Benjamin William "Ben" Barker (born 23 April 1991) is a British 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 ...

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 ...

. A

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

stalwart for over a decade, he is an

Australian Formula 3 Australian Formula 3 has been the name applied to two distinctly different motor racing categories, separated by over twenty years. The original Australian Formula 3 was introduced in 1964 based on the FIA Formula 3 of the period and intended a ...

champion, a

Porsche Carrera Cup GB The Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain is a multi-event One-Design, one-make Motorsport, motor racing series that takes place in the United Kingdom for the Porsche 911 GT3. Being the fastest and most successful single marque GT championship in t ...

runner-up, a four-time

Bathurst 12 Hour The Bathurst 12 Hour, currently known as the Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour for sponsorship reasons, is an annual endurance race for Group GT3, GT and Production car racing, production cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit, in Bathurst, New South ...

class winner and a

Dubai 24 Hour The Dubai 24 Hour Race is both a sports car and touring car automobile endurance race held annually at the Dubai Autodrome in Dubai, UAE. It was inaugurated in 2006. Entrants and participants As with all races in the 24H Series, promoted by Dut ...

overall winner. Despite limited success in the

, Barker is considered one of the strongest GTE Am drivers, having broken the lap record for the category at the

2018 24 Hours of Le Mans The 86th 24 Hours of Le Mans () was an 24-hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars entered by teams of three drivers each held from 16 to 17 June 2018 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, close ...

. In 2023, Barker finished on 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 ...

class podium, having played an instrumental role in his team's charge towards the front. Ahead of the 2024 season, Barker left GR Racing after eight seasons to become a

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

factory driver, moving to

Proton Competition Proton Competition (also formerly racing as Dempsey-Proton Racing or Team Felbermayr-Proton) is a German auto racing team based in Ummendorf, Baden-Württemberg. It was founded by Gerold Ried, and is currently owned by his son Christian Ried. Th ...

Early career

Having started his career in karts in 2004, Barker would step into the

British Formula Ford Championship The British Formula Ford Championship was an entry-level single seater Auto racing, motor racing category, designed to give racing drivers their first step into car racing after karting. Drivers from around the world were attracted to the United ...

in 2009 with Fluid Motorsport Development. Following a year in which he scored one win at

Knockhill Knockhill Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Fife, Scotland. It opened in September 1974 and is Scotland's national motorsport centre. The circuit is in the countryside about north of Dunfermline. It is the only FIA-approved circui ...

, the Brit would migrate to Australia for a season in the 2010 Australian Formula 3 Championship. He won the title by one point versus

Mitch Evans Mitchell William Evans (born 24 June 1994) is a New Zealand professional racing driver. He currently (since 2016) drives for the Jaguar Racing, Jaguar TCS Racing team in Formula E. In 2012, he won the GP3 Series and he raced in the GP2 Serie ...

, having taken six race wins. Dallara F307 of Ben Barker

Sportscar career

National Porsche Cups

Barker moved into the Australian Porsche Carrera Cup in 2011, remaining with Team BRM, where he would finish fifth in the standings. The following year saw him return to Britain, partaking in a full-time campaign in the

. Despite having to wait for his first victory until the round at Knockhill, Barker would finish second in the championship, having won five races in a row in the latter half of the season.

Porsche Supercup

In 2013, Barker graduated to the

Porsche Supercup The Porsche Supercup (officially known as Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, known as Porsche Michelin Supercup prior to 2007 and often abbreviated as PSC) is an international One-design racing, one-make production stock car racing series supporting the ...

as part of Team Bleekemolen. With a best result of fourth at the final round, Barker finished tenth in the overall standings and third in the rookie classification. At the end of the year, Barker would receive a silver ranking by the FIA. Remaining in the Supercup for

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, Barker would score one podium for the Lechner Racing Team. He also took part in the support race of the

2014 24 Hours of Le Mans The 82nd 24 Hours of Le Mans () was an 24-hour endurance racing (motorsport), automobile endurance racing event for teams of three drivers entering Le Mans Prototype and LM GTE, Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars held from 11 to 15 June ...

, where he won with a gap of five seconds to

Tom Dillmann Tom Aston Dillmann (born 6 April 1989 in Mulhouse) is a French racing driver who competes for Inter Europol Competition in the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2025 European Le Mans Series and in the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship. He has won the 2025 ...

. As well as this, Barker paired up with businessman Michael Wainwright at his team Gulf Racing in the LMGTE class of the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

, driving a

Porsche 911 RSR The Porsche 911 RSR and its predecessor GT3 RSR, GT3 RS and GT3 R were a line of GT racing cars produced by Porsche that are used in motorsport for endurance races. They are based on the then highest class in GT racing worldwide, the GTE class fr ...

