James Baldwin (racing driver)

James Baldwin
Baldwin at the 2024 24 Hours of Spa
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
BornJames Robert Baldwin
(1997-09-28) 28 September 1997 (age 28)
Buckinghamshire, England
GT World Challenge Europe career
Debut season2022
Current teamGarage 59
Racing licence FIA Silver
Car number188
Starts6
Wins0
Podiums2
Poles1
Awards
2022Autosport Esports Driver of the Year
Medal record
Sim racing
Representing  United Kingdom
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
FIA Motorsport Games 1 – –
Race of Champions 3 – –
Total 4 0 0
FIA Motorsport Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Le Castellet Esports Cup
Race of Champions
Winner 2019 Mexico City eROC
Winner 2020 Virtual Team
Winner 2020 Virtual eROC

James Robert Baldwin (born 28 September 1997) is a British racing driver, sim racer and content creator. He currently serves as a simulator driver for Mercedes.[1] He is also a member of Team Redline.[2]

After pursuing motor racing early in his career, winning three national karting championships and securing a Formula Ford 1600 drive, Baldwin left the sport due to a lack of funding in 2015. He later switched to sim racing where he saw high levels of success in esports, including winning the second season of the World's Fastest Gamer competition in 2019. Baldwin was awarded a drive in the 2020 British GT Championship with Jenson Team Rocket RJN for his efforts, allowing him to relaunch his career.[3] Since then, he has periodically participated in GT World Challenge Europe events, primarily in McLaren machinery with Garage 59.

Racing career

Junior career

Baldwin began his racing career in karting aged eight, and won three DMAX National Championships at Daytona Motorsport between 2013 and 2014.[4][5][6] He switched to Formula Ford in 2015 and competed in four races. He ran competitively despite having little track time and facing mechanical issues,[7][8] but was unable to raise the funds to continue racing. He shifted his focus to sim racing and soon found himself invited to professional events with prize money available, offering a chance to reboot his career.[3][9]

British GT Championship

On 5 March 2020, Baldwin was announced as a driver for Jenson Team Rocket RJN, partnering team co-owner Chris Buncombe in a McLaren 720S GT3 in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.[10] Due to travel difficulties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, this was later amended to a full-season entry in the 2020 British GT Championship alongside Michael O'Brien.[11] Baldwin reached national headlines by winning on debut at Oulton Park.[12][13][14] The pair went on to take three further podiums and three pole positions, finishing fourth in the overall championship and third in the Silver Cup.

On 29 April 2021, Baldwin was announced as a BRDC Rising Star.[15]

In 2025, Baldwin joined the British GT Championship commentary team, working alongside David Addison and Andy McEwan.[16]

GT World Challenge Europe

On 20 June 2022, Baldwin announced, via his Instagram account, that he would be racing in the 2022 24 Hours of Spa, with support from company Travel Planet.[citation needed] He joined racing team Garage 59 and drove a McLaren 720S GT3, competing alongside Nicolai Kjærgaard, Manuel Maldonado, and Ethan Simioni, racing in the Silver Cup class. After qualifying 26th overall and 5th in class, ahead of all other McLaren entries, as well as winning the Fanatec Esports GT Pro Series virtual support race, Baldwin failed to finish the race following a radiator problem on lap 227.

On 30 May 2024, via a post on X, Baldwin announced that he would be partaking in the 2024 24 Hours of Spa, reuniting with Garage 59 and driving the newly-updated McLaren 720S GT3 Evo.[citation needed] He and his teammates finished 38th overall and 11th in the Bronze Cup class.[17][18] Following his participation at Spa, Baldwin was called up again by Garage 59 to race in the 3 Hours of Monza, qualifying in 31st, but was forced to retire due to a gearbox failure.[19][20][21] He returned for the 6 Hours of Jeddah, finishing 22nd overall and 3rd in the Bronze Cup category, claiming his first-ever GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup podium.[22][23]

Prior to the 2025 Dubai 24 Hour, Baldwin tested a BMW M4 GT3 Evo in a private test session with Paradine Competition, his session plagued with a rear left damper failure.[24] Baldwin tested the same car again at Silverstone Circuit on 5 March in the weeks leading up to the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe season. Baldwin was called up for two races by Garage 59 that year joining Tom Fleming and Guilherme Oliveira at Nürburgring and Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the former of which the trio finished 10th overall and 1st in Silver Cup, however, their car received a ten second penalty for a safety car infringement, demoting them to 2nd in class and 18th overall.[25]

