James Peter Kaye (born 18 February 1964 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire) is a British car racing driver. He has been a stalwart competitor of Hondas in various championships since 1995, and has had 2 lengthy spells in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). He won the BTCC independents' championship in 1992 and 1994.
Racing career
After racing in the British National Production Saloon Championship with several championship in the late 80s and early 90s, Kaye entered the BTCC as an independent in 1992, winning the independent title in his Toyota, and again in 1994. In 1993, he raced a semi-works Toyota for the Park Lane Racing team, ineligible for the Total Cup for Independents. In 1995, he was hired by Honda for their BTCC programme, racing there for 2 seasons.
Kaye had an assortment of sports car drives for Honda from 1997–1999, returning to touring cars in the National Saloon Championship in 2000. The same cars were eligible for the newly created Class B of the BTCC that year, and Kaye was runner up in a Honda Accord. This was renamed the Production Class for 2001, and Kaye again finished second, before winning the Production Class title in 2002 for Synchro Motorsport, a team of Honda employees working in their spare time at the Honda factory in Swindon.
The team moved up to the Touring class of the BTCC for 2003, defined as an Independent team as they had no financial or technical backing, James classified as Independent runner-up and 14th overall. Remaining with Synchro, Kaye was 11th overall in 2004 and 2005. He took his first series podium at Oulton Park in 2006 after 14 years of trying. For 2007, the team pulled out, leaving Kaye without a drive.
Kaye returned to the BTCC for the 2013 season, driving the AmD Tuning.com Volkswagen Golf in the Jack Sears Trophy.
For the final round of the 2018 Dunlop Endurance Championship, Kaye raced with Matt Le Breton in an Audi RS3 TCR, finishing 11th in race one and 4th in race two.
In 2023, Kaye returned to racing in the final meeting of the inaugural Racing Hondas Championship at Snetterton. Driving a Honda Civic of the same model he had driven in the BTCC from 2002 to 2006 in Class C, he won his class in Race 1 and came third in Race 2. This placed him equal 4th overall in the championship in his class.
Career highlights 2006 BTCC with Synchro Racing, once again back in the Civic Type R. Scored in four of the first six races, and then at Oulton Park qualified a fine fourth and converted it into his first BTCC podium finish. 2005 BTCC with Synchro Racing, Honda Civic Type R. Quietly began racking up points finishes but constantly in the wars. His best finish was at the Indy round at Brands Hatch, where he was 4th in race three. He even resorted to changing his race number (from 10 to 31) in the final round to see if it would bring a change of luck. Perhaps it worked: he finished all three races in the points, making a season total of 58, 11th in the championship. 2004 BTCC with Synchro with the Civic again. A quiet year by James' high standards, but 3rd in qualifying and 4th in the first race at Brands Hatch was a high point. Ended up 11th in the championship with 49 points, 5th in the Independents. 2003 BTCC with Team Synchro, Honda Civic Type R. His season seemed to lack consistency but still led to 2nd in the Independents' cup. 2002 BTCC Production Class – Honda – Champion; Macau Grand Prix – 6th in second heat 2001 BTCC Production Class – Honda – 2nd; Spa 24 Hours; Macau Grand Prix – 4th 2000 BTCC Production Class – Honda – 2nd 1999 Belgian Procar Championship 1997 FIA World GT Championship 1996 BTCC – Honda – 12th 1995 BTCC – Honda – 18th 1994 BTCC Independents' Cup – Toyota – Champion; Australian Touring Cars 1993 BTCC – Toyota Junior Team – 20th; Japanese Group A Touring Cars 1992 BTCC Independents' Cup – Toyota – Champion 1991 British National Group N Championship – Honda Civic Vtec 1990 Honda CRX Championship 1989 Ford Fiesta Championship – Champion; Renault 5 Turbo Championship; Honda CRX Championship; Uniroyal Production Saloon Car Championship 1988 Uniroyal Production Saloon Car Championship – Class Champion; Renault 5 Turbo Championship; Honda CRX Championship 1987 Renault 5 Turbo Championship – 2nd 1986 Uniroyal Production Saloon Car Championship – Class Champion 1985 Uniroyal Production Saloon Car Championship – Champion 1984 Uniroyal Production Saloon Car Championship – Class Champion 1983 Uniroyal Production Saloon Car Championship
Personal life Kaye's father Peter Kaye was a Hillclimb/Sprint driver, which was a great influence on James growing up. James is the oldest of 5 children, and his younger brother Richard Kaye, has also raced professionally. James is married and has five children.
