Sam Hancock

About

Sam Hancock is a professional racing driver, coach and advisor to private clients on classic car transactions and historic racing programmes. A contemporary racing career competing internationally at the highest levels of Le Mans, sports car and GT racing yielded a European Le Mans Series title, many international victories and a stint as works driver for Aston Martin Racing. 

Now immersed in the thriving world of historic racing, Sam sources and sells exceptional vehicles for private collectors between a busy calendar of historic motor races. He is also a former presenter for Petrolicious, commentator for Eurosport at Le Mans, and contributing writer for magazines such as Magneto, Motorsport and Octane.

Sam is a full member of the British Racing Drivers Club.

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A former European Le Mans Series Champion (2004, LMP2), official factory driver for Aston Martin Racing (2010-2011), class winner in the World Endurance Championship and veteran of seven Le Mans 24 Hour participations spanning both prototype and GT classes, Sam has tasted success at the highest heights of endurance sports car racing and worked with some of the world's most prominent teams.

Starting in karting at the age of nine, London-based Hancock showed early promise with multiple wins at club level, before graduating to cars at just sixteen years old. Rising through the single-seater ranks toward Formula 1, Sam took multiple victories along the way in Formula Vauxhall Junior and Formula Palmer Audi and climbed as high as the FIA International F3000 championship (feeder series to F1), in which he was a driver for the Jordan Grand Prix Junior team.

Making the switch to endurance sports car racing in 2001 with Kremer Racing, Sam has went on to establish himself as one of the discipline's seasoned professionals. As a factory driver for Courage Compétition in 2004, he won the Le Mans Series Championship title (LMP2), and went on to compete a total of six seasons in the series, mounting the podium many times in his capacity as a professional driver for both factory and privateer teams.

Sam has contested the world famous Le Mans 24 Hours seven times to date. In 2010, while driving as an official factory driver for Aston Martin Racing, Sam's 009 numbered, LMP1 coupé came within 40 minutes of finishing in 4th place overall when engine failure scuppered the 'Gulf' liveried car's chances just as team mate, Darren Turner, was due to take the reigns for the final stint.

While the dream of victory at Le Mans may have eluded Sam, other 24 hour races have been kinder, with GT4 class podiums from both Spa (1st) and Silverstone (2nd) in 2010.

Alongside his position at Aston Martin Racing, Sam also co-founded the Jota Sport racing team with investor and co-driver Simon Dolan and Team Jota founder, Sam Hignett. A permanent part of the driver line up at Jota over five years from 2008-2012, Sam assisted the team to multiple victories in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB (finishing 3rd in the '08 championship), the Radical, VdeV and Speed series, the Spa 24 Hours, and most notably, a fantastic LMP2 class win in the 2012 World Endurance Championship round at Spa Francorchamps. Since coaching Simon Dolan from his very first track day to his Le Mans debut in just four years, Simon soon became a Le Mans class winner, standing atop the LMP2 podium in 2014. 

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In large part thanks to his work as a private driver coach and consultant for some of the world's foremost classic car collectors, Sam has also become a decorated and experienced racer of historic cars.Often engaged by owners to campaign cars on their behalf, Sam has the honour of racing and developing some of the most prized classic racing cars in the world at notable events such as Monaco Historique, the Goodwood Revival and Le Mans Classic among many other international events.Cars currently piloted by Sam include: Alfa Tipo 33/3 and 33/2, an original Lightweight Jaguar E Type (one of twelve), Ferrari 246s Dino, ex-Ecurie Ecosse Lister 'Knobbly', Ferrari 333sp, BMW 'Batmobile', Copersucar Fittipaldi F1 car, Jaguar XJR12 Group C Le Mans car, Sauber Mercedes C9, BMW M1 Procars, Ferrari 512s, to name but a few.A regular on the podium in historic racing circles, among the most notable victories is the 2005 Goodwood Revival Meeting Whitsun Trophy, which came after setting pole position and the overall fast lap of the entire meeting aboard a Ford GT40 owned by Lord Bamford. More recently in 2017 at the 75th Members Meeting, Sam recorded the fastest ever lap by a GT40 at Goodwood and in 2019 won the coveted Rolex Driver Of The Meeting award at the Goodwood Revival having finished runner up in the Sussex Trophy abroad the pretty 246s Dino. Other notable historic cars raced, tested and developed by Sam include: 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, 1968 ex-Graham Hill Lotus 49 Formula One car, 1985 Lotus Renault 97T Formula One car (the car used by Ayrton Senna to claim his first grand prix victory) and many more.