Jan Ellegaard Magnussen (born 4 July 1973) is a Danish professional

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

and was a factory driver for

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

until the end of the 2020 season. He has competed in

Championship Auto Racing Teams Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was a Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 1979 until dissolving after the 2003 CART season, 2003 season. CART was founded in 1979 by team owners formerly ...

(CART),

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

, the

FIA Formula One World Championship Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the wor ...

and the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

Career history

Lower series racing

Born in

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

, Magnussen won the 1992 Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, then dominated the 1994 British Formula 3 championship with Paul Stewart Racing, winning 14 of the 18 events and breaking

Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Senna won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with McLaren, and—at the time of his death—held ...

's F3 record. Magnussen scored his first British F3 win that April at

Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport Race track, circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, sti ...

, also taking pole for the race. He also won at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

, twice at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

, and at Thruxton. He won six of the first eight races. He then won again at Donington Park, and both season-ending rounds at Silverstone.

Major series racing

He made his

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

debut at the

1995 Pacific Grand Prix The 1995 Pacific Grand Prix (formally the II Pacific Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 22 October 1995 at the TI Circuit, Aida, Japan. It was the fifteenth round of the 1995 Formula One World Championship. Michael Schumacher ...

in Aida, sitting in for

Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968) is a Finnish former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Finn", Häkkinen won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with M ...

, who was unwell; becoming the first Danish to race in the category since

Tom Belsø Tom Belsø (27 August 1942 – 12 January 2020) was a motor racing driver, credited as the first Formula One driver from Denmark. Early career Belsø started out in touring cars, where he won his debut race and went on to become Scandinavian To ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

. In 1996 Magnussen drove in the

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

series and International Touring Car Championship. For 1997–1998 he had a seat in Formula One with the newly founded

Stewart Grand Prix Stewart Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor and racing team founded by triple Formula One champion Jackie Stewart and his son Paul Stewart (racing driver), Paul Stewart in 1996. The team competed in F1, as the Ford Motor Company, Ford works ...

team, owned in part by his old F3 boss Paul Stewart. Team founder

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young "Jackie" Stewart (born 11 June 1939) is a British former racing driver, sports broadcasting, broadcaster and motorsport executive from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Scottish people, Scot" ...

once described him as "the most talented young driver to emerge since

", but his performance was underwhelming. He scored his only championship point in his last race in F1, the

1998 Canadian Grand Prix The 1998 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on 7 June 1998. The 69-lap race was the seventh round of the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was won by Michael Schumacher, however the race ...

; for the rest of the season he was replaced by

Jos Verstappen Johannes Franciscus "Jos" Verstappen (; born 4 March 1972) is a Dutch racing and rally driver, who competes in the European Rally Championship as a privateer. Verstappen competed in Formula One between and . Born and raised in Dutch Limburg, ...

. Magnussen started 24 GPs, one less than he entered, because his car was damaged in an accident during the start of the

1997 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1997 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Autódromo José Carlos Pace near Interlagos, Brazil on 30 March 1997. It was the second race of the 1997 Formula One season. The 72-lap race was won by Williams driver Jacques Vi ...

causing him to retire before the restart. In 1999 he participated in seven CART races. In 1999 and 2000 he raced in the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...

with Panoz. 2001 he drove a Peugeot in Danish Touring Car series (DTC) and raced in eight ALMS races. 2002 he also raced for Peugeot in DTC and in ten ALMS races. Jan Magnussen won the 2008 GT1 and 2013 GT drivers' championships, both with Corvette Racing. Magnussen has participated in various classes in the

24 hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

every year since

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. His best results so far are the victories in the GTS class in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and GT1 class in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, and

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, each time in a

Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a line of American two-door, two-seater sports cars manufactured and marketed by General Motors under the Chevrolet marque since 1953. Throughout eight generations, indicated sequentially as C1 to C8, the Corvette is not ...

