Eugene O'Brien (racing driver)
Eugene O'Brien (born 22 March 1960 in Manchester) is a British auto racing driver and coach.
Career
He started his racing career in single-seaters, winning his first race in 1983 (FF1600). After finishing third in the Junior Formula Ford Series in 1983, he was forced to take a break from racing due to lack of finance. He returned in 1987, competing in Formula First, where he finished the year as runner-up. He switched to Formula Vauxhall Lotus in 1988, ending his second year in the championship as runner-up. He won his first title in 1990 with the British Sports 2000 Championship. His second title came in 1992, winning the Formula Forward series.
His success got him a drive in the British Touring Car Championship, with the works Peugeot team in 1993. He competed for two seasons in the series, but struggled with the underfunded Peugeot 405 finishing 16th in his first season,[1] and 17th in 1994. After leaving the BTCC he competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Agusta Racing Team, finishing third in the GT2 Class. He later set up a Formula 4 team, Team O'Br.[2]
He now runs a driver coaching academy.[3]
Racing record
Complete British 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 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Peugeot Talbot Sport | Peugeot 405 Mi16 | SIL Ret |
DON Ret |
SNE 13 |
DON Ret |
OUL 5 |
BRH 1 12 |
BRH 2 11 |
PEM Ret |
SIL Ret |
KNO 1 8 |
KNO 2 Ret |
OUL 9 |
BRH 10 |
THR 5 |
DON 1 6 |
DON 2 15 |
SIL Ret |
16th | 23 | ||||
| 1994 | Peugeot Sport | Peugeot 405 Mi16 | THR Ret |
BRH 1 |
BRH 2 |
SNE 7 |
SIL 1 11 |
SIL 2 10 |
OUL 9 |
DON 1 16 |
DON 2 20 |
BRH 1 13 |
BRH 2 Ret |
SIL Ret |
KNO 1 7 |
KNO 2 13 |
OUL 14 |
BRH 1 8 |
BRH 2 Ret |
SIL 1 12 |
SIL 2 Ret |
DON 1 |
DON 2 |
17th | 14 |