Steven Colin Kane (born 5 June 1980) is a British racing driver who currently competes in the Blancpain Endurance Series and Avon Tyres British GT Championship for M-Sport Bentley driving a Bentley Continental GT3.
| Steven Kane | |
|---|---|
 Kane at the Silverstone round of the 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series season. | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Born | 5 June 1980 Newtownards, Northern Ireland |
| Blancpain Endurance Series, Avon Tyres British GT Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2013 |
| Current team | M-Sport Bentley |
| Racing licence |  FIA Gold |
| Car number | 7 |
| Starts | 2 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 1st – Silverstone in 2014 |
| Previous series | |
| 2009–12 2008, 2010 2009 2007 2007 2006 2004 2003, 2005 2002 2001 2000 | American Le Mans Series BTCC Belgian Touring Cars – S1 Porsche Supercup Porsche Carrera Cup GB Formula Renault 3.5 Series Spanish Formula Three British Formula 3 Formula Renault UK British Junior Formula Ford Irish Formula Ford |
| Championship titles | |
| 2001 | British Junior Formula Ford |
| Awards | |
| 2001 | McLaren Autosport Award |
Career
editKane, who was born in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland, and grow up in Ballynahinch, was voted McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year in 2001 (earning a test with the McLaren Formula One team), after winning the Junior Formula Ford Zetec championship by taking 8 wins and 4 runners-up spots in 12 races. From 2003 to 2005 he competed in Formula Three; finishing as runner-up in the Scholarship class (for year-old cars) of the 2003 British Formula 3 Championship, finishing 3rd overall in Spain in 2004, and in 2005 he was 9th in the main British F3 championship. That year he took 3 poles and a win, despite the deal only coming together a day before the season began. At the end of 2005 he became the first driver ever to race a Lola at the Macau Formula Three race.[1] He then raced in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, with a best result of 2nd.
For 2007 he moved into the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, finishing 3rd overall and fighting for the title until the final round,[2] with a series-high seven wins, including pole position at Thruxton.[3]
In 2008 he competed in the BTCC, driving a BMW for the Motorbase Performance team.[4] He started the year strongly, finishing 8th on his debut[5] and later taking a 6th place at Rockingham Motor Speedway[6] after a tough weekend.[7] At Croft he ran 4th for a while, but dropped out with an electrical problem on the final lap.[8] His first podium finish came at the next meeting at Snetterton.[9] At the next meeting at Oulton Park, he qualified 15th before advancing to 9th in race 1, and from 9th on the grid to 4th in race 2, before being eliminated from race 3 after a first-lap hit from Tom Chilton.
He did not return to the BTCC for 2009. He is the series test driver for the new FIA Formula Two Championship, and co-commentator alongside Martin Haven on Eurosport2's coverage of the championship.
On 26 September 2009 he was a guest driver in the Kumho BMW Championship at Oulton Park. He qualified first in both qualifying sessions, and won both races. He was later punished with two points on his racing license after he was deemed by the stewards to have taken out another competitor on purpose.[10]
Kane returned to the BTCC with the Airwaves BMW team for the 2010 season, partnering Mat Jackson. Kane won his first BTCC race at Thruxton on 4 April 2010 when he completed a one-two for Airwaves BMW in race three.[11] He finished sixth overall at the end of the 2010 season with 169 points.
On 15 June 2011, it was announced that Kane would pilot a Lola-Mazda prototype for Dyson Racing in the American Le Mans Series, partnering with Humaid al-Masaood.[12] He and al-Masaood finished 3rd overall (and 3rd in the LMP1 class) in each of their first two ALMS events at Lime Rock Park and Mosport. Kane and al-Masaood claimed their first overall victory at the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix.
For 2012, Kane will race with Humaid al-Masaood in the Oryx Racing's Audi R8 GRAND-AM program in the Rolex Sports Car Series.[13] In addition to this, Kane will also compete at the 12 Hours of Sebring with the Dyson Racing team.[14]
Kane switched from racing in North America to Europe in 2013, joining JRM Racing to campaign a Nissan GT-R in the Blancpain Endurance Series alongside Peter Dumbreck and Lucas Luhr.[15] Kane and Dumbreck finished eighth in the series' Pro Cup standings.
Kane has joined M-Sport for 2014, driving a Bentley Continental GT3 alongside Humaid Al Masaood in the British GT Championship,[16] and with Guy Smith and Andy Meyrick in the Blancpain Endurance Series, after scoring a 4th place with the team at the 2013 Abu Dhabi Gulf 12 Hours.[17]
2014 started brightly for Kane as he and his team mates Guy Smith and Andy Meyrick took a fourth place at Monza in April, followed by a home win at Silverstone in late May. A further victory came at the end of June at Paul Ricard which ultimately ensured a runners-up position in the final Blancpain Endurance Series standings.
For 2015 Kane stays with Bentley. His season started well with fourth-place finishes at both the Bathurst 12 Hours in February and the opening Monza Blancpain race in April.
Racing record
editCareer summary
editComplete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Epsilon Euskadi | ZOL 1 22 |
ZOL 2 4 |
MON 1 16 |
IST 1 20 |
IST 2 18 |
MIS 1 14 |
MIS 2 18 |
SPA 1 10 |
SPA 2 10 |
NÜR 1 Ret |
NÜR 2 20 |
DON 1 15 |
DON 2 17 |
LMS 1 21 |
LMS 2 10 |
CAT 1 12 |
CAT 2 8 |
20th | 15 |
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Complete Porsche Supercup results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | HISAQ Competition | BHR1 | BHR2 | ESP | MON | FRA | GBR 15 |
GER | HUN | TUR | BEL | ITA | NC† | 0† |
† Guest driver – Not eligible for points.
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded in first race) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races) (* signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point given all races)
| Year | Team | Car | 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 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Motorbase Performance | BMW 320si | BRH 1 8 |
BRH 2 Ret |
BRH 3 DNS |
ROC 1 10 |
ROC 2 10 |
ROC 3 13 |
DON 1 6 |
DON 2 12 |
DON 3 16 |
THR 1 12 |
THR 2 13 |
THR 3 9 |
CRO 1 7 |
CRO 2 Ret |
CRO 3 Ret |
SNE 1 8 |
SNE 2 6 |
SNE 3 2 |
OUL 1 9 |
OUL 2 4 |
OUL 3 Ret |
KNO 1 12 |
KNO 2 14 |
KNO 3 9 |
SIL 1 Ret |
SIL 2 5 |
SIL 3 12 |
BRH 1 2 |
BRH 2 5 |
BRH 3 2 |
11th | 86 |
| 2010 | Airwaves BMW | BMW 320si | THR 1 NC |
THR 2 8 |
THR 3 1* |
ROC 1 5 |
ROC 2 3 |
ROC 3 3 |
BRH 1 11 |
BRH 2 7 |
BRH 3 3 |
OUL 1 6 |
OUL 2 5 |
OUL 3 2 |
CRO 1 11 |
CRO 2 Ret |
CRO 3 3 |
SNE 1 7 |
SNE 2 4 |
SNE 3 6 |
SIL 1 9 |
SIL 2 8 |
SIL 3 7 |
KNO 1 3 |
KNO 2 5 |
KNO 3 Ret |
DON 1 6 |
DON 2 6 |
DON 3 4 |
BRH 1 11 |
BRH 2 6 |
BRH 3 2 |
6th | 169 |
References
edit- ^ Lola make Macau F3 debut with Kane and Promatecme Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Hancock takes Carrera Cup pole at Thruxton
- ^ PCCGB: Kane claims Thruxton pole.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Collard and Kane join Motorbase
- ^ Giovanardi Doubles Up Archived 27 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kane scores on tough weekend for Motorbase.
- ^ Quotes : Steven Kane after qualifying at Rockingham
- ^ Turkington holds off Jackson.
- ^ Jamie O'Leary (13 July 2008). "Jackson wins Snetterton race three". autosport.com. Autosport. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- ^ Official Results PDF. Archived 7 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship: Round 3 – Classification". TSL Timing. Timing Solutions Limited. 4 April 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- ^ "Second Dyson Lola-Mazda Set For Remainder of Season". SPEED. 15 June 2011. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
- ^ "Grand AM for 2012". Oryx Racing. 22 January 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
- ^ "Steven Kane Back with Dyson Racing for the 12 Hours of Sebring". ALMS. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
- ^ Watkins, Gary (9 March 2013). "Steven Kane joins Blancpain Endurance field with JRM Nissan". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^ "M-Sport Racing to Commit to British GT". M-Sport. 8 April 2014. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ^ "Bentley Motorsport Drivers". Bentley Motors Limited. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
External links
edit- Official website
- Steven Kane career summary at DriverDB.com
- Profile at BTCCPages.com