Ryan Yardley (born 7 July 1998) is a New Zealand racing driver competing in GT World Challenge America for Wright Motorsports and GT4 America Series for ACI Motorsports.
Career Yardley made his single-seater debut in 2013, racing in Formula Ford New Zealand. After two seasons in the series, Yardley switched to the Toyota Finance 86 Championship for the 2015–16 season, in which he claimed rookie of the year honors. Returning for the 2016–17 season, Yardley won twice and finished on the podium all but four times to secure the title and earning him a one-off appearance in the Australian Toyota 86 series.
In 2018, Yardley joined MTEC Motorsport to race in the Toyota Racing Series at the beginning of the year. In his only season in the series, Yardley scored a lone podium at by finishing second in the reverse-grid race at Taupo en route to a ninth-place points finish. After not racing throughout the rest of the year, Yardley made a one-off appearance with the same team in the 2019 Australian Formula 4 Championship in the Australian Grand Prix-supporting Melbourne round.
Following a year on the sidelines, Yardley joined Kiwi Motorsport to race in the Formula Pro Winter Series, before racing in the last two rounds of the Formula Regional Americas Championship for Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport. Racing at Virginia and Circuit of the Americas, Yardley scored three podiums with a best result of second twice to take tenth in points. Returning to Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport for his first full season in Formula Regional Americas the following year, Yardley scored six podiums, with a best result of second at Virginia, to secure fourth in points.
Remaining in the States for 2023, Yardley joined Topp Racing for his rookie year in Porsche Carrera Cup North America. In the eight-round season, Yardley scored a lone podium at Circuit of the Americas by finishing second in race two to finish seventh in points. During 2023, Yardley also made a one-off appearance in the GS class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge for Murillo Racing at Road America.
Returning to Porsche Carrera Cup North America for 2024, Yardley remained with Topp Racing alongside Colin Kaminsky. Starting off the season with three podiums in the first three rounds, Yardley then scored his maiden series win in race one at Watkins Glen from pole. In the second half of the season, Yardley scored wins at Road Atlanta and Circuit of the Americas and took three more podiums to end the year runner-up in points. During 2024, Yardley also raced for Mühlner Motorsport in the 992 Endurance Cup, finishing 26th overall and tenth in the Am class.
Yardley remained with Topp Racing for his third consecutive season in Porsche Carrera Cup North America. After scoring three podiums in the first two rounds, Yardley then took his first win of the season in Montreal, before standing on the podium in the next seven races to take the points lead with two rounds left. Yardley then finished on the podium once at Road Atlanta, before ending the season with a double win at Circuit of the Americas to secure the Porsche Carrera Cup North America title. During 2025, Yardley also made a one-off appearance in the GT4 America Series for ACI Motorsports.
The following year, Yardley returned to Mühlner Motorsport to race in the 24 Hours of Daytona in the GTD class, before making select outings later in IMSA that year with RS1, and was also named a Porsche Motorsport North America selected driver. For the rest of the year, Yardley joined Wright Motorsports to race in the Pro-Am class of GT World Challenge America, and ACI Motorsports to race in the GT4 America Series, also in Pro-Am.
Karting record Karting career summary SeasonSeriesTeamPosition 2008New Zealand Sprint Championship – Cadet9th 2009Blossom Festival – Cadet6th 2010NZ National Sprint Championship – 100cc Restricted16th 2011NZ National Sprint Championship – 100cc Restricted8th2012NZ North Island Sprint Kart Championship – 100cc Yamaha Junior5thNZ Schools Championship – 100cc Yamaha13th2013Trophy of New Zealand – Yamaha Junior5thNZ Schools Championship – Yamaha Junior5thNZ Schools Championship – Formula Junior2ndNZ National Sprint Championship – Yamaha Junior10thRMC New Zealand – Junior Max4th 2014NZ National Sprint Championship – Junior Rotax6th 2015NZ National Sprint Championship – Junior Rotax2nd2017NZ Top Half Series – Rotax DD2Right Karts10thRMC New Zealand – Senior Light8thRMC New Zealand – DD213thNZ National Sprint Championship – DD25thSources:
Racing record Racing career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 2013–14 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship 18 0 0 0 7 963 4th 2014–15 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship 18 0 0 1 4 838 5th 2015–16 Toyota Finance 86 Championship CareVets New Zealand 18 2 0 0 5 832 5th 2016–17 Toyota Finance 86 Championship CareVets New Zealand 18 2 2 6 14 11121st 2018 Toyota Racing Series MTEC Motorsport 15 0 0 0 1 525 9th 2019 Australian Formula 4 Championship MTEC Motorsport 3 0 0 0 1 27 11th2021 Formula Pro USA Winter Series Kiwi Motorsport 2 2 0 1 2 522nd Formula Regional Americas Championship Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport 6 0 0 0 3 67 10th 2022 Formula Regional Americas Championship Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport 18 0 0 0 6 204 4th2023 Porsche Carrera Cup North America Topp Racing 16 0 0 0 1 134 7th Michelin Pilot Challenge – GS Murillo Racing 1 0 0 0 0 200 50th2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America Topp Racing Performance 16 3 2 2 10 2542nd 992 Endurance Cup – Am Mühlner Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 10th2025 Porsche Carrera Cup North America Topp Racing 16 3 5 3 14 3131st GT4 America Series – Pro-Am ACI Motorsports 2 0 0 0 0 10 13th2026 IMSA SportsCar Championship – GTD Mühlner Motorsport 1 0 0 0 061850th RS1 2 0 0 0 0 GT World Challenge America – Pro-Am Wright Motorsports Intercontinental GT Challenge GT4 America Series – Pro-Am ACI Motorsports Sources:
Complete Toyota Racing Series results (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 12 13 14 15 DC Points 2018 MTEC Motorsport RUA1 RUA2 RUA3 TER1 TER2 TER3 HMP1 HMP2 HMP3 TAU1 TAU2 TAU3 MAN1 MAN2 MAN3 9th 525
Complete Formula Regional Americas Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) YearTeam123456789101112131415161718DCPoints2021Crosslink/Kiwi MotorsportATL1ATL2ATL3ROA1ROA2ROA3MOH1MOH2MOH3BRA1BRA2BRA3VIR1VIR2VIR3COA1COA2COA3 10th 672022Crosslink Kiwi MotorsportNOL1NOL2NOL3ROA1ROA2ROA3MOH1MOH2MOH3NJM1NJM2NJM3VIR1VIR2VIR3COA1COA2COA3 4th 204
Complete Porsche Carrera Cup North America results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pos Points 2023 Topp Racing Pro SEB1 SEB2 LBH1 LBH2 MIA1 MIA2 WGL1 WGL2 ROA1 ROA2 IMS1 IMS2 LGA1 LGA2 COA1 COA2 7th 134 2024 Topp Racing Pro SEB1 SEB2 MIA1 MIA2 CGV1 CGV2 WGL1 WGL2 ROA1 ROA2 IMS1 IMS2 ATL1 ATL2 COT1 COT22nd254 2025 Topp Racing Pro SEB1 SEB2 MIA1 MIA2 CGV1 CGV2 WGL1 WGL2 ROA1 ROA2 IMS1 IMS2 ATL1 ATL2 COT1 COT21st313
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos. Points2026Mühlner MotorsportGTDPorsche 911 GT3 R (992.2)Porsche M97/80 4.2 L Flat-6 DAY SEB LBH LGA WGL MOS50th618RS1 ELK VIR IMS PET
References
External links