Maxime Martin

Maxime Martin
Nationality	Belgian
Born	(1986-03-20) 20 March 1986 (age 38) Uccle, Belgium
FIA World Endurance Championship career
Debut season	2013
Current team	Team WRT
Racing licence	FIA Platinum
Former teams	TDS Racing, Aston Martin Racing, Hub Auto Racing, DKR Engineering
Starts	27
Wins	2
Poles	1
Fastest laps	1
Best finish	2nd in 2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship
Previous series
2006 2007 2007 2007, 09 2007–08 2008 2008 2008–09 2008–10 2009 2009 2009 2010–12 2010 2013 2013 2014-17	Formula Renault 1.6 Belgium French Formula Renault THP Spider Cup GT4 European Cup Eurocup Mégane Trophy FIA GT Championship Renault Clio Cup France Renault Clio Cup Belgium FIA GT3 Championship Formula Le Mans Belgian GT Championship ADAC GT Masters FIA GT1 World Championship French GT Championship Blancpain Endurance Series American Le Mans Series DTM
Championship titles
2008	Clio Cup France
24 Hours of Le Mans career Years 2011–2013, 2018– Teams Kronos Racing, Marc VDS Racing Team, OAK Racing, TDS Racing, Aston Martin Racing, Hub Auto Racing Best finish 7th (2011) Class wins 1 (2020)

Maxime Martin (born 20 March 1986) is a Belgian professional racing driver and son of four-time Spa 24 Hours winner Jean-Michel Martin. He currently is a BMW factory driver mainly competing in the GT World Challenge Europe driving for Team WRT. Martin had previously been a BMW factory driver between 2013 and 2017, racing full-time in the American Le Mans Series for BMW Team RLL in 2013, as well as acting as BMW's DTM test and reserve driver. In late 2013 at BMW Motorsport's yearly review, Martin was confirmed as a full-time BMW DTM driver for the 2014 season. In 2018 Martin joined Aston Martin Racing for which he competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship between 2018 and 2020.

Early career

Born in Uccle, Martin finished fourth in 2006 in the Formula Renault 1.6 Belgium series.^[1] In 2007 he began racing in the Eurocup Mégane Trophy, finishing third overall with one victory. The following year he finished as runner-up, with six wins. He also won the French Renault Clio Cup title. In 2009 he raced mainly in the FIA GT3 European Championship for AutoGT Racing in a Morgan Aero 8, winning at Silverstone.

Sportscar racing

For 2010 Martin began racing in the new FIA GT1 World Championship for the Marc VDS Racing Team in a Ford GT. Along with teammate Bas Leinders he scored two podium finishes and ended the season 14th in the standings. In 2011, Martin teamed with Frédéric Makowiecki to win 4 races, including both rounds at Ordos. Between 2011 and 2013 Martin raced in the Blancpain Endurance Series mainly driving a BMW Z4 GT3 also for the Marc VDS Racing Team. His best result came in 2012, where he finished runner-up together with his teammates Bas Leinders and Markus Palttala.

BMW factory driver (2013–2017)

After strong results in the Blancpain Endurance Series driving the BMW Z4 GT3, Martin was promoted to a factory driver for 2013. In 2013 Martin mainly competed in the American Le Mans Series with BMW Team RLL in the all new BMW Z4 GTE. He and his team mate Bill Auberlen won in only the second race and finished 6th in the Drivers' standings.

Martin racing in the 2014 DTM for BMW.

In 2014 Martin made his debut in the DTM championship for BMW. He won a race at the Moscow Raceway, the first victory for a Belgian in the DTM.^[2][3] In 2015, he won another race, this time at the Nürburgring.^[4] In 2016, he only managed to finish twice on the podium, and ended the year winless. 2017 was his most successful season yet in the DTM, ending the season with one victory and four podiums.

In 2016 Martin won the Spa 24 Hours together with Alexander Sims and Philipp Eng, driving a BMW M6 GT3.^[5] By winning this race, he followed in the footsteps of his father Jean-Michel Martin, who won the race four times, and his uncle Philippe, who won twice alongside Jean-Michel.

Aston Martin Racing factory driver (2018–2022)

Martin racing in the 2018 6 Hours of Silverstone.

