American racing driver (born 2002) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bijoy Garg (born July 15, 2002) is an American racing driver of Indian descent.[1] He currently competes in the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship driving for Inter Europol Competition in LMP2.[2] Garg is the 2023 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge champion.[3] Garg won the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans in his debut with United Autosports.[4]
Bijoy Garg | |
---|---|
Nationality | Indian American via dual nationality |
Born | Stanford, California, United States | July 15, 2002
IMSA SportsCar Championship career | |
Debut season | 2024 |
Current team | Inter Europol Competition |
Racing licence | FIA Silver |
Car number | 43 |
Former teams | United Autosports |
Starts | 9 |
Wins | 1 |
Podiums | 2 |
Poles | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
Best finish | 10th in 2023 |
24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
Years | 2024 |
Teams | United Autosports |
Best finish | 1st (2024) |
Class wins | 1 (2024) |
European Le Mans Series career | |
Debut season | 2024 |
Car number | 23 |
Former teams | United Autosports |
Starts | 6 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 0 |
Poles | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
Best finish | 11th in 2024 |
Previous series | |
2022–23 2020–22 2020–21 2019–20 | USF Pro 2000 Championship USF2000 Championship F4 US Championship Formula Pro USA |
Championship titles | |
2023 | IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge |
On June 10, 2020, Jay Howard Driver Development announced that Garg would make his car racing debut and compete with them in the Formula 4 United States Championship for the first three rounds of the 2020 season.[5] He would end up finishing 15th in the standings come the end of the season.
Garg would return for the 2021 season competing in rounds 2, 3, 4, and 6. He finished third at the first race in Mid-Ohio. Garg would finish 8th in the championship.
At the beginning of 2020, Garg announced that he would compete in the USF2000 Championship driving for Jay Howard Driver Development in rounds 1–9 and 16–17. He would finish 17th in the championship.
On February 11, 2021, it was announced that Garg would return to the team for a second year.[6] At the New Jersey Motorsports Park and the second Mid-Ohio rounds, Garg would not be eligible for points due to exceeding the maximum allotted test days for championship drivers. He would end up finishing 27th in the standings come the end of the season.
For 2022, Garg would switch to DEForce Racing. He would miss the final three races at Portland since he would compete in the final races of the Indy Pro 2000 Championship.[7][8] Garg would have a career year with two podiums and finishing 9th in the championship.
Midway through the 2022 season, it was announced that Garg would make his series debut at Gateway Motorsports Park.[7] It was expected that he would return to the USF 2000 Championship for the final races of the season, however Garg would drive in the final races at Portland of the USF Pro 2000 Championship.[8]
On November 28, 2022, DEForce Racing announced that Garg would move up to the USF Pro 2000 Championship to compete with the team full time in 2023.[9]
Alongside a full time campaign in open wheel racing, Garg would make his sportscar racing debut in the 2023 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge driving for Jr III Racing.[10] He would have a good debut, getting pole position for race one at Daytona, and finishing third in the race. At the second round of the championship held at Sebring, Garg would qualify on pole for both races. He went on to have a dominant performance to win both races.[11] Following two 2nd places at Mosport, Garg would get his third win at Lime Rock Park, cutting rival Dan Goldburg's championship lead to 20 points.[12] He would go on a four race win streak which resulted in a comfortable lead in the championship ahead of Goldburg. Going into the final round at Road Atlanta, Garg was still in a title battle with Dan Goldburg. Garg would start in second behind debutant Jagger Jones in race one. During lap one, Jones made a mistake going into turn 10, and Garg capitalized by overtaking Jones for the race lead. Garg continued to control the race up front defending against Jones. Ultimately, Garg would prevail, and win the race.[13] While not quite winning the championship, all Garg had to do was start race two to win the title. Race two would have a chaotic end to cap off the season. With two minutes left in the race, Garg was sitting in third behind Dan Goldburg and race leader Jagger Jones. The race picture quickly changed in the span of two laps. Jones' car had a mechanical issue and came to a stop near the start/finish line. Goldburg would then inherit the lead and Garg moved up to second. During the final lap, Goldburg attempted to overtake the lapped LMP3 car of Jon Brownson, however Goldburg misjudged his entry and collided with Brownson. This resulted in Goldburg spinning out into the gravel. Garg was quickly able to close up to a recovering Goldburg and eventually overtook him. Garg held onto the lead and capped off his season with a 6th consecutive win and 8 total victories.[3] He would also secure the title ahead of Dan Goldburg due to Garg starting race two. This was a significant point in his career as this was his first ever championship in any racing series.
On February 6, 2024, it was announced that Garg would contest a dual LMP2 program with United Autosports where he would compete full time in the 2024 European Le Mans Series alongside his IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races.[14]
In 2023, Garg would join Jr III Motorsports to compete in select starts across the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship driving the No. 29 Ligier JS P320 in LMP3 alongside Colin Noble and Guilherme Oliveira. At Petit Le Mans, Garg would join Garett Grist and Dakota Dickerson to drive the No. 30 car for Jr III Motorsports. The trio would go onto get a class win in LMP3. This would mark Garg's first win the championship.
