Ryan Cullen (born 26 March 1991) is an Irish

racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

driver currently competing in 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 ...

for

Vector Sport Vector Sport is a British sports car racing team currently competing in the European Le Mans Series. Founded in 2021 by Gary Holland, a former team manager at Jota Sport and Dragon Racing, the Silverstone-based outfit has focused its on-track op ...

Early career

Cullen first drove in the British Formula Ford in 2012 as a novice driver which means a driver has no race experience as stated in the MSA regulations, placing sixth overall in the standings and obtaining three podium positions. After partaking in the post-season GP3 test, Cullen signed with Marussia Manor Racing to compete in the

GP3 Series The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. He failed to score points all year, finishing 29th in the standings, having been beaten by both teammates in all qualifying sessions and races where each driver was classified. During the winter, Cullen drove in the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship and finished sixth overall. He stayed with Marussia Manor for the 2014 GP3 season. Following seven scoreless weekends from Cullen, the team withdrew due to financial troubles, meaning that Cullen would miss the round at

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

. He returned for the season finale with

Trident Racing Trident Motorsport (formerly known as Trident Racing) is a motor racing team that competes in Open-wheel car, single-seater formula racing. It was founded in 2006 in order to compete in the GP2 Series, GP2 championship, which was Europe's second h ...

, but was unable to prevent himself from going a second successive season without scoring. Cullen drove for Koiranen GP during the post-season test. Cullen went back to the MRF series for 2014/2015, where he finished second with three victories, which turned out to be his only race wins in single-seaters.

Sportscar career

Porsche series

In 2015, Cullen performed double-duties, partaking in the

Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain The Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain is a multi-event one-make 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 the UK, the Carrera Cup ...

with G-Cat Racing whilst also racing for VERVA Lechner Racing Team in 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 ...

from round 4 onwards. He scored a best race finish of eighth in the former and 12th in the latter. After finishing third in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East during the off-season, the Irishman returned to the

with Lechner Racing whilst also competing in the

Porsche Carrera Cup Germany The Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, (currently known as Porsche SIXT Carrera Cup Deutschland; known as Porsche 944 Turbo Cup between 1986–1989) is a one-make racing series by Porsche based in Germany. Champions Circuits * Adria International ...

Konrad Motorsport Konrad Motorsport is an auto racing team initially from Austria, but now based in Germany. Founded by Austrian racer Franz Konrad in 1976, the team has mostly run Porsches, although they have also run Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Saleens over th ...

. In the latter, Cullen finished tenth in the standings, being beaten by all full-time drivers, meanwhile he classified 11th in the Supercup with a best result of seventh at the

Red Bull Ring The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Austria, Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from t ...

. For his third season in the Porsche world, Cullen remained with Lechner in the Supercup, but switched to Huber Racing in the PCCG. He would end up 11th again in the former, whilst improving to ninth place in the latter's standings.

LMP2 venture

Cullen switched to prototype racing in 2018, driving in the

LMP2 A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le M ...

class of the

for APR -

Rebellion Racing Rebellion Racing was a Swiss racing team that competed in endurance racing. The team competed in the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season and won the LMP1 teams' title in the 2011 Le Mans Series season. The team started as an association ...

alongside Gustavo Menezes and

Harrison Newey Harrison William Innes Newey (born 25 July 1998) is a British racing driver and the son of Formula One engineer Adrian Newey. He made his ADAC Formula 4 debut in 2015 with Van Amersfoort Racing Van Amersfoort Racing (; VAR) is an auto racing t ...

. The team ended up ninth in the standings, having finished all six races. At the start of 2019, Cullen took his maiden endurance racing victory in the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...

, having driven for

DragonSpeed DragonSpeed Racing is an American auto racing team that competes in the European Le Mans Series, FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2019, the team entered the NTT IndyCar Series with a five race schedule, includin ...

together with

Pastor Maldonado Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (; born 9 March 1985) is a Venezuelan former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Maldonado won the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix with Williams. After winning the GP2 Series in 2010 with Rapax, Maldona ...

, Roberto González, and

Sebastián Saavedra Sebastián Saavedra (born 2 June 1990) is a Colombian racing driver from Bogotá. In 2014, he drove for KVSH Racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series before being replaced by former GP2 Series driver Stefano Coletti. Racing career Early career Afte ...

. For the main 2019 season, the Irishman remained in 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 ...

, this time partnering Alex Brundle and Will Owen at

United Autosports United Autosports is a sports car racing team based in Wakefield, England, United Kingdom, founded by businessman Zak Brown and former driver Richard Dean (racing driver), Richard Dean. United Autosports has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans (LMP2 Cl ...

. Cullen and his teammates scored their first podium of the year at

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 ...

, finishing third, but were unable to match the results of the sister car, finishing eighth in the teams' championship. Cullen made his

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 ...

debut the same year, finishing 14th in class. Without a full-time programme in the COVID-stricken 2020 campaign, Cullen had to make do with one-off appearances. He raced in two races of the

with DragonSpeed, drove for

Jackie Chan DC Racing Jackie Chan DC Racing, formerly known as DC Racing, is a racing team that competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series, with plans to make a return to the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2023. T ...

at the

6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Spa-Francorchamps) is an endurance race for sports cars held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. History The Spa 24 Hours had been introduced in 1924, and other races f ...

, and competed at

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

for G-Drive Racing. Cullen underwent another patchy season during 2021, as he raced in two events of 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 ...

with

Risi Competizione Risi Competizione is an Italo- American auto racing Ferrari factory-backed team formed by Giuseppe Risi in 1997. Initially, the team had a partnership with Doyle Racing using the name Doyle-Risi Racing, but soon Giuseppe Risi took full control of ...

, which included another appearance in

- where he and his teammates retired due to engine troubles. The following year saw the Irishman step into the WEC for the entire season, as he drove with new team

in the LMP2 category. Despite scoring a podium at

, Cullen and the team struggled, ending up tenth and second-lowest of the Pro class entries in the standings. Returning for the team's second season in the category, Cullen partnered

Gabriel Aubry Gabriel Aubry (born August 30, 1976)Date of birth formerly given as January 4, 1976. is a Canadian model. Early life Born in Montreal, Quebec, to French-Canadian parents, Aubry is one of nine siblings. Modeling career He has modeled for Tommy ...

as well as fellow silver-ranked driver Matthias Kaiser for the 2023 WEC season. With numerous technical issues and a collision at Monza, Vector Sport finished tenth overall, once again ranking second-lowest. However, a strong drive by Aubry carried the team towards a seventh place in class at

Personal life

Cullen was born to an Irish father and a Cypriot mother. He was coached by Adam Carroll during his early years in car racing.

Racing record

Racing career summary

† As Cullen was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points. ^* Season still in progress.

Complete British Formula Ford Championship results

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

Complete GP3 Series results

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

Complete Porsche Supercup results

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

Complete European Le Mans Series results

^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. ^* Season still in progress.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

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

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cullen, Ryan 1991 births Living people Irish racing drivers Formula Ford drivers Toyota Racing Series drivers GP3 Series drivers MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship drivers Porsche Supercup drivers Porsche Carrera Cup GB drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Formula Renault BARC drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers Manor Motorsport drivers M2 Competition drivers Trident Racing drivers Walter Lechner Racing drivers Rebellion Racing drivers United Autosports drivers DragonSpeed drivers G-Drive Racing drivers Jota Sport drivers Porsche Carrera Cup Germany drivers Lamborghini Super Trofeo drivers Algarve Pro Racing drivers Vector Sport drivers