In late 2017 Martin announced he would leave BMW after 5 years as a factory driver. He later announced he would join Aston Martin Racing as a factory driver to race in the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship. In September 2020 Martin won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGTE Pro class together with Alex Lynn and Harry Tincknell for Aston Martin Racing. He took four more podiums during the season and finished runner-up in the Drivers' standings.

While Aston Martin Racing officially ended its factory involvement in the FIA WEC after the 2019-2020 season, Martin was retained as a factory driver to support the customer racing program. However, due to a lack of opportunities in 2021 he raced on Porsche cars on several occasions. In 2022 Martin will race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 from The Heart of Racing Team. This marks his return to a full time program in North America for the first time since 2013. Martin ended up winning two races in the GTD class during the season, one of which was the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, helping his teammate Roman De Angelis win the title. At the end of the season he and Aston Martin decided to part ways after five seasons.^[6]

Return to BMW Motorsport (since 2023)

The #46 BMW M4 GT3 from Team WRT driven by Martin, Rossi and Farfus at the 2023 24 Hours of Spa

On October 26, 2022 it was announced that Martin would return to the squad of BMW factory drivers.^[7] In 2023 Martin will mainly compete in the GT World Challenge Europe series partnering MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi driving a BMW M4 GT3 for Team WRT. Beside his GT program Martin will also be involved in WRT's testing program of the BMW M Hybrid V8. On July 16 he and Rossi won the second sprint race at the Misano circuit which marked Rossi's maiden win in the championship.^[8]

Racing record

Complete GT1 World Championship results

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Pos	Points
2010	Marc VDS Racing Team	Ford GT1	ABU QR 6	ABU CR 13	SIL QR 19	SIL CR 8	BRN QR 16	BRN CR Ret	PRI QR 20	PRI CR 4	SPA QR 9	SPA CR Ret	NÜR QR Ret	NÜR CR 11	ALG QR Ret	ALG CR 5	NAV QR 3	NAV CR 5	INT QR 11	INT CR 5	SAN QR 3	SAN CR Ret	14th	54
2011	Marc VDS Racing Team	Ford GT1	ABU QR 1	ABU CR 8	ZOL QR 5	ZOL CR 8	ALG QR 6	ALG CR Ret	SAC QR 1	SAC CR Ret	SIL QR NC	SIL CR Ret	NAV QR 3	NAV CR 4	PRI QR 5	PRI CR 6	ORD QR 1	ORD CR 1	BEI QR Ret	BEI CR 4	SAN QR 15	SAN CR 11	6th	98
2012	Valmon Racing Team Russia	Aston Martin DBRS9	NOG QR 16	NOG CR 12	ZOL QR 9	ZOL CR 12	NAV QR 14	NAV QR Ret	SVK QR	SVK CR	ALG QR	ALG CR	SVK QR	SVK CR	MOS QR	MOS CR	NUR QR	NUR CR	DON QR	DON CR			28th	0

Complete FIA GT Series results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pos.	Points
2013	Marc VDS Racing Team	BMW Z4 GT3	Pro	NOG QR	NOG CR	ZOL QR	ZOL CR	ZAN QR	ZAN CR	SVK QR	SVK CR	NAV QR	NAV CR	BAK QR 5	BAK CR Ret	NC‡	0‡

^‡ As Martin was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

Complete GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Pos.	Points
2015	BMW Sports Trophy Team Brasil	BMW Z4 GT3	Pro	NOG QR 2	NOG CR 1	BRH QR	BRH CR	ZOL QR	ZOL CR	MOS QR	MOS CR	ALG QR	ALG CR	MIS QR	MIS CR	ZAN QR	ZAN CR	14th	31
2016	Boutsen Ginion	BMW M6 GT3	Pro-Am	MIS QR 25	MIS CR 25	BRH QR	BRH CR											6th	21
	Rowe Racing		Pro					NÜR QR 9	NÜR CR 8	HUN QR	HUN CR	CAT QR	CAT CR					26th	4
2023	BMW M Team WRT	BMW M4 GT3	Pro	BRH 1 14	BRH 2 2	MIS 1 8	MIS 2 1	HOC 1 8	HOC 2 7	VAL 1 8	VAL 2 Ret	ZAN 1 3	ZAN 2 7					5th	50
2024	BMW M Team WRT	BMW M4 GT3	Pro	BRH 1 15	BRH 2 25	MIS 1 1	MIS 2 3	HOC 1	HOC 2	MAG 1	MAG 2	CAT 1	CAT 2					8th	27