Esports career

Baldwin has collected multiple championships on the Assetto Corsa Competizione video game, including the 2021 British GT Esports Championship, 2022 Alpine Esports Series, 2022 Mobileye Intercontinental GT Challenge, and two SRO Esports titles in 2021 and 2022.[26][27] He has also represented the United Kingdom internationally on the platform, winning a gold medal in the 2022 FIA Motorsport Games Esports Cup.[28]

World's Fastest Gamer

After spending the last four years in sim racing following his departure from real-world motorsport in 2015 due to lack of funding, his successes resulted in an invitation to Season 2 of World's Fastest Gamer (WFG), a twelve-day intensive competition between sim racers from multiple platforms. Baldwin went on to win the event and was awarded a $1 million sponsorship for a full racing season. He was the first WFG graduate to receive backing for a real-world drive, joining Jenson Team Rocket RJN for the 2020 British GT Championship alongside Michael O'Brien.[9][29] The competition was televised in a six-part documentary series on ESPN2 and Amazon Prime.[30][31]

Race of Champions

Baldwin won the 2019 eROC Invitational Event, gaining entry to the 2019 Race of Champions.[32] There, he won the eROC World Final. The prize was to represent Team Sim Racing All Stars in the Nations Cup, partnering future Formula One eSports Series rival Enzo Bonito.[33][34] Baldwin returned to ROC for the 2020 edition, held this year as a virtual event. He teamed with Romain Grosjean to win the Nations Cup as Team All Stars, having earned his place by winning the eROC World Final for a second time.[35] After not being held in 2021, Baldwin returned for the 2022 Race of Champions. Following two consecutive qualifications for the main event, he missed out on a slot in the Sim Racing All Stars team for the Nations Cup after losing out to Lucas Blakeley and Jarno Opmeer in the eROC World Final.

Formula One Esports

Baldwin signed for Alfa Romeo as a third driver for the 2019 Formula One Esports Series.[36] He moved to McLaren for the 2020 Formula One Esports Series,[37] ending the season 17th with a best result of 8th and two fastest laps.

Rennsport R1

Baldwin competed in the inaugural season of Rennsport R1 with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Team, paired alongside Graham Carroll, Bono Huis, and Marko Pejic.[38]

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2015 Avon Tyres Formula Ford 1600 National - Post 89 ? 4 0 0 0 0 5 41st
2020 British GT Championship - GT3 Jenson Team Rocket RJN 9 1 3 0 4 125 4th
2022 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Garage 59 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2024 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Garage 59 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Bronze 3 0 0 0 1 19 23rd
2025 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Garage 59 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver 1 0 1 0 1 19 16th
2026 Formula One Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Simulator driver

Complete British GT Championship results

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

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 DC Points
2020 Jenson Team Rocket RJN McLaren 720S GT3 GT3 OUL
1
1 		OUL
2
6 		DON
1
8 		DON
2
9 		BRH
1
2 		DON
1
3 		SNE
1
8 		SNE
2
6 		SIL
1
3 		4th 125

Complete GT World Challenge Europe results

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pos. Points
2022 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Silver IMO
 LEC
 SPA
6H
43 		SPA
12H
50† 		SPA
24H
Ret 		HOC
 CAT
 NC 0
2024 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo Bronze LEC SPA
6H
56 		SPA
12H
52 		SPA
24H
38 		NÜR
 MNZ
Ret 		JED
22 		23rd 19
2025 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo Silver LEC
 MNZ
 SPA
6H
 SPA
12H
 SPA
24H
 NÜR
18 		BAR
36 		16th* 19*

* Season still in progress.

Complete Spa 24 Hour results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2022 United Kingdom Garage 59 Denmark Nicolai Kjærgaard
Venezuela Manuel Maldonado
Canada Ethan Simioni 		McLaren 720S GT3 Silver 227 DNF DNF
2024 United Kingdom Garage 59 Denmark Nicolai Kjærgaard
United Kingdom Chris Salkeld
United Kingdom Mark Sansom 		McLaren 720S GT3 Evo Bronze 454 38th 11th

