Callan O'Keeffe
Callan O'Keeffe | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 9, 1996 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Occupation(s) | Racing driver, driving instructor |
| Years active | 2012–2019 (racing) |
| Known for | Former Red Bull Junior Team and Lotus F1 Junior Team member; founder of School Of Send |
Callan O'Keeffe (born 9 June 1996) is a former South African racing driver, driving instructor, and the creator of the School Of Send. His early career included memberships in both the Red Bull Junior Team and the Lotus F1 Junior Team.
Karting
O'Keeffe started karting at the age of 13. In 2010, he achieved third place in the KF3 category at the CIK-FIA World Cup. The next year, he claimed victory in the British Karting Junior Championship and finished as runner-up in the KF3 CIK-FIA World Cup.
Lower formulae
His transition to single-seater racing began in 2012 with participation in the Formula BMW Talent Cup, where he won four races during the season. He concluded the Grand Final in ninth position, accumulating 13 points.
In 2013, O'Keeffe competed in the ADAC Formel Masters driving for Lotus, ultimately placing thirteenth overall for that year.
Formula Renault
In 2014, O'Keeffe joined the ART Junior Team to race in both the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. Midway through the season, he transferred to KTR, teaming up with fellow Lotus F1 junior drivers Alex Albon and Gregor Ramsay. He earned his first win and pole position in Formula Renault at TT Circuit Assen and finished seventh in the Northern European Cup standings with a total of 187 points, including one victory and three podium finishes. In the Eurocup series, he ended sixteenth with 28 points.
The following year, O'Keeffe raced with Fortec Motorsport across both championships again. He secured three podiums and seventh place in the Northern European Cup but ranked fourteenth in the Eurocup after missing the last two rounds.
In 2016, he took part in a single event of the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup representing JD Motorsport.
O'Keeffe made a return to the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2019 with FA Racing by Drivex. Prior to round five at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, he switched to M2 Competition, concluding the season seventeenth overall.
BRDC British Formula 3 Championship
During 2016, O'Keeffe competed in the BRDC British Formula 3 Autumn Trophy for Fortec Motorsport, achieving third place. The next year, he participated full-time with Douglas Motorsport in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, earning three podium finishes and securing sixth position in the championship standings.
British LMP3 Cup
In addition to his formula racing activities, O'Keeffe made his sports car racing debut in selected rounds of the 2017 British LMP3 Cup driving for Douglas Motorsport.
U.S. F2000 National Championship
Also in 2017, he entered select events within the 2017 U.S. F2000 National Championship series.
Formula One
O'Keeffe was initially signed by the Red Bull Junior Team in 2012 but was released following the conclusion of the 2013 season. Subsequently, he joined the Lotus F1 Junior Team for 2014 before ending his association prior to the start of the 2015 campaign.
School Of Send
Following his retirement from professional racing in 2019, O'Keeffe established the driver development initiative known as School Of Send. This program offers a comprehensive range of services including simulator practice, in-car instruction, virtual coaching sessions, and on-site track assistance, all customized to suit drivers across various skill levels. Among the distinguished drivers currently benefiting from this program are Matthew Rees, Hunter Yeany, Rui Andrade, Max Cuthbert, and Sonny Smith. Notably, under O'Keeffe's mentorship, Matthew Rees secured the title in the F4 British Championship during the 2021 season.
Personal life
As of 2019, O'Keeffe lives in proximity to St Albans, England. He is romantically involved with Dutch cyclist Puck Moonen.
Racing career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Formula BMW Talent Cup | N/A | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 9th |
| 2013 | ADAC Formel Masters | Lotus | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 13th |
| 2014 | Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | ART Junior Team | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 16th |
| KTR | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | ART Junior Team | 13 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 187 | 7th | |
| KTR | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2015 | Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | Fortec Motorsports | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 14th |
| Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 168.5 | 7th |
Complete Formula Renault 2.0 NEC results
(key) (Entries in bold denote pole position) (Entries in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | ART Junior Team | MNZ 1 Ret |
MNZ 2 25 |
SIL 1 8 |
SIL 2 2 |
HOC 1 5 |
HOC 2 4 |
HOC 3 2 |
SPA 1 Ret |
SPA 2 14 |
ASS 1 1 |
ASS 2 8 |
MST 1 9 |
MST 2 5 |
(style=background:#FFFFFF;) (MST)3 C |
(style=background:#dfffdf;) (NÜR)1 16 |
7th | 187 | ||
| (KTR) | (style=background:#dfffdf;) (NÜR)2 11 |
(style=background:#FFFFFF;) (NÜR)3 C | ||||||||||||||||||
| (2015) | Fortec Motorsports | (style=background:#dfffdf;) (MNZ)1 5 |
(style=background:#cfcfff;) (MNZ)2 21† |
(style=background:#ffdf9f;) (SIL)1 3 |
(style=background:#dfffdf;) (SIL)2 5 |
(style=background:#dfffdf;) (RBR)1 4 |
(style=background:#dfffdf;) (RBR)2 6 |
(style=background:#dfffdf;) (RBR)3 4 |
(style=background:#ffdf9f;) (SPA)1 3 |
(style=background:#dfffdf;) (SPA)2 8 |
(style=background:#dfffdf;) (ASS)1 4 |
(style=background:#dfdfdf;) (ASS)2 2 |
7th |
168.5 |
|- (2016) ! nowrap || JD Motorsports || |(style=background:#cfcfff;) (SIL)1 (style=background:#dfffdf;) (SIL)2 || || || || || || || || ! 28th ! 14 |}
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- Living people
- 1996 births
- South African motorsport competitors
- Karting World Championship participants
- Formula BMW competitors
- ADAC Formel Masters participants
- Formula Renault Eurocup competitors
- Formula Renault 2.0 NEC participants
- BRDC British Formula 3 Championship competitors
- U.S. F2000 National Championship participants
- Motopark Academy alumni
- R-ace GP team drivers
- ART Grand Prix team drivers
- Keerbergs Transport Racing team drivers
- Fortec Motorsport team drivers
- JD Motorsport team drivers
- FA Racing team drivers
- Drivex team drivers
- M2 Competition team drivers
- Racing drivers originating from Johannesburg
- South African athletes residing in England
- Sports figures from St Albans
- 21st-century South African athletes
- Formula Renault Eurocup drivers