Complete 24 Hours of Spa results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2006	First Motorsport	Dries Heyman Jean-Claude Meert Peter Van Delm	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	G3	232	DNF	DNF
2008	Belgian Racing	Bas Leinders Renaud Kuppens	Gillet Vertigo Streiff	G2	145	DNF	DNF
2009	Matech GT Racing	Marc Hennerici Thomas Mutsch Peter Wyss	Ford GT GT3	G3	519	7th	1st
2010	Marc VDS Racing Team	Marc Duez Bas Leinders	Ford GT GT3	GT3	512	8th	2nd
2011	Marc VDS Racing Team	Marc Hennerici Bas Leinders	BMW Z4 GT3	Pro Cup	102	DNF	DNF
2012	Marc VDS Racing Team	Bas Leinders Markus Palttala	BMW Z4 GT3	Pro Cup	507	4th	4th
2013	Marc VDS Racing Team	Yelmer Buurman Bas Leinders	BMW Z4 GT3	Pro Cup	300	DNF	DNF
2014	BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS	Augusto Farfus Jörg Müller	BMW Z4 GT3	Pro Cup	153	DNF	DNF
2015	BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS	Augusto Farfus Dirk Werner	BMW Z4 GT3	Pro Cup	399	31st	14th
2016	ROWE Racing	Philipp Eng Alexander Sims	BMW M6 GT3	Pro Cup	531	1st	1st
2017	ROWE Racing	Philipp Eng Alexander Sims	BMW M6 GT3	Pro Cup	498	33rd	20th
2018	R-Motorsport	Dominik Baumann Marvin Kirchhöfer	Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3	Pro Cup	485	35th	20th
2019	R-Motorsport	Matt Parry Matthieu Vaxivière	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	Pro Cup	84	DNF	DNF
2020	Garage 59	Jonathan Adam Chris Goodwin Alexander West	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	Pro-Am	519	20th	3rd
2021	KCMG	Nick Tandy Laurens Vanthoor	Porsche 911 GT3 R	Pro Cup	554	5th	5th
2022	Beechdean AMR	Marco Sørensen Nicki Thiim	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	Pro Cup	534	10th	10th
2023	Team WRT	Augusto Farfus Valentino Rossi	BMW M4 GT3	Pro Cup	537	6th	6th
2024	Team WRT	Raffaele Marciello Valentino Rossi	BMW M4 GT3	Pro Cup	475	24th	13th

Complete 24 Hours of Nürburgring results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2012	Marc VDS Racing Team	Bas Leinders Markus Palttala	BMW Z4 GT3	SP9 GT3	154	4th	4th
2013	Marc VDS Racing Team	Yelmer Buurman Andrea Piccini Richard Göransson	BMW Z4 GT3	SP9 GT3	88	2nd	2nd
2014	BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS	Uwe Alzen Jörg Müller Marco Wittmann	BMW Z4 GT3	SP9 GT3	60	DNF	DNF
2015	BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS	Lucas Luhr Markus Palttala Richard Westbrook	BMW Z4 GT3	SP9 GT3	156	2nd	2nd
2016	ROWE Racing	Philipp Eng Alexander Sims Dirk Werner	BMW M6 GT3	SP9 GT3	133	5th	5th
2017	ROWE Racing	Philipp Eng Marc Basseng	BMW M6 GT3	SP9 GT3	157	10th	10th
2018	Aston Martin Racing	Marco Sørensen Nicki Thiim Darren Turner	Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3	SP9-LG	134	4th	1st
2020	Frikadelli Racing Team	Lance David Arnold Mathieu Jaminet Lars Kern	Porsche 911 GT3 R	SP9 PRO	85	7th	7th
2021	Frikadelli Racing Team	Frédéric Makowiecki Dennis Olsen Patrick Pilet	Porsche 911 GT3 R	SP9 PRO	54	DNF	DNF
2022	TF Sport AMR	David Pittard Marco Sørensen Nicki Thiim	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	SP9 PRO	45	DNF	DNF
2023	ROWE Racing	Sheldon van der Linde Dries Vanthoor Marco Wittmann	BMW M4 GT3	SP9 PRO	162	2nd	2nd
2024	ROWE Racing	Augusto Farfus Raffaele Marciello Marco Wittmann	BMW M4 GT3	SP9 PRO	50	7th	7th

