James Rossiter

James Rossiter
James Rossiter
Nationality	British
Born	25 August 1983 (age 38); Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Super GT career
Debut season	2013
Current team	Team Impul
Car number	12
Former teams	TOM'S, Team LeMans
Starts	48
Wins	6
Poles	4
Fastest laps	3
Best finish	3rd in 2013 and 2014
Previous series
2011; 2011; 2008; 2006; 2005; 2004; 2002–03	24 Hours of Le Mans; Le Mans Series ; American Le Mans Series LMP2; Formula Renault 3.5 Series; Formula 3 Euro Series; British Formula 3; British Formula Renault

James Rossiter (born 25 August 1983) is a professional racing driver from England. He is currently driving for TOM'S in Super GT and in Super Formula. Previously he was an F1 test driver for the Honda, Super Aguri and Force India Formula One teams. He has participated in karting, Formula Renault, British Formula 3 and Formula 3 Euro Series. His father, Jeremy, was also a racing driver.

Career[]

Born in Oxford, Rossiter started his race career at 14 when he started Karting in TKM and Rotax Max karts and within 3 years, in 2001, he graduated to single seaters initially testing a Formula Palmer Audi at the Bedford Autodrome. Rossiter then graduated to Formula Renault testing and racing with Falcon Motorsport in 2002. He moved to Fortec Motorsport for 2003 and finished third in the British Formula Renault Championship after a race winning season. Rossiter was recognised by a leading journalist as "the only driver to take the fight to Lewis Hamilton".

In 2004 Rossiter stayed with the Fortec Motorsport team and graduated to the British Formula 3 Championship, winning three races and the British Formula 3 Avon tyres rookie of the year award. Rossiter also competed at the Macau Formula Three Grand Prix and the Masters of Formula 3 events. His performances also led to Rossiter winning the BRDC John Cooper Award and being selected as the winner of the BAR young F1 driver search selected from a group of upcoming drivers, several now being established F1 racers.

In 2005, Rossiter left Britain and went into the Formula 3 Euro Series with Signature-Plus supporting him; he finished 7th in the series, winning in wet conditions the second race of the year at the Hockenheimring. He was also added to the roster of the BAR team development drivers. For 2006, Rossiter moved up to the World Series by Renault with Pons Racing, combining racing with his Formula One testing duties.

For 2007, Rossiter was retained as one of Honda's test and development drivers with his main work being with the Super Aguri F1 team.

Rossiter during qualifying at Motegi in 2014.

Honda retained Rossiter for the 2008 season as their primary test and development driver for their Formula One program, mainly working with the team in Japan. During this time he played a part in developing the Honda RA109 which would become the BGP 001, which Jenson Button drove to the 2009 Formula One World Drivers' Championship title.^[1] Through his Honda connections Rossiter competed and won in the American Le Mans Series for Acura with Andretti Green Racing.^[2]

After leaving Honda he spent 2009 trying to secure a Formula One drive with one of the four new teams entering in the 2010 season.

Rossiter was signed by US F1 to race in the 2010 Formula One season;^[3] however it was not officially confirmed before the team collapsed. Rossiter was expected to join the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2010, driving for KV Racing Technology, after testing for the team at Barber Motorsports Park. However the team re-signed Mario Moraes, leaving him without a drive for the year. He then joined Sky Sports as a commentator for their coverage of IndyCar. He also drove in the Evora Cup with Lotus.^[4]

Rossiter is currently a lead test and development driver working on the Lotus T-125 track day car.^[5] His relationship with Lotus Cars has put him back in the frame for a drive in IndyCar with KV Racing Technology, who are now backed and sponsored by Lotus Cars, although it is likely to be only part-time.^[6]

In 2011, he drove in the 1000 km of Spa as part of the Le Mans Series, and retired after 21 laps. He also took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Lotus Evora GTE, finishing 22nd overall, 7th in the GTE class, and 3rd in the International Le Mans Cup standings.

Midway through the 2012 Formula One season he was signed by Force India as a test and simulator driver,^[7] and he drove the VJM06 at the first pre-season test in Jerez in 2013.^[8]

In 2020, as a reserve driver for Techeetah, he replaced Jean-Éric Vergne for FP1 of the 2020 Marrakesh ePrix due to Vergne's fever.

