Strakka Racing

Strakka Racing
Company type	Private
Industry	Auto racing
Founded	2007
Founder	Peter Hardman
Fate	Ceased operations in 2020; assets acquired by United Autosports
Headquarters	Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
Area served	International (Le Mans Series, FIA World Endurance Championship, Blancpain GT Series)
Key people	Nick Leventis (owner and driver)
Products	Auto racing teams and entries

Strakka Racing was a UK-based auto racing outfit established by Nick Leventis and headquartered at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire. The team achieved a milestone during the 2010 1000 km of Hungaroring by becoming the first in the Le Mans Series to claim an overall victory with an LMP2 category vehicle, also earning the inaugural overall pole position in LMP2.

2007 – Formation

The team originated in 2007, founded by Peter Hardman to support Nick Leventis's ambitions in GT racing. Initially, Strakka Racing competed with a former factory BMW M3 GTR in the Britcar championship. Both Leventis and Hardman took turns behind the wheel, while Leventis also participated in historic sports car events, including races featuring the Ferrari 330 P3.

2008

During 2008, Strakka entered the Le Mans Series campaign with an Aston Martin DBR9 competing in the GT1 division. Their first appearance was at the 1000 km of Spa, where drivers Leventis and Hardman finished 24th overall and secured fourth place within their class.

At the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans, Strakka partnered with Vitaphone Racing Team to run the DBR9 after Vitaphone's Maserati MC12 was disqualified due to ACO regulations. The driving team of Leventis, Hardman, and Alexandre Negrão retired after completing 82 laps because of a prop shaft malfunction.

The squad also participated in their home race, the 1000 km of Silverstone, adding Aston Martin factory driver Darren Turner to the lineup. They again finished 24th overall and fourth within GT1.

In addition to endurance events, Strakka remained active in selected Britcar races, such as the Britcar 24 Hours Class 2 category with their BMW. The driver roster included Leventis, Hardman, Allan Simonsen, and Christian Vann, achieving a 13th-place finish overall.

2009

For the 2009 season, Strakka contested every round of the 2009 Le Mans Series season, transitioning from the DBR9 to the new Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S prototype competing in LMP1. The team added driver Danny Watts alongside Leventis and Hardman. At the opening event, the 1000 km of Catalunya, Strakka earned pole position by outqualifying rival Aston Martin Racing prototypes by half a second. Although Hardman had a poor start allowing competitors to pass, they managed a fifth-place finish both overall and within their class.

At the 1000 km of Spa, despite posting the slowest qualifying time, they completed the race in 17th place overall and 12th in class. The team then entered the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing 21st overall and 14th within their category. Subsequent to Le Mans, Hardman withdrew from driving duties and stepped down as team principal, transferring his ownership share to Leventis.

During the 1000 km of Algarve, their car retired after completing 67 laps. At the 1000 km of Nürburgring, having qualified fourth and running competitively, Watts crashed while attempting to avoid a slower vehicle. In the final round at the 1000 km of Silverstone, Strakka started from last on the grid due to missing qualifying but recovered to finish ninth overall and eighth in class.

The year 2009 also marked Strakka’s concluding involvement in the Ferrari Challenge.

2010

During 2010, Strakka Racing participated in the 2010 Le Mans Series season utilizing an upgraded HPD ARX-01C, a reliable LMP2 vehicle with a strong track record from Acura’s success in the American Le Mans Series. Following Peter Hardman’s exit, Jonny Kane joined the lineup for the opening round at the 8 Hours of Le Castellet. Watts secured the LMP2 pole position by a margin exceeding two seconds and led the squad to a class triumph, finishing 35 seconds ahead of competitors.

The team clinched a second straight pole at the 1000 km of Spa, yet their race ended prematurely after 69 laps due to a transmission malfunction.

At the Le Mans event, Strakka earned the LMP2 pole, surpassing the rival Patrón Highcroft Racing HPD ARX prototype by one full second. The driver trio of Leventis, Watts, and Kane completed 367 laps to secure victory in LMP2 and achieve fifth place overall. The HPD ARX-01C demonstrated clear superiority as Strakka finished six laps ahead of the nearest LMP2 contender, despite mechanical setbacks suffered by Highcroft.

