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Charlie Eastwood
Charlie Eastwood (born 11 August 1995 in Belfast) is a racing driver from Northern Ireland who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for TF Sport.[1] Having been an Aston Martin factory driver, Eastwood was signed by Corvette Racing in 2023.[2] The Irishman has collected a number of accolades in sportscar racing, including winning the 2017 Porsche Carrera Cup GB, the 2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in the Pro-Am category, the LMP2 Pro-Am class of the 2022 European Le Mans Series, as well as the 2023 Asian Le Mans Series.[3][4] Early careerHaving become the 2012 Rotax Max World Karting champion, Eastwood began his single-seater career in 2014, driving in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship for Douglas Motorsport.[5] He would score two podiums at the season-ending round at Snetterton to finish tenth overall. Eastwood began the following year with a campaign in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand, where he would score three podiums as part of the M2 Competition outfit.[6] Thereafter, he would compete in various rounds of the Formula Renault NEC and Eurocup Formula Renault categories, where he would not score any podiums. At the end of the year, Eastwood would win a two-year scholarship to become a Porsche-supported driver.[7] In 2016, Eastwood switched to sportscars, driving for Redline Racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain.[8] The Irishman impressed during his rookie season, claiming ten podiums and a win at Brands Hatch to finish the campaign in third place. He remained in the series in 2017, where four victories and a further six rostrum appearances helped him win the championship on countback against Dino Zamparelli.[9] GT careerAhead of the 2018 season, Eastwood signed with TF Sport to compete in the Silver Cup class of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup as well as the LMGTE Am category of the FIA World Endurance Championship.[10][11] In the former, Eastwood and teammates Ahmad Al Harthy and Euan McKay struggled, scoring a best in-class finish of fourth to end up seventh in the standings, last of all full-time entrants. The latter series brought more success, as the team finished on the podium four times, thus ending up third in the GTE Am standings. In 2019, Eastwood would remain with TF to race in both series.[12][13] Partnering Al Harthy and Salih Yoluç in the Pro-Am Cup of the Blancpain Endurance Series, Eastwood would clinch the championship, having won in the Pro-Am class at the 24 Hours of Spa.[14][15] In the WEC, Eastwood and Yoluç were joined by pro driver Jonathan Adam, alongside whom they won the LMGTE Am category at the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans and took the runner-up spot in the championship thanks to three further victories.[16][17] During the COVID-19 pandemic-affected 2020 campaign, Eastwood and Yoluç took part in the International GT Open series's pro class.[18] The pair won three races, missing out on the title by just two points.[19] Prototype & GT mixHaving competed in the GT class of the Asian Le Mans Series to start out 2021, Eastwood would take his first step into prototype racing by driving in the European Le Mans Series's LMP2 category for TF Sport-run Racing Team Turkey.[20] Listed in the Pro-Am subclass, Eastwood and Salih Yoluç scored a lone win at Le Castellet alongside Harry Tincknell and placed fourth in the standings, having withdrawn from the season finale due to a crash in practice.[21][22] The year also saw Eastwood win at Snetterton in the British GT Championship and take victory in a one-off round of the International GT Open.[23] The following year once again started with a campaign in the AsLMS, where Eastwood led Oman Racing towards sixth in the standings.[24] He then embarked on his sophomore season in the ELMS, where he and Yoluç were joined by Jack Aitken for the majority of races.[25] The trio scored three LMP2 Pro-Am victories, with a last-lap pass by one-off Aitken replacement Will Stevens giving the team a fourth win at Spa, on their way to a Pro-Am championship; Eastwood contributing to the title with chasing stints during the middle part of races.[26][27] In 2023, the Irishman switched to LMP2 for the AsLMS, driving for DKR Engineering along with Yoluç and category rookie Ayhancan Güven.[28] Podiums in all four races, including a win in the final round on Yas Island, gave the trio the title.[29][30] This proved to be preparation for a double campaign, as Eastwood returned to the ELMS to defend his and RTT's Pro-Am title, whilst also leading ORT by TF in the FIA World Endurance Championship, partnering Michael Dinan and Ahmad Al Harthy in the LMGTE Am category.[31][32] In the former, he, Yoluç, and Louis Delétraz recorded an overall LMP2 win at Barcelona and took a class win in France, but lost out on the title due to car issues at Aragón and a spin by Yoluç in Portugal.[33][34][35][36] The team finished third in the LMP2 Pro-Am subclass.[37] In the latter, Eastwood and his teammates finished third at Spa and scored a second place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which helped them towards fifth in the standings.[38] During the winter, Eastwood and Yoluç returned to the AsLMS, where they finished seventh in the teams' championship together with Michael Dinan.[39] Corvette factory driverAhead of the 2024 season, Easwood was announced as a Corvette factory driver.[40][41] He would return to the WEC with TF Sport, driving a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the newly formed LMGT3 category alongside Rui Andrade and Tom van Rompuy.[42] Racing recordCareer summary† As Eastwood was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. Complete Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain 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)
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete International GT Open results(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete British GT Championship results(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
† As Eastwood was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete European Le Mans Series results(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Asian Le Mans Series results(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup results(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
References
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