Matthew Merrill McMurry (born November 24, 1997) is an American racing driver from Phoenix, Arizona, United States. In 2014 he became the first junior development driver for Dyson Racing[1] and a few months later at the age of 16 years and 202 days old became the youngest driver to participate in and finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[2] He is a second generation driver and son of Chris McMurry, LMP2 class winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2005. Matthew is an alumnus of The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at University of California, Irvine.[3]
Career
editMcMurry has been racing cars since age 14, competing in Formula Skip Barber, U.S. F2000 Championship, Formula Bondurant, Prototype Lites and the European Le Mans Series. Through age 16 he has total 71 car races with an 8% winning, 21% podium position and 10% fastest lap rate.[4] Prior to racing cars, he raced in karting from age 5-12, mostly locally in Arizona.
24 Hours of Le Mans
editAfter back-to-back fourth-place finishes in the 2014 European Le Mans Series at Silverstone and Imola, McMurry was asked to join American Chris Dyson and Englishman Tom Kimber-Smith for the 82nd 24 Hours of Le Mans in the No. 42 LMP2 class entry by Greaves Motorsport from Peterborough, England.
The entry qualified 19th overall and 10th in class. When McMurry was handed the car by Kimber-Smith at about the 43 minute mark in the race, he became the youngest driver to ever participate in the race, breaking the record held by Mexican Ricardo Rodriguez and set 55 years earlier in 1959. Rodriguez was 17 years and 126 days old at the time.
After a 60+ minute pit stop during the 20th hour, the team finished the race 25th overall and 11th in class, having run over 2,600 miles. McMurry broke the record for youngest to finish the race, a mark previously set by American Gunnar Jeannette in 2000 at the age of 18 years and 44 days old.[5]
Racing Record
editIMSA Cooper Tires Prototype Lites
editYear | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | Performance Tech | SEB | SEB | LGA | LGA | MOH | MOH | MOS | MOS | ROA 6 |
ROA 5 |
COA 5 |
COA 18 |
ATL 6 |
ATL 12 |
14th | 48 |
2014 | JDC MotorSports | SEB 23 |
SEB 5 |
KAN 13 |
KAN 9 |
WGL 6 |
WGL 13 |
MOS 17 |
MOS 8 |
ROA 19 |
ROA 2 |
VIR 3 |
VIR 2 |
ATL 1 |
ATL 12 |
6th | 121 |
2015 | JDC MotorSports | SEB 11 |
SEB 4 |
NOL 3 |
NOL 2 |
WGL 5 |
WGL 12 |
MOS 10 |
MOS 3 |
ROA 2 |
ROA Ret |
VIR 3 |
VIR 2 |
ATL 2 |
ATL 2 |
3rd | 179 |
24 Hours of Le Mans results
editYear | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Caterham Racing | Tom Kimber-Smith Chris Dyson |
Zytek Z11SN-Nissan | LMP2 | 329 | 25th | 11th |
2017 | Algarve Pro Racing | Mark Patterson Vincent Capillaire |
Ligier JS P217-Gibson | LMP2 | 330 | 32nd | 15th |
2020 | Algarve Pro Racing | John Falb Simon Trummer |
Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 365 | 11th | 7th |
Source:[6] |
European Le Mans Series
editYear | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Greaves Motorsport | SIL 4 |
IMO 4 |
RBR 6 |
LEC 10 |
EST 7 |
7th | 38 | |
2017 | Algarve Pro Racing | SIL 12 |
MNZ 12 |
RBR 13 |
LEC 8 |
SPA 12 |
ALG 11 |
20th | 4.5 |
Source:[6] |
IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship
edit
Asian Le Mans Series
editYear | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016-17 | Algarve Pro Racing | LMP2 | Ligier JS P2 | Judd HK 3.6 L V8 | ZHU 2 |
FUJ |
CHA 2 |
SEP |
9th | 36 |
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup
editYear | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Jenson Team Rocket RJN | Honda NSX GT3 | Silver | MNZ 5 |
SIL 6 |
LEC 9 |
SPA 4 |
CAT 12 |
8th | 44 |
References
edit- ^ New Junior Development Program Archived 2014-09-01 at archive.today, Dyson Racing, March 10, 2014
- ^ American Teen Sets Record for Youngest at Le Mans, June 15, 2014
- ^ "I am UCI | Special Reports | UCI". specialreports.news.uci.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
- ^ Matt McMurry on DriverDB.com, Accessed September 20, 2014
- ^ Video of Youngest Participant, June 14, 2014
- ^ a b c "Matt McMurry Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Matt McMurry – 2015 Tudor United SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Matt McMurry – 2016 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Matt McMurry – 2017 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Matt McMurry – 2018 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Matt McMurry – 2019 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Matt McMurry – 2020 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Matt McMurry – 2021 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Matt McMurry – 2023 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 20 March 2024.