:Kyle Tilley
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Short description|British racing driver (born 1988)}}
{{Infobox racing driver
| name = Kyle Tilley
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| nationality = {{flagicon|GBR}} British
| birth_name = Kyle R. Tilley
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1988|2|16|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Bath, Somerset, England
| related to =
| racing licence = 12px FIA Silver
| current series = IMSA SportsCar Championship
| first year = 2020
| current team = Era Motorsport
| car number = 18
| engine =
| former teams =
| starts = 6
| championships =
| wins = 1
| podiums = 5
| poles =
| best finish = 5th
| year = 2020
| last finish = 5th (2020)
| module =
{{Infobox NASCAR driver|embed=yes
| Total_Cup_Races = 4
| Years_In_Cup = 2
| Cup_Car_Team =
| Prev_Cup_Pos = 39th
| Prev_Cup_Year = 2022
| Best_Cup_Pos = 39th (2022)
| First_Cup_Race = 2021 Texas Grand Prix (Austin)
| Last_Cup_Race = 2022 Kwik Trip 250 (Road America)
| First_Cup_Win =
| Last_Cup_Win =
| Cup_Wins = 0
| Cup_Top_Tens = 0
| Cup_Poles = 0
| Total_Busch_Races = 1
| Years_In_Busch = 1
| Busch_Car_Team =
| Prev_Busch_Pos = 106th
| Prev_Busch_Year = 2021
| Best_Busch_Pos = 106th (2021)
| First_Busch_Race = 2021 Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey 200 at The Glen (Watkins Glen)
| Last_Busch_Race =
| First_Busch_Win =
| Last_Busch_Win =
| Busch_Wins = 0
| Busch_Top_Tens = 0
| Busch_Poles = 0
}}
{{Infobox Le Mans driver|embed=yes
| Years = {{24hLM|2020}}
| Teams = IDEC Sport
| Best Finish = 15th (2020)
| Class Wins =
}}
{{Infobox racing driver|embed=yes
| prev series = Asian Le Mans Series
European Le Mans Series
Historic Formula One Championship
Pirelli World Challenge
Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge
| prev series years = 2021
2021
2019
2017
2016
| titles = Asian Le Mans Series LMP2
| title years = 2021
| awards =
| award years =
| updated = 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.{{cite news|last=Barnes|first=Dan|url=https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/sport/4850440.motor-sport-tilley-nurtures-american-dream/|title=MOTOR SPORT: Tilley nurtures American dream|newspaper=Wiltshire Times|date=14 January 2010|access-date=20 May 2021}} In 2010, he won the Castle Combe Formula Ford 1600 Pre 90 championship.{{cite news|last=Barnes|first=Dan|url=https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/sport/8901890.motorsport-kyle-ponders-lotus-link-up/|title=MOTORSPORT: Kyle ponders Lotus link-up|newspaper=Gazette and Herald|date=10 March 2011|access-date=20 May 2021}}
He moved to sports cars in 2011 and spent the next two years driving for Topcats Racing in Britcar.{{cite news|last=Broomhead|first=James|url=https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2013/01/kyle-tilley-announces-british-f3-move/|title=Kyle Tilley Announces British F3 Move|publisher=The Checkered Flag|date=15 January 2013|access-date=20 May 2021}}{{cite news|last=Roe|first=Steven|url=https://gtspirit.com/2012/03/25/britcar-silverstone-2012/|title=Britcar Silverstone 2012|publisher=GTspirit|date=25 March 2012|access-date=20 May 2021}} 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; {{cite news|last=Barnes|first=Dan|url=https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/sport/10182718.motorsport-kyle-looks-at-a-new-formula/|title=MOTORSPORT: Kyle looks at a new Formula|newspaper=Gazette and Herald|date=25 January 2013|access-date=20 May 2021}}{{cite news|last=O'Gorman|first=Leigh|url=https://themotorsportarchive.com/2013/04/24/british-f3-entries-for-cf-racing-and-west-tec/|title="British F3 entries for CF Racing and West-Tec"|publisher=TheMotorsportArchive.com|date=24 April 2013|access-date=20 May 2021}} in May, he made a guest appearance in Formula Ford 1600 at Castle Combe Circuit where he finished tenth.{{cite news|url=https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/sport/10409210.castle-combe-norton-still-has-the-win-formula/|title=CASTLE COMBE: Norton still has the win formula|newspaper=Wiltshire Times|date=10 May 2013|access-date=20 May 2021}}
