Lee Holdsworth

Lee Holdsworth
Lee Holdsworth in 2014
Nationality	Australian
V8 Supercar Record
Car number	18
Current team	Charlie Schwerkolt Racing
Series championships	0
Races	337
Race wins	3
Podium finishes	16
Pole positions	4
2015 Championship position	14th (1699 pts)

Lee Holdsworth (born 2 February 1983 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian racing driver. He currently drivers the #18 Holden VF Commodore for Charlie Schwerkolt Racing in the Supercars Championship.

History

Early career

Lee Holdsworth's motorsport career began in go-karts. He started racing cars in 2001 at just 17, when he contested the Commodore Cup national series.

Holdsworth finished fifth in the 2002 Commodore Cup national series and third in the 2003 Commodore Cup championship,^[1] before graduating to the Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series in 2004, driving a Holden VX Commodore for Smiths Trucks Racing.

Holdsworth recorded some impressive results in 2004, including finishing his first-ever round in the top-10 and winning the reverse-grid race at Eastern Creek, as well as finishing third overall in Queensland. Holdsworth also contested the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercar endurance races with Phillip Scifleet and Mark Noske respectively.

In 2005, Holdsworth ran a limited campaign in the renamed HPDC V8 Supercar Development Series and the Australian Formula Ford Championship, as well as contesting the two endurance races with Garry Rogers Motorsport.

V8 Supercars

Holdsworth's big break came in 2006 when he scored a full-time drive with Garry Rogers Motorsport in the V8 Supercar Championship. In 2007, Holdsworth won his first V8 Supercar round at Oran Park. The win came courtesy of consistent driving over the weekend and a good strategy in the final race in changeable conditions.^[2]

In 2008 Holdsworth began working with The John Bowe Institute of Driving, helping to teach the techniques of performance driving to the public..

Holdsworth moved to Stone Brothers Racing for the 2012 V8 Supercars Championship, ending a six-year association with Garry Rogers Motorsport.^[3] For 2013, the team was bought by Erebus Motorsport, and ran Mercedes-Benz E63 AMGs. Holdsworth scored the team's first race win at Winton in April 2014.^[4] In 2015, Holdsworth moved to Charlie Schwerkolt Racing, who operated as a satellite team to the Holden Racing Team. Holdsworth won the 2015 Drivers' Driver award at the 2015 V8 Gala awards. For 2016, Charlie Schwerkolt Racing will operate as an independent team.

Career results

Lee Holdsworth (left) on the podium at the 2008 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

The Ford FG Falcon of Lee Holdsworth at the 2012 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

Holdsworth placed 20th in the 2014 V8 Supercars Championship driving a Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG for Erebus Motorsport

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Year	No.	Team	Car	Co-driver	Position	Laps
2005	33	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VZ Commodore	Phillip Scifleet	DNF	136
2006	34	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VZ Commodore	Dean Canto	17th	129
2007	33	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VE Commodore	Dean Canto	DNF	118
2008	33	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VE Commodore	Michael Caruso	DNF	139
2009	34	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VE Commodore	Michael Caruso	3rd	161
2010	33	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VE Commodore	David Besnard	7th	161
2011	33	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VE Commodore	Greg Ritter	17th	161
2012	4	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford FG Falcon	Craig Baird	8th	161
2013	4	Erebus Motorsport	Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG	Craig Baird	14th	161
2014	4	Erebus Motorsport	Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG	Craig Baird	DNF	132
2015	18	Charlie Schwerkolt Racing	Holden VF Commodore	Sébastien Bourdais	9th	161
2016	18	Charlie Schwerkolt Racing	Holden VF Commodore	Karl Reindler	DNF	2

* Events highlighted in green denote designated co-driver role

References

External links

• Lee Holdsworth Profile
• Irwin Racing website
• V8 Supercar Points