Following his success in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Garg was signed by United Autosports for the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship.[15] He would pilot the No. 22 Oreca 07 with co-drivers Dan Goldburg and Paul di Resta in the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds. Garg would have a best result of 3rd in the 12 Hours of Sebring.[16]
For the 2025 season, Garg would switch teams and compete in LMP2 for Inter Europol Competition driving the No. 43 Oreca 07 alongside Jon Field and 2024 IMSA LMP2 champion Tom Dillmann.[17] Garg would once again contest the Michelin Endurance Cup races.
On May 2, 2024, United Autosports added Garg to their 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans lineup in LMP2 along with Oliver Jarvis and Nolan Siegel. The trio in the No. 22 Oreca 07 started the race off decently, but slipped down the order when Siegel received a drive through penalty for making contact with the No. 33 DKR Engineering car at the Ford chicane. Throughout the night, race had sporadically come over the track, resulting in multiple lengthy safety car periods. This allowed the No. 22 to catch back up to the other cars. Garg, who was in the car at that point, had slowly been overtaking cars and moving himself up the order towards the front of the pack. He would then end his stint and hand the car over to Siegel. During the morning hours of the race, Siegel had been in the car setting the fastest times of anyone in LMP2. Siegel would eventually catch LMP2 class leader Reshad de Gerus in the No. 28 IDEC Sport car and eventually overtake him for the race lead. Following his stint, Siegel would hand the car over to Jarvis. The No. 22 would remain in the lead ahead of the No. 34 Inter Europol Competition car of Clément Novalak. The No. 22's lead would be halved from 35 seconds after a slow pit stop, however, Jarvis retained a comfortable lead and brought home the No. 22 in first.[18][19] This marked a significant win for Garg and Siegel, as both drivers won Le Mans in their first attempt. Garg was quoted saying: "To win Le Mans on my first attempt is unbelievable! This win wouldn't have been possible without the engineers and mechanics. You need to execute on a lot of setup changes every pit stop, and they did that. I couldn't be more proud for the team and couldn't be more happy to win with these guys."[20]
Garg currently studies Systems Science & Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis.[21]
Season | Series | Team | Position |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | SKUSA SuperNationals XXl — X30 Junior Class | Speedsense Motorsports | 67th |
2018 | SKUSA SuperNationals XXl — X30 Senior Class | Speedsense Motorsports | 63rd |
Challenge of the Americas — Junior ROK | 11th | ||
2019 | ROK Cup USA ROK the RIO — Senior ROK | Speedsense Motorsports | 22nd |
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (Races with * indicate most race laps led)
Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Jay Howard Driver Development | ROA 1 11 |
ROA 2 15 |
MOH 1 10 |
MOH 2 13 |
MOH 3 10 |
LOR 17 |
IMS 1 13 |
IMS 2 19 |
IMS 3 11 |
MOH 4 |
MOH 5 |
MOH 6 |
NJMP 1 |
NJMP 2 |
NJMP 3 |
STP 1 11 |
STP 2 17 |
17th | 86 | |
2021 | Jay Howard Driver Development | ALA 1 DSQ |
ALA 2 25 |
STP 1 19 |
STP 2 DNS |
IMS 1 24 |
IMS 2 22 |
IMS 3 25 |
LOR 20 |
ROA 1 14 |
ROA 2 12 |
MOH 1 6 |
MOH 2 27 |
MOH 3 18 |
NJMP 1 20† |
NJMP 2 22† |
NJMP 3 19† |
MOH 4 15† |
MOH 5 17† |
27th | 43 |
2022 | DEForce Racing | STP 1 3 |
STP 2 15 |
ALA 1 4 |
ALA 2 10 |
IMS 1 20 |
IMS 2 7 |
IMS 3 8 |
IRP 2 |
ROA 1 6 |
ROA 2 4 |
MOH 1 9 |
MOH 2 17 |
MOH 3 9 |
TOR 1 12 |
TOR 2 14 |
POR 1 |
POR 2 |
POR 3 |
9th | 203 |
† Garg was not eligible for points at the New Jersey Motorsports Park and the second Mid-Ohio rounds for exceeding the maximum allotted test days for championship drivers.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (Races with * indicate most race laps led)
Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | DEForce Racing | STP 1 |
STP 2 |
ALA 1 |
ALA 2 |
IMS 1 |
IMS 2 |
IMS 3 |
IRP |
ROA 1 |
ROA 2 |
MOH 1 |
MOH 2 |
TOR 1 |
TOR 2 |
GMP 10 |
POR 1 10 |
POR 2 10 |
POR 3 13 |
18th | 47 |
2023 | DEForce Racing | STP 1 12 |
STP 2 14 |
SEB 1 14 |
SEB 2 12 |
IMS 1 17 |
IMS 2 13 |
IRP 14 |
ROA 1 18 |
ROA 2 19 |
MOH 1 5 |
MOH 2 8 |
TOR 1 17 |
TOR 2 9 |
COTA 1 |
COTA 1 |
POR 1 3 |
POR 2 7 |
POR 3 13 |
12th | 154 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | United Autosports | Oliver Jarvis Nolan Siegel |
Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 297 | 15th | 1st |
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