Benjamin Leuenberger
Swiss businessman and former racing driver (born 1982)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benjamin Leuenberger (born 11 June 1982) is a Swiss businessman and former racing driver.
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Swiss
FIA Gold (until 2012)
FIA Silver (2013–2019)[1]| Benjamin Leuenberger | |
|---|---|
Leuenberger in 2009 | |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Born | 11 June 1982 Solothurn, Switzerland |
| Categorisation | FIA Gold (until 2012) FIA Silver (2013–2019)[1] |
| Championship titles | |
| 1999 | Formula BMW ADAC – Junior |
Leuenberger notably competed for Panoz's factory LMP900 team in the American Le Mans Series in 2003. He later dabbled between the LMP1, LMP2, GT1 and GT2 classes of the Le Mans Series until 2009, winning on his final start for Speedy Racing Team Sebah and scoring a podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Business ventures
Alongside his racing career, Leuenberger has been working at A. Aubry AG since 2004, a plastic fabrication company in which he serves as CEO since 2022.[2]
Career
Leuenberger began his single-seater career in 1999, spending two years in Formula BMW ADAC, winning the Junior title on his debut season and finishing eighth in the overall standings in 2000.[3] After a year in Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup with JD Motorsport, Leuenberger switched to sportscars for 2002, competing for Carsport Racing in Porsche Carrera Cup Germany.[4]
In 2003, Leuenberger joined JML Team Panoz to compete in select rounds of the American Le Mans Series in the LMP900 class.[5] In his four starts, Leuenberger took a best result of fourth at both Road America and Petit Le Mans to take 13th in points,[6][7] in a year in which he also made his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut with the same team alongside David Saelens and Scott Maxwell.[8] The following year, Leuenberger joined Taurus Sports Racing to drive a Lola B2K/10 in select rounds of the LMP1 class of the Le Mans Endurance Series,[9] as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[10] During 2004, Leuenberger also joined Doran Lista Racing for two races of the Rolex Sports Car Series in the DP class.[11]
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With no racing plans lined up for 2005, Leuenberger joined Creation Autosportif to be a test driver for their LMP1 programme, before being called on the eve of the Le Mans Endurance Series season to drive Paul Belmondo Racing's Chrysler Viper GTS-R in GT1.[12] Competing in three of the five races alongside Pierre Perret, Leuenberger scored a best result of sixth at the Nürburgring.[13] Continuing in GT1 machinery for 2006, Leuenberger joined Lamborghini-fielding Münnich Motorsport to compete part-time in the FIA GT Championship and the Le Mans Series.[14][15] Between the two campaigns, Leuenberger most notably finished eighth at Dijon in the former, scoring his only points finish in FIA GT.[16] Switching to ADAC GT Masters in 2007,[17] Leuenberger split the season between Lamborghini-aligned Waiblinger Motorsport Club and Porsche-aligned Carsport Racing, taking a best result of seventh once with each team.[18]
The following year, Leuenberger switched to Speedy Racing Team to drive a Spyker C8 in the GT2 class of the Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[19][20] In his only season in GT2 machinery, Leuenberger took a best result of fourth at both Monza and Spa en route to a ninth-place points finish.[21] Stepping up to LMP2 with Speedy in 2009,[22] Leuenberger finished second at Spa and won the Silverstone finale with Jonny Kane and Xavier Pompidou to secure fourth in the standings.[23] He also finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the pair,[24] and deputised for Jaroslav Janiš in the LMS opener for Spyker's GT2 squad.[25]
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Over the following two seasons, Leuenberger featured for Panoz in their GT2-spec Abruzzi in the American Le Mans Series.[26][27] After the car never left the tent at the 2010 Petit Le Mans,[28] Leuenberger's 12 Hours of Sebring only lasted 19 laps due to mechanical issues, in what was his last start in the series.[29] Leuenberger also made his 24 Hours of Nürburgring debut for Rikli Motorsport in 2010, before joining Lamborghini-affiliated DKR Engineering for the Chinese rounds of the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship.[30] Two years later, Leuenberger made a one-off return to racing, competing in the V3 class of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring for Toyota Swiss Racing Team.[31]
Karting record
Karting career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Swiss Championship — A-150 | 9th | |
| KIA Cup — Liz. 155 kg | 11th | ||
| Sources:[3] | |||
Racing record
Racing career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Formula BMW ADAC – Junior | 20 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 228 | 1st | |
| 2000 | Formula BMW ADAC | BMW Rookie Team | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 92 | 8th |
