Gary Hirsch

Gary Hirsch (born 3 April 1987) is a Swiss former racing driver who last competed in the LMGTE Am class of the FIA World Endurance Championship for Aston Martin Racing.

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. Hirsch then made a one-off appearance in Formula Renault Asia 2.0 in 2008, before taking a three year hiatus to focus on his studies at the University of Geneva. 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.

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. After finishing second at Silverstone, the pair won the following three races to take the points lead, before securing the LMPC title by finishing second in the finale at Le Castellet.

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. Hirsch began the season with a third-place finish at Silverstone, 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. During 2014, Hirsch also made his debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Klien and Brandela, finishing sixth in the LMP2 class and tenth overall.

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. Starting off the season with a win at Silverstone, Hirsch finished fourth in the following two races, before winning at Le Castellet and finishing second at Estoril to secure the LMP2 title. During 2015, Hirsch competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the same team, running as high as second before retiring with an electrical issue.

The following year, Hirsch was upgraded to an FIA Gold Categorisation, and only raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Aston Martin Racing. Racing in the LMGTE Am class alongside Liam Griffin and Andrew Howard, the trio finished seventh in class. 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.

Karting record Karting career summary SeasonSeriesTeamPosition 2002 Challenge Suisse de Karting – Rotax Max 1st 2003 Suisse Romand championship – ICA NC2004 Suisse Romand championship Elite ORS Kart Racing Team 5th 24 Hours of Suisse 1stSources:

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) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos. Points 2011 Graff Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Mercedes-Benz 6.2 L V8 ALG1 ALG2 SIL1 SIL2 NAV1 NAV2 LEC1 LEC2 SLO1 SLO2 ZAN1 ZAN2 24th 20

Complete European Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 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 GTEAm 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 NÜR MEX COA FUJ SHA BHR 11th 24