | LIM | WGL | MOH | DAY | BAR | CGV | WGL | SON | NJE | MMP | 46th | 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Penske Racing | DP | Riley | Porsche | DAY 6 | VIR | NJE | LAG | WGL | MOH | DAY | BAR | WGL | CGV | MMP | HOM | 41st | 25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | SunTrust Racing | DP | Dallara | Chevrolet | DAY 5 | HOM | BAR | VIR | LIM | LAG | WGL | MOH | DAY | NJE | WGL | CGV | MMP | 26th | 27 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | SunTrust Racing | DP | Corvette DP | Chevrolet | DAY 14 | BAR | HOM | NJE | DET | MOH | ROA | WGL | IMS | WGL | CGV | LAG | LIM | NC | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Penske Racing | LMP2 | Porsche RS Spyder | Porsche MR6 3.4V8 | SEB 8 | STP 1 | LBH 2 | HOU 3 | MMP 1 | LIM 1 | MOH 2 | ROA 2 | MOS 2 | DET 7 | PET 5 | LAG 2 | 3rd | 186 |
| 2008 | Penske Racing | LMP2 | Porsche RS Spyder Evo | Porsche MR6 3.4V8 | SEB 8 | STP | LBH | MMP | LIM | MOH | ROA | MOS | DET 5 | PET 1 | LAG 4 | 16th | 53 | |
| 2013 | Level 5 Motorsports | LMP2 | HPD ARX-03b | Honda HR28TT 2.8 TurboV6 | SEB 1 | LBH 3 | LAG 1 | LIM 1 | MOS | ROA | BAL 4 | COA 1 | VIR 1 | PET 1 | 5th | 129 | ||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Porsche RS Spyder Evo | LMP2 | 297 | 23rd | 8th | ||
| 2008 | Porsche RS Spyder Evo | LMP2 | 29 | DNF | DNF | ||
| 2013 | HPD ARX-03b | P2 | 346 | 6th | 1st | ||
| 2014 | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | GTLM | 283 | 19th | 8th | ||
| 2015 | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | GTLM | 330 | 10th | 1st | ||
| 2016 | Ford GT | GTLM | 235 | 15th | 5th | ||
| 2017 | Ford GT | GTLM | 334 | 10th | 4th |
| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | HPD ARX-03b-Honda | LMP2 | 242 | NC | NC | ||
| 2015 | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | GTE Pro | 0 | DNS | DNS | ||
| 2016 | Ford GT | GTE Pro | 340 | 20th | 3rd | ||
| 2017 | Ford GT | GTE Pro | 337 | 23rd | 7th | ||
| 2018 | Ford GT | GTE Pro | 309 | 39th | 14th | ||
| 2019 | Ford GT | GTE Pro | 341 | 24th | 5th | ||
| 2021 | Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH | Hypercar | 364 | 5th | 5th | ||
| 2022 | Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH | Hypercar | 375 | 3rd | 3rd | ||
| 2023 | Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH | Hypercar | 335 | 6th | 6th |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Glickenhaus Racing | Hypercar | Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH | Glickenhaus 3.5 L Turbo V8 | SPA | ALG 4 | MNZ | LMS 5 | BHR | BHR | 6th | 38 | |
| 2022 | Glickenhaus Racing | Hypercar | Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH | Glickenhaus 3.5 L Turbo V8 | SEB 3 | SPA | LMS | MNZ | FUJ | BHR | 7th | 23 | |
| 2023 | Glickenhaus Racing | Hypercar | Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH | Glickenhaus 3.5 L Turbo V8 | SEB Ret | ALG 8 | SPA | LMS 5 | MNZ | FUJ | 12th | 24 | |
| Vanwall Racing Team | Vanwall Vandervell 680 | Gibson GL458 4.5 L V8 | BHR 12 | ||||||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
† Not Eligible for points
* Season still in progress
| Year | Team | Car | Co-driver | Position | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Holden Racing Team | Holden Commodore VZ | DNF | 24 | |
| 2010 | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden Commodore VE | 25th | 154 | |
| 2013 | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 17th | 161 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Italian Formula Renault Championship Champion 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Formula 3 Euro Series Champion 2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM Champion 2019 With:Richard Westbrook | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Michelin Endurance Cup Champion 2020 With:Renger van der Zande | Succeeded by |