Benjamín Hites Michelson (born 3 May 1999) is a Chilean racing driver who competes in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie for PROsport Racing in the SP10 class, and in the TC2000 Championship for Corsi Sport. Hites won the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in 2023, in the Silver category.

Career

Top Race Argentina

Hites began his racing career in 2017, competing in Top Race Argentina for RV Competición. The only amassed two points finishes during the season, a ninth place at the first round in San Juan, and a tenth place at the third round in Rosario. He finished the championship in 23rd position with three points.

Hites switched to Fiat Octanos for the 2018 season and only got one point finish at the fourth round in San Juan, finishing his sophomore campaign with a lone points and 25th in the drivers' championship.

Hites' final season in 2019 would be his best, competing for Fiat Racing Team TopRace, the Chilean achieved his first podium at Salta then a maiden win at Olavarría. After two second places at Concordia, and a podium at the first race of the final round in Buenos Aires, he won the final race of the season. Hites finished the championship in fourth position with 142 points, two wins, four podiums and one fastest lap.

Ferrari Challenge

For 2018, Hites made his debut in the Ferrari Challenge North America - Trofeo Pirelli for The Collection. He achieved his first podium in the first race of the second round at Circuit of the Americas. Hites followed this momentum by capturing his maiden car racing win in the second race.

At the fourth round, Hites suffered a double retirement at Montreal, two rounds later he picked up a double podium at Road Atlanta, and at the final race of the season at Monza Circuit, Hites got his second win in the series. He finished his maiden year in third place with 130 points, two wins and five podiums.

For the 2019 season, Hites competed with The Collection for a second season and fought for the title with 2018 champion Cooper MacNeil, Hites won the first race at the Circuit of the Americas and won at Sebring after starting from pole position, his only retirement and non podium finish of the season was at Laguna Seca. He won four straight races from Indianapolis to Homestead–Miami, entering the final round at Mugello Circuit he broke his win streak by finishing in second place in the first race, but won the final race.

Hites came runner-up to the championship, with 243 points compared to MacNeil's 250 points. The Chilean acclimated, seven wins, thirteen podiums and four pole position during his title fight.

At the end of the season, Hites competed in the Ferrari Challenge Finali Mondiali - Trofeo Pirelli but was unable to start the race.

GT World Challenge Europe

Hites was announced to be competing in the Silver category of the 2020 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and 2020 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup for AKKA ASP Team.

In the Sprint Cup, which Hites contested alongside Jim Pla, after a different second and third race in the first round at Misano, they claimed a third place in the next race in their class at Magny-Cours. A round later, they got their first pole in the series in the first race at Zandvoort, but failed to capitalise on it. For the final round at Barcelona, they got a second podium and a win a race later. The duo finished fifth in their class with 66.5 points.

Meanwhile, in the Endurance Cup, where joined Swiss drivers Lucas Légeret and Alex Fontana, the trio had a successful season despite not claiming any podiums, but got pole position in the 2020 24 Hours of Spa. They finished 11th in the Silver category with 32 points to their name.

For 2021, Hites switched to Rinaldi Racing in both the 2021 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and 2021 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup but remained in the Silver category.

Hites came 17th in the Endurance Cup in his category and amassed only 28 points, he retired at Paul Ricard and failed to score points at the Nürburgring.

Hites had a more successful campaign in the Sprint Cup, only having one race out of the points, which was a retirement at Zandvoort. The highlight of his season was a pole position and second place at Misano. Hites finished ninth in the Silver category with 45 points to his name.

Hites only competed in the Endurance Cup for 2021, where he switched to Vincenzo Sospiri Racing and competed in the Silver category with Michele Beretta and Yuki Nemoto. The trio had a consistent year and finished every race in the points, barring the second round at Paul Ricard, where they retired from the race. Hites, Beretta and Nemoto finished 12th in their class with 28 points.

For his 2023 campaign, Hites swapped to GRT Grasser Racing Team and remained in the Silver category. After retiring from the first race at Monza, he and his teammates didn't drop out of the top two for every race and also claimed pole position in the rest of the races they competed in except for the 24 Hours Spa, which they won in their class. The trio picked up a second win a round later at the Nürburgring. They undoubtedly won the title with 116 points.

International GT Open

Alongside Fabrizio Crestani, Hites made a cameo in the sixth round of the 2021 International GT Open with Rinaldi Racing at Monza Circuit. After a fourth place in their debut race, they stormed to an unexpected victory in a wet weather race in the second race. They finished 15th in the drivers championship with 23 points.

Hites signed with Oregon Team for the 2022 International GT Open and competed in the championship full-time with Leonardo Pulcini. They won the first two races at Estoril and converted their maiden pole to a race win at the third round in Spa-Francorchamps. Hites and Pulcini got four more podiums in the second half of the season, amassing a podium and a win at the Red Bull Ring, and two more second-place finishes at Barcelona and Monza. The duo won the championship with 128 points, four wins, seven podiums and two pole positions.

