Oliver "Oli" James Webb (born 20 March 1991 in Manchester) is a British auto racing driver. He is a 2004 Karting Champion, 2007 Formula BMW Scholarship winner, 2010 Formula 3 competitor, 2014 European Le Mans series Champion, 2015 Dubai 24 Hour Champion, and W Motors Ambassador.
Career
Karting
Webb began his career in karting at the age of nine, progressing up through the ranks in the Greater Manchester karting scene with the help of management from British Touring Car Championship driver Michael Bentwood. With more experience, Webb started to win races at the Three Sisters Karting Circuit in Wigan, eventually winning that circuit's Mini Max Championship in 2004. He finished fourth in the Junior Max Championship in 2005, combining that with a season in T Cars.
T Cars
Webb moved into T Cars with Graham Hathaway Engineering in 2005, combining the campaign with schoolwork and his karting career. He continued into the 2005 Autumn Trophy, finishing second to Adrian Quaife-Hobbs. He finished third in the 2006 main series, winning three races, a non-championship double-header at Brands Hatch, and achieved a record seven fastest laps in a season.
Formula BMW
At the conclusion of the 2006 season, Bentwood entered Webb into the Formula BMW Scholarship Programme where drivers had the opportunity to be awarded with a financial contribution towards their racing budget, and an education and coaching programme from BMW Motorsport. Webb was one of the six chosen drivers for the scholarship, moving into Formula BMW UK in 2007. Webb drove for Carlin Motorsport, alongside Henry Surtees. Webb finished ninth in the championship, despite not finishing on the podium in any of the twenty races.
Formula Renault
He moved to the British Formula Renault Championship to compete in the Winter Series in 2007. Competing for Fortec Motorsport, Webb finished fifteenth in the four-race series, with a best race result of eleventh at Croft. Webb continued his progression up the British motorsport ladder, by moving into the main British series for the 2008 season. Staying with Fortec, Webb finished every single race in the points en route to eighth in the overall championship. His best result was fourth place at round seventeen, at Silverstone. He finished third in the Graduates Cup for first-year drivers, behind Dean Stoneman and James Calado.
Webb competed in three other Formula Renault series during the season, competing in the Northern European Cup, and the British and Portuguese Winter Series championships. In the NEC, he recorded a fourth-place finish at Spa, and added a twelfth at Zolder to wind up 25th in the standings. In the UK Winter Series, Webb finished fourth overall in the four-race series, finishing on the podium at Rockingham. A retirement in the second race cost him a top-three championship spot. Finally, he finished as runner-up to team-mate Calado in the Portuguese Winter Series, with the two taking all four victories, Calado with three and Webb with one.
In 2009, Webb returned for a second season in Formula Renault UK. Consistency was the key for Webb, as he finished all but one race of the season, winning two races at Brands Hatch and at Silverstone. Webb was never outside the top-five in the championship standings, leading the championship after fourteen races before falling behind Dean Smith and Calado later in the season. Webb achieved ten podiums over the course of the season. He also made his first foray into the Eurocup, taking part in the rounds in Barcelona and at Le Mans.
Formula Three
For the 2010 season, Webb continued to drive for Fortec, but stepped up to compete in the British Formula 3 Championship. Webb finished third in the championship with three wins, 14 podium finishes, and four fastest laps.
Formula Renault 3.5
For 2011 Webb signed with the Spanish Pons Racing team to race in Formula Renault 3.5. He finished 21st in the championship with five points finishes, scoring a best result of sixth in the final race at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Webb returned to the series in 2013 with Fortec Motorsport. Despite previously saying that he was not expecting to race single-seaters in 2014, it was announced that he would be returning to Pons Racing to race in Formula Renault 3.5 in 2014.