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.{{cite news|last=Mansfield|first=Linda|url=http://www.yourgv.com/sports/racing/bimmerworld-hoping-to-get-a-home-track-advantage-at-vir/article_f25494c0-69f3-11e6-8374-079a35cc5320.html|title=BimmerWorld hoping to get a home-track advantage at VIR|newspaper=The Gazette-Virginian|date=24 August 2016|access-date=20 May 2021}} The following year, the two joined Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge team BimmerWorld to race in the ST class.{{cite news|last=DiZinno|first=Tony|url=https://sportscar365.com/imsa/impc/bimmerworld-confirms-2016-ctsc-lineup/|title=BimmerWorld Confirms 2016 CTSC Lineup|publisher=Sportscar365|date=23 December 2015|access-date=20 May 2021}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.theracersgroup.com/2017/03/30/kaufman-and-tilley-team-up-for-success/|title=Kaufman and Tilley Team Up for Success|work=The Racer's Group|date=30 March 2017|access-date=20 May 2021}}{{cite news|url=http://archive.world-challenge.com/latest/series-news/2017-sprintx-championship-finale/|title=2017 SprintX Championship Finale|work=SRO Motorsports Group|date=6 September 2017|access-date=20 May 2021|archive-date=21 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521080021/http://archive.world-challenge.com/latest/series-news/2017-sprintx-championship-finale/|url-status=dead}}
In 2019, Tilley started racing in Historic Formula One.{{cite news|url=https://www.fia.com/news/historic-masters-crowns-its-2019-fia-champions|title=Historic - Masters Crowns its 2019 FIA Champions!|work=Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|date=10 October 2019|access-date=21 May 2021}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.mastershistoricracing.com/news/tilley-weathers-the-storm-to-win-first-fia-masters/|title=Tilley weathers the storm to win first FIA Masters Historic Formula One race at Zandvoort|work=Historic Formula One Championship|date=7 September 2019|access-date=21 May 2021|archive-date=21 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521080020/https://www.mastershistoricracing.com/news/tilley-weathers-the-storm-to-win-first-fia-masters/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://www.mastershistoricracing.com/news/tilley-provides-wet-weather-masterclass-in-second/|title=Tilley provides wet-weather masterclass in second FIA Masters Historic Formula One race at Spa|work=Historic Formula One Championship|date=29 September 2019|access-date=21 May 2021|archive-date=21 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521080020/https://www.mastershistoricracing.com/news/tilley-provides-wet-weather-masterclass-in-second/|url-status=dead}} 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.{{cite magazine|last=Pruett|first=Marshall|url=https://racer.com/2020/01/23/era-motorsport-advances-from-vintage-racing-to-lmp2-at-daytona/|title=Era Motorsport advances from vintage racing to LMP2 at Daytona|magazine=Racer|date=23 January 2020|access-date=21 May 2021}}
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.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/12/26/era-motorsport-names-rolex-24-drivers.html|title=Era Motorsport Names Rolex 24 Drivers|publisher=DailySportsCar|date=26 December 2019|access-date=21 May 2021}} The team initially formed a partnership with DragonSpeed before opting to run the full LMP2 season as a standalone operation.{{cite news|last=Klein|first=Jamie|url=https://us.motorsport.com/imsa/news/era-motorsport-full-lmp2-season/4616856/|title=Era Motorsport commits to full IMSA LMP2 season|website=Motorsport.com|publisher=Motorsport Network|date=27 December 2019|access-date=21 May 2021}}{{cite magazine|last=Goodwin|first=Graham|url=https://racer.com/2019/10/28/dragonspeed-to-run-two-imsa-lmp2-entries/|title=DragonSpeed to run two IMSA LMP2 entries|magazine=Racer|date=28 October 2019|access-date=21 May 2021}} The car finished third in the LMP2 class, followed by Tilley and Merriman scoring three more podium finishes that year.{{cite news|url=https://www.eramotorsport.com/post/rolex-24-winners-era-motorsport-commits-to-full-season-weathertech-effort|title=Rolex 24 Winners Era Motorsport Commits to Full Season WeatherTech Effort|work=Era Motorsport|date=8 February 2021|access-date=21 May 2021}} The duo also entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans for IDEC Sport alongside Jonathan Kennard;{{cite news|last=Dagys|first=John|url=https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/era-drivers-confirmed-in-idec-sport-oreca-for-24h-le-mans/|title=Era Drivers Confirmed in IDEC Sport Oreca for 24H Le Mans|publisher=Sportscar365|date=15 July 2020|access-date=21 May 2021}} despite Merriman crashing in practice and being replaced by Patrick Pilet for the race, the car finished 15th.