IMSA SportsCar Championship

Hites made his IMSA SportsCar debut in the GTD class with NTE Sport in the final round of the season at the 2021 Petit Le Mans, partnering Jaden Conwright and Don Yount. The trio finished the race in a respectable ninth, with Hites finishing the drivers championship in 56th with 245 points.

Hites drove in the first round of 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship at the 24 Hours of Daytona in the GTD class with NTE Sport/SSR, partnering Don Yount, Jaden Conwright and Markus Palttala. They retired from the race and Hites ended the championship in 66th with 163 points.

Hites started his 2023 campaign by competing in the first two races of the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship in the GTD class with Forte Racing powered by US RaceTronics. He came seventh in the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona and retired from the 2023 12 Hours of Sebring. Hites finished 43rd in the drivers championship with 421 points.

ADAC GT Masters

Hites made his debut in the 2023 ADAC GT Masters with GRT Grasser Racing Team, partnering Marco Mapelli. He and Mapelli had a successful campaign, finishing fourth in the championship after picking up four pole positions, three podiums and two wins in the second half of the season, whereas in the first half they got only one pole position in the first race at the Hockenheimring and no podiums. They were also disqualified from the first race at the Red Bull Ring and retired from the final race of the season at the Hockenheimring, which kept them from finishing top three in the drivers championship.

Hites continued with GRT Grasser Racing Team for the 2024 season where he partnered up with Tim Zimmermann for the season. The duo had a slightly unremarkable season compared to Hites' successful first year in the series. They managed to score only one podium – a second place – at the first race of the second round at Circuit Zandvoort and one pole position at the third race of the third round at the Nürburgring. Hites and Zimmermann inherited podium points at second race of the fourth round at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, due to the previous third-place finishers being ineligible for points. Zimmermann also wasn't available during the fifth round, so he was replaced with experienced driver Pierre Kaffer.

Racing record

Racing career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 2017 Top Race Series Argentina RV Competición80000323rd 2018 Top Race Series Argentina Fiat Octanos90000125th Ferrari Challenge North America - Trofeo Pirelli The Collection1420151303rd 2019 Top Race Series Argentina Fiat Racing Team TopRace1420161424th Ferrari Challenge North America - Trofeo Pirelli The Collection14745132432nd Ferrari Challenge Finali Mondiali - Trofeo Pirelli00000N/ADNS 2020 Italian GT Endurance Championship - GT3 AKM Motorsport100000NC GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup AKKA ASP Team900001417th GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup - Silver110366.55th GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup400000NC GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver01103211th Intercontinental GT Challenge100000NC 2021 International GT Open Rinaldi Racing210012315th GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup800009.523rd GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup - Silver0101459th GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup500000NC GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver00002817th Intercontinental GT Challenge100000NC IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD NTE Sport1000024556th 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD NTE Sport/SSR1000016366th International GT Open Oregon Team1342171281st GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Vincenzo Sospiri Racing500000NC GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver00002812th Italian GT Endurance Championship - GT3 Pro31102414th Intercontinental GT Challenge100000NC Le Mans Cup - LMP3 TS Corse200000NC 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Forte Racing powered by US RaceTronics2000042143rd ADAC GT Masters GRT Grasser Racing Team1225131574th GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup500000NC GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver23341161st2024 ADAC GT Masters GRT Grasser Racing Team1200111286th Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - BMW M240i Adrenalin Motorsport Team Mainhatten Wheels200000NC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP8T PROsport Racing101000NC 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP10 1 0 0 0 0 0 4th2025Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP10PROsport-Racing300020NCNürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP8T100000NCTCR South America Touring Car ChampionshipPMO Racing200013818th2026Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - Cup2Black Falcon Team Zimmermann20001**

* Season still in progress.

Ferrari Challenge Finali Mondiali results Year Class Team Car Circuit 2019 Trofeo Pirelli Pro The Collection Ferrari 488 Challenge Mugello Circuit DNS

Complete GT World Challenge Europe results

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pos. Points 2020 AKKA ASP Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 Silver IMO NÜR SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H LEC 11th 32 2021 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 Silver MNZ LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜR BAR 17th 28 2022 Vincenzo Sospiri Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo SilverIMOLECSPA6HSPA12HSPA24HHOCCAT 12th 28 2023 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 Silver MNZ LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜR CAT 1st 116

GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos. Points 2020 AKKA ASP Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Silver MIS1 MIS2 MIS3 MAG1 MAG2 ZAN1 ZAN2 CAT1 CAT2 CAT3 5th 66.5 2021 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 Silver MAG1 MAG2 ZAN1 ZAN2 MIS1 MIS2 BRH1 BRH2 VAL1 VAL 2 9th 45

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)