Dennis Olsen (racing driver)
Dennis Olsen (born 14 April 1996) is a Norwegian racing driver who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Proton Competition and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup for Dinamic GT. He has previously competed full-time in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters and Porsche Supercup, and is a former Porsche Junior Driver and former member of the Red Bull Racing Simulator Development Program.[1] He was champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany in 2017. Career
KartingBorn in Våler, Norway, Olsen began karting in his native Norway, aged six.[1][2] After winning numerous junior titles, he stepped up to the KF3 class in 2009, winning the Norwegian title. He retained his title in 2010, a year which also saw him finish second in the Junior Monaco Kart Cup and third in the German Junior Karting Championship. In 2011, Olsen won his third consecutive Norwegian KF3 title, the German KF3 championship and the WSK Cup Final KF2 titles. For his final year of karting in 2012, he successfully defended his WSK Cup Final KF2 title and also won the prestigious German KF1 karting championship.[3] Toyota Racing SeriesOlsen began his single-seater career in early 2013, racing in the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing Series, becoming the first Norwegian driver to enter the series. He finished the championship in thirteenth place, scoring a best race result of fifth in the final round of the series at Manfeild.[4] Formula Renault 2.0Olsen's main racing program for 2013 was in the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC championship, racing for German team Josef Kaufmann Racing.[5] He finished third in the standings, behind the British Fortec Motorsports pairing of Jack Aitken and Matt Parry after taking three podium finishes.[6] He also recorded a Pole position for the final race of the season at Zandvoort, but the race was cancelled due to heavy rain.[7] He also contested a one-off round of the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps season at Spa-Francorchamps with the AV Formula team. For 2014, Olsen graduated to the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship with Prema Powerteam.[8] He finished second in the standings, behind champion Nyck de Vries, after taking three podium places including race wins at Spa-Francorchamps[9] and the Nürburgring.[10] At the final round of the season in Jerez, he finished second in the first race, a result that initially earned him the runner-up spot in the championship, but was later disqualified for a technical infringement.[11] He did, however, secure second in the championship the following day after finishing seventh in the final race of the season.[12] He also contested a partial campaign in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps championship with Prema, taking six top ten finishes in the six races he took part in. Olsen remained in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 for a second season in 2015, switching to Manor MP Motorsport.[13] Sports car racingIn 2023, Olsen returned to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for a second consecutive season. After completing the 2022 season with SSR Performance, Olsen moved to Manthey EMA for 2023.[14] With two podiums, he finished seventh in the standings, whilst teammate Thomas Preining won the title. In addition, Olsen competed in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with Rutronik Racing, sharing a Pro class entry with Laurin Heinrich and Preining.[15] There, one podium once again resulted in seventh place overall. For 2024, Olsen would switch to become a Ford factory driver, competing with the new Ford Mustang GT3 for Proton Competition alongside Mikkel O. Pedersen and bronze-ranked Giorgio Roda.[16] Following a slow start in the first three rounds, Olsen led the team towards its first podium of the season, finishing third at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[17][18] Racing recordCareer summary† As Olsen was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points. * Season still in progress. Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series results(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
† As Olsen was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points Complete Porsche Supercup results(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete European Le Mans Series results
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
References
External links
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