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2011	Kronos Racing Marc VDS Racing Team	Vanina Ickx Bas Leinders	Lola-Aston Martin B09/60	LMP1	328	7th	7th
2012	OAK Racing	David Heinemeier Hansson Bas Leinders	Morgan LMP2-Nissan	LMP2	341	14th	7th
2013	Thiriet by TDS Racing	Pierre Thiriet Ludovic Badey	Oreca 03-Nissan	LMP2	310	DNF	DNF
2018	Aston Martin Racing	Alex Lynn Jonathan Adam	Aston Martin Vantage AMR	GTE Pro	327	37th	13th
2019	Aston Martin Racing	Alex Lynn Jonathan Adam	Aston Martin Vantage AMR	GTE Pro	325	44th	12th
2020	Aston Martin Racing	Alex Lynn Harry Tincknell	Aston Martin Vantage AMR	GTE Pro	346	20th	1st
2021	Hub Auto Racing	Álvaro Parente Dries Vanthoor	Porsche 911 RSR-19	GTE Pro	227	DNF	DNF
2023	DKR Engineering	Tom van Rompuy Ugo de Wilde	Oreca 07-Gibson	LMP2	311	32nd	15th
				LMP2 Pro-Am			3rd
2024	Team WRT	Ahmad Al Harthy Valentino Rossi	BMW M4 GT3	LMGT3	109	DNF	DNF

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters 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	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Pos	Points
2014	BMW Team RMG	BMW M4 DTM	HOC 20	OSC 14	HUN 6	NOR 17	MSC 1	SPL 15	NÜR 7	LAU 14	ZAN 6	HOC Ret									7th	47
2015	BMW Team RMG	BMW M4 DTM	HOC 1 7	HOC 2 14	LAU 1 7	LAU 2 8	NOR 1 Ret	NOR 2 10	ZAN 1 3	ZAN 2 17	SPL 1 14	SPL 2 19	MSC 1 18	MSC 2 4	OSC 1 11	OSC 2 9	NÜR 1 1	NÜR 2 13	HOC 1 3	HOC 2 6	7th	94
2016	BMW Team RBM	BMW M4 DTM	HOC 1 8	HOC 2 3	SPL 1 6	SPL 2 5	LAU 1 9	LAU 2 13	NOR 1 6	NOR 2 3	ZAN 1 10	ZAN 2 Ret	MSC 1 6	MSC 2 17	NÜR 1 8	NÜR 2 10	HUN 1 13	HUN 2 7	HOC 1 13	HOC 2 6	8th	90
2017	BMW Team RBM	BMW M4 DTM	HOC 1 11	HOC 2 Ret	LAU 1 4	LAU 2 8	HUN 1 Ret	HUN 2 3	NOR 1 2	NOR 2 1	MSC 1 16	MSC 2 Ret	ZAN 1 3	ZAN 2 6	NÜR 1 17	NÜR 2 11	SPL 1 6	SPL 2 11	HOC 1 4	HOC 2 6	8th	132

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
2018	Jetstream Motorsport AMR	Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3	GT3	OUL 1 10	OUL 2 8	ROC 1 5	SNE 1 2	SNE 2 9	SIL 1 13	SPA 1 1	BRH 1 Ret	DON 1 11	7th	77.5

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Rank	Points
2018–19	Aston Martin Racing	LMGTE Pro	Aston Martin Vantage AMR	Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8	SPA 6	LMS 13	SIL 4	FUJ 9	SHA 4	SEB 8	SPA 1	LMS 14	8th	66
2019–20	Aston Martin Racing	LMGTE Pro	Aston Martin Vantage AMR	Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8	SIL 3	FUJ 3	SHA 4	BHR 3	COA 4	SPA 3	LMS 1	BHR 4	2nd	160
2024	Team WRT	LMGT3	BMW M4 GT3	BMW P58 3.0 L Turbo I6	QAT 4	IMO 2	SPA Ret	LMS Ret	SÃO 5	COA NC	FUJ 3	BHR 14	6th	61

Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2013	Turner Motorsport	Billy Johnson Paul Dalla Lana Boris Said Bill Auberlen	BMW M3	GT	631	28th	18th
		Bill Auberlen Michael Marsal Andy Priaulx Gunter Schaldach			-	DNS	DNS
2014	BMW Team RLL	Joey Hand Andy Priaulx Bill Auberlen	BMW Z4 GTE	GTLM	679	7th	2nd
2016	Turner Motorsport	Michael Marsal Markus Palttala Jesse Krohn	BMW M6 GT3	GTD	701	19th	5th
2017	Turner Motorsport	Justin Marks Jens Klingmann Jesse Krohn	BMW M6 GT3	GTD	628	25th	8th
2022	Heart of Racing Team	Ross Gunn Alex Riberas	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	GTD Pro	103	DNF	DNF
2023	Paul Miller Racing	Corey Lewis Bryan Sellers Madison Snow	BMW M4 GT3	GTD	726	28th	8th
2024	BMW M Team RLL	Connor De Phillippi René Rast Nick Yelloly	BMW M Hybrid V8	GTP	778	7th	7th

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

	Team	Class	Make	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pos.	Points
2014	BMW Team RLL	GTLM	BMW Z4 GTE	BMW 4.4 L V8	DAY 2	SEB	LBH	LGA	WGL	MOS	IND	ELK	VIR	COA	PET		28th	33
2016	Turner Motorsport	GTD	BMW M6 GT3	BMW 4.4 L V8	DAY 5	SEB	LGA	BEL	WGL	MOS	LIM	ELK	VIR	AUS	PET		43rd	27
2017	Turner Motorsport	GTD	BMW M6 GT3	BMW 4.4 L V8	DAY 8	SEB	LBH	AUS	DET	WGL	MOS	LIM	ELK	VIR	LGA	ATL	63rd	23
2022	Heart of Racing Team	GTD Pro	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8	DAY 13	SEB 11											22nd	436
		GTD					LBH 12	LGA 7	MDO 8	DET	WGL 1	MOS 1	LIM 2	ELK 6	VIR 2	PET 7	11th	2137
2023	Paul Miller Racing	GTD	BMW M4 GT3	BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Twin-Turbo I6	DAY 8	SEB	LBH	LGA	WGL	MOS	LIM	ELK	VIR	IMS	PET		55th	252
2024	BMW M Team RLL	GTP	BMW M Hybrid V8	BMW P66/3 4.0 L Turbo V8	DAY 7	SEB 4	LBH	LGA	DET	WGL	ELK	IMS	PET 10				20th	810

Complete 24H GT Series results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Pos.	Class Pos.
2023	KFC VR46 with Team WRT	Sean Gelael Valentino Rossi Tim Whale Max Hesse	BMW M4 GT3	Pro	DUB 3	ABU	MUG	SPA	MON	EST 1	EST 2	BAR	KUW	3rd	3rd

Complete 24 Hours of Zolder results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2009	VDS Racing Adventures	Eric De Doncker Stéphane Lémeret Raphaël Van Der Straten	Ford Mustang FR500 GT3	1	574	NC	NC

References

1. "Maxime Martin". Driver Database. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
2. "Martin proud of first Belgian win". 20 July 2014. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
3. Leeuwen, Andrew van (13 July 2014). "Moscow DTM: Maxime Martin converts pole to first series win". Retrieved 2016-08-04.
4. Adam, Mitchell (26 September 2015). "DTM Nurburgring: BMW's Martin wins after clash with Wehrlein". Retrieved 2016-08-04.
5. "Maxime Martin wint spectaculaire 24 Uur van Spa met BMW - AutoWereld". www.autowereld.be (in Flemish). Retrieved 2016-08-04.
6. "Le Mans GTE Pro class winner Maxime Martin to leave Aston Martin". www.autosport.com. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
7. "Maxime Martin returns to the squad of works drivers at BMW M Motorsport". www.press.bmwgroup.com. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
8. "Rossi raises the roof at Misano with maiden Fanatec GT Europe victory". www.gt-world-challenge-europe.com. 16 July 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-06.

External links

• Official website
• Maxime Martin career summary at DriverDB.com