martin-plowman
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martin-plowman

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Martin James Plowman (born 3 October 1987) is a British professional racing driver from Tamworth who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class in 2013 and claimed the FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 title for drivers and teams that same year. He later co-founded British GT team Paddock Motorsport alongside his regular co-driver Kelvin Fletcher.

After a successful karting background, Plowman was signed to Toyota's young driver programme. He made his professional debut in 2006 in Italian Formula Renault with Prema Powerteam, finishing fifth overall and taking the rookie of the year award. He returned to the same series and team in 2007 before being released from the Toyota programme at the end of that season.

In 2008, Plowman became a Volkswagen junior driver and joined RC Motorsport in the Formula Three Euroseries for the first seven rounds, failing to score points. He also contested the Masters of Formula 3 with Signature-Plus, finishing fourteenth.

Plowman moved to North American single-seater racing in 2009, joining Panther Racing in the Firestone Indy Lights series and finishing eleventh in the championship. For 2010 he switched to AFS-Andretti Autosport alongside Charlie Kimball, winning from pole position at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for his first Lights victory and finishing third in the championship overall.

In 2011, Plowman made his IndyCar Series debut with Sam Schmidt Motorsports, competing at Mid-Ohio, Infineon Raceway, and the Baltimore Grand Prix. He improved his result at each successive event, coming close to a top-ten finish in Baltimore.

Plowman transitioned to endurance racing in 2012 with Conquest Endurance in the American Le Mans Series, co-driving with David Heinemeier Hansson in the LMP2 class. The pairing achieved their first ALMS P2 class pole and victory at the Grand Prix of Mosport in July 2012, a result that was also the first ALMS win for Conquest Endurance.

For the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship season, Plowman joined OAK Racing alongside co-drivers Bertrand Baguette and Ricardo González in the number 35 Morgan-Nissan LMP2. The season proved exceptional. After scoring points at Silverstone, Spa, and São Paulo, the trio took outright LMP2 victory at the 6 Hours of Fuji — awarded under weather-shortened race rules — and followed up with a podium at Shanghai heading into the season finale at Bahrain.

The defining moment came at the 81st edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, contested in difficult weather with a record twelve safety car periods. González, Baguette, and Plowman's OAK Racing Morgan LMP2-Nissan covered 329 laps of the Circuit de la Sarthe to win the LMP2 class, finishing seventh overall. That result, combined with consistent championship scoring throughout the year, delivered Plowman both the LMP2 drivers' and teams' FIA WEC World Championship titles for 2013.

Plowman first raced in the British GT Championship in 2015 before joining full-time in 2017, partnering Kelvin Fletcher in a Nissan GT4. The pair won the GT4 Pro-Am title in 2019. After sitting out the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, they returned in 2021 with JRM before co-founding Paddock Motorsport, which also competed in the BRSCC Mazda MX5 Championship and the GT Cup Championship.

With Plowman serving as both driver and team principal, Paddock Motorsport expanded in 2022 to field cars in both GT3 and GT4. That season brought the team's first overall British GT win for Plowman and Fletcher at Oulton Park, while Moh Ritson and Kavi Jundu added the GT4 Pro-Am class win at the Donington Park season finale.

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