Oliver Webb

      Oliver Webb
      Oliver Webb.JPG
      Oliver Webb at the 2011 Nürburgring World series by Renault round
      Nationality United Kingdom
      Born (1991-03-20) 20 March 1991 (age 22)
      Manchester (United Kingdom)
      2013 Formula Renault 3.5 Series
      Debut season 2011
      Current team Fortec Motorsports
      Car no. 6
      Former teams Pons Racing
      Starts 17
      Wins 0
      Poles 0
      Fastest laps 0
      Best finish 21st in 2011
      Previous series
      2011-12
      2010
      2009
      200809
      2008
      2008
      200708
      2007
      2005
      2005–06
      Indy Lights
      British Formula Three
      Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0
      Formula Renault 2.0 UK
      FR2.0 Portugal Winter Series
      Formula Renault 2.0 NEC
      FR2.0 UK Winter Series
      Formula BMW UK
      T Cars Autumn Trophy
      T Cars
      Awards
      2006 Formula BMW Scholarship

      Oliver "Oli" Webb (born March 20, 1991 in Manchester) is a British auto racing driver.

      Career

      Karting

      Webb began his career in karting at the age of nine, progressing up through the ranks in the Greater Manchester karting scene with the help of management from British Touring Car Championship driver Michael Bentwood.[1] With more experience, Webb started to win races at the Three Sisters Karting Circuit in Wigan, eventually winning that circuit's Mini Max Championship in 2004. He finished fourth in the Junior Max Championship in 2005, combining that with a season in T Cars.

      T Cars

      Webb moved into T Cars with Graham Hathaway Engineering in 2005,[2] combining the campaign with schoolwork and his karting career. He continued into the 2005 Autumn Trophy, finishing second to Adrian Quaife-Hobbs.[3] He finished third in the 2006 main series,[3] winning three races, a non-championship double-header at Brands Hatch,[4] and achieved a record seven fastest laps in a season.[1]

      Formula BMW

      At the conclusion of the 2006 season, Bentwood entered Webb into the Formula BMW Scholarship Programme where drivers had the opportunity to be awarded with a financial contribution towards their racing budget, and an education and coaching programme from BMW Motorsport. Webb was one of the six chosen drivers for the scholarship, moving into Formula BMW UK in 2007. Webb drove for Carlin Motorsport, alongside Henry Surtees. Webb finished ninth in the championship, despite not finishing on the podium in any of the twenty races.[3]

      Formula Renault

      Webb competing during the 2008 Formula Renault UK season at Oulton Park.

      He moved to the British Formula Renault Championship to compete in the Winter Series in 2007. Competing for Fortec Motorsport, Webb finished fifteenth in the four-race series, with a best race result of eleventh at Croft.[5] Webb continued his progression up the British motorsport ladder, by moving into the main British series for the 2008 season. Staying with Fortec, Webb finished every single race in the points en route to eighth in the overall championship.[3] His best result was fourth place at round seventeen, at Silverstone.[6] He finished third in the Graduates Cup for first-year drivers, behind Dean Stoneman and James Calado.

      Webb competing during the 2009 Formula Renault UK season at Oulton Park.

      Webb competed in three other Formula Renault series during the season, competing in the Northern European Cup, and the British and Portuguese Winter Series championships. In the NEC, he recorded a fourth place finish at Spa, and added a twelfth at Zolder to wind up 25th in the standings.[7] In the UK Winter Series, Webb finished fourth overall in the four-race series, finishing on the podium at Rockingham.[8] A retirement in the second race cost him a top-three championship spot.[3] Finally, he finished as runner-up to team-mate Calado in the Portuguese Winter Series, with the two taking all four victories, Calado with three and Webb with one.

      In 2009, Webb returned for a second season in Formula Renault UK.[3] Consistency was the key for Webb, as he finished all but one race of the season, winning two races at Brands Hatch and at Silverstone. Webb was never outside the top-five in the championship standings, leading the championship after fourteen races before falling behind Dean Smith and Calado later in the season. Webb achieved ten podiums over the course of the season.[3] He also made his first foray into the Eurocup, taking part in the rounds in Barcelona and at Le Mans.

      Formula Three

      For the 2010 season, Webb continued to drive for Fortec, but stepped up to compete in the British Formula Three Championship.[9][10] Webb finished third in the championship with three wins, 14 podium finishes, and four fastest laps.

      Formula Renault 3.5

      Oliver Webb at the 2011 Nürburgring World series by Renault round

      For 2011 Webb signed with the Spanish Pons Racing team to race in Formula Renault 3.5. Through seven rounds of the championship Webb sits 23rd in the championship, only finishing in the points twice. Webb will return to the series in 2013 with Fortec Motorsports

      Indy Lights

      Webb made his debut in the American Firestone Indy Lights series at the 2011 double-header at Edmonton for Jensen MotorSport. Webb finished on the podium in third in the first attrition-filled race and finished fifth in the second. He rejoined the team for the race in Baltimore where he crashed out after running in the top five and made his oval racing debut at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway season finale where he finished tenth.[11]

      Webb signed with Sam Schmidt Motorsports to compete in the 2012 Indy Lights season.[12] Webb finished seventh in points and won the pole and finished on the podium in third place at Belle Isle, his best finish.

