| Thor–Christian Ebbesvik | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Norwegian |
| Born | (1983-12-17)17 December 1983 (age 41) |
| Le Mans Series – LMP2 career | |
| Debut season | 2010 |
| Current team | Race Performance |
| Car number | TBA |
| Former teams | Team Bruichladdich |
| Starts | 5 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 5th in2010 |
| Previous series | |
| 2009 2009 2007–08 2005–06 | European F3 Open Formula Le Mans Cup Spanish Formula Three British Formula Ford |
| Championship titles | |
| 2007 | Spanish F3 Copa de España |
Thor–Christian Ebbesvik (born 17 December 1983 inBergen) is a professionalracing driver fromNorway.
Ebbesvik began his racing career in 2005, driving for Team JLR in theBritish Formula Ford Championship. He finished the year in sixth place and also took part in the end–of–seasonFormula Ford Festival atBrands Hatch, where he failed to finish. He continued in the series in 2006, improving to fourth place in the championship.[1] He took four podium finishes during the season, including a win atThruxton. He again took part in the Formula Ford Festival, this time competing in theDuratec class, but once again retired from the race.
In2007, Ebbesvik moved up toFormula Three, competing in theSpanish championship for theBritish outfitTeam West–Tec.[2] He was entered into the secondary Copa de España class, which featured older–generationDallara chassis. At the end of the season, he finished tied on points withPeruvian driver Juan Manuel Polar, but took the title by virtue of taking more second places than Polar after they scored seven class wins each.[3]
For2008, he remained with Team West–Tec in Spanish Formula Three, beginning the year with a Dallara F306 chassis before switching to a newer F308 model after the first two rounds of the season. In August of that year, Ebbesvik dominated the most prestigious race of the season to win on theValencia Street Circuit, with the race acting as a support event for theFormula OneEuropean Grand Prix.[4] He took a further race win atJerez in October to finish the championship in tenth place, one position ahead of team–mateJonathan Legris.[5]
Ebbesvik continued in the championship for a third year in2009, when the series was renamed as theEuropean F3 Open Championship. He finished the season in fifth place, taking a single victory atDonington Park with further podium places atMagny–Cours andMonza.[6]
In May 2009, Ebbesvik contested the opening two races of the newFormula Le Mans Cup atSpa–Francorchamps.[7] Sharing anOreca FLM09 withSwiss driver Christophe Pillon, he finished both races in fifth position.
Ebbesvik made a full-time switch fromsingle–seaters tosportscar racing in 2010, racing forTeam Bruichladdich in theLMP2 class of theLe Mans Series andLe Mans 24 Hours, sharing aGinetta–ZytekGZ09SB/2 withTim Greaves andKarim Ojjeh.[8] In the second event of the season, theSpa 1000 km, Ebbesvik was injured after an accident involving a slowerGT car,[9] sustaining a fracturedvertebra which subsequently ruled him out of the following month's Le Mans 24 Hours.[10] Two overall fifth–place finishes, including anchoring the team to its best ever podium position in LMP2, at the following two rounds inPortimão andHungaroring ensured that he finished the year in fifth position in the LMP2 standings. Indeed, at the season finale at Silverstone, Ebbesvik managed to take the Zytek into the LMP2 lead for the first time ever, although the car was subsequently crashed by Ojjeh.[11]
Ebbesvik was due to continue with the team in2011, competing alongside Ojjeh and team newcomerGary Chalandon,[12] but was surprisingly and unexpectedly replaced byTom Kimber–Smith a few weeks before the start of the season.[13] He did, however, sign a last–minute deal to race in the season–opening event atPaul Ricard, where he finished 10th overall in an LMP2 classOreca 03–Judd entered byRace Performance.[14]
For the second round of the season, the Spa 1000 km, Ebbesvik was set to graduate to the premier LMP1 class, racing aLola–Judd for theGuess Racing Europ team,[15] but the entry was withdrawn as the car would not be ready in time for the event.[16]
For the final two rounds of the 2011 Le Mans Series, Ebbesvik signed toBoutsen Energy to lead their LMP2 campaign, replacing their previous pro driver,Nicolas de Crem, in the team'sOreca 03-Nissan.
In September 2007, Ebbesvik became the first ever Norwegian to drive aGP2 car when he tested forRacing Engineering at the Jerez circuit.[17] The following year, he once again took part in GP2 series testing, driving for Racing Engineering,Arden International,DAMS andFisichella Motor Sport at bothPaul Ricard and Jerez. He had intended to race in GP2 in2009, but could not find the required budget to compete.[18] In November 2008, Ebbesvik also took part inFormula Renault 3.5 Series testing, driving for bothComtec Racing andFortec Motorsport inValencia.
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | British Formula Ford Championship | Team JLR | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 321 | 6th |
| Formula Ford Festival | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | NC | ||
| 2006 | British Formula Ford Championship | Team JLR | 20 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 357 | 4th |
| Formula Ford Festival –Duratec Class | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | NC | ||
| 2007 | Spanish Formula Three Championship – Copa de España | Team West–Tec | 14 | 7 | 3 | ? | 12 | 118 | 1st |
| Spanish Formula Three Championship | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 16th | ||
| 2008 | Spanish Formula Three Championship – Copa de España | Team West–Tec | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 12th |
| Spanish Formula Three Championship | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 49 | 10th | ||
| 2009 | European F3 Open Championship | Team West–Tec | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 64 | 5th |
| Formula Le Mans Cup | Hope Polevision Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 20th | |
| 2010 | Le Mans Series – LMP2 | Team Bruichladdich | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 5th |
| 2011 | Le Mans Series – LMP2 | Race Performance Boutsen Energy Racing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 13th |
Christophe Pillon will team up with Thor–Christian Ebbesvik from Norway
but a big shunt during the Spa 1000 KM means Ebbesvik will miss Le Mans.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Spanish Formula Three Copa de España Champion 2007 | Succeeded by |