Briscoe was born in Sydney, Australia. He began his racing career in karting in 1993, winning championships in Australia, North America, and Italy. He then transitioned to Formula Renault, winning the Italian Formula Renault Championship in 2001 with five race wins, and finishing fourth in the Eurocup with two wins in six races.
In 2002, Briscoe became a test driver for the Toyota Formula One team. He also competed in the Formula 3000 series, leaving after seven races, and later raced in the German Formula Three Championship, achieving three podiums in the last six rounds. He won the Formula Three Euroseries in 2003, securing eight race wins. He continued with Toyota F1 as their 'third' driver for the final third of the 2004 season, replacing Cristiano da Matta.
Briscoe moved to America in 2005, racing for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar Series, finishing tenth in the Indianapolis 500. A violent crash at Chicagoland Speedway on 11 September 2005 resulted in broken clavicles and other injuries, requiring eight weeks of rehabilitation in Italy. He returned to racing after treatment, and continued to compete in the series.
After being dropped by Ganassi for 2006, Briscoe tested with PKV Racing and Conquest Racing. He competed in the 2006 24 Hours of Daytona with Wayne Taylor Racing, but the team withdrew before his driving stint due to accident damage. He also drove for Holden Racing Team in the Australian V8 Supercars series, and for A1 Team Australia in the A1 Grand Prix.
In 2007, Briscoe drove for A. J. Foyt Racing at the Indy 500 and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the IndyCar Series, achieving a third-place finish at Watkins Glen International. He also drove for RuSPORT in the final two races of the Champ Car season at Surfers Paradise. He signed with Penske Racing to drive their Porsche RS Spyder in the American Le Mans Series, winning three races.
Briscoe joined Penske’s IndyCar team as a full-time driver for the 2008 season, replacing Sam Hornish Jr. He earned his first career win at the Milwaukee Mile, and followed it up with a victory at the Honda 200 on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He also won the Nikon Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise, Australia, though the race was not for championship points.
The 2009 IndyCar season was Briscoe’s most successful, with three wins and eight podiums. He led the championship for much of the season, but a crash at the Indy Japan 300 dropped him to third place. He ultimately finished second at Homestead-Miami Speedway, losing the championship to Dario Franchitti. He won a single race at Texas Motor Speedway in 2010, and at Sonoma Raceway in 2012, where he also secured pole position for the Indianapolis 500, the first Australian to do so.
Briscoe was involved in a significant incident during the 2008 Indianapolis 500, colliding with Danica Patrick and damaging both cars. Both drivers were fined $100,000 and placed on probation.
Briscoe remains an active racing driver as of the corpus’s last update.
Briscoe competed in the American Le Mans Series, winning the 2013 12 Hours of Sebring LMP2 class, the 2008 and 2013 Petit Le Mans LMP2 class, and the 2015 24 Hours of Daytona GTLM class. He also competed in the V8 Supercars series in Australia, partnering with Jim Richards and later Russell Ingall. He also drove a Ford GT with Chip Ganassi Racing, winning the 2018 24 Hours of Daytona. In 2020, he won the 24 Hours of Daytona and Petit Le Mans with Wayne Taylor Racing.
Briscoe won the 2013 12 Hours of Sebring LMP2 class and the 2020 24 Hours of Daytona. He also finished third overall at the 2008 24 Hours of Daytona. He speaks Italian and French in addition to English, and became a naturalized American citizen in April 2018.
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