James Allen

James Allen (born 4 July 1996) is a professional racing driver from Australia. He currently competes in the European Le Mans Series. Allen has been a regular of LMP2 prototype racing since 2017, winning the 2023 European Le Mans Series with Algarve Pro Racing. He also won the LMP2 class at the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona in a photo finish.

Career

Junior formulae Having won several karting titles in Australia, Allen made his single-seater debut by racing in the 2013 Formula BMW Talent Cup. In 2014, Allen contested a double programme of the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series and Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. Driving for ARTA Engineering in both series, Allen scored just a lone points finish in the Alps Series. He returned to both championships with ARTA in 2015, managing to finish 11th in the Alps Series and 17th in the Eurocup.

Ahead of 2016, Allen moved to JD Motorsport. He once again scored a lone top ten finish in the Eurocup, placing him 17th overall again. In the Northern European Cup, which Allen raced in alongside his Eurocup commitments, he scored his maiden podium in the category at Spa-Francorchamps. At the season finale in Hockenheim, Allen won race 3.

First prototype success, top class debut (2017–19) Allen entered the European Le Mans Series in 2017, joining Graff Racing in the LMP2 class. Having scored points in all of the opening four races, the trio of Allen, Richard Bradley and Gustavo Yacamán claimed a closely-fought victory at the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, with Allen passing fellow silver-ranked Will Owen for the lead during hour 2. They then won at the Portimão season finale to secure third in the standings. Allen also made his debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans during 2017, finishing fifth in the LMP2 class alongside Bradley and Franck Matelli despite beaching the car during the morning.

Heading into the 2018 ELMS season, Allen remained at Graff, driving for the G-Drive Racing-branded No. 40. With multiple teammate changes affecting the entry's season, Allen dropped to 15th in the drivers' standings. He retired from that year's Le Mans 24 Hours after a nighttime crash by co-driver José Gutiérrez. Towards the end of 2018, Allen made his FIA World Endurance Championship debut in the top class, LMP1. Driving for DragonSpeed, Allen retired at Fuji before finishing sixth at Shanghai alongside Ben Hanley and Renger van der Zande.

Allen remained at DragonSpeed for the 2019 ELMS season, partnering Hanley and bronze-ranked Henrik Hedman. With a strong performance at the opening round, which included him setting the fastest lap and passing Roman Rusinov for the race lead, Allen led the No. 21 crew to victory at Le Castellet. The team scored points throughout all of the other five races, taking a best finish of fourth at Silverstone from the remaining races. These results earned DragonSpeed fifth in the teams' standings.

Regular ELMS podiums (2020–2021) Ahead of 2020, Allen received a license update to become categorised as an FIA Gold driver. In the ELMS, he returned to Graff to partner Thomas Laurent and silver-ranked Alexandre Cougnaud. The trio finished second at Spa and third at Le Castellet, where Laurent made a late overtake on Will Stevens. They ended the season fifth in the teams' standings, having scored points in every weekend.

Allen switched teams in 2021, joining Will Stevens and silver Julien Canal at Panis Racing. After testing positive for COVID-19 prior to round 1 at Barcelona, Allen was replaced by Gabriel Aubry. He returned in time for round 2. At round 4 in Monza, Allen and his teammates combined to score Panis's first victory in the ELMS. They also finished third at Spa on their way to third in the teams' championship.

Title success at Algarve Pro (2022–2023) Heading into 2022, Allen contested a double programme with Algarve Pro Racing in both the FIA WEC and ELMS, racing in the LMP2 Pro-Am subclass in both series. In the former, Allen, alongside teammates René Binder and Steven Thomas, claimed two subclass wins on his way to second place overall. This included a subclass victory at Le Mans. In the latter meanwhile, three podiums placed the team of Allen, Alex Peroni, and John Falb fifth in the six-car subclass.

At the start of 2023, Allen joined Proton Competition at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Allen proved to be the deciding factor late in the race: having passed Matthieu Vaxivière for second, Allen chased down former teammate Ben Hanley and passed him at the line to claim the win; the margin of victory read 0.016 seconds. In addition, Allen raced in the Asian Le Mans Series with Algarve Pro in February 2023. Despite a spin from teammate Falb, Allen was able to take victory at the opening race in Dubai thanks to a quick final pit stop. After a puncture in race 2, they finished fourth. A late crash from Kyffin Simpson, Allen's other teammate, lost the team a potential podium spot in race 1 at Abu Dhabi, meanwhile another fourth in race 2 left the team third in the championship.

For his main campaign in the ELMS, Allen joined Simpson and Cadillac Hypercar driver Alex Lynn at Algarve Pro. At round 2 in Le Castellet, a late-race overtake from Allen on Louis Delétraz resulted in the No. 25 scoring victory. The team then finished third at Aragón, putting themselves firmly in title contention. They then took the championship lead at Spa, having stayed clean during a chaotic race. The double-header season finale yielded two second places for the team, enough to confirm Allen and his teammates as ELMS champions. Allen also recaptured his LMP2 Pro-Am victory at Le Mans that year, dominating alongside Colin Braun and George Kurtz.