{{cite magazine|last=Kilbey|first=Steven|url=https://racer.com/2020/09/18/rebellion-stays-quick-in-fourth-le-mans-practice-p2-entries-rebound-from-crashes/|title=Rebellion stays quick in fourth Le Mans practice, P2 entries rebound from crashes|magazine=Racer|date=18 September 2020|access-date=21 May 2021}} 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.{{cite news|last=Malsher-Lopez|first=David|url=https://us.motorsport.com/imsa/news/era-motorsports-withdraws-from-2020-season/4887336/|title=Era Motorsports withdraws from 2020 IMSA season to focus on '21|website=Motorsport.com|publisher=Motorsport Network|date=7 October 2020|access-date=21 May 2021}}
In 2021, Era allied with Jota Sport to field an LMP2 for Tilley and Merriman in the Asian Le Mans Series.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailysportscar.com/2020/12/04/era-motorsport-partners-with-jota-sport-for-%EF%BB%BF2021-asian-le-mans-series-effort.html|title=Era Motorsport Partners With JOTA Sport For 2021 Asian Le Mans Series Effort|work=DailySportsCar|date=4 December 2020|access-date=21 May 2021}} Tilley, Merriman, and Andreas Laskaratos claimed the LMP2 Am division championship after winning all four races.{{cite press release|url=https://speedwaymedia.com/2021/02/21/era-motorsport-secures-inaugural-asian-le-mans-series-am-championship/|title=Era Motorsport Secures Inaugural Asian Le Mans Series Am Championship|work=Era Motorsport|publisher=Speedway Media|date=21 February 2021|access-date=21 May 2021}} Era also won the 24 Hours of Daytona LMP2 class with Tilley, Merriman, Ryan Dalziel, and Paul-Loup Chatin.{{cite news|last=Malsher-Lopez|first=David|url=https://us.motorsport.com/imsa/news/era-motorsports-victory-rolex-24-daytona/5290864/|title=Era revels in victory on first anniversary of Rolex 24 debut|website=Motorsport.com|publisher=Motorsport Network|date=2 February 2021|access-date=21 May 2021}} In April, Tilley and his team started competing in the European Le Mans Series.{{cite press release|url=https://speedwaymedia.com/2021/05/10/era-motorsport-continues-elms-championship-effort-at-red-bull-ring/|title=Era Motorsport Continues ELMS Championship Effort at Red Bull Ring|work=Era Motorsport|publisher=Speedway Media|date=10 May 2021|access-date=21 May 2021}}
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.{{cite magazine|last=Utter|first=Jim|url=https://www.autosport.com/nascar/news/daytona-24-hours-lmp2-winner-to-make-nascar-debut-at-cota/6507346/|title=Daytona 24 Hours LMP2 winner Kyle Tilley to make NASCAR debut at COTA|magazine=Autoweek|date=12 May 2021|access-date=21 May 2021}}
Personal life
A native of Bath, Somerset, Tilley lives in Carmel, Indiana.{{cite interview|last=Tilley|first=Kyle|url=https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/racers-in-isolation-kyle-tilley/|title=Racers in Isolation: Kyle Tilley|work=Sportscar365|date=15 May 2020|access-date=20 May 2021}} He is an alumnus of Sheldon School in Chippenham.
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)
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! 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 | style="background:#FFDF9F;| DAY | style="background:#FFDF9F;| SEB | style="background:#FFDF9F;| ELK | style="background:#DFDFDF;| ATL | ATL | SEB | ! 5th ! 92 |
2021
! Era Motorsport ! LMP2 ! Oreca 07 ! Gibson Technology GK428 V8 | style="background:#FFFFBF;| DAY | style="background:#DFDFDF;| SEB | style="background:#EFCFFF;| WGI | WGI | ELK | LGA | style="background:#EFCFFF;| ATL ! 7th ! 930 |
2022
! Era Motorsport ! LMP2 ! Oreca 07 ! Gibson GK428 V8 |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| DAY |style="background:#FFDF9F;"| SEB |style="background:"| LGA |
|style="background:"| MDO
{{small|}}
|style="background:#;"| WGL
{{small|}}
|style="background:"| ELK
{{small|}}
|style="background:"| PET
{{small|}}
! style="background:#FFDF9F;"| 3rd*
! style="background:#FFDF9F;"| 328*
!
