James Walker

James Walker (born 25 August 1983, in Jersey) is a British professional racing driver.

Career

Formula Ford

Walker began his single seater racing career in 2002 in the UK Formula Ford championship, finishing the year in 17th place. He also took part in the Avon Tyres Junior Formula Ford series, finishing sixth, and the end-of-season Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, where he finished 12th.

For 2003, Walker stayed in UK Formula Ford, winning the scholarship class for year-old cars as well as taking three overall podium finishes, including a win at Mondello Park. He also finished ninth in the Formula Ford Festival. As a result of his achievements during the season he was nominated for the National Racing Driver of the Year at the annual Autosport Awards.

Formula Three

The following year, Walker moved up to the British Formula Three Championship, the first of three seasons in the category. Competing for Hitech Racing, he finished his first season in 18th place. He also raced in the one-off Formula 3 European Cup event, finishing 11th, and the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort, where he finished in 28th place. During the same year, he was also awarded 'Rising Star' status by the British Racing Drivers Club.

In 2005, Walker switched to the Fortec Motorsport team, taking one race win, at the Nürburgring, to finish the year 11th overall. He once again took part in the Marlboro Masters race, but retired from the event. Walker returned to Hitech Racing for the 2006 season, taking three podium places on his way to ninth in the final standings. He also took part in two F3 Euroseries rounds, at Hockenheim and Brands Hatch, but failed to score a point in the four races he entered. Walker also made a third attempt at the renamed BP Ultimate Masters of Formula 3, but once again failed to finish the race.

World Series by Renault Walker driving for Fortec Motorsport at the Donington Park round of the 2007 World Series by Renault season.

For 2007, Walker made the step up to the World Series by Renault with Fortec Motorsport, who were also making their debut in the series. He finished his maiden year 19th in the final standings, with the highlight being a win in front of his home crowd at Donington Park.

Despite testing for Red Devil Team Comtec during the off-season, Walker stayed with Fortec for a second season in 2008. During the year, he finished in the points on nine occasions, taking a single podium in the final race of the season in Barcelona to finish 13th in the championship.

In the off-season, Walker tested for both Ultimate Signature and P1 Motorsport before joining the latter for the 2009 season. He ended up fifth in the championship, winning a single race at Spa-Francorchamps.

Superleague Formula In 2008, Walker also took part in four races of the inaugural Superleague Formula season. He raced for Rangers F.C. at the Nürburgring and then for Borussia Dortmund at Jerez, where he won the final race of the season. He would return to the series in 2010, driving for defending champions Liverpool, replacing Adrián Vallés.

Sports car racing Walker was given a drive a Porsche for J Lowe Racing in the 2010 24 Hours of Daytona, but the car retired before he got behind the wheel.

Walker joined Le Mans Series team JMW Motorsport for the 2011 season. He and Rob Bell got two class wins out of five races driving a Ferrari 458 Italia, resulting runners-up in the GTE-Pro drivers and teams championships. In 2012, he won the Paul Ricard race for JMW together with Jonny Cocker, and retired at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Walker switched to Delta-ADR for the 2013 season of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Driving an Oreca-Nissan, he got a LMP2 class win, a fourth-place finish and a fifth, resulting sixth in the teams standings.

Racing record

Career summary

SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition 2002 UK Formula Ford Championship ? ? ? ? ? ? 50 17th Avon Tyres Junior Formula Ford Championship ? ? ? ? ? ? 182 6th 2003 UK Formula Ford Championship - Scholarship Class ? ? ? ? ? ? 466 1st 2004 British Formula Three Championship Hitech Racing 24 0 0 0 0 20 18th 2005 British Formula Three Championship Fortec Motorsport 22 1 0 1 1 69 11th 2006 British Formula Three Championship Hitech Racing 21 0 0 0 3 92 9th Formula Three Euroseries 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC 2007 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Fortec Motorsport 17 1 0 0 1 19 19th 2008 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Fortec Motorsport 17 0 0 0 1 36 13th 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 Series P1 Motorsport 17 1 0 2 3 89 5th2010 Superleague Formula Liverpool FC16000043910th2011 Rolex Sports Car Series - GT Bullet Racing100001657th Le Mans Series - LM GTE Pro JMW Motorsport5200246 2nd2012 European Le Mans Series - LM GTE Pro JMW Motorsport1100126 2nd German Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup100000NC2013 British GT Championship - GT3 Fortec Motorsport20000824th FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Delta-ADR51101447th2014 United SportsCar Championship - GTD Fall-Line Motorsports100001134th European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Greaves Motorsport10000821st European Le Mans Series - GTE JMW Motorsport100011519th2024 Le Mans Cup - GT3 Steller Motorsport2025-2624H Series Middle East - TCXasBest Racing

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Superleague Formula

2008 (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

2010

24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2012 JMW Motorsport Jonny Cocker Roger Wills Ferrari 458 Italia GTC GTEPro 204 DNF DNF