Racing record[]

Career summary[]

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2002	Formula Renault UK	Falcon Motorsport	11	0	0	0	0	103	13th
2003	Formula Renault UK	Fortec Motorsport	16	1	1	0	10	347	3rd
2004	British Formula 3 Championship	Fortec Motorsport	24	3	4	3	12	228	3rd
	Masters of Formula 3		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	4th
	FIA European Formula Three Cup		1	0	0	1	0	N/A	13th
	Macau Grand Prix	Signature Team	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
	Bahrain Superprix	Signature Team	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	4th
	Formula One	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	Test driver
2005	Formula 3 Euro Series	Signature-Plus	20	1	0	0	3	51	7th
	Masters of Formula 3	Signature-Plus	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
	Formula One	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	Test driver
2006	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	Pons Racing	17	0	0	0	1	33	14th
2006	Formula One	Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team	Test driver
2007	Formula One	Super Aguri F1	Test driver
2008	American Le Mans Series - LMP2	Andretti Green Racing	3	1	0	0	1	39	22nd
2008	Formula One	Honda Racing F1 Team	Test driver
2011	Le Mans Series - GTE Pro	Lotus Jetalliance	3	0	0	0	0	0	51st
	24 Hours of Le Mans - GTE Pro		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	7th
	American Le Mans Series - GT		1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2012	FIA World Endurance Championship	Lotus	6	0	0	0	0	4.5	44th
2012	Formula One	Sahara Force India F1 Team	Test driver
2013	Super GT	Petronas Team TOM'S	8	2	1	0	3	60	3rd
	Super Formula	Petronas Team TOM'S	3	0	0	0	0	2.5	16th
	FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2	Lotus	3	0	0	0	0	8	25th
	24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2	Lotus	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
	Formula One	Sahara Force India F1 Team	Test driver
2014	Super GT	Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S	8	2	2	0	2	68	3rd
	Super Formula	Kondō Racing	9	0	0	0	1	22	9th
	FIA World Endurance Championship	Lotus	2	0	0	0	0	0.5	25th
2015	Super GT	Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S	8	1	0	0	2	49	7th
2015	Super Formula	Kondō Racing	8	0	0	0	0	5	12th
2016	Super GT	Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S	8	0	1	0	2	38	9th
	Super Formula	Kondō Racing	9	0	0	0	0	12	10th
	FIA World Endurance Championship	ByKolles Racing Team	2	0	0	0	0	8.5	24th
2017	Super GT	Lexus Team au TOM'S	8	1	0	1	1	53	5th
	FIA World Endurance Championship	ByKolles Racing Team	2	0	0	0	0	9	29th
	FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2	G-Drive Racing	1	0	0	0	0	8	26th
2018	Super Formula	Vantelin Team TOM'S	6	0	0	1	0	0	17th
	Super GT	Lexus Team au TOM'S	1	0	0	0	0	8	18th
	Super GT	Lexus Team LeMans Wako's	1	0	0	0	0	8	18th
2018–19	FIA World Endurance Championship	ByKolles Racing Team	2	0	0	0	0	10	26th
2018–19	Formula E	DS Techeetah	Development driver
2019	Super GT	Team Impul	7	0	0	0	1	17.5	13th
2019–20	Formula E	DS Techeetah	Reserve driver
2020–21	Formula E	DS Techeetah	Reserve driver

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series 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	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2005	Signature-Plus	Dallara F305/025	Mercedes	HOC 1 4	HOC 2 1	PAU 1 3	PAU 2 4	SPA 1 2	SPA 2 8	MCO 1 4	MCO 2 4	OSC 1 15	OSC 2 13	NOR 1 Ret	NOR 2 7	NÜR 1 10	NÜR 2 Ret	ZAN 1 Ret	ZAN 2 10	LAU 1 18	LAU 2 14	HOC 1 5	HOC 2 9	7th	51

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series 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	16	17	DC	Points
2006	Pons Racing	ZOL 1 5	ZOL 2 Ret	MON 1 2	IST 1 Ret	IST 2 5	MIS 1 9	MIS 2 6	SPA 1 Ret	SPA 2 24	NÜR 1 Ret	NÜR 2 Ret	DON 1 Ret	DON 2 Ret	LMS 1 16	LMS 2 17	CAT 1 9	CAT 2 Ret	14th	33

Complete American Le Mans Series results[]

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Rank	Points
2008	Andretti Green Racing	LMP2	Acura ARX-01b	Acura 3.4L V8	SEB	STP	LBH	UTA	LIM	MDO	RDA 7	MOS 4	DET 1	PET	MON	22nd	39

24 Hours of Le Mans results[]

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2011	Lotus Jetalliance	Jonathan Hirschi Johnny Mowlem	Lotus Evora GTE	GTE Pro	295	22nd	7th
2013	Lotus	Christophe Bouchut	Lotus T128	LMP2	17	DNF	DNF