. Finally, Barker made six appearances for GB Autosport in the

United 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 ( ...

. At the start of 2015, Barker would be upgraded to gold by the FIA. He switched to MOMO-Megatron Team PARTRAX in the

, where a podium at Monaco helped him to ninth in the standings. He also appeared in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, in which the Briton scored two podiums.

Tenure with GR Racing

Before the 2016 season, it was announced that Barker would partner Michael Wainwright and Adam Carroll at Gulf Racing in the

. Driving in the LMGTE Am category, the trio scored four fourth places and finished fifth in class at the

, thereby ending up sixth in the teams' championship. Barker partook in a round of the

ELMS The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

with

, scoring a pole position at

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

. Barker remained with Wainwright and Gulf Racing for the 2017 season, this time being partnered by Nick Foster. Their results improved, as Barker was able to guide the team to third place at

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and to second in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, though the team would once again finish the championship as the lowest full-time entrant with fifth place overall. For the 2018–19 WEC "super-season", Barker and Wainwright were joined by

Alex Davison Alexander Davison (born 3 November 1979) is a Auto racing, racing driver from Australia. He was the 2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, 2004 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia champion. Junior career Starting in karts at a young age, he prog ...

for the first three rounds and by

Thomas Preining Thomas Preining (born 21 July 1998) is an Austrian racing driver, currently competing in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, where he is the 2023 champion. He also won the 2018 German Porsche Carrera Cup championship. Career Formula 4 Preining's fi ...

during subsequent events. The season itself brought few peaks, with the team failing to score a podium, though their consistency of finishing every race would bring Gulf Racing sixth in the standings. Barker managed to stand out, setting a new lap record for his category at the

. During these two years Barker would also win the

race in the GT3 Cup class, having previously won this race in 2014 driving in the same category. In the 2019–20 WEC campaign, Barker, Wainwright, and new teammate Andrew Watson managed to score a lone podium in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

, finishing third. They ended up seventh in the standings, having once again completed every race. At the start of 2020, Barker would attain overall victory at the Dubai 24 Hours and took another Bathurst victory, this one coming in the GT3 Pro-Am class. The

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

proved to be a disappointment, as the team dropped to twelfth and last of all full-time LMGTE Am entries with a best race result of sixth place. Having started his 2022 season by leading

Dinamic Motorsport Dinamic Motorsport is an Italian auto racing team based in Reggio Emilia, Italy. It is a Porsche reference team and participates in the most important GT car races in the world. History Dinamic Motorsport was born from the will and passion ...

in the

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second s ...

, Barker returned to GR Racing with Wainwright and new silver-ranked driver Riccardo Pera. Even though they missed the opening round, the team improved by scoring a then-record fourth place at the

and rising to eighth in the teams' standings. Barker would play his part, setting two overall fastest laps in class at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

and

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. The team retained their lineup for the 2023 WEC season, the last of the LMGTE era. The year proved to be the team's magnum opus, as Barker helped GR to finish third at the Centenary

Le Mans 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused 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 the Monaco Grand ...

, where Barker proved to be the fastest LMGTE driver, before managing another third place in

. These two podiums helped the team to sixth in the championship. Barker concluded his tenure with GR Racing by racing in the 2023–24 Asian Le Mans Series, stating that Wainwright and the team had "put imon a pedestal" by giving him the chance to race in the WEC for seven seasons.

Ford factory driver

At the end of 2023, it was announced that Barker would become part of the

factory driver lineup in the WEC and join the Canada-based

Multimatic Motorsports Multimatic Motorsports is the competition arm of Multimatic's Special Vehicle Operations division. Founded in 1992, the team has competed in numerous sports car racing series, including the Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA SportsCar Championship, a ...

operation. He would migrate to

, driving a

Ford Mustang GT3 The Ford Mustang GT3 is a racing car designed and developed by Ford Performance and Multimatic Motorsports according to GT3 regulations. In 2022 it was announced that the Ford Mustang GT3 is in development. The car is the race variant of the s ...

alongside Zacharie Robichon and Ryan Hardwick in 2024.

Racing record

Racing career summary

^† As Barker was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
^* Season still in progress.

Complete Porsche Supercup 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) ^* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Ben 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Cambridge Australian Formula 3 Championship drivers Porsche Carrera Cup GB drivers Porsche Supercup drivers European Le Mans Series drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24H Series drivers International GT Open drivers GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers Formula Ford drivers Fluid Motorsport Development drivers Walter Lechner Racing drivers Porsche Motorsports drivers Le Mans Cup drivers Porsche Carrera Cup Germany drivers Porsche Carrera Cup Australia drivers Porsche Carrera Cup Asia drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Proton Competition drivers English racing drivers Multimatic Motorsports drivers