Ricky Collard (born July 30, 1996) is a British racing driver currently competing in the British GT Championship. He is the son of former BTCC driver Rob Collard and the grandson of Hot Rod racer Mick Collard.
| Ricky Collard | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Collard driving at Brands Hatch in 2015 | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Born | July 30, 1996[1] Frimley, United Kingdom |
| Related to | Rob Collard (father)[1] |
| British Touring Car Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2018 |
| Current team | Toyota Gazoo Racing UK |
| Racing licence |  FIA Silver |
| Former teams | Team BMW |
| Starts | 71 (72 entries) |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 2 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 8th in 2023 |
| Previous series | |
| 2018-2021 2020, 2017 2018 2017 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Intercontinental GT Challenge British GT 24H Series ADAC GT Masters BRDC British F3 MSA Formula British Formula Ford Ginetta Junior Championship |
| Championship titles | |
| 2024 | British GT Championship |
Early career
edit.jpg)
Collard started his racing career in karts in 2006, finishing fourth in the British Cadet Championship in 2009, sixth in the Kartmasters British Grand Prix KF3 category in 2011, and eighth in the U18 Karting World Championship in 2012. That season he also made his car racing debut in the Ginetta Junior Championship.[2]
Following a season in the British Formula Ford Championship, where he finished seventh overall with five podiums, Collard stepped into the MSA Formula Championship in 2015.[1] He took six wins and finished the year as runner-up to Lando Norris, subsequently progressing to the BRDC British F3 Championship in 2016 with Carlin Motorsport.[2] There, Collard managed to win five races on his way to finishing second in the standings.
Sportscar & touring car career
editFor the 2017 season, Collard switched to sportscar racing, competing in the opening three events of the ADAC GT Masters as a BMW junior driver.[3] He and factory driver Philipp Eng won during the first round at Oschersleben and scored a further podium at the Red Bull Ring, before Collard withdrew from the subsequent round in lieu of a BMW-organised viewing experience in the DTM.[4][5]
Collard entered the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in 2018, driving for Rowe Racing.[6] The campaign proved to be disappointing, as he and the team were forced to retire from all four events he entered. During the same year, Collard made his British Touring Car Championship debut at Rockingham, substituting his father Rob who was ruled out on medical advice following concussion suffered at the previous round. He drove the BMW 125i M Sport for the remaining four rounds of the season, scoring his maiden podium at Silverstone with a third place finish.[7]
In 2019, the Briton entered the sprint-formatted GT World Challenge Europe together with Marvin Kirchhöfer, driving an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 for R-Motorsport.[8] With points scored in the majority of races, Collard and Kirchhöfer ended up eighth in the standings, highlighted by a win at the Nürburgring.[9] Despite this success, 2020 proved to be a patchy season for Collard, who raced in individual events of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. The peak of his year came at the 24 Hours of Spa, where he helped Barwell Motorsport, in a lineup which included Sandy Mitchell, Leo Machitski, and Collard's father Rob, towards victory in the Pro-Am class.[10][11] Collard continued without a full-time schedule in 2021, racing in two Endurance Cup events.
In 2022, the Briton returned to the BTCC, driving for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK.[12] After struggling early on, Collard's form improved in the second half of the year, as he scored a best result of fourth on his way to 16th in the championship. Following the season, Collard announced that he would be retiring from racing.[13] The Briton reversed his decision however, instead re-signing with the team for the 2023 season.[14] At Brands Hatch, Collard crossed the finish line first during race 3, but was penalised for a track-limit infringement on the final lap, demoting him to eighth.[15] He eventually scored his sole podium of the year at Knockhill, which helped him towards eighth place in the standings.[16][17]
For the 2024 campaign, Collard partnered with his father Rob to race in the GT3 class of the British GT Championship.[18]
Racing record
editCareer summary
edit† As Collard had not competed in the required number of rounds, he was ineligible for a championship position. * Season still in progress.
