Michael Wainwright (racing driver) explained

Michael Wainwright
Nationality: British
Birth Date:25 July 1973
Birth Place:Worcester, United Kingdom
Racing Licence: FIA Bronze
Current Series:FIA World Endurance Championship
First Year:2016
Current Team:GR Racing
Car Number:86
Former Teams:Gulf Racing
Starts:44 (44 entries)
Wins:0
Podiums:2
Poles:0
Fastest Laps:0
Best Finish:7th
Year:2016, 2017, 2018–19

Michael Stuart Wainwright[1] (born 25 July 1973) is a British racing driver and oil businessman who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for GR Racing.[2]

He made his professional career at oil trading company Trafigura from 1996 to 2023. Being the protégé of the company's founder Claude Dauphin,[3] he ultimately served as COO of the group based in Geneva. He is listed among the 300 wealthiest individuals of Switzerland, with an estimated fortune of 300-400 millions swiss francs.[4] In 2022, following a very profitable year on the oil market following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he acquired a property in Geneva for 49.5 million swiss francs.[5]

In December 2023, Wainwright was charged by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court and the US Department of Justice over allegations of bribing public officials in Angola and Brazil, together with two other individuals.

Racing record

Career summary

SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesF/LapsPodiumsPointsPosition
201024H Series - A2Team First 2100000NC†
French GT ChampionshipTeam First400000NC†
FIA GT3 European ChampionshipGulf Team First100000NC†
2011Intercontinental Le Mans Cup - LMGTE AmGulf AMR Middle East500000NC†
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am10000N/ADNF
American Le Mans Series - GT100000NC†
24 Hours of Dubai - A6Gulf Team First10000N/A14th
2012Blancpain Endurance Series - Pro-AmGulf Racing UK500000NC
Blancpain Endurance Series - Pro10000127th
24 Hours of Dubai - A6Gulf Racing10000N/ADNF
2013Blancpain Endurance Series - Pro-AmGulf Racing UK400000NC
Gulf 12 Hours - GT3 Pro-AmGulf Racing10000N/A5th
2014European Le Mans Series - LMGTEGulf Racing UK500002811th
2015European Le Mans Series - LMGTEGulf Racing UK[6] 51002564th
2016FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE AmGulf Racing[7] 900001067th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am10000N/A5th
2017FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE AmGulf Racing[8] 70001677th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am10000N/A10th
2018European Le Mans Series - LMGTEGulf Racing UK[9] 200001012th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE AmGulf Racing10000N/A10th
2018–19FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE AmGulf Racing UK[10] 80000797th
201924 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE AmGulf Racing10000N/A8th
2019–20FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE AmGulf Racing80001859th
2020European Le Mans Series - GTEGulf Racing UK100000NC†
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am10000N/A5th
2021FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE AmGR Racing[11] 600002315th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am10000N/A14th
2022FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE AmGR Racing[12] [13] 500005010th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am10000N/A4th
2023FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE AmGR Racing[14] 70002646th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am10001N/A3rd
2023–24Asian Le Mans Series - GTGR Racing40000625th
2024European Le Mans Series - GT3GR Racing[15]
† As Wainwright was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete European Le Mans Series results

YearEntrantClassChassisEngine123456RankPoints
2014Gulf Racing UKGTEPorsche 911 GT3 RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-6SIL
IMO
RBR
11th28
Porsche 911 RSRLEC
EST
2015Gulf Racing UKGTEPorsche 911 RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-6SIL
IMO
RBR
LEC
EST
4th56
2018Gulf RacingLMGTEPorsche 911 RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-6LEC
MNZRBRSIL
SPAALG7th10
2020Gulf Racing UKLMGTEPorsche 911 RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-6LECSPALECMNZALG
NC0
2024GR RacingLMGT3Ferrari 296 GT3Ferrari F163 3.0 L Turbo V6CAT
LEC
IMO
SPA
MUG
ALG
3rd*28*
Source:[16]

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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

YearEntrantClassChassisEngine123456789RankPoints
2016Gulf RacingLMGTE AmPorsche 911 RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-6SIL
SPA
LMS
NÜR
MEX
COA
FUJ
SHA
BHR
7th106
2017Gulf RacingLMGTE AmPorsche 911 RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-6SIL
SPA
LMS
NÜR
MEX
COA
FUJ
SHA
BHR
6th97
2018–19Gulf Racing UKLMGTE AmPorsche 911 RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-6SPA
LMS
SIL
FUJ
SHA
SEB
SPA
LMS
7th79
2019–20Gulf RacingLMGTE AmPorsche 911 RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-6SIL
FUJ
SHA
BHR
COA
SPA
LMS
BHR
9th85
2021GR RacingLMGTE AmPorsche 911 RSR-19Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6SPA
ALG
MNZ
LMS
BHR
BHR
15th23
2022GR RacingLMGTE AmPorsche 911 RSR-19Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6SEBSPA
LMS
MNZ
FUJ
BHR
10th50
2023GR RacingLMGTE AmPorsche 911 RSR-19Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6SEB
PRT
SPA
LMS
MNZ
FUJ
BHR
6th64
Sources:

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLaps
2011 Gulf AMR Middle East Fabien Giroix
Roald Goethe		Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2GTE
Am		141DNFDNF
2016 Gulf Racing Ben Barker
Adam Carroll		Porsche 911 RSRGTE
Am		32833rd5th
2017 Gulf Racing UK Ben Barker
Nick Foster		Porsche 911 RSRGTE
Am		32838th10th
2018 Gulf Racing Ben Barker
Alex Davison		Porsche 911 RSRGTE
Am		28340th10th
2019 Gulf Racing Ben Barker
Thomas Preining		Porsche 911 RSRGTE
Am		33138th8th
2020 Gulf Racing Ben Barker
Andrew Watson		Porsche 911 RSRGTE
Am		33729th5th
2021 GR Racing Ben Barker
Tom Gamble		Porsche 911 RSR-19GTE
Am		32243rd14th
2022 GR Racing Ben Barker
Riccardo Pera		Porsche 911 RSR-19GTE
Am		34037th4th
2023 GR Racing Ben Barker
Riccardo Pera		Porsche 911 RSR-19GTE
Am		31229th3rd
2024 GR Racing [17] Riccardo Pera
Daniel Serra		Ferrari 296 GT3LMGT327839th12th
Sources:[18]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Michael Stuart WAINWRIGHT . . Companies House . 15 June 2023.
  2. Web site: . Michael Wainwright . 13 June 2024 . FIA World Endurance Championship.
  3. News: 2023-12-07 . Bribery Case Snares Man Who Held Trafigura’s Secrets and Purse Strings . 2024-08-02 . Bloomberg.com . en.
  4. Web site: 2023-11-23 . 300 plus riches – Michael Wainwright . 2024-03-21 . Bilan . fr.
  5. News: 2022-11-14 . A Genève, un pétrolier s'offre une villa à 50 millions - Le Temps . 2024-03-21 . fr . 1423-3967.
  6. Web site: 5 February 2015 . 2015 EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES — FULL SEASON ENTRY LIST . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150206080340/http://www.europeanlemansseries.com/ml/images/content/communiques/2015/elms2015_full_season_entry_list_1st_driver-040215.pdf . 2015-02-06 . 6 February 2015 . European Le Mans Series.
  7. Web site: Dagys . John . Carroll, Barker Complete Gulf Racing UK Lineup . 16 February 2016 . Sportscar365.com . 16 February 2016 . John Dagys Media, LLC.
  8. Web site: 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship - Provisional Season Entry List . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170204160054/http://www.fiawec.com/wpphpFichiers/1/1/ressources/Pdf/2017/FIAWEC2017_provisional_season_entry_list_010217.pdf . 4 February 2017 . 2 February 2017 . . dmy-all.
  9. News: 4 April 2018 . Four WEC Guest Entries Make It 45 Cars For ELMS At Paul Ricard . dailysportscar.com . Dailysportscar . 4 April 2018.
  10. Web site: Lloyd . Daniel . 19 March 2018 . Davison Completes Gulf Racing Lineup . 26 March 2018 . Sportscar365.
  11. Web site: Lloyd . Daniel . 21 January 2021 . WEC Reveals 33-Car Season Entry for 2021 . 21 January 2021 . sportscar365.com . John Dagys Media.
  12. Web site: Plümer . Jonas . 9 February 2022 . FIA WEC: GR Racing präsentiert 2022er Aufgebot . 2023-01-10 . GT-Place.com . de.
  13. Web site: 8 February 2022 . Looped crew at GR Racing . 2023-01-10 . endurance-info.com . fr.
  14. Web site: Goodwin . Graham . 11 January 2023 . FIA WEC Reveal 38 Car Full Season Entry – 13 Hypercars For Breakthrough Season . 11 January 2023 . Dailysportscar.
  15. Web site: Wainwright. Mike . 11 January 2023 . Mike Wainwright: Asian Le Mans Series GT. 12 June 2024 . Driver DB.
  16. Web site: Michael Wainwright Results . 26 June 2024 . Motorsport Stats.
  17. Web site: Le Mans 24 Hours: Ferrari survives late drama to score back-to-back wins . . AutoSport . 16 June 2024.
  18. Web site: Michael Wainwright . 26 June 2024 . Automobile Club de l'Ouest.

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