Kyle Tilley

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Kyle Tilley
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
BornKyle R. Tilley
(1988-02-16) 16 February 1988 (age 36)
Bath, Somerset, England
IMSA SportsCar Championship career
Debut season2020
Current teamEra Motorsport
Racing licence FIA Silver
Car number18
Starts6
Wins1
Podiums5
Best finish5th in 2020
Finished last season5th (2020)
NASCAR Cup Series career
4 races run over 2 years
2022 position39th
Best finish39th (2022)
First race2021 Texas Grand Prix (Austin)
Last race2022 Kwik Trip 250 (Road America)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2021 position106th
Best finish106th (2021)
First race2021 Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey 200 at The Glen (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years2020
TeamsIDEC Sport
Best finish15th (2020)
Previous series
2021
2021
2019
2017
2016		Asian Le Mans Series
European Le Mans Series
Historic Formula One Championship
Pirelli World Challenge
Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge
Championship titles
2021Asian Le Mans Series LMP2
Last updated on: 28 December 2021.

Kyle R. Tilley (born 16 February 1988) is a British professional racing driver. He mainly competes in historic motorsport and sports car racing such as the Historic Formula One Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship; in IMSA, he drives in the LMP2 class for his team Era Motorsport. He won the Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 championship in 2021.

Other sports car series in which Tilley has raced include the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, Pirelli World Challenge, European Le Mans Series, and NASCAR Cup Series.

Racing career

Tilley originally participated in cycling before a knee injury forced him to quit the sport, and he began kart racing at the age of eight. He later raced in Formula Ford, a series with high financial demands that forced him to work three jobs—a delivery driver for a catering business, a mechanic for a Historic Formula One Championship team, and a sales assistant—to pay for crew members and the car.[1] In 2010, he won the Castle Combe Formula Ford 1600 Pre 90 championship.[2]

He moved to sports cars in 2011 and spent the next two years driving for Topcats Racing in Britcar.[3][4] Plans to return to full-time open-wheel racing in 2013, competing in the British Formula 3 International Series for his own team, were aborted; [5][6] in May, he made a guest appearance in Formula Ford 1600 at Castle Combe Circuit where he finished tenth.[7]

Tilley continued sports car racing upon moving to the United States. In 2015, he and co-driver Jerry Kaufman won a 13-hour endurance race at Virginia International Raceway sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America.[8] The following year, the two joined Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge team BimmerWorld to race in the ST class.[9] Tilley and Kaufman continued to drive together in the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge SprintX GTS class for The Racer's Group, where they finished second in the championship.[10][11]

In 2019, Tilley started racing in Historic Formula One.[12] Driving a 1977 Ensign N177, he won at Circuit Zandvoort and Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, both races in wet conditions, and finished third in the Fittipaldi Class standings.[13][14][12] Tilley's vintage racing also saw him create his team Era Motorsport, which began racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship LMP2 class in 2020. The project was spurred after Tilley befriended tech company businessman Dwight Merriman, with whom he started worked as a touring car racing driver coach in 2018.[15]

Era Motorsport's debut came at the 2020 24 Hours of Daytona, in which the team ran an Oreca 07 for Tilley, Merriman, Ryan Lewis, and Nicolas Minassian.[16] The team initially formed a partnership with DragonSpeed before opting to run the full LMP2 season as a standalone operation.[17][18] The car finished third in the LMP2 class, followed by Tilley and Merriman scoring three more podium finishes that year.[19] The duo also entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans for IDEC Sport alongside Jonathan Kennard;[20] despite Merriman crashing in practice and being replaced by Patrick Pilet for the race, the car finished 15th.[21][22] Although Era was second in the LMP2 standings with three races remaining, the COVID-19 pandemic and Merriman's injuries prompted the team to withdraw from the championship.[23]

In 2021, Era allied with Jota Sport to field an LMP2 for Tilley and Merriman in the Asian Le Mans Series.[24] Tilley, Merriman, and Andreas Laskaratos claimed the LMP2 Am division championship after winning all four races.[25] Era also won the 24 Hours of Daytona LMP2 class with Tilley, Merriman, Ryan Dalziel, and Paul-Loup Chatin.[26] In April, Tilley and his team started competing in the European Le Mans Series.[27]

Tilley began dabbling in stock car racing in May 2021 when he joined Live Fast Motorsports for the NASCAR Cup Series' Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. His schedule in the team's No. 78 also included races at Road America, Watkins Glen International, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.[28]

Personal life

A native of Bath, Somerset, Tilley lives in Carmel, Indiana.[29] He is an alumnus of Sheldon School in Chippenham.[1]

Motorsports career results

Sports car racing

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position. Races in italics indicate fastest race lap in class. Results are overall/class)

Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rank Points Ref
2020 Era Motorsport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson Technology GK428 V8 DAY
3 		SEB
3 		ELK
3 		ATL
2 		ATL SEB 5th 92 [30]
2021 Era Motorsport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson Technology GK428 V8 DAY
1 		SEB
2 		WGI
5 		WGI ELK LGA ATL
5 		7th 930 [31]
2022 Era Motorsport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 V8 DAY
7 		SEB
3 		LGA
 MDO
 WGL
 ELK
 PET
 3rd* 328*

24 Hours of Daytona

24 Hours of Daytona results
Year Class No Team Car Co-drivers Laps Position Class Pos. Ref
2020 LMP2 18 United States Era Motorsport Oreca 07 United States Dwight Merriman
United States Ryan Lewis
France Nicolas Minassian 		800 11 3 [32]
2021 LMP2 18 United States Era Motorsport Oreca 07 United States Dwight Merriman
Scotland Ryan Dalziel
France Paul-Loup Chatin 		787 6 1 [33]