with

Oliver Gavin Oliver Benjamin Gavin (born 29 September 1972) is a British racing driver who joined Corvette Racing in 2002. He has won five American Le Mans Series class championships, five 24 Hours of Le Mans class wins, six 12 Hours of Sebring class wi ...

and

Olivier Beretta Olivier Henri Aldo Léopold Beretta (born 23 November 1969) is a professional racing driver from Monaco who raced in Formula One in 1994 for the Larrousse team, partnering Érik Comas. He participated in 10 Grands Prix, debuting on 27 March 199 ...

as teammates in 2005 and 2006, and

Johnny O'Connell Johnny O'Connell (born July 24, 1962) is the most successful GM factory racing driver from the United States. He currently drives for Cadillac in the Pirelli World Challenge, winning the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 GT driver's championship. Care ...

and Antonio García in 2009. Also, Magnussen has participated in the

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race for Sports car racing, sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in S ...

every year since 1999, winning the GT1 class in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, and

. In 2005, Magnussen drove a

Toyota Corolla The is a series of compact cars (formerly Subcompact car, subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has bee ...

in the Danish Touring Car Championship.

Present day

Magnussen was still an active driver, competing in the Danish Touring Car Championship (DTC) until 2010 and in a Chevrolet Corvette C7.R in the

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

with Antonio Garcia as teammate until 2019 – and in the 24 hours of Le Mans. In the Danish Touring Car series he drove a Chevrolet Lacetti for Perfection Racing. He won the DTC in 2003 and 2008. On 11 June 2010, it was announced that Magnussen would make his

Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

debut driving the No. 09 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing at

Infineon Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway, Golden State International Raceway and Infineon Technologies, Infineon Raceway) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, Cal ...

. After starting 32nd on the grid, he finished in 12th position. On 14 June 2010, it was announced that Magnussen and Perfection Racing would not be participating in the DTC, leaving Magnussen and the team to focus on the Scandinavian Touring Car Cup's remaining two rounds. GT57 Ronnie Bermer Robin Liddell Jan Magnussen 2011 Road America

GT57 Ronnie Bermer Robin Liddell Jan Magnussen 2011 Road America

Magnussen drove the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro with Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis in the 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series season opener, the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Following the Rolex 24, he moved to the team's No. 97 car and competed in the majority of the races with Gunter Schaldach. Magnussen finished 24th in GT points and his best finish was second (Miller) with four top-10s. On 7 November 2019, Magnussen was confirmed to drive in the inaugural TCR Denmark Touring Car Series for LM Racing in a VW Golf GTI TCR. On 22 July 2023 he won Aurum 1006 km endurance race in Lithuania, driving a Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3 Evo. On 16 September 2024 it was announced that Magnussen will take part in the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone in November, driving a GT Motorsport-prepared Van Diemen RF78 in the same Duckhams colours that adorned his car at the 1992 Formula Ford Festival

Family

Magnussen's oldest son

Kevin Kevin is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; ; ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicised from , an Irish diminutive form.''A Dictiona ...

is also a racing driver currently competing in the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

and

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

with

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

, having previously competed in

with Haas,

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

and

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

. Kevin mentioned that his father was his first hero when he was a child. His nephew,

Dennis Lind Dennis Marcel Galindo Lind (born 3 February 1993 in Roskilde) is a Danish racing driver of Colombian descent who is currently participating in GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and the British GT Championship. He is the nephew and cousin ...

, and his youngest son, Luca, are also racing drivers.

Motorsports career results

British Formula Three

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

Formula One

( key) Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he had completed over 90% of the race distance.

Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft

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

International Touring Car Championship

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) † – Did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

American open-wheel racing results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest race lap)

CART

24 Hours of Le Mans

24 Hours of Daytona

( key)

Supercars Championship

† Withdrew due to licence problems

Bathurst 1000 results

European Touring Car Championship

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

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Magnussen did not complete sufficient laps in order to score full points. ^* Season still in progress.

Complete TCR Denmark Touring Car Series results

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

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

References

External links