Complete British GT Championship results
edit(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 | 9 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Century Motorsport | BMW M4 GT4 | GT4 | OUL 1 16 |
OUL 2 15 |
ROC 1 |
SNE 1 |
SNE 2 |
SIL 1 |
SPA 1 |
BRH 1 |
DON 1 |
15th | 30 |
| 2024 | Black Bull-Barwell Motorsport | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 | GT3 | OUL 1 1 |
OUL 2 5 |
SIL 1 5 |
DON 1 5 |
SPA 1 3 |
SNE 1 2 |
SNE 2 2 |
DON 1 1 |
BRH 1 5 |
1st | 182 |
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded in first race; races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races; * signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded all races)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Team BMW | BMW 125i M Sport | BRH 1 |
BRH 2 |
BRH 3 |
DON 1 |
DON 2 |
DON 3 |
THR 1 |
THR 2 |
THR 3 |
OUL 1 |
OUL 2 |
OUL 3 |
CRO 1 |
CRO 2 |
CRO 3 |
SNE 1 |
SNE 2 |
SNE 3 |
ROC 1 17 |
ROC 2 20 |
ROC 3 DNS |
KNO 1 11 |
KNO 2 12 |
KNO 3 23 |
SIL 1 3 |
SIL 2 4 |
SIL 3 10 |
BRH 1 16 |
BRH 2 18 |
BRH 3 13 |
25th | 46 |
| 2022 | Toyota Gazoo Racing UK | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | DON 1 Ret |
DON 2 Ret |
DON 3 15 |
BRH 1 26 |
BRH 2 17 |
BRH 3 20 |
THR 1 16 |
THR 2 17 |
THR 3 19 |
OUL 1 10 |
OUL 2 10 |
OUL 3 7 |
CRO 1 24 |
CRO 2 25 |
CRO 3 18 |
KNO 1 10 |
KNO 2 11 |
KNO 3 15 |
SNE 1 11 |
SNE 2 6 |
SNE 3 4 |
THR 1 22 |
THR 2 15 |
THR 3 13 |
SIL 1 8 |
SIL 2 Ret |
SIL 3 Ret |
BRH 1 14 |
BRH 2 16 |
BRH 3 11 |
16th | 81 |
| 2023 | Toyota Gazoo Racing UK | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | DON 1 6 |
DON 2 Ret |
DON 3 14 |
BRH 1 9 |
BRH 2 9 |
BRH 3 8* |
SNE 1 Ret |
SNE 2 13 |
SNE 3 14 |
THR 1 11 |
THR 2 9 |
THR 3 5 |
OUL 1 4 |
OUL 2 9 |
OUL 3 9 |
CRO 1 11 |
CRO 2 8 |
CRO 3 15 |
KNO 1 3 |
KNO 2 6 |
KNO 3 5 |
DON 1 4 |
DON 2 6 |
DON 3 4 |
SIL 1 20 |
SIL 2 14 |
SIL 3 7 |
BRH 1 9 |
BRH 2 4 |
BRH 3 6 |
8th | 217 |
Complete Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe results
edit| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | R-Motorsport | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | Pro | BRH 1 7 |
BRH 2 5 |
MIS 1 4 |
MIS 2 13 |
ZAN 1 7 |
ZAN 2 18 |
NÜR 1 7 |
NÜR 2 1 |
HUN 1 10 |
HUN 2 19 |
8th | 39.5 |
References
edit- ^ a b c "TRS Arden Junior Team sign Collard for 2015 MSA Season". Arden International. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ a b "Ricky Collard". BRDC British Formula 3 Championship. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ Kilbey, Stephen (18 April 2017). "ADAC GT Masters News Notebook". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
- ^ "Sieg für Eng, Collard und das BMW Team Schnitzer beim ADAC GT Masters in Oschersleben". www.press.bmwgroup.com (in German). Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ Graf, Maximilian (19 July 2017). "Zandvoort: Nick Catsburg nimmt Ricky Collards Platz ein". SportsCar-Info.de (in German). Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Impressive 54-car grid for Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup opener at Monza". blancpain-gt-series.com. SRO Motorsports Group. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ Haffenden, Michael (16 September 2018). "Ricky Collard hands credit to Team BMW after 'surreal' maiden podium » TouringCars.Net". TouringCars.Net. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "R-Motorsport geht 2019 mit Schlagkräftigem Team in der Blancpain GT Series an den Start". r-motorsport.com. AF Racing AG. 26 February 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
- ^ "R-Motorsport Aston Martin clinch maiden Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe victory as Collard and Kirchhöfer triumph at Nürburgring". Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS. 1 September 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Collard clinches sensational 24 Hours of Spa victory // Infinity Sports Management". www.infinitysportsmanagement.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "24h Spa 2020: Irrer Zittersieg für Rowe-Porsche". Motorsport-Total.com (in German). Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Ricky Collard to make full-time BTCC move with Speedworks". TouringCarTimes. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ "BTCC racer Collard makes decision to retire at age 26". www.autosport.com. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ "George Gamble joins expanded Speedworks line-up – TouringCarTimes". www.touringcartimes.com. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
- ^ Scapens, Gerren (7 May 2023). "Ash Sutton wins after late penalty means Ricky Collard falls to eighth » TouringCars.Net". TouringCars.Net. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Ricky Collard 'enjoyed being properly in the fight' in best-ever BTCC weekend » TouringCars.Net". TouringCars.Net. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "BTCC | Drivers". www.btcc.net. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ Goodwin, Graham (9 December 2022). "Ricky & Rob Return, Collard Family Barwell Lambo For 2024". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 5 April 2023.