|}
==24 Hours of Daytona==
class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%" |
colspan="40" | 24 Hours of Daytona results |
---|
style="background:#abbbdd;"
! Year ! Class ! No ! Team ! Car ! Co-drivers ! Laps ! Position ! Class Pos. ! Ref |
2020
|align=center| LMP2 |align=center| 18 | {{flagicon|USA}} Era Motorsport | Oreca 07 | {{flagicon|USA}} Dwight Merriman |align=center| 800 |align=center| 11 | style="background:#FFDF9F; text-align:center;"| 3 |
2021
|align=center| LMP2 |align=center| 18 | {{flagicon|USA}} Era Motorsport | Oreca 07 | {{flagicon|USA}} Dwight Merriman |align=center| 787 |align=center| 6 | style="background:#FFFFBF; text-align:center;"| 1 |
==24 Hours of Le Mans==
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%" |
Year
! Team ! Co-Drivers ! Car ! Class ! Laps ! {{Tooltip|Pos.|Overall Position}} ! {{Tooltip|Class ! Ref |
---|
2020
|align="left"| {{flagicon|FRA}} IDEC Sport |align="left"| {{flagicon|UK}} Jonathan Kennard |align="left"| Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 363 | 15 | 11 |
==Asian Le Mans Series==
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Year ! Entrant ! Class ! Make ! Engine ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! Pos ! Points |
2021
! LMP2 Am ! Oreca 07 | style="background:#FFFFBF;"| DUB | style="background:#FFFFBF;"| DUB | style="background:#FFFFBF;"| ABH | style="background:#FFFFBF;"| ABH ! style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st ! style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 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==
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:75%" |
colspan=43| 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 ! {{Tooltip|NCSC|NASCAR Cup Series classification}} ! Pts ! Ref |
2021
! rowspan=2| Live Fast Motorsports ! rowspan=2| 78 ! rowspan=2| Ford | DAY | DRC | HOM | LVS | PHO | ATL | BRD | MAR | RCH | TAL | KAN | DAR | DOV | style="background:#CFCFFF;"| COA | CLT | SON | NSH | POC | POC | style="background:#CFCFFF;"| ROA | ATL | NHA | style="background:#CFCFFF;"| GLN | style="background:#FFFFFF;"| IRC | MCH | DAY | DAR | RCH | BRI | LVS | TAL | ROV | TEX | KAN | MAR | PHO ! 62nd ! 01 |
2022
| DAY | CAL | LVS | PHO | ATL | COA | RCH | MAR | BRD | TAL | DOV | DAR | KAN | CLT | GTW | SON | NSH | style="background:#CFCFFF;"| ROA | ATL | NHA | POC | IRC | MCH | RCH | style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GLN | DAY | DAR | KAN | BRI | TEX | TAL | ROV | LVS | HOM | MAR | PHO ! 39th ! 8 ! |
colspan=43|† – Qualified but replaced by Andy Lally · |
==Xfinity Series==
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:75%"
! colspan=40| 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 ! {{Tooltip|NXSC|NASCAR Xfinity Series classification}} ! Pts ! Ref |
---|
rowspan=2| 2021
! rowspan=2| 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 | style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GLN | colspan=13| ! rowspan=2| 106th ! rowspan=2| 01 |
5
! Toyota | colspan=20| | style="background:#FFFFFF;"| IRC | MCH | DAY | DAR | RCH | BRI | LVS | TAL | ROV | TEX | KAN | MAR | PHO |
colspan=40|† – Qualified but replaced by James Davison · |
{{sup|*}} Season still in progress
{{sup|1}} Ineligible for series points
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official|1=https://www.kyletilley.com/}}
- {{Racing-Reference driver|Kyle_Tilley}}
{{Live Fast Motorsports}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tilley, Kyle}}
Category:24 Hours of Daytona drivers
Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
Category:English racing drivers
Category:People educated at Sheldon School
Category:Sportspeople from Bath, Somerset
Category:WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers