Jan Ellegaard Magnussen (born 4 July 1973) is a Danish professional racing driver and was a factory driver for General Motors until the end of the 2020 season. He has competed in Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), NASCAR, the FIA Formula One World Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With the Corvette Racing team, Magnussen won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in class on four occasions, in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009, as well as the IMSA Sportscar Championship twice in 2017 and 2018. He also won the 2015 24 Hours of Daytona in the GTLM class.
Career history
Lower series racing
Born in Roskilde, Magnussen won the 1992 Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, then dominated the 1994 British Formula 3 championship with Paul Stewart Racing, winning fourteen of the eighteen events and breaking Ayrton Senna's F3 record. Magnussen scored his first British F3 win that April at Donington Park, also taking pole for the race. He also won at Brands Hatch, twice at Silverstone, and at Thruxton. He won six of the first eight races. He then won again at Donington Park, and both season-ending rounds at Silverstone.
Major series racing Magnussen made his Formula One debut at the 1995 Pacific Grand Prix in Aida, sitting in for Mika Häkkinen, who was unwell; becoming the first Danish to race in the category since Tom Belsø in 1974. In 1996, Magnussen drove in the CART series and International Touring Car Championship.
For 1997–1998, Magnussen had a seat in Formula One with the newly founded Stewart Grand Prix team, owned in part by his old F3 boss Paul Stewart. Team founder Jackie Stewart once described him as "the most talented young driver to emerge since Ayrton Senna", but his performance was underwhelming. He scored his only championship point in his last race in F1, the 1998 Canadian Grand Prix; for the rest of the season he was replaced by Jos Verstappen. Magnussen started 24 GPs, one less than he entered, because his car was damaged in an accident during the start of the 1997 Brazilian Grand Prix causing him to retire before the restart.
In 1999, Magnussen participated in seven CART races. In 1999 and 2000, he raced in the American Le Mans Series with Panoz. In 2001, he drove a Peugeot in Danish Touring Car series (DTC) and raced in eight ALMS races. 2002 he also raced for Peugeot in DTC and in ten ALMS races. Magnussen won the 2008 GT1 and 2013 GT drivers' championships, both with Corvette Racing.
Magnussen has participated in various classes in the 24 hours of Le Mans every year since 1999. His best results so far are the victories in the GTS class in 2004 and GT1 class in 2005, 2006, and 2009, each time in a Chevrolet Corvette with Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta as teammates in 2005 and 2006, and Johnny O'Connell and Antonio García in 2009.
Also, Magnussen has participated in the 12 Hours of Sebring every year since 1999, winning the GT1 class in 2006, 2008, and 2009.
In 2005, Magnussen drove a Toyota Corolla in the Danish Touring Car Championship.
Present day Magnussen was still an active driver, competing in the Danish Touring Car Championship (DTC) until 2010 and in a Chevrolet Corvette C7.R in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Antonio Garcia as teammate until 2019 – and in the 24 hours of Le Mans. In the Danish Touring Car series, he drove a Chevrolet Lacetti for Perfection Racing. He won the DTC in 2003 and 2008.
On 11 June 2010, it was announced that Magnussen would make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut driving the No. 09 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing at Infineon Raceway. After starting 32nd on the grid, he finished in twelfth position.
On 14 June 2010, it was announced that Magnussen and Perfection Racing would not be participating in the DTC, leaving Magnussen and the team to focus on the Scandinavian Touring Car Cup's remaining two rounds.
Magnussen drove the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro with Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis in the 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series season opener, the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Following the Rolex 24, he moved to the team's No. 97 car and competed in the majority of the races with Gunter Schaldach. Magnussen finished 24th in GT points and his best finish was second (Miller) with four top-tens.
On 7 November 2019, Magnussen was confirmed to drive in the inaugural TCR Denmark Touring Car Series for LM Racing in a VW Golf GTI TCR.
On 22 July 2023, Magnussen won Aurum 1006 km endurance race in Lithuania, driving a Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3 Evo.
On 16 September 2024, it was announced that Magnussen would take part in the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone in November, driving a GT Motorsport-prepared Van Diemen RF78 in the same Duckhams colours that adorned his car at the 1992 Formula Ford Festival
Family Magnussen's oldest son Kevin is also a racing driver currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with BMW, having previously competed in Formula One with Haas, McLaren and Renault. Kevin mentioned that his father was his first hero when he was a child.
Other racing drivers in Magnussen's family are his nephew Dennis Lind, and Jan's youngest son Luca.
Motorsports career results
British Formula Three (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Pts 1993 Paul Stewart Racing Mugen-HondaSILTHRBRHDONBRHSILOULDONSILDONSNEPEMSILSILTHR11th7 1994 Paul Stewart Racing Mugen-HondaSILDONBRHBRHSILSILBRHTHROULDONSILSNEPEMPEMSILSILTHRSIL1st308
Formula One (key) Formula One results Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Points 1995 Marlboro McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4/10B Mercedes FO 110 3.0 V10 BRA ARG SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR EUR PAC JPN AUS NC 0 1997 HSBC Malaysia Stewart Ford Stewart SF01 Ford VJ Zetec-R 3.0 V10 AUS BRA ARG10 SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA AUT LUX JPN EUR 20th 0 1998 HSBC Stewart Ford Stewart SF02 Ford VJ Zetec-R 3.0 V10 AUS BRA ARG SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR AUT GER HUN BEL ITA LUX JPN 17th 1 Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he had completed over 90% of the race distance.
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft results Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pts 1995 AMG-Mercedes Mercedes C-Class V6 HOC1 HOC2 AVU1 AVU2 NOR1 NOR2 DIE1 DIE2 NÜR1 NÜR2 ALE1 ALE2 HOC1 HOC2 8th 49
International Touring Car Championship (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) International Touring Car Championship results 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 Pts 1995 AMG-Mercedes Mercedes C-Class V6 MUG1 MUG2 HEL1 HEL2 DON1 DON2 EST1 EST2 MAG1 MAG2 2nd 83 1996 Warsteiner Mercedes-AMG Mercedes C-Class HOC1 HOC2 NÜR1 NÜR2 EST1 EST2 HEL1 HEL2 NOR1 NOR2 DIE1 DIE2 SIL1 SIL2 NÜR1 NÜR2 MAG1 MAG2 MUG1 MUG2 HOC1 HOC2 INT1 INT2 SUZ1 SUZ2 10th 97 † – Did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
American open-wheel racing results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)
CART Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Rank Points Ref 1996 Team Penske 3 Penske PC-25 Mercedes-Benz IC108CMIARIOSRFLBHNZR500MILDETPORCLETORMISMOH24th5 Hogan Penske 9ROAVANLS 1999 Patrick Racing 20 Swift 010.c Ford XDMIAMOTLBHNZRRIOSTLMILPORCLEROATORMISDET24th8 Reynard 99iMOHCHIVANLSHOUSRFFON
24 Hours of Le Mans 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps 1999 Panoz Motorsports Johnny O'Connell Max Angelelli Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S-Ford LMP 323 11th 9th 2000 Panoz Motorsports David Brabham Mario Andretti Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S-Élan LMP900 315 15th 8th 2001 Panoz Motorsports David Brabham Franck Lagorce Panoz LMP07-Élan LMP900 85 DNF DNF 2002 Panoz Motor Sports David Brabham Bryan Herta Panoz LMP01 Evo-Élan LMP900 90 DNF DNF 2003 Audi Sport Japan Team Goh Seiji Ara Marco Werner Audi R8 LMP900 370 4th 2nd 2004 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Olivier Beretta Chevrolet Corvette C5-R GTS 345 6th 1st 2005 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Olivier Beretta Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GT1 349 5th 1st 2006 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Olivier Beretta Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GT1 355 4th 1st 2007 Corvette Racing Johnny O'Connell Ron Fellows Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GT1 342 6th 2nd 2008 Corvette Racing Johnny O'Connell Ron Fellows Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GT1 344 14th 2nd 2009 Corvette Racing Johnny O'Connell Antonio García Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GT1 342 15th 1st 2010 Corvette Racing Johnny O'Connell Antonio García Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GT2 225 DNF DNF 2011 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Richard Westbrook Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GTEPro 211 DNF DNF 2012 Corvette Racing Antonio García Jordan Taylor Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GTEPro 326 23rd 5th 2013 Corvette Racing Antonio García Jordan Taylor Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GTEPro 312 19th 4th 2014 Corvette Racing Antonio García Jordan Taylor Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GTEPro 338 14th 2nd 2015 Corvette Racing Antonio García Ryan Briscoe Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GTEPro 0 DNS DNS 2016 Corvette Racing - GM Antonio García Ricky Taylor Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GTEPro 336 25th 7th 2017 Corvette Racing - GM Antonio García Jordan Taylor Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GTEPro 340 19th 3rd 2018 Corvette Racing - GM Antonio García Mike Rockenfeller Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GTEPro 342 18th 4th 2019 Corvette Racing Antonio García Mike Rockenfeller Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GTEPro 337 28th 8th 2020 JMW Motorsport Richard Heistand Max Root Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTEAm 335 30th 6th 2021 High Class Racing Anders Fjordbach Kevin Magnussen Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 336 29th 17th 2023 Inter Europol Competition Anders Fjordbach Mark Kvamme Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 117 DNF DNFLMP2 Pro-am
24 Hours of Daytona (key) 24 Hours of Daytona results Year Class Team Car Co-drivers Laps Position Class pos. 2005 DP Doran Racing Pontiac-Doran Bobby Labonte Bryan Herta Terry Labonte 675 9 9 2006 GT The Racer's Group Pontiac GTO.R Paul Edwards Kelly Collins Andy Pilgrim 633 26 13 2007 DP SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley DP Wayne Taylor Max Angelelli Jeff Gordon 666 3 3 2008 GT Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R Paul Edwards Kelly Collins 647 17 7 2009 GT Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R Paul Edwards Kelly Collins 689 12 4 2010 GT Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R Robin Liddell Andrew Davis 683 11 4 2011 GT Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R Robin Liddell Ronnie Bremer 629 26 12 2012 DP Spirit of Daytona Racing Corvette DP Antonio García Oliver Gavin Richard Westbrook 629 8 8 2013 GT Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R John Edwards Robin Liddell Tommy Milner 595 36 23 2014 GTLM Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Antonio García Ryan Briscoe 329 60 10 2015 GTLM Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Antonio García Ryan Briscoe 725 4 1 2016 GTLM Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Antonio GarcíaMike Rockenfeller 722 8 2 2017 GTLM Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Antonio GarcíaMike Rockenfeller 652 8 4 2018 GTLM Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Antonio GarcíaMike Rockenfeller 781 13 3 2019 GTLM Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Antonio GarcíaMike Rockenfeller 563 16 6
Supercars Championship Australian Supercars results Year Team 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 Final pos Points 2003 Team Dynamik ADL PHI ECK WIN PTH HDV QLD ORPSANWD†BAT SUR PUK ECK NC 152 2011 Paul Morris Motorsport YMCR1 YMCR2 ADER3 ADER4 HAMR5 HAMR6 PERR7 PERR8 PERR9 WINR10 WINR11 HDVR12 HDVR13 TOWR14 TOWR15 QLDR16 QLDR17 QLDR18 PHIQ PHIR19BATR20SURR21SURR22 SYMR23 SYMR24 SANR25 SANR26 SYDR27 SYDR28 67th 129 † Withdrew due to licence problems
Bathurst 1000 results