Eugene O'Brien (racing driver)

Eugene O'Brien
Born	(1960-03-22) March 22, 1960
Occupation(s)	Racing driver, driving coach
Known for	British Touring Car Championship driver, 24 Hours of Le Mans competitor

Eugene O'Brien (born 22 March 1960) is a professional driving coach and British racing driver.

Formula Ford

Eugene launched his motorsport journey in single-seater racing after earning an engineering degree from Cambridge University and completing a graduate apprenticeship with Rolls-Royce Motors. In 1983, he secured victory in his debut Formula Ford 1600 race. That same year, he placed third in the Junior Formula Ford Series, subsequently concentrating on vehicle engineering and setup while arranging sponsorship for his next competitive phase.

Formula First

In 1987, Eugene participated in a full Formula First season, concluding the year as the championship’s runner-up.

Formula Vauxhall Lotus

Progressing to the more powerful Formula Vauxhall Lotus category in 1988, he finished his sophomore season once again as the series runner-up.

British Sports 2000 and Formula Forward

Eugene earned his inaugural championship title in 1990 by winning the British Sports 2000 Championship. Two years later, he dominated the Formula Forward single-seater series with an impressive record of ten pole positions, ten fastest laps, and ten victories.

British Touring Car Championship

His achievements paved the way for a seat in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) during the 1993 season. Driving for Peugeot Sport’s factory team, Eugene competed over two seasons, working closely with engineers to refine the Peugeot 405 touring car. He concluded his BTCC tenure ranked sixteenth amid a highly competitive international roster.

In 1996, Eugene made a brief return to touring car competition by entering the Malaysian Touring Car Cup and the RAC Tourist Trophy, where he finished eighth. Piloting a Honda Accord for YAP Motorsport, he intended to rejoin the BTCC in 1997; however, this plan did not come to fruition.

One-Make Racing

During 1996, Eugene raced in the Dunlop Rover Turbo Cup, securing a win at Castle Combe and finishing third overall in the championship standings.

Endurance Racing

In 1993, Eugene took part in the Willhire 24 Hour race at Snetterton, sharing driving duties of a Peugeot 106 alongside Joel Wykeham and former Olympic decathlete Daley Thompson.

Following his BTCC career, he competed in the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans behind the wheel of a Callaway Corvette with teammates Robin Donovan and Riccardo Agusta. The team achieved third place in the GT2 Class and eleventh overall.

After Racing

After stepping back from full-time competition, Eugene founded and managed teams competing in Formula 4 and the Volkswagen Fun Cup series. Combining expertise in race car engineering with driver training, he continues to participate occasionally in diverse vehicles such as Citroen 2CVs and TVR Griffiths. Collaborating with mentor Richard Usher, Eugene played a role in designing Blyton Park, which opened in 2011 as a venue for Sprints, Trackdays, and Driving Experiences.

Drawing on extensive experience across circuits throughout the UK and Europe, Eugene now dedicates himself to driver coaching and development. His clientele ranges from historic racing drivers to Ginetta Junior competitors. Holding an ARDS Grade S licence for over two decades, he operates workshops near Silverstone equipped with track-prepared Mazda MX5s, race car setup facilities, and data acquisition tools. He advocates that professional coaching benefits drivers at every skill level much like athletes across other sporting disciplines.

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Pole positions are shown in bold) (Fastest laps are shown in italics)

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			style="background:#DFFFDF;" | SNE 7	style="background:#CFCFFF;" | SIL 1 11	style="background:#DFFFDF;" | SIL 2 10	style="background:#DFFFDF;" | OUL 9	style="background:#CFCFFF;" | DON 1 16	style="background:#CFCFFF;" | DON 2 20	style="background:#CFCFFF;" | BRH 1 13	style="background:#EFCFFF;" | BRH 2 Ret	style="background:#EFCFFF;" | SIL Ret	style="background:#DFFFDF;" | KNO 1 7	style="background:#CFCFFF;" | KNO 2 13	style="background:#CFCFFF;" | OUL 14	style="background:#DFFFDF;" | BRH 1 8	style="background:#EFCFFF;" | BRH 2 Ret	style="background:#CFCFFF;" | SIL 1 12	style="background:#EFCFFF;" | SIL 2 Ret

External links

• Official website