5-time Le Mans podium finisher Richard Westbrook has referred to as time on a profession through which he was a manufacturing facility driver with Porsche, Normal Motors, BMW, Aston Martin and Ford.
The 49-year-old Briton has introduced that final weekend’s Petit Le Mans IMSA SportsCar Championship finale at Street Atlanta was his final race as an expert driver.
Westbrook’s determination to retire brings the curtain down on a profession that included back-to-back Porsche Supercup titles in 2006-07 and sophistication victories within the Sebring 12 Hours and Daytona 24 Hours enduros in 2013 and 2018 respectively.
In addition to third-place finishes general with Glickenhaus and Cadillac on the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2022 and ’23, he notched up a trio of sophistication podiums on the Circuit de la Sarthe with Porsche, Ford and Aston Martin.
Westbrook defined the time was proper to name time on his profession, regardless of having a yr left to run on his contract with the JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche GTP staff with which he has raced in IMSA this season.
“You may’t do it without end and sooner or later it’s a must to be trustworthy with your self, say you’ve had a very good run and go on the baton,” Westbrook informed Motorsport.com.
“This was the primary season that I’ve felt like that: my performances have been nonetheless there, however the enjoyment issue had gone a bit. I wasn’t so enthusiastic about getting within the automobile as I had been prior to now, and if that’s the case, it’s a must to query whether or not you ought to be doing it.
Petit Le Mans was Westbrook’s closing race as a professional as he bowed out within the JDC/Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
Picture by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Pictures
“I’m pleased with my profession and the way in which it has ended: I most likely wasn’t going to realize much more and it has been my determination to cease.”
Westbrook stated that his largest achievement was racing for 23 seasons after he began competing once more following six years of inactivity after his single-seater profession stalled in System 3 in 1996.
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“I’ve to pinch myself generally what has occurred over the previous 20-odd years,” he defined. “All the pieces occurred so rapidly: I went from doing nothing to driving for all these producers.”
Westbrook picked out his 4 seasons racing for Chip Ganassi Racing in IMSA in 2016-19 with the Ford GT within the GT Le Mans class as among the finest durations of his profession.
“That was a particular time for me,” stated Westbrook, whose common driving accomplice over the 4 years was Ryan Briscoe.
“We had a very good group of individuals and scored loads of wins, however sadly not the championship. We have been second twice and it all the time went all the way down to the wire – that’s one remorse I’ll all the time have.
“After I look again I believe I ought to have received extra, extra championships. There have been massive wins in IMSA, like Daytona and Sebring, however by no means a championship – that can all the time rankle.”
Westbrook fashioned a profitable partnership at Ford with Briscoe, however the title eluded them
Picture by: Richard Dole / Motorsport Pictures
He singled out his second-place general end within the 2015 IMSA factors alongside Michael Valiante with the Spirit of Daytona staff when he was on the books of Chevrolet as one other remorse.
“We have been a small operation racing towards massive groups like Motion Specific Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing and we got here inside three factors of the championship,” he stated.
Westbrook additionally picked the primary of his two Le Mans general podiums, notched up with Glickenhaus Racing, as one other spotlight.
“Jim [Glickenhaus, the marque founder] put his cash the place his mouth was and we achieved the whole lot we might,” stated Westbrook. “To face on the Le Mans podium with him was actually particular.”
The three Le Mans podiums in school got here in 2010 in GT2 with the Scuderia Italia Porsche staff and in 2016 and 2020 respectively with Ford and Aston Martin in GTE Professional.
He was additionally a race winner within the FIA GT1 World Championship with the JRM Nissan staff in 2010 and in school in FIA GTs with the Prospeed Porsche squad in 2008 and ’09.
Westbrook was a frontrunner within the System Opel Lotus Euroseries one-make single-seater championship in 1994-95, however a proposed F3 drive with the KMS-run Benetton Junior Crew in Germany fell via for 1996.
He then stopped racing after a handful F3 races in Germany and Austria that yr and didn’t resume till coming again for a brief self-funded partial programme within the Supercup in 2002.
