Liz Halliday

Liz Halliday (born 14 December 1978) is an auto racing driver, equestrian rider, and commentator. She was born in San Diego, California, and currently lives in Sussex, England.[1] She currently races in the Lotus Cup UK series in the Lotus 2-Eleven for John Danby Racing,[2][3] and is also the owner of Chailey Stud Equestrian Centre, which she acquired in 2011.[4] Halliday is the most successful female driver in American Le Mans with six victories.[5] Halliday has stated that her ambition is to become the first woman to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and to acquire a spot on the United States Equestrian Team.[6]

Liz Halliday
Halliday at the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers' parade
Nationality USA
Born (1978-12-14) 14 December 1978
San Diego, California, United States
Lotus Cup UK career
Debut season2012
Current teamJohn Danby Racing
Previous series
2010
2010
2010
2005-07
2004-08
2004-05
2004
2003
2001-04
2001-03		Kumho BMW Championship
Rolex Sports Car Series
Silverstone Classic
24 Hours of Le Mans
American Le Mans Series
European Endurance Racing Club
Oulton Park International Gold Cup
Bathurst 24 Hour
British GT Championship
FIA GT Championship
Awards
2010
2005
2003
2002
2002		Italian Historic Cup GT1 Winner
Dailysportscar Rookie of the Year
Kumho Driver of the Day
Kumho Driver of the Season
EERC Driver of the Day

Career

Racing

Halliday first started racing at age 16 in a 1967 Datsun 510 that she shared with her father, Don, who was a Sports Car of America instructor and vintage racer.[6] When she attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, she was involved in low-level motor clubs and the Vintage Auto Association.[7] In 2001 Halliday raced in the Kumho BMW Championship series for Mosely Motorsport in the M3 E30, and was named "Driver of the Season" in 2002. A year later, Halliday recorded one win and broke the class lap record at Croft, earning her "Driver of the Day" honors.[8] In 2003, Halliday became the first woman to win a British GT Championship round.

In 2005, Halliday made her 24 Hours of Le Mans debut in the LMP2 class, and was leading the class until she was forced to retire eleven hours into the race due to engine problems.[1] A year later, she finished fourth in the class. After her contract with Team Modena was terminated, Halliday raced for the Noël Del Bello Racing Team in a Courage-AER LC75, which she shared with Romain Iannetta and Vitaly Petrov.[9] However, the team was only able to finish 198 laps at the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans, and finished 38th.[10]

In parallel, Halliday competed at the LMP2 class of the American Le Mans Series for Intersport Racing, finishing sixth in 2005 and vice-champion in 2006. She collected three class wins in each season, most notably at the 2005 Petit Le Mans and the 2006 12 Hours of Sebring, where she finished second overall.

Halliday had a two-year hiatus from racing to be a commentator for Eurosport covering the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as an expert judge at Speed's GT Academy series.[11] She also covered the American Le Mans series for CBS Sports throughout 2007, as well as for Motors TV during their Le Mans broadcasts. Halliday has also served as a mentor and judge in the Sky One series The Race.[12]

It's a big honour for me to have been selected for the GT Academy USA expert panel alongside two legends of American motorsport, especially as we have now helped to ignite one man's future racing career. We've seen with Lucas in Europe that a talented virtual racer also has the potential to become an excellent professional driver in the real world. To step from virtual simulation to Le Mans 24 Hours in just over three years is an unbelievable achievement and one that our winner will be hoping to emulate one day. Their life is about to change forever and I'm really excited to be a part of that.[11]

— Halliday about being selected for GT Academy's expert panel

In 2012, Halliday made her return to racing in the Lotus Cup UK series at Silverstone Circuit for John Danby Racing,[13] and finished the race second after starting in last place.[14]

At the 2014 and 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, she worked as a pit-lane reporter for the Eurosport television network.[15]

Equestrianism

Halliday first rode horses when she was eight years old, and went to England as a pupil of William Fox-Pitt.[4] Halliday is an eventer, and owns three horses.[16] She was a member of the Fallbrook Pony Club and the Southern California Show Jumping team, which finished third in the National Pony Club Championships.[6] Her hopes of qualifying for the United States equestrian team for the 2004 Summer Olympics were dashed when her horse crashed in a jumping event.[17]

Motorsports career results

Grand Touring

(key) Bold – Pole Position. (Overall Finish/Class Finish).

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series GT results
Year Team No. Chassis 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts
2004 The Racer's Group 67 Pontiac GT3 RS DAY HOM
(16/3)		 PHO
(26/4)		 MOT
(28/7)		 WGL
(34/9)		 DAY
(16/4)		 MDO
(16/5)		 WGL
(29/7)		 HOM VIR BAR FON 15th 156

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2005 Intersport Racing Sam Hancock
Gregor Fisken		 Lola B05/40 / AER LMP2 119 DNF DNF
2006 Intersport Racing Clint Field
Duncan Dayton		 Lola B05/40 / AER LMP2 297 19th 4th
2007 Noël del Bello Racing Vitaly Petrov
Romain Iannetta		 Courage LC75 / AER LMP2 198 DNF DNF

References
  1. "Liz Halliday An introduction to Liz". Lizhalliday.com. 1978-12-14. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  2. "Halliday joins Lotus grid - MSV Racing - The race organising division of MSV". MSV Racing. 2012-04-14. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  3. "Drivers". John Danby Racing. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
  4. "About Liz". Chailey Stud. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  5. "Liz Halliday NEWS". Racerchicks.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-06. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  6. "Riding Fast with Liz Halliday". Equine-world.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  7. Petter Solberg (1970-01-01). "BBC Wales - Colin Jackson's Raise Your Game - In the zone - Liz Halliday". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  8. "Liz Halliday Racing CV". Lizhalliday.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  9. "Liz Halliday confirmed in Noel Del Bello Courage". Planetlemans.com. 2007-05-30. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  10. "2007 24 Hours of Le Mans Results and Competitors". Experiencelemans.com. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  11. — 22 September 2011 (2011-09-22). "Halliday To Appear On Nissan GT Academy Judging Panel | Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports". Female Racing News. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  12. "Liz Halliday TV - Broadcaster / Presenter". Lizhalliday.com. 2006-11-12. Archived from the original on 2012-07-13. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  13. "Halliday primed for Lotus debut at Silverstone | Driver Database News". News.driverdb.com. 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  14. "Stunning comeback helps BWRDC Mentor Halliday score second on Lotus debut". Motors TV. 2012-04-18. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  15. "halliday set for annual le mans appearance with eurosport international". 2015-06-05. Archived from the original on 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  16. "Equestrian Racecar Driver". Horsechannel.com. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  17. Center, Bill (2004-06-17). "Engines and equines | The San Diego Union-Tribune". Utsandiego.com. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
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