Steven Richards

Steven Richards
Richards in 2010
Nationality	New Zealander
Born	11 July 1972 (1972-07-11) (age 51) Auckland, New Zealand
Supercars Championship career
Championships	0
Races	451
Wins	12
Podiums	60
Pole positions	6
2019 position	37th (438 pts)

Steven James Richards^[1] (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship.

Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, is himself a five-time Bathurst 1000 winner, having won the event in 1998, 1999, 2013, 2015 and 2018. Colloquially known as 'Richo', he also won the Bathurst 24 Hour in 2002.

Career history

Early career

Richards' first major career success was winning the Australian Formula Ford Championship on his second attempt in 1994 for Garry Rogers Motorsport. In 1995, Richards made his debut in the Bathurst 1000, finishing fourth for Gibson Motorsport with Anders Olofsson.^[1] Richards continued his association with Garry Rogers Motorsport in the years following, competing in the Australian Super Touring Championship from 1995 to 1997 driving an Alfa Romeo 155, Honda Accord and Nissan Primera and making his Australian Touring Car Championship debut for the team in 1996 in a Holden VR Commodore. Richards competed with his father Jim at the Bathurst 1000 in 1996 and 1997, finishing second in the latter. Richards continued with the team for 1998 before leaving to take up a testing role with Nissan in England.^[2]

At the 1998 AMP Bathurst 1000 Richards finished second in a Nissan Primera, only two seconds behind his father Jim. A month later driving a Ford EL Falcon, he won the FAI 1000 with Jason Bright for Stone Brothers Racing.

Supercars Championship

In 1999 Richards took up a full-time drive with Gibson Motorsport in 1999, as a team-mate to Greg Murphy in a Holden VT Commodore. Richards finished seventh in the championship with the highlight being defending his Bathurst crown with Murphy. By winning his second Bathurst title in a Holden, he became the first driver to win the Bathurst 1000 in both a Ford and Holden, and remains the only driver to do so in consecutive years.^[3] Richards continued with Gibson Motorsport in 2000, winning the inaugural Canberra 400 as well as a round at Calder Park Raceway.^[2]

In 2001, Richards moved to Ford Tickford Racing. Richards finished 12th in the standings for the team in 2001. With Ford Tickford Racing scaling back to one car, Richards moved to Perkins Engineering in 2002. He continued with the team for five years and achieved consistent championship finishes between fifth and seventh. Richards won two rounds for the team, both at the Perth 400 at Barbagallo Raceway.^[2]

In 2007, Richards made another manufacturer switch, joining Ford Performance Racing. Richards started competitively for the team, with championship finishes of seventh and eighth, but dropped off in 2009 and 2010 with finishes of thirteenth and fifteenth. Richards was subsequently replaced by Will Davison for 2011, and finished his full-time career with a podium in the final race of the season at the Sydney 500. Richards' highlights for the team were winning the Skycity Triple Crown in 2008, and podium finishes at the 2007 Sandown 500 and 2009 Phillip Island 500 with Owen Kelly and Mark Winterbottom respectively. Richards and Winterbottom were leading the 2007 Bathurst 1000 late in the race before Winterbottom went off the track in wet conditions.^[3]

Endurance co-driver

Following his full-time career ending, Richards became a highly sought-after co-driver for V8 Supercars' two endurance events, the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000. He decided to stay on with Ford Performance Racing, renewing his partnership with Winterbottom. In 2013, Richards and Winterbottom won the 2013 Bathurst 1000 on their sixth attempt together. It was the first Bathurst victory for Winterbottom and the team, and Richards' first since 1999.

After his success in 2013, Richards was poached by Triple Eight Race Engineering to drive with Craig Lowndes from 2014 onwards in what had become known as the Pirtek Enduro Cup. The move brought Richards a fourth Bathurst victory in 2015.^[4] In doing this Richards joined Lowndes, who along with Tony Longhurst and Jamie Whincup had matched the feat of winning in both a Ford and Holden since Richards had achieved it, as the only two drivers to win more than one Bathurst 1000 for both Ford and Holden. Richards won the race again with Lowndes in 2018 winning his Fifth Bathurst crown becoming one of the most successful winners of the great race throughout the current decade and sixth on the all-time list of Bathurst champions.

Richards announced his retirement from Supercars racing after the 2019 season.^[5]

Endurance racing

Richards won the inaugural Bathurst 24 Hour race in 2002 driving a Holden Monaro 427C for Garry Rogers Motorsport. Richards won the race alongside Garth Tander, Cameron McConville and Nathan Pretty. Driving the same car in the 2003 race, the same quartet finished in second place, less than a second behind their teammates Greg Murphy, Todd Kelly, Jason Bright, and Peter Brock, who had formed a famous partnership with his father Jim in the 1970s and 1980s.

Richards competed in the 2014 24 Hours of Spa with Roger Lago, David Russell and Steve Owen, driving a Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ GT3. They did not finish the race. Richards has also achieved a class victory at the Bathurst 12 Hour, in 2012.

