Introduction
James Cole (born 16 August 1988) is a British racing driver from Southport, Merseyside. He made his British Touring Car Championship debut in 2013.
Career
Formula Ford
Cole began his racing career in 2007, taking part in BRSCC North West Formula Ford. He won this regional championship, and in 2008 moved to the main British Formula Ford Championship. He finished tenth. He continued another year in the series, and won the 2009 championship, taking seven wins and fifteen podiums in the twenty-four races.
He was nominated for the 2009 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.
British Formula 3
He changed series to the British Formula 3 National Class for the 2010 season, driving for T-Sport alongside Alex Brundle and Menasheh Idafar. He finished second in the class.
Formula Two
He moved to Formula Two for the start of the 2011 season with British Formula 3 teammate Brundle.
British Touring Car Championship
Tony Gilham Racing (2013)
After a year out of racing, Cole joined Team HARD. for the 2013 British Touring Car Championship season to drive an NGTC Vauxhall Insignia. He was allowed to drive the car for the first time on the Friday before the Brands Hatch round to shake down the car. In July 2013, Cole announced he had left Team HARD. to focus on securing a drive for 2014.
United Autosports (2014–)
For the 2014 British Touring Car Championship season, Cole joined United Autosports who will be making their debut in the series.
Racing record
Career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Formula Ford Festival – Kent class | MedinaSport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 17th |
| 2007 | BRSCC North West Formula Ford | MedinaSport | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 178 | 1st |
| Formula Ford 1600 Walter Hayes Trophy | MedinaSport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 17th | |
| Formula Ford Festival – Kent class | MedinaSport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 5th | |
| 2008 | British Formula Ford Championship | Jamun Racing | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 267 | 10th |
| Formula Ford Festival – Duratec – Pre finals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | N/A | N/A | ||
| Formula Ford Festival – Duratec class | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 6th | ||
| 2009 | British Formula Ford Championship | Jamun Racing | 24 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 597 | 1st |
| Formula Ford Festival – Duratec – Pre finals | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | N/A | N/A | ||
| Formula Ford Festival – Duratec class | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | N/A | 3rd | ||
| Formula BMW Pacific | Eurasia Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | |
| 2010 | British Formula 3 Championship - National Class | T-Sport | 30 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 29 | 418 | 2nd |
| 2011 | FIA Formula Two Championship | MotorSport Vision | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 20th |
| 2013 | British Touring Car Championship | RCIB Insurance Racing | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 21st |
| 2014 | British Touring Car Championship | United Autosports | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 26th |
| 2015 | British Touring Car Championship | Motorbase Performance | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 19th |
| 2016 | British Touring Car Championship | Silverline Subaru BMR Racing | 27 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 25th |
| 2017 | British Touring Car Championship | Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 79 | 16th |
| 2018 | British Touring Car Championship | Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 21st |
As Cole was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Complete FIA Formula Two Championship results
(key)
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | SIL1 15 |
SIL2 13 |
MAG1 18 |
MAG2 17 |
SPA1 16 |
SPA2 16 |
NÜR1 18 |
NÜR2 14 |
BRH1 8 |
BRH2 12 |
RBR1 9 |
RBR2 18 |
MON1 14 |
MON2 15 |
CAT1 14 |
CAT2 15 |
20th | 6 |
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded just in first race; races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races; * signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point given all races)
| 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 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | RCIB Insurance Racing | Vauxhall Insignia | BRH1 Ret |
BRH2 13 |
BRH3 Ret |
DON1 22 |
DON2 18 |
DON3 17 |
THR1 17 |
THR2 14 |
THR3 14 |
OUL1 18 |
OUL2 17 |
OUL3 13 |
CRO1 NC |
CRO2 Ret |
CRO3 15 |
SNE1 | SNE2 | SNE3 | KNO1 | KNO2 | KNO3 | ROC1 | ROC2 | ROC3 | SIL1 | SIL2 | SIL3 | BRH1 | BRH2 | BRH3 | 21st | 11 |
| 2014 | United Autosports | Toyota Avensis | BRH1 Ret |
BRH2 17 |
BRH3 14 |
DON1 27 |
DON2 Ret |
DON3 DNS |
THR1 Ret |
THR2 20 |
THR3 Ret |
OUL1 19 |
OUL2 15 |
OUL3 20 |
CRO1 21 |
CRO2 18 |
CRO3 15 |
SNE1 22 |
SNE2 20 |
SNE3 25 |
KNO1 Ret |
KNO2 25 |
KNO3 22 |
ROC1 Ret |
ROC2 23 |
ROC3 Ret |
SIL1 19 |
SIL2 19 |
SIL3 Ret |
BRH1 Ret |
BRH2 Ret |
BRH3 19 |
26th | 5 |
| 2015 | Motorbase Performance | Ford Focus ST | BRH1 | BRH2 | BRH3 | DON1 | DON2 | DON3 | THR1 | THR2 | THR3 | OUL1 | OUL2 | OUL3 | CRO1 | CRO2 | CRO3 | SNE1 21 |
SNE2 11 |
SNE3 Ret |
KNO1 17 |
KNO2 17 |
KNO3 20 |
ROC1 11 |
ROC2 17 |
ROC3 15 |
SIL1 17 |
SIL2 10 |
SIL3 9 |
BRH1 12 |
BRH2 12 |
BRH3 18 |
19th | 32 |
| 2016 | Silverline Subaru BMR Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | BRH1 25 |
BRH2 19 |
BRH3 18 |
DON1 Ret |
DON2 DNS |
DON3 DNS |
THR1 WD |
THR2 WD |
THR3 WD |
OUL1 18 |
OUL2 Ret |
OUL3 Ret |
CRO1 Ret |
CRO2 Ret |
CRO3 21 |
SNE1 10 |
SNE2 Ret |
SNE3 19 |
KNO1 15 |
KNO2 21 |
KNO3 13 |
ROC1 22 |
ROC2 12 |
ROC3 18 |
SIL1 Ret |
SIL2 23 |
SIL3 21 |
BRH1 23 |
BRH2 21 |
BRH3 16 |
25th | 15 |
| 2017 | Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | BRH1 Ret |
BRH2 21 |
BRH3 Ret |
DON1 Ret |
DON2 24 |
DON3 22 |
THR1 27 |
THR2 28 |
THR3 26 |
OUL1 23 |
OUL2 Ret |
OUL3 NC |
CRO1 Ret |
CRO2 16 |
CRO3 Ret |
SNE1 15 |
SNE2 8 |
SNE3 5 |
KNO1 5 |
KNO2 5 |
KNO3 5 |
ROC1 1* |
ROC2 13 |
ROC3 Ret |
SIL1 17 |
SIL2 21 |
SIL3 15 |
BRH1 19 |
BRH2 22 |
BRH3 26 |
16th | 79 |
| 2018 | Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher | Ford Focus RS | BRH1 9 |
BRH2 19 |
BRH3 Ret |
DON1 5 |
DON2 6 |
DON3 Ret |
THR1 19 |
THR2 Ret |
THR3 24 |
OUL1 7 |
OUL2 5 |
OUL3 9 |
CRO1 12 |
CRO2 23 |
CRO3 20 |
SNE1 17 |
SNE2 18 |
SNE3 Ret |
ROC1 19 |
ROC2 19 |
ROC3 Ret |
KNO1 24 |
KNO2 18 |
KNO3 22 |
SIL1 21 |
SIL2 28 |
SIL3 20 |
BRH1 10 |
BRH2 16 |
BRH3 14 |
21st | 67 |