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	9	Rank	Points
2012	Lotus	LMP2	Lola B12/80	Lotus 3.6 L V8	SEB	SPA 29	LMS	SIL Ret	SÃO 13	BHR 9	FUJ 12	SHA Ret		44th	4.5
2013	Lotus	LMP2	Lotus T128	Praga Judd 3.6 L V8	SIL	SPA 6	LMS Ret	SÃO	COA DNS	FUJ 10	SHA	BHR		25th	8
2014	Lotus	LMP1	CLM P1/01	AER P60 Turbo V6	SIL	SPA	LMS	COA 15	FUJ Ret	SHA	BHR	SÃO		25th	0.5
2016	ByKolles Racing Team	LMP1	CLM P1/01	AER P60 2.4 L Turbo V6	SIL 14	SPA 6	LMS	NÜR	MEX	COA	FUJ	SHA	BHR	24th	8.5
2017	ByKolles Racing Team	LMP1	ENSO CLM P1/01	Nismo VRX30A 3.0 L Turbo V6	SIL Ret	SPA 6	LMS	NÜR	MEX	COA				29th	9
2017	G-Drive Racing	LMP2	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8							FUJ 6	SHA	BHR	26th	8
2018–19	ByKolles Racing Team	LMP1	ENSO CLM P1/01	Nismo VRX30A 3.0 L Turbo V6	SPA	LMS	SIL	FUJ 5	SHA Ret	SEB	SPA	LMS		26th	10

Complete Super GT results[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	DC	Points
2013	Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S	Lexus SC430	GT500	OKA 12	FUJ 1	SEP 11	SUG 10	SUZ 3	FUJ 12	AUT 1	MOT 5	3rd	60
2014	Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S	Lexus RC F	GT500	OKA 13	FUJ 9	AUT 5	SUG 4	FUJ 5	SUZ 1	BUR 1	MOT 10	3rd	68
2015	Lexus Team Petronas TOM'S	Lexus RC F	GT500	OKA 14	FUJ 3	CHA 8	FUJ 7	SUZ 1	SUG 13	AUT 5	MOT Ret	7th	49
2016	Lexus Team KeePer TOM'S	Lexus RC F	GT500	OKA 2	FUJ 3	SUG 8	FUJ 12	SUZ Ret	CHA 9	MOT Ret	MOT 5	9th	38
2017	Lexus Team au TOM's	Lexus LC 500	GT500	OKA 5	FUJ 5	AUT 1	SUG 7	FUJ 4	SUZ 9	BUR 5	MOT 14	5th	53
2018	Lexus Team au TOM's	Lexus LC 500	GT500	OKA	FUJ 4							18th	8
2018	Lexus Team LeMans Wako's	Lexus LC 500	GT500			SUZ 12	CHA	FUJ	SUG	AUT	MOT	18th	8
2019	Team Impul	Nissan GT-R	GT500	OKA 3‡	FUJ 12	SUZ 10	BUR 8	FUJ 5	AUT	SUG 14	MOT Ret	13th	17.5

^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

Complete Super Formula 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	DC	Points
2013	Petronas Team TOM'S	SUZ 11	AUT	FUJ	MOT	SUG	SUZ 7	SUZ 6			16th	2.5
2014	Kondō Racing	SUZ 2	FUJ 6	FUJ 17	FUJ 8	MOT 8	AUT 5	SUG 4	SUZ 6	SUZ 10	6th	22
2015	Kondō Racing	SUZ 16	OKA Ret	FUJ 7	MOT 12	AUT 6	SUG 14	SUZ Ret	SUZ Ret		12th	5
2016	Kondō Racing	SUZ 6	OKA 9	FUJ 5	MOT 5	OKA 9	OKA 10	SUG 8	SUZ 12	SUZ 15	10th	12
2018	Vantelin Team TOM'S	SUZ 11	AUT C	SUG Ret	FUJ 19	MOT 9	OKA 11	SUZ Ret			17th	0

References[]

^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ [1]
^ Cooper, Adam. USF1 Had Signed Rossiter As Well As Lopez Archived 3 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Speed Channel, 1 March 2010, Retrieved 1 March 2010
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 January 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/02/16/james-rossiter/
^ http://adamcooperf1.com/2013/02/01/rossiter-to-test-force-india-at-jerez/

External links[]

Official website
James Rossiter career summary at DriverDB.com
James Rossiter's news
James Rossiter's profile

[1] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[2] [1]

[3] Cooper, Adam. USF1 Had Signed Rossiter As Well As Lopez Archived 3 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Speed Channel, 1 March 2010, Retrieved 1 March 2010

[4] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[5] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[6] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 January 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[7] ttp://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/02/16/james-rossiter/

[8] ttp://adamcooperf1.com/2013/02/01/rossiter-to-test-force-india-at-jerez/

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