References

  1. ^ Nicholson, Jonno (5 February 2026). "Sim racer James Baldwin joins Mercedes F1 simulator driver programme". Esports Insider. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  2. ^ Nicholson, Jonno (5 February 2026). "Sim racer James Baldwin joins Mercedes F1 simulator driver programme". Esports Insider. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  3. ^ a b Hewgill, Christian (1 August 2020). "James Baldwin: World's fastest gamer to real life racer - BBC News". BBC Newsbeat. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  4. ^ "The Vodafone Dmax 2013 Championships Round 10" (PDF). daytonamax.co.uk. 17 November 2013. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  5. ^ "The TW Steel DMAX Champs 2014 – Round 10 – Daytona Sandown Park" (PDF). daytonamax.co.uk. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  6. ^ "The TW Steel DMAX Champs 2014 – Round 10 – Daytona Sandown Park" (PDF). daytonamax.co.uk. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  7. ^ "BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit, 9/10th May" (PDF). brsccff1600.co.uk. May 2015. pp. 15, 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  8. ^ "BRSCC Formula Ford 1600: Race Report - Silverstone National Circuit, 15th August" (PDF). brsccff1600.co.uk. August 2015. pp. 14, 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b "James Baldwin named World's Fastest Gamer - earns real-world US$1 million race drive - World's Fastest Gamer". worldsfastestgamer.com. 30 October 2019. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  10. ^ Kilshaw, Jake (5 March 2020). "WFG Winner Baldwin Gets Rocket RJN Drive – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  11. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (6 July 2020). "Jenson Rocket RJN Switches to National GT3 Program – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  12. ^ "World's Fastest Gamer wins in real-world professional racing debut". worldsfastestgamer.com. 2 August 2020. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Motul - News/ The Drum - James Baldwin: world's fastest gamer wins GT3 debut!". motul.com. 5 August 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  14. ^ Williams-Smith, Jake (14 August 2020). "From World's Fastest Gamer to British GT winner on debut". motorsportmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  15. ^ "NEW BRDC RISING STARS ANNOUNCED". brdc.co.uk. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Preview: British GT's spring-time Supercar season opener heads to Donington". British GT. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  17. ^ "2024 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa - Main Race Results". GT World Challenge Europe. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  18. ^ "I Entered the World's Biggest GT3 Race". YouTube. James Baldwin. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  19. ^ "2024 GT World Challenge Europe - Monza Qualification Results". GT World Challenge Europe. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  20. ^ "2024 GT World Challenge Europe - Monza Race Results". GT World Challenge Europe. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  21. ^ "My First Race at Monza Ended in DISASTER..." YouTube. James Baldwin. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  22. ^ "2024 GT World Challenge Europe - Jeddah Race Results". GT World Challenge Europe. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  23. ^ "James Baldwin's First GT World Challenge Podium". Instagram. James Baldwin. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  24. ^ "Dubai Thursday Notebook – Sportscar365". 9 January 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  25. ^ Morle, Lindsay (26 August 2025). "Baldwin is back!". Garage 59. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  26. ^ "Esports: Dominant Baldwin wraps up GT3 title at Silverstone; McIntyre extends GT4 fight to season finale". britishgt.com. 11 April 2021. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  27. ^ Harrison-Lord, Thomas (19 January 2023). "James Baldwin leaves Veloce, exclusive to AMG Petronas Esports in 2023". Traxion.GG. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  28. ^ "Esports: James Baldwin, UK's first FIA Motorsport Games champion, wants to race GT". BBC Sport. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  29. ^ Dagys, John (30 October 2019). "Baldwin Named World's Fastest Gamer; Wins $1 Million GT Drive – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  30. ^ "World's Fastest Gamer documentary series to premiere on ESPN networks - World's Fastest Gamer". worldsfastestgamer.com. 9 July 2020. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  31. ^ "Word's Fastest Gamer races onto Amazon Prime". worldsfastestgamer.com. 26 December 2020. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  32. ^ Gillard, Aaron (6 December 2018). "James Baldwin wins eROC invitational and entry to Race of Champions in Mexico". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  33. ^ "James Baldwin crowned eROC Champion in Mexico City". raceofchampions.com. 18 January 2019. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  34. ^ "Team Nordic's Kristensen and Kristoffersson win ROC Nations Cup in Mexico City". raceofchampions.com. 18 January 2019. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  35. ^ "World Rallycross Champion Timmy Hansen wins first ever Virtual Race Of Champions". raceofchampions.com. 27 July 2020. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  36. ^ "Alfa Romeo Racing F1 Esports Team Launch New-Look Team in Silverstone - F1Esports News". f1esports.com. 11 July 2019. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  37. ^ Quinn, Nathan (22 July 2020). "World's Fastest Gamer Baldwin joins McLaren F1 Esports team - The Race". the-race.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  38. ^ Harrison-Lord, Thomas (25 January 2023). "Mercedes-AMG Petronas announces ESL R1 lineup, including Baldwin and Huis". Traxion.GG. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Baldwin_(racing_driver)