| 2001 | Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup | JD Motorsport | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 16th |
| Formula Renault 2.0 Germany | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 18th | ||
| 2002 | Porsche Carrera Cup Germany | Carsport Racing | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 14th |
| Porsche Supercup | Carsport Supercup Team Swiss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | |
| Formula Renault 2.0 Germany | ma-con | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38th | |
| V8Star Series | PoleVision Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 24th | |
| 2003 | American Le Mans Series – LMP900 | JML Team Panoz | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 13th |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP900 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/a | DNF | ||
| 2004 | Le Mans Endurance Series – LMP1 | Taurus Sports Racing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/a | 8th | ||
| Rolex Sports Car Series – Protoype | Doran Lista Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 43rd | |
| 2005 | Le Mans Endurance Series – LMP1 | Creation Autosportif | Test driver | ||||||
| Le Mans Endurance Series – GT1 | Paul Belmondo Racing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24th | |
| 2006 | FIA GT Championship – GT1 | B-Racing RS Line Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 31st |
| All-Inkl.com Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Le Mans Series – GT1 | B-Racing RS Line Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| 2007 | ADAC GT Masters | Waiblinger Motorsport Club | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 15th |
| Carsport Racing Swiss | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2008 | Le Mans Series – GT2 | Speedy Racing Team | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 9th |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans – GT2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/a | DNF | ||
| 2009 | Le Mans Series – GT2 | Snoras Spyker Squadron | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| Le Mans Series – LMP2 | Speedy Racing Team Sebah | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 4th | |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/a | 2nd | ||
| 2010 | 24 Hours of Nürburgring – SP3 | Rikli Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/a | DNF |
| American Le Mans Series – GT | Panoz Team | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| 2011 | American Le Mans Series – GT | Panoz Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| FIA GT1 World Championship | DKR www-discount.de | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 29th | |
| 2013 | 24 Hours of Nürburgring – V3 | Toyota Swiss Racing Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/a | 6th |
| Sources:[32][3] | |||||||||
* Season still in progress.
† As Leuenberger was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete American Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | Class | Make | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | JML Team Panoz | LMP900 | Panoz LMP01 Evo | Élan 6L8 6.0L V8 | SEB 8 |
ATL | SON 5 |
TRO | MOS | ELK 4 |
LGA DNS |
MIA | PET 4 |
13th | 43 |
| 2010 | Panoz Racing | GT | Panoz Abruzzi | Chevrolet 6.5 L V8 | SEB |
LBH |
LAG |
UTA |
LRP |
MDO |
ELK |
MOS |
PET DNA |
NC | 0 |
| 2011 | Panoz Racing | GT | Panoz Abruzzi | Chevrolet 6.5 L V8 | SEB Ret |
LBH |
LRP |
MOS |
MDO |
ELK |
BAL |
LAG |
PET |
NC | 0 |
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 |  JML Team Panoz |
 David Saelens Scott Maxwell |
Panoz LMP01 Evo | LMP900 | 233 | DNF | DNF |
| 2004 |  Taurus Sports Racing |
Christian Vann Didier André |
Lola B2K/10-Judd | LMP1 | 300 | 20th | 8th |
| 2008 | Speedy Racing Team |
Andrea Chiesa Iradj Alexander |
Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2-R | GT2 | 72 | DNF | DNF |
| 2009 | Speedy Racing Team Sebah Automotive |
Jonny Kane Xavier Pompidou |
Lola B08/80-Judd | LMP2 | 343 | 12th | 2nd |
Complete European Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Taurus Sports | LMP1 | Lola B2K/10 | Judd GV4 4.0 L V10 | MNZ DNS |
NUR |
SIL DNA |
SPA |
NC | 0 | |
| 2005 | Paul Belmondo Racing | GT1 | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | Chrysler EWB 8.0 L V10 | SPA NC |
MNZ Ret |
SIL DNS |
NÜR 6 |
IST DNA |
24th | 3 |
| 2006 | B-Racing RS Line Team | GT1 | Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT | Lamborghini L535 6.0L V12 | IST |
SPA Ret |
NUR |
DON |
JAR |
NC | 0 |
| 2008 | Speedy Racing Team | GT2 | Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2-R | Audi 4.0 L V8 | CAT Ret |
MNZ 4 |
SPA 4 |
NUR Ret |
SIL 8 |
9th | 11 |
| 2009 | Snoras Spyker Squadron | GT2 | Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2-R | Audi 4.0 L V8 | CAT Ret |
NC | 0 | ||||
| Speedy Racing Team Sebah | LMP2 | Lola B08/80 | Judd DB 3.4 L V8 | CAT WD |
SPA 2 |
ALG 5 |
NUR 7 |
SIL 1 |
4th | 22 | |
Complete Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete FIA GT Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete ADAC GT Masters results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)