Gary Hirsch
Swiss racing driver (born 1987)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gary Hirsch (born 3 April 1987) is a Swiss racing driver who last competed in the LMGTE Am class of the FIA World Endurance Championship for Aston Martin Racing.
Swiss| Gary Hirsch | |
|---|---|
Hirsch in 2016 | |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Born | 3 April 1987 Geneva, Switzerland |
| Racing licence |  FIA Silver (until 2015, 2026–)[1] FIA Gold (2016–2025)[2] |
| Championship titles | |
| 2015 2013 | European Le Mans Series – LMP2 European Le Mans Series – LMPC |
Career
Hirsch began karting at the age of 12, competing until 2004, most notably winning the Rotax Max Swiss Karting Challenge in 2002. After finishing runner-up in the Volant Mygale shootout in 2004 and racing part-time in the British Formula Ford Championship a year later, Hirsch joined Graff Racing to race in the French Formula Renault 2.0 series.[3] Hirsch then made a one-off appearance in Formula Renault Asia 2.0 in 2008,[4] before taking a three year hiatus to focus on his studies at the University of Geneva.[5] In 2011, Hirsch raced in the first two rounds of the FIA GT3 European Championship with Graff Racing, taking a best result of fifth at Silverstone.[6]
Following a two year hiatus, Hirsch joined Team Endurance Challenge to race in the LMPC class of the European Le Mans Series alongside Paul-Loup Chatin.[7] After finishing second at Silverstone, the pair won the following three races to take the points lead,[8][9][10] before securing the LMPC title by finishing second in the finale at Le Castellet.[11]
Staying in the European Le Mans Series for 2014, Hirsch joined Newblood by Morand Racing to race in the LMP2 class alongside Christian Klien and Romain Brandela.[12] Hirsch began the season with a third-place finish at Silverstone,[13] before scoring his only win of the season two races later at Le Castellet and ending the year with a second-place finish at Estoril to end the year third in points.[14][15] During 2014, Hirsch also made his debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Klien and Brandela,[16] finishing sixth in the LMP2 class and tenth overall.[17]
Hirsch remained in the European Le Mans Series for 2015, joining Greaves Motorsport alongside Jon Lancaster and Björn Wirdheim for his sophomore season in the LMP2 class.[18] Starting off the season with a win at Silverstone,[19] Hirsch finished fourth in the following two races,[20][21] before winning at Le Castellet and finishing second at Estoril to secure the LMP2 title.[22][23] During 2015, Hirsch competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the same team,[24] running as high as second before retiring with an electrical issue.[25]
The following year, Hirsch was upgraded to an FIA Gold Categorisation,[26] and only raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Aston Martin Racing.[27] Racing in the LMGTE Am class alongside Liam Griffin and Andrew Howard, the trio finished seventh in class.[28] Three years after his last appearance in racing, Hirsch joined Rebellion Racing as their test and reserve driver for the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship.[29]
Karting record
Karting career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Challenge Suisse de Karting – Rotax Max | 1st | |
| 2003 | Suisse Romand championship – ICA | NC | |
| 2004 | Suisse Romand championship Elite | ORS Kart Racing Team | 5th |
| 24 Hours of Suisse | 1st | ||
| Sources:[30] | |||
Racing record
Racing career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | British Formula Ford Championship | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 2007 | Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 | Graff Racing | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 13th |
| Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31st | ||
| 2008 | Formula Asia 2.0 | Champ Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 11th |
| 2011 | FIA GT3 European Championship | Graff Racing | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 24th |
| 2013 | European Le Mans Series – LMPC | Team Endurance Challenge | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 115 | 1st |
| 2014 | European Le Mans Series – LMP2 | Newblood by Morand Racing | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 68 | 3rd |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/a | 6th | ||
| 2015 | European Le Mans Series – LMP2 | Greaves Motorsport | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 93 | 1st |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/a | DNF | ||
| 2016 | FIA World Endurance Championship – LMGTE Am | Aston Martin Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 11th |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans – LMGTE Am | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/a | 7th | ||
| 2018–19 | FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP1 | Rebellion Racing | Reserve driver | ||||||
| Sources:[31][30] | |||||||||
Complete Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete FIA GT3 European Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Team Endurance Challenge | LMPC | Oreca FLM09 | Chevrolet LS3 6.2L V8 | SIL 2 |
IMO 1 |
RBR 1 |
HUN 1 |
LEC 2 |
1st | 115 |
| 2014 | Newblood by Morand Racing | LMP2 | Morgan LMP2 | Judd HK 3.6 L V8 | SIL 3 |
IMO Ret |
RBR 5 |
LEC 1 |
EST 2 |
3rd | 68 |
| 2015 | Greaves Motorsport | LMP2 | Gibson 015S | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | SIL 1 |
IMO 4 |
RBR 4 |
LEC 1 |
EST 2 |
1st | 93 |
24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Newblood by Morand Racing |
 Christian Klien Romain Brandela |
Morgan LMP2-Judd | LMP2 | 352 | 10th | 6th |
| 2015 |  Greaves Motorsport |
Jon Lancaster Gaëtan Paletou |
Gibson 015S-Nissan | LMP2 | 71 | DNF | DNF |
| 2016 | Aston Martin Racing |
Liam Griffin Andrew Howard |
Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE | GTE Am |
318 | 36th | 7th |
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Aston Martin Racing | LMGTE Am | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 | SIL | SPA | LMS 4 |
NÜR | MEX | COA | FUJ | SHA | BHR | 11th | 24 |