| David Pittard | |
|---|---|
 Pittard in 2024 | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Born | (1992-01-29)29 January 1992 (age 33) Hertfordshire, England |
| IMSA SportsCar Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2022 |
| Current team | Heart of Racing Team |
| Racing licence |  FIA Silver(until 2022) FIA Gold(2023–) |
| Car number | 23 |
| Former teams | Northwest AMR |
| Starts | 4 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Previous series | |
| 2013 2014–2015 2017 2019–2020 | Ginetta GT5 Challenge Ginetta GT4 Supercup British GT Championship Intercontinental GT Challenge |
| Last updated on: 4 November 2023. | |
David Graeme Pittard[1] (born 29 January 1992) is a British racing driver who competes in theNürburgring Endurance Series andIMSA SportsCar Championship. He was part of the Frikadelli Racing Team entry which won the2023 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
Pittard studied Motorsport Engineering at Brunel University.[2]
Pittard began his circuit racing career in 2010, taking part in the Britain-basedToyota MR2 Racing Series, which he would return to in 2011. He would add a campaign in the BRSCC Sports 2000 Pinto Championship during the 2011 season, before taking on theBritcar Endurance Series in 2012. Ahead of the 2013 season, Pittard announced that he'd be taking part in theGinetta GT5 Challenge.[3] In his opening season of competition, Pittard scored his maiden victory in the first race of the weekend atSilverstone,[4] taking two more alongside seven podiums en route to a fifth-place finish in the overall championship. Owing to his performance in the championship, Pittard was elevated toBRDC Rising Star status at season's end.[5] Pittard moved to theGinetta GT4 Supercup in 2014, driving forSV Racing. After claiming a podium each in the opening two weekends, Pittard took his first victory of the season atThruxton in May. Pittard doubled up with a victory during the second race as well, elevating him to first in the championship.[6][7] He would claim another victory atCroft before sweeping the Silverstone weekend,[8] eventually finishing second in the championship to Charlie Robertson. Following his strong rookie season, SV Racing team boss Danny Buxton stated that he believed Pittard had a bright future in GT racing.[9] After returning to the Ginetta GT4 Supercup in 2015 for a pair of races, as well as a one-off in the North America-based FARA Endurance Championship,[10] Pittard stepped away from professional racing until 2017.
2017 saw Pittard return to pro racing, taking part in theBritish GT Championship with Lanan Racing. In line with his Ginetta roots, Pittard and co-driver Alex Reed took part in the GT4 class with aGinetta G55 GT4, taking part in the Silver sub-class.[11] The duo claimed their first and only victory of the season atOulton Park; one of four podium finishes as they finished third in the class championship. Pittard supplemented his British GT campaign with historic racing, taking part in the FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Championship.
2018 saw Pittard travel to Germany, taking on a drive in theNürburgring Endurance Series for Walkenhorst Motorsport. In just his third race behind the wheel of aGT3 car, he took pole position for the sixth race of the season. Pittard cited his decision to take up a drive in the series as an effort to attract the attention of a manufacturer for a factory drive.[12] Ahead of the 2019 season, Pittard signed a full-time contract with Walkenhorst, who would employ him in the Nürburgring Endurance Series,Nürburgring 24 Hours, and24 Hours of Spa.[13] Pittard returned to the Nürburgring in 2019, claiming further victories in the Nürburgring Endurance Series.[14] At the end of the season, he cited his goal in the immediate future as becoming aBMW factory driver.[15]
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In 2020, Pittard joined Walkenhorst for their entry into theIntercontinental GT Challenge, joining BMW factory driversMartin Tomczyk andNick Yelloly.[16] Although the team didn't participate in the opening round atBathurst, they claimed a podium atIndianapolis[17] and would finish ninth in the overall championship. The following year, Pittard would join Walkenhorst for a full season campaign in theGT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, taking part in the Pro class.[18] Through five races, the team would finish with just four total points, taking 28th in the championship. At the end of the season, Pittard would take part in both theBMW M Motorsport selected driver test in Spain[19] as well as the WEC Rookie Test, where he would pilot anAston Martin Vantage GTE.[20] The move would be somewhat of a harbinger for Pittard, who would joinAston Martin for the2022 FIA World Endurance Championship. However, his status was subject to a degree of confusion in the pre-season. After initially being confirmed as a full factory driver,[21] Aston Martin Racing later stated that he was merely contracted to the Northwest AMR team, the customer operation with which Pittard was competing in 2022, to preserve his ranking as an FIA Silver-ranked driver.[22] Paired withNicki Thiim andPaul Dalla Lana, the trio would claim their sole victory of the season during the opening round atSebring,[23] but registered two further podiums and finished second in the GTE Am championship. At the end-of-season BRDC awards ceremony, Pittard was handed theWoolf Barnato Trophy, given to the highest-placed British driver in a British car at the24 Hours of Le Mans.[24]
Pittard formed a part of theFrikadelli Racing Team entry that won the2023 24 Hours of Nürburgring, driving alongsideEarl Bamber,Nicky Catsburg, andFelipe Fernández Laser.[25] Pittard's position in the driver lineup wasn't initially confirmed until after the2023 24 Hours of Daytona, which he had taken part in with the Heart of Racing Team.[26][27]
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Walkenhorst Motorsport | BMW M6 GT3 | Am | MON | SIL | LEC | SPA 6H 70 | SPA 12H 70 | SPA 24H Ret | CAT | NC | 0 |
| 2020 | Walkenhorst Motorsport | BMW M6 GT3 | Pro | IMO | NÜR | SPA 6H 23 | SPA 12H 18 | SPA 24H Ret | LEC | NC | 0 | |
| 2021 | Walkenhorst Motorsport | BMW M6 GT3 | Pro | MON 26 | LEC 8 | SPA 6H 11 | SPA 12H Ret | SPA 24H Ret | NÜR 12 | CAT 21 | 28th | 4 |
| 2022 | Beechdean AMR | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | Silver | IMO | LEC | SPA 6H Ret | SPA 12H Ret | SPA 24H Ret | HOC | CAT | NC | 0 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | Class | Make | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Northwest AMR | GTD | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | Aston Martin 4.0 LTurboV8 | DAY 12 | SEB | LBH | LGA | MDO | DET | WGL | MOS | LIM | ELK | VIR | PET | 61st | 211 |
| 2023 | Heart of Racing Team | GTD Pro | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | Aston Martin 4.0 L TurboV8 | DAY 7 | SEB 8 | LBH | MON | WGL | MOS | LIM | ELK | VIR | IMS | PET 4 | 10th | 837 | |
| Source:[28] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Entrant | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Northwest AMR | LMGTE Am | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 | SEB 1 | SPA 3 | LMS 2 | MNZ 8 | FUJ 5 | BHR 5 | 2nd | 118 |
| Source:[28] | ||||||||||||
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |  Northwest AMR | Paul Dalla Lana Nicki Thiim | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | GTE Am | 342 | 36th | 3rd |