Racing record
Complete British Saloon / Touring Car Championship results (key) Races in bold indicate pole position (1 point awarded – 1996–2002 all races, 2003–present just in first race, 1987–1989 and 2000–2003 in class) Races in italics indicate fastest lap (1 point awarded – 1987–1989 and 2000–present all races, 1987–1989 and 2000–2003 in class) * signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap (1 point awarded – 2001 just in feature races, 2003–present all races, 2001 for leading in class)
Year Team Car Class 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 OverallDC Pts Class 1986 Containerships Vauxhall Nova Sport SIL THR SIL DON BRHovr:17cls:1 SNE BRH DON SIL 15th 10 2nd 1988 Demon Tweeks Volkswagen Golf GTI SILovr:15‡cls:1‡ OULRet THR DON THR SIL SIL BRH SNE BRH BIR DON SIL 58th 1 8th 1989 Demon Tweeks BMW M3 OULovr:17cls:5 SIL THR DON THR SIL SIL BRH SNE BRH BIR DON SIL 51st 2 12th 1992 Park Lane Racing Toyota Carina SILRet THRRet OUL13 SNERet BRH13 DON114 DON2Ret SIL5 KNO112 KNO29 PEM14 BRH1Ret BRH212 DON5 SIL8 10th 19 1993 Park LaneToyota Junior Team Toyota Carina E SIL13 DON11 SNE9 DONRet OULRet BRH1Ret BRH2DNS PEMRet SIL10 KNO1DNS KNO2DNS OUL12 BRH THR20 DON114 DON2Ret SIL14 21st 3 1994 Maxted Motorsport Toyota Carina E THR16 BRH117 BRH219 SNE13 SIL118 SIL215 OULRet DON118 DON216 BRH115 BRH221 SIL15 KNO112 KNO218 OULRet BRH118 BRH2Ret SIL120 SIL213 DON117 DON217 29th 0 1995 Honda Team MSD Honda Accord DON111 DON210 BRH119 BRH214 THR116 THR213 SIL110 SIL213 OUL114 OUL210 BRH113 BRH219 DON114 DON210 SILRet KNO1Ret KNO25 BRH110 BRH28 SNE118 SNE29 OUL17 OUL29 SIL116 SIL29 18th 25 1996 Honda Team MSD Honda Accord DON19 DON210 BRH19 BRH211 THR1Ret THR29 SIL19 SIL28 OUL113 OUL2Ret SNE1Ret SNE27 BRH1Ret BRH214 SIL1Ret SIL211 KNO18 KNO28 OUL110 OUL210 THR18 THR29 DON1Ret DON210 BRH1DNS BRH28 12th 33 2000 Barwell Motorsport Honda Accord BRH1ovr:13cls:2 BRH2ovr:9cls:1 DON1ovr:11cls:2 DON2ovr:11cls:1 THR1ovr:13cls:3 THR2Ret OUL1ovr:10cls:1 OUL2ovr:10cls:1 SIL1ovr:11cls:2 SIL2ovr:8cls:2 CRO1Ret CRO2ovr:6cls:1 SNE1ovr:8cls:2 SNE2ovr:10cls:2 DON1ovr:12cls:2 DON2ovr:11cls:1 BRH1Ret BRH2ovr:11cls:1 OUL1ovr:12cls:3 OUL2ovr:9cls:1 SIL1ovr:10cls:2 SIL2ovr:10cls:2 N/A 260 2nd Honda Integra Type-R KNO1ovr:12cls:2 KNO2ovr:11cls:3 2001 Team Kaliber Sportwith Barwell Honda Accord BRH1Ret† BRH2ovr:7*cls:1 THR1ovr:7cls:3 THR2ovr:5*cls:1 OUL1ovr:2cls:2 OUL2Ret SIL1ovr:9cls:5 SIL2ovr:9*cls:2 MON1ovr:2cls:1 MON2ovr:5*cls:1 DON1ovr:12cls:5 DON2Ret KNO1ovr:6cls:4 KNO2ovr:6cls:2 SNE1ovr:9cls:6 SNE2Ret CRO1ovr:6cls:3 CRO2ovr:10cls:5 OUL1ovr:13cls:6 OUL2ovr:10cls:4 SIL1Ret SIL2ovr:9*cls:1 DON1ovr:3cls:3 DON2ovr:14cls:8 BRH1ovr:10cls:2 BRH2ovr:7cls:3 N/A 220 2nd 2002 Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R BRH1Ret BRH2NC OUL1ovr:12cls:1 OUL2Ret THR1ovr:15cls:1 THR2ovr:12cls:1 SIL1ovr:16cls:3 SIL2ovr:15cls:2 MON1ovr:13cls:3 MON2Ret CRO1ovr:11cls:2 CRO2ovr:14cls:2 SNE1ovr:17cls:3 SNE2ovr:11cls:1 KNO1ovr:16cls:4 KNO2ovr:17cls:4 BRH1ovr:14cls:2 BRH2ovr:13cls:2 DON1ovr:16cls:3 DON2ovr:11cls:2 N/A 210 1st 2003 Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R MON1Ret MON2Ret BRH1ovr:12cls:12 BRH2ovr:9cls:9 THR1ovr:11cls:11 THR2ovr:7cls:7 SIL1ovr:8cls:8 SIL2Ret ROC1Ret ROC2DNS CRO1ovr:13cls:13 CRO2ovr:11cls:11 SNE1ovr:7*cls:7 SNE2ovr:11cls:11 BRH1ovr:11cls:11 BRH2Ret DON1ovr:10cls:10 DON2ovr:11cls:11 OUL1ovr:10cls:10 OUL2ovr:12cls:12 14th 16 2004 Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R THR113 THR29 THR37 BRH112 BRH27 BRH3Ret SIL113 SIL215 SIL39 OUL16 OUL212 OUL39 MON115 MON27 MON3Ret CRO1Ret CRO212 CRO313 KNO113 KNO29 KNO311 BRH14 BRH26 BRH3Ret SNE19 