Andy Wallace

Oxford-born racing driver who won Le Mans in 1988 with Silk Cut Jaguar, set factory top-speed figures in the Jaguar XJ220 and McLaren F1, and remains Bugatti’s Pilote Officiel.

Born in Oxford on 19 February 1961, Wallace took a Jim Russell trial at Silverstone for his fifteenth birthday, then worked as a British Gas technician to fund a Hawke DL11 Formula Ford. His first practice, on 31 August 1979, ended in a roll; in 1980 he won the pre-1974 Formula Ford championship.

He was runner-up in British Formula 3 with Swallow Racing in 1985, then won the 1986 Lucas title for Madgwick Motorsport and the Macau Grand Prix. Jan Lammers recommended him to Tom Walkinshaw. A 1987 Formula 3000 season with Madgwick produced no wins; Formula 1 seats asked for a budget he did not have.

Walkinshaw tested him at Paul Ricard. After Jerez and Road Atlanta he reached Le Mans in 1988 with no test day and, sharing the Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-9 with Lammers and Johnny Dumfries, won on his first start — Jaguar’s first victory there in 31 years. A full-time TWR contract followed. In 1990 he won Daytona in an XJR-12 with Lammers and Davy Jones.

In 1991, Wallace drove Jaguar XJ220 pre-production chassis 004 to 213 mph during tyre and high-speed testing at Fort Stockton, Texas. Jaguar documented the run in its 2012 XJ220 anniversary archive. He later raced Toyota’s TS010 and McLaren F1 GTRs across 21 Le Mans starts, the last with RML in 2010. In 1998 he took McLaren prototype XP5 to a 240.1 mph two-way average at Ehra-Lessien.

He joined Bugatti in 2011. In 2019 he drove the Chiron Super Sport 300+ to 490.48 km/h at Ehra-Lessien. Bugatti identifies Wallace as its Pilote Officiel. On 9 November 2024, he drove the one-off W16 Mistral World Record Car to 453.91 km/h at ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg, where SGS-TÜV Saar confirmed an open-top speed record. A March 2026 Bugatti release still used that title.