24 Hours of Le Mans

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos. 		Ref
2020 France IDEC Sport United Kingdom Jonathan Kennard
France Patrick Pilet 		Oreca 07 LMP2 363 15 11 [22]

Asian Le Mans Series

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

Year Entrant Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 Pos Points
2021 Jota Sport LMP2 Am Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DUB
1 		DUB
1 		ABH
1 		ABH
1 		1st 104

NASCAR

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

Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NCSC Pts Ref
2021 Live Fast Motorsports 78 Ford DAY DRC HOM LVS PHO ATL BRD MAR RCH TAL KAN DAR DOV COA
31 		CLT SON NSH POC POC ROA
35 		ATL NHA GLN
30 		IRC
QL† 		MCH DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL ROV TEX KAN MAR PHO 62nd 01 [34]
2022 DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH MAR BRD TAL DOV DAR KAN CLT GTW SON NSH ROA
30 		ATL NHA POC IRC MCH RCH GLN
39 		DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 39th 8
† – Qualified but replaced by Andy Lally ·

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2021 B. J. McLeod Motorsports 99 Chevy DAY DRC HOM LVS PHO ATL MAR TAL DAR DOV COA CLT MOH TEX NSH POC ROA ATL NHA GLN
40 		106th 01 [35]
5 Toyota IRC
QL† 		MCH DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL ROV TEX KAN MAR PHO
† – Qualified but replaced by James Davison ·

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References

  1. ^ a b Barnes, Dan (14 January 2010). "MOTOR SPORT: Tilley nurtures American dream". Wiltshire Times. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  2. ^ Barnes, Dan (10 March 2011). "MOTORSPORT: Kyle ponders Lotus link-up". Gazette and Herald. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  3. ^ Broomhead, James (15 January 2013). "Kyle Tilley Announces British F3 Move". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  4. ^ Roe, Steven (25 March 2012). "Britcar Silverstone 2012". GTspirit. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  5. ^ Barnes, Dan (25 January 2013). "MOTORSPORT: Kyle looks at a new Formula". Gazette and Herald. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  6. ^ O'Gorman, Leigh (24 April 2013). ""British F3 entries for CF Racing and West-Tec"". TheMotorsportArchive.com. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  7. ^ "CASTLE COMBE: Norton still has the win formula". Wiltshire Times. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  8. ^ Mansfield, Linda (24 August 2016). "BimmerWorld hoping to get a home-track advantage at VIR". The Gazette-Virginian. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  9. ^ DiZinno, Tony (23 December 2015). "BimmerWorld Confirms 2016 CTSC Lineup". Sportscar365. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Kaufman and Tilley Team Up for Success". The Racer's Group. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  11. ^ "2017 SprintX Championship Finale". SRO Motorsports Group. 6 September 2017. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Historic - Masters Crowns its 2019 FIA Champions!". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Tilley weathers the storm to win first FIA Masters Historic Formula One race at Zandvoort". Historic Formula One Championship. 7 September 2019. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Tilley provides wet-weather masterclass in second FIA Masters Historic Formula One race at Spa". Historic Formula One Championship. 29 September 2019. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  15. ^ Pruett, Marshall (23 January 2020). "Era Motorsport advances from vintage racing to LMP2 at Daytona". Racer. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Era Motorsport Names Rolex 24 Drivers". DailySportsCar. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  17. ^ Klein, Jamie (27 December 2019). "Era Motorsport commits to full IMSA LMP2 season". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  18. ^ Goodwin, Graham (28 October 2019). "DragonSpeed to run two IMSA LMP2 entries". Racer. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Rolex 24 Winners Era Motorsport Commits to Full Season WeatherTech Effort". Era Motorsport. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  20. ^ Dagys, John (15 July 2020). "Era Drivers Confirmed in IDEC Sport Oreca for 24H Le Mans". Sportscar365. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  21. ^ Kilbey, Steven (18 September 2020). "Rebellion stays quick in fourth Le Mans practice, P2 entries rebound from crashes". Racer. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  22. ^ a b "2020 24 Hours of Le Mans". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  23. ^ Malsher-Lopez, David (7 October 2020). "Era Motorsports withdraws from 2020 IMSA season to focus on '21". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Era Motorsport Partners With JOTA Sport For 2021 Asian Le Mans Series Effort". DailySportsCar. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  25. ^ "Era Motorsport Secures Inaugural Asian Le Mans Series Am Championship". Era Motorsport (Press release). Speedway Media. 21 February 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  26. ^ Malsher-Lopez, David (2 February 2021). "Era revels in victory on first anniversary of Rolex 24 debut". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  27. ^ "Era Motorsport Continues ELMS Championship Effort at Red Bull Ring". Era Motorsport (Press release). Speedway Media. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  28. ^ Utter, Jim (12 May 2021). "Daytona 24 Hours LMP2 winner Kyle Tilley to make NASCAR debut at COTA". Autoweek. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  29. ^ Tilley, Kyle (15 May 2020). "Racers in Isolation: Kyle Tilley". Sportscar365 (Interview). Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  30. ^ "Kyle Tilley – 2020 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  31. ^ "Kyle Tilley – 2021 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  32. ^ "2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  33. ^ "2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  34. ^ "Kyle Tilley – 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  35. ^ "Kyle Tilley – 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
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