Further LMP2 victories, GT3 debut (2024–present) Allen moved to Duqueine Team for the 2024 ELMS season. Partnering category rookies Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer and Niels Koolen, Allen experienced a challenging season, as Duqueine finished 13th of 14 teams in the standings. Allen and the team also retired from the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Towards year's end, Allen joined new team RD Limited in the 2024–25 Asian Le Mans Series. At the first race in Sepang, Allen took the lead from Matthieu Vaxivière during the third hour, before co-driver Tristan Vautier fended off the category veteran on the final lap to claim victory. They finished second in race 2. Sixth in race 1 at Dubai was followed by another second place in race 2, teeing up a title decider with just three points splitting RD Limited and points leader Algarve Pro. The latter ended up clinching the title in Abu Dhabi, as Allen and his teammates secured second in the championship with a podium in race 2. More success came Allen's way at the start of 2025: racing for United Autosports alongside Paul di Resta, Rasmus Lindh, and Dan Goldburg, Allen won the Daytona 24 Hours after original winners Tower Motorsports were disqualified.

During the 2025 season, Allen split his attention between an ELMS campaign with Nielsen Racing in the LMP2 Pro-Am class and a drive in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, where he made his GT3 debut at Optimum Motorsport. Driving in the Gold Cup class in the latter alongside Mikey Porter and Largim Ali, Allen finished sixth in the class standings after scoring points in all five races. In the ELMS, Allen scored a single class victory, coming second overall at Le Castellet after profiting from a successful tyre strategy that helped bronze-ranked teammate Anthony Wells to take the lead early on. With another podium, third at Portimão, the team finished seventh in the eight-car championship. Allen once again partook in the Asian Le Mans Series during the winter, scoring two podiums for RD Limited to finish fifth in the standings.

Allen remained at Nielsen heading into the 2026 ELMS campaign, partnering Alex Quinn and bronze-ranked Kriton Lendoudis. At round 2 in Le Castellet, the trio claimed Pro-Am class victory after a penalty for AF Corse and a late pit stop for CLX Motorsport.

Racing record Karting career summary

Career summary † Ineligible for points.

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) † As Allen was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Alps 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 Pos Points 2014 ARTA Engineering IMO1 IMO2 PAU1 PAU2 RBR1 RBR2 SPA1 SPA2 MNZ1 MNZ2 MUG1 MUG2 JER1 JER2 23rd 2 2015 ARTA Engineering IMO1 IMO2 PAU1 PAU2 RBR1 RBR2 RBR3 SPA1 SPA2 MNZ1 MNZ2 MNZ3 MIS1 MIS2 JER1 JER2 11th 48

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 NEC results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 DC Points 2016 JD Motorsport MNZ1 MNZ2 SIL1 SIL2 HUN1 HUN2 SPA1 SPA2 ASS1 ASS2 NÜR1 NÜR2 HOC1 HOC2 HOC3 7th 177

Complete European Le Mans Series results Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points 2017 Graff LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL MNZ RBR LEC SPA ALG 3rd 86 2018 G-Drive Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC MNZ RBR SIL SPA ALG 15th 15.25 2019 DragonSpeed LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC MNZ CAT SIL SPA ALG 7th 48 2020 Graff LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC SPA LEC MNZ ALG 6th 43 2021 Panis Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT RBR LEC MNZ SPA ALG 6th 56.5 2022 Algarve Pro Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC IMO MNZ CAT SPA ALG 21st 7Pro-Am Cup 6th 59 2023 Algarve Pro Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC ARA SPA POR ALG 1st 113 2024 Duqueine Team LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC IMO SPA MUG ALG 16th 20 2025 Nielsen Racing LMP2 Pro-Am Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC IMO SPA SIL ALG 8th 582026 Nielsen Racing LMP2 Pro-Am Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC IMO SPA SIL ALG 6th* 25*

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points 2018–19 G-Drive Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SPA LMS SIL 29th 8 DragonSpeed LMP1 BR Engineering BR1 Gibson GL458 4.5L V8 FUJ SHA SEB SPA LMS 2022 Algarve Pro Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEB SPA LMS MNZ FUJ BHR 19th 10 Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2017 Graff Racing Richard Bradley Franck Matelli Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 361 6th 5th 2018 G-Drive Racing José Gutiérrez Enzo Guibbert Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 197 DNF DNF 2020 SO24-HAS by Graff Vincent Capillaire Charles Milesi Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 357 DNF DNF 2021 Panis Racing Julien Canal Will Stevens Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 362 8th 3rd 2022 Algarve Pro Racing René Binder Steven Thomas Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 363 19th 15th LMP2 Pro-Am 1st 2023 Algarve Pro Racing Colin Braun George Kurtz Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 322 20th 10th LMP2 Pro-Am 1st 2024 Duqueine Team John Falb Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 112 DNF DNF LMP2 Pro-Am 2026 AO by TF Dane Cameron P. J. Hyett Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 356 24th10th LMP2 Pro-Am 3rd

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Points 2019 DragonSpeed LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB MDO WGL MOS ELK LGA PET 13th 30 2022 G-Drive Racing by APR LMP2 Aurus 01 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB LGA MDO WGL ELK PET NC 0 2023 Proton Competition LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB LGA WGL ELK IMS PET NC 0 2024 DragonSpeed USA LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY SEB WGL MOS ELK IMS ATL 48th 262

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