Carrera Cup

After the conclusion of his full-time V8 Supercars career, Richards entered the Australian Carrera Cup Championship in 2011 in a team backed by Laser Plumbing & Electrical. He consistently became a top-five championship runner since joining the series. His highlight was in 2014 when he won the championship title and broke the stranglehold on the series held by Craig Baird. It was Richards' first championship title in twenty years. Richards slipped back in the following two years before stepping back from the series to focus on his team's entry in the Australian GT Championship.^[6]

Australian GT

In 2013 and 2014, Richards competed in selected events of the Australian GT Championship in a Lamborghini Gallardo alongside Justin McMillan. They finished fifth in the 2014 championship. Richards then made a one-off appearance in the 2015 season in a Chevrolet Camaro.

In 2016, Richards re-joined the series full-time, this time with his own team, Steven Richards Motorsport. The team became the factory-supported customer entrant for the new BMW M6 GT3 in Australia.^[7] The team has also entered two cars in the 2017 Bathurst 12 Hour.

Personal life

Before taking up motor racing full-time, Richards served his apprenticeship as an aircraft engineer.

Richards is married to Angela (m. 1998) and has two children, Clayton (born 2000) and Priya (born 2001).^[1]

Richards lives with his family in Melbourne, Victoria.

Career results

Supercars Championship results

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

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Year	No.	Team	Car	Co-driver	Position	Laps
1995	2	Gibson Motorsport	Holden Commodore VR	Anders Olofsson	4th	161
1996	32	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden Commodore VR	Jim Richards	DNF	33
1997*	34	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Nissan Primera	Matt Neal	DNF	84
1997	34	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden Commodore VS	Jim Richards	2nd	161
1998*	34	Team Dynamics	Nissan Primera	Matt Neal	2nd	161
1998	4	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford Falcon EL	Jason Bright	1st	161
1999	7	Gibson Motorsport	Holden Commodore VT	Greg Murphy	1st	161
2000	7	Gibson Motorsport	Holden Commodore VT	Greg Murphy	3rd	161
2001	5	Ford Tickford Racing	Ford Falcon AU	Glenn Seton	9th	161
2002	16	Perkins Engineering	Holden Commodore VX	Russell Ingall	2nd	161
2003	11	Perkins Engineering	Holden Commodore VY	Larry Perkins	4th	161
2004	11	Perkins Engineering	Holden Commodore VY	Jim Richards	21st	148
2005	24	Perkins Engineering	Holden Commodore VZ	Paul Dumbrell	DNF	28
2006	7	Perkins Engineering	Holden Commodore VZ	Paul Dumbrell	5th	161
2007	6	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon BF	Mark Winterbottom	10th	161
2008	6	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon BF	Mark Winterbottom	4th	161
2009	6	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon FG	Mark Winterbottom	DNF	49
2010	6	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon FG	James Moffat	11th	161
2011	5	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon FG	Mark Winterbottom	4th	161
2012	5	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon FG	Mark Winterbottom	11th	161
2013	5	Ford Performance Racing	Ford Falcon FG	Mark Winterbottom	1st	161
2014	888	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Holden Commodore VF	Craig Lowndes	10th	161
2015	888	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Holden Commodore VF	Craig Lowndes	1st	161
2016	888	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Holden Commodore VF	Craig Lowndes	16th	156
2017	888	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Holden Commodore VF	Craig Lowndes	11th	160
2018	888	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Holden Commodore ZB	Craig Lowndes	1st	161
2019	18	Team 18	Holden Commodore ZB	Mark Winterbottom	6th	161

* Super Touring race

Complete Australian Carrera Cup Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded all races) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (* signifies that driver lead feature race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded)

Complete Bathurst 24 Hour results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Overall position	Class position
2002	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Garth Tander Nathan Pretty Cameron McConville	Holden Monaro 427C	1	532	1st	1st
2003	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Garth Tander Nathan Pretty Cameron McConville	Holden Monaro 427C	A	527	2nd	2nd

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Overall position	Class position
1993	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Paul Fordham	Nissan Pulsar SSS	B	234	21st	3rd
2012	Hunter Sports Group	Steven Johnson Nathan Tinkler	Porsche 997 GT3 Cup	B	254	4th	1st
2013	GB Galvanising	Ross Lilley Justin McMillan	Lamborghini Gallardo LP560	A	247	13th	10th
2014	M Motorsport	Ross Lilley Justin McMillan Dale Wood	Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4	A	78	DNF	DNF
2015	M Motorsport	Craig Baird Justin McMillan	Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4	AP	129	DNF	DNF
2017	BMW Team SRM	Marco Wittmann Mark Winterbottom	BMW M6 GT3	AP	281	14th	7th
2018	BMW Team SRM	Timo Glock Philipp Eng	BMW M6 GT3	AP	270	9th	5th

References

External links

• Official Website of Steven Richards
• Official Laser Racing Porsche Carrera Cup Team Website
• V8 Supercars Official Profile^{[permanent dead link]}
• Steven Richards career summary at DriverDB.com
• Steven Richards driver statistics at Racing-Reference