Strakka captured its fourth consecutive pole at the 1000 km of Algarve, with Watts once more leading qualifying by 0.6 seconds. Nevertheless, another transmission issue forced retirement after 120 laps.

At the first-ever 1000 km of Hungaroring, Watts made history by taking overall pole position in qualifying with the HPD—marking the first occasion an LMP2 car topped qualifying in Le Mans Series history—outpacing all LMP1 entries by nearly half a second. Despite LMP1 rivals like the Oreca-entered Peugeot 908 diesel boasting greater power, mechanical failures and incidents among LMP1 teams allowed Strakka to seize overall victory. This achievement represented the inaugural outright LMS win for an LMP2 car, with the highest-placed LMP1 finishing only seventh.

FIA World Endurance Championship

Strakka entered the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship competing in the LMP1 category with an HPD ARX-03a driven by Jonny Kane, Danny Watts, and Nick Leventis. The team secured third place overall at Bahrain and finished as runners-up in the privateer LMP1 Trophy behind Rebellion Racing. In 2013, retaining the same driver lineup but switching to an HPD ARX-03c, they retired at Silverstone and placed seventh at Spa-Francorchamps as well as sixth at the Le Mans. They did not contest further rounds that season.

Collaborating with Japanese manufacturer Dome, Strakka developed an LMP2 vehicle but abstained from racing in 2014. The Strakka Dome S103 made its debut at the 2015 6 Hours of Silverstone, achieving a third-place finish before transitioning to a Gibson-Nissan chassis and concluding sixth in the LMP2 teams standings. In 2016, Kane and Leventis were joined by Danny Watts and later Lewis Williamson during the campaign. The team missed the final two events and ended seventh in LMP2 without securing any podiums.

Blancpain GT Series

In 2017, Strakka broadened its operations to include participation in the Blancpain GT Series fielding four factory-supported McLaren 650S GT3 cars.

By 2018, Strakka expanded its global GT involvement through a partnership with Mercedes-AMG, earning Performance Team status. Based at Silverstone, they campaigned three Mercedes-AMG GT3s across both the 2018 Intercontinental GT Challenge and 2018 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup.

2019

Strakka remained active in the 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge and the 2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. On July 24, team owner and driver Nick Leventis tested positive for prohibited substances, which led to a four-year suspension and his eventual departure from competitive racing.

2020

At the beginning of 2020, industry insiders reported that Strakka Racing had quietly ceased its operations without any official statement. By September, the team’s entire inventory—including race vehicles, gear, transport trucks, and their Silverstone facility—was acquired by United Autosports for an undisclosed amount.

Drivers

Nick Leventis (2007–2019)

Peter Hardman (2007–2009)

Alexandre Negrão (2008)

Darren Turner (2008)

Danny Watts (2009–2016)

Jonny Kane (2010–2016)

Lewis Williamson (2016–2019)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Entrant	No.	Car	Drivers	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2008	Germany Vitaphone Racing Team Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Strakka Racing	53	Aston Martin DBR9	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Peter Hardman Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Nick Leventis Template:Country data BRA Template:Namespace detect showall Alexandre Negrão	GT1	82	DNF	DNF
2009	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Strakka Racing	23	Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Peter Hardman Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Nick Leventis Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Danny Watts	LMP1	325	21st	14th
2010	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Strakka Racing	42	HPD ARX-01C	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Jonny Kane Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Nick Leventis Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Danny Watts	LMP2	367	5th	1st
2011	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Strakka Racing	42	HPD ARX-01d	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Jonny Kane Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Nick Leventis Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Danny Watts	LMP2	144	DNF	DNF
2012	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Strakka Racing	21	HPD ARX-03a	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Jonny Kane Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Nick Leventis Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Danny Watts	LMP1	303	30th	8th
2013	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Strakka Racing	21	HPD ARX-03c	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Jonny Kane Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Nick Leventis Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Danny Watts	LMP1	332	6th	6th
2015	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Strakka Racing	42	Strakka-Dome S103-Nissan	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Jonny Kane Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Nick Leventis Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Danny Watts	LMP2	264	DNF	DNF
2016	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Strakka Racing	42	Gibson 015S-Nissan	Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Jonny Kane Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Nick Leventis Template:Country data GBR Template:Namespace detect showall Danny Watts	LMP2	351	8th	4th

External links