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      Racing record

      Career summary

      Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
      2005 T Cars Graham Hathaway Engineering  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?
      T Cars Autumn Trophy  ?  ?  ?  ?  ? 117 2nd
      2006 T Cars Graham Hathaway Engineering 20 3 3  ? 11 133 3rd
      2007 Formula BMW UK Carlin Motorsport 18 0 0 0 0 406 9th
      British Formula Renault 2.0 Winter Series Fortec Motorsport 4 0 0 0 0 29 15th
      2008 British Formula Renault 2.0 Fortec Motorsport 20 0 0 0 0 267† 8th
      Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 4 0 0 0 0 25 27th
      British Formula Renault 2.0 Winter Series 4 0 0 0 0 64 4th
      Portuguese Formula Renault 2.0 Winter Series 4 1 1 0 1 28 2nd
      2009 British Formula Renault 2.0 Fortec Motorsport 20 2 0 2 10 419† 3rd
      Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 4 0 0 0 0 0 29th
      2010 British Formula Three Championship Fortec Motorsport 30 3 4 4 14 250 3rd
      Macau Grand Prix Formula Three 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 18th
      2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Pons Racing 17 0 0 0 0 17 21st
      Firestone Indy Lights Jensen MotorSport 4 0 0 0 1 104 18th
      2012 Firestone Indy Lights Sam Schmidt Motorsports 12 0 1 0 1 310 7th
      • * Season in progress. † - After dropped scores.

      Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

      (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

      Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pos Points
      2011 Pons Racing ALC
      1

      11
      ALC
      2

      17
      SPA
      1

      Ret
      SPA
      2

      18
      MNZ
      1

      9
      MNZ
      2

      11
      MON
      1

      Ret
      NÜR
      1

      16
      NÜR
      2

      17
      HUN
      1

      19
      HUN
      2

      7
      SIL
      1

      7
      SIL
      2

      12
      LEC
      1

      11
      LEC
      2

      10
      CAT
      1

      Ret
      CAT
      2

      6
      21st 17
      2013 Fortec Motorsports MNZ
      1

      4
      MNZ
      2

      9
      ALC
      1

      11
      ALC
      2

      17
      MON
      1

      11
      SPA
      1

      12
      SPA
      2

      9
      MOS
      1

      MOS
      2

      RBR
      1

      RBR
      2

      HUN
      1

      HUN
      2

      LEC
      1

      LEC
      2

      CAT
      1

      CAT
      2

      14th* 16*

      * Season in progress.

      American open–wheel racing results

      (key)

      Indy Lights

      Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rank Points
      2011 Jensen MotorSport STP ALA LBH INDY MIL IOW TOR EDM1
      3
      EDM2
      5
      TRO NHM BAL
      11
      KTY LVS
      10
      18th 104
      2012 Sam Schmidt Motorsports STP
      4
      ALA
      13
      LBH
      6
      INDY
      15
      DET
      3
      MIL
      12
      IOW
      12
      TOR
      5
      EDM
      4
      TRO
      5
      BAL
      6
      FON
      8
      7th 310
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      References

      1. ^ a b "Biography". Oliver Webb (Electric Studio). Retrieved 2009-12-15. 
      2. ^ "Second place keeps Williams' championship hopes alive". James Williams (MSO). 2005-08-22. Retrieved 2009-12-15. "Starting race two from fourth on the grid, James dropped down at the start to sixth but had got back up to fourth before a collision on lap seven between Barry Russell and Oliver Webb brought out the red flag." 
      3. ^ a b c d e f g http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/9230/career/ Career statistics at Driver Database
      4. ^ "MSVR's inaugural race meeting runs without a hitch". MotorSport Vision (Brands Hatch). 2006-03-22. Retrieved 2009-12-15. 
      5. ^ "2007 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Winter Cup; Race 4 - CLASSIFICATION" (Portable Document Format). tsl-timing.com (Timing Solutions Ltd.). 2007-11-10. p. 29. Retrieved 2009-12-15. 
      6. ^ "2008 Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin; Round 17 - CLASSIFICATION". tsl-timing.com (Timing Solutions Ltd.). 2008-08-31. Retrieved 2009-12-15. 
      7. ^ "Tabelle Northern European Cup Formula Renault 2.0 2008". renault-sport.de (Renault Sport). Retrieved 2009-12-15. 
      8. ^ "2008 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Winter Cup; Race 2 - CLASSIFICATION" (Portable Document Format). tsl-timing.com (Timing Solutions Ltd.). 2008-11-08. p. 24. Retrieved 2009-12-15. 
      9. ^ "Webb signs to Fortec for 2010 Formula 3 campaign". fota.co.uk (British Formula Three Championship). 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2009-12-13. 
      10. ^ Simpson, Andrew (2009-12-03). "Knutsford teenager Oliver Webb to race in British F3 championship". Knutsford Guardian (Newsquest Media Group). Retrieved 2009-12-15. 
      11. ^ Webb returns to Jensen for BGP, Vegas, IndyCar, August 29, 2011, Retrieved 2011-08-29
      12. ^ Schmidt signs Oliver Webb for 2012 Indy Lights season, Racer, December 1, 2011, Retrieved 2011-12-01
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      Last modified on 2 June 2013, at 16:55