SNE26 SNE313 DON111 DON29 DON39 11th 49 2005 Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R DON1Ret DON2Ret DON3Ret THR1Ret THR29 THR37 BRH18 BRH2Ret BRH34 OUL111 OUL2DNS OUL3Ret CRO19 CRO25 CRO3Ret MON18 MON2Ret MON311 SNE18 SNE26 SNE36 KNO110 KNO2Ret KNO3Ret SIL18 SIL2Ret SIL310 BRH18 BRH26 BRH37 11th 58 2006 Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R BRH18 BRH29 BRH3Ret MON110 MON26 MON3DNS OUL13 OUL29 OUL3DNS THR17 THR27 THR34 CRO18 CRO27 CRO39 DON110 DON27 DON38 SNE19 SNE2Ret SNE38 KNO1Ret KNO2Ret KNO3DNS BRH111 BRH213 BRH3Ret SIL1DNS SIL2DNS SIL3Ret 12th 61 2010 WRC Developmentswith Barwell Honda Integra Type-R THR1 THR2 THR3 ROC1 ROC2 ROC3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 CRO1 CRO2 CRO3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 KNO1 KNO2 KNO3 DON19 DON214 DON3Ret BRH116 BRH2Ret BRH3Ret 22nd 2 2013 AmD Tuning.com Volkswagen Golf BRH115 BRH212 BRH3DNS DON119 DON2Ret DON3Ret THR1Ret THR2Ret THR319 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 CRO1Ret CRO219 CRO3Ret 27th 5 Honda Civic SNE1Ret SNE219 SNE3DNS KNO1 KNO2 KNO3 ROC1 ROC2 ROC3 SIL1 SIL2 SIL3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 † Event with 2 races staged for the different classes. ‡ Kaye won in class but was awarded no points due to less than 3 class cars starting the race.
Complete World Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Pts 1987 Demon Tweeks Volkswagen Golf GTI MNZ JAR DIJ NÜR SPA BNO SILDNQ BAT CLD WEL FJI NC 0
Complete Japanese Touring Car Championship results (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 DC Pts 1991 Team Trust Toyota Corolla Levin AE92 JTC-3 SUG SUZ TSU SEN AUT FUJ7 76th 6 1993 Racing Project Bandoh Toyota Corolla Levin AE101 JTC-3 MIN AUT SUG SUZ AID14 TSU TOK SEN FUJ 26th 8
Complete Bathurst 1000 results Year Team Co-Driver Car Class Laps 1994 Bruce Miles Racing Greg Murphy Toyota Carina 136 23rd 5th 1997* Vauxhall Sport John Cleland Vauxhall Vectra 32 Ret Ret
* Super Touring race
Complete 24 Hours of Spa results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1998 Team Honda Sport Belgium Simon Harrison Stephen Day Honda Integra Type R SP 470 8th 8th 1999 ELR Philippe Tollenaire Philippe Favre Honda AccordSP518/cylinder head gasketDNFDNF 2000 ELR & Barwell Motorsport David Leslie Mark Lemmer Honda AccordSP?/engineDNFDNF
Complete 24 Hours of Silverstone results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2008 Barwell Motorsport Mark Lemmer Jay Wheals Andy Barnes (DNS) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 48 3 517 25th 5th 2011 Ryan MacLeod Ryan MacLeod Ashley Walsh Jamie Capilleri Joseph Girlin Holden Astra703 51811th6th 2012 Ryan MacLeod Ryan MacLeod Jamie Capilleri Keith Kassulke Holden Astra 87 4 472 15th/DNF 9th/DNF 2015 Team Russia by Barwell Timur Sardarov Leo Machitski Mark Lemmer MARC Focus V8 92 2 327 DNF DNF
Complete Britcar results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position in class – 1 point awarded just in first race; races in italics indicate fastest lap in class – 1 point awarded all races;-
Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Points 2018 WDC Racing Audi RS3 TCR E4I ROC1 ROC2 SIL1 SIL2 OUL1 OUL2 DON1 DON2 SNE1 SNE2 SIL1 SIL2 BRH1 BRH2NCNC0†
Complete British GT Championship results (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 DC Points 2023 Simpson Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 Gen II GT4 OUL1 OUL2 SIL1 DON1 SNE1 SNE2 ALG1 BRH1 DON1 NC† 0† † As Kaye was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
References
External links Official KayeSport Website BTCC Driver Entry