Each of the 13 American drivers taking part in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours has a story to tell, a long, winding path that led them to the most prestigious and historic sports car race on the planet. But none of them are quite like 44-year-old Tennessee native Ryan Hardwick’s.
Hardwick, who is taking on this year’s 24 Hours with Porsche powerhouse Manthey in LMGT3, grew up in Knoxville. Like many, he developed a passion for motorsport – bike racing, specifically – at a young age through his father.
“I’ve been racing something since I was six years old,” Hardwick tells RACER. “I did my first competitive race on dirt bikes against kids the same age, and I had a love for racing and competing from back then. It was what my dad loved – he did endurance racing on dirt bikes.
“I did some of that stuff too, but I never made it that good; I crashed a lot. I still ride today and have taught my sons how to drive, and now find myself in the motorcycle sales business with Mountain Motorsports. So racing in the WEC against a guy like Valentino Rossi has been surreal for me, especially when we shook hands for the first time earlier this season on the podium.”
That’s where the regular chapters of this story end, as during his teens and college years spent at the University of Tennessee, he transitioned from two wheels to racing jet skis, winning two national titles and a couple of world championships.
Photo courtesy of Ryan Hardwick
“I made it pretty far in jet ski racing,” Hardwick reflects. “I was racing all over the world, and it was the first sport I turned professional in. I learned so much from racing at a high level there, about what it takes physically and with nutrition. I stopped and went on an entrepreneurial journey. I still do it, but just for fun now.”
With that arc over and his life as a businessman on the up, he turned back to motorsport and began a climb to the top of Pro/Am GT racing back in 2017, trying his hand in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. While not directly transferrable, he feels the skill set he developed on the water gave him a leg up.
“My dirt bike years and jet ski years meant I came to car racing late. I didn’t grow up karting, or racing formula cars like a lot of people. But you still learn a lot from it, you learn about surface awareness and traction awareness,” Hardwick explains. “A lot of people were surprised by my ability in a race car when I started.
“I first drove a Porsche Cayman GT4 at high-performance driving events in 2015 before I did Super Trofeo. The coaches were like, ‘Ryan, this is a very high-performance car, with a lot of power and downforce, it can be intimidating.’ So I asked, ‘What sort of power does this have?’ And they were like, ‘It’s got 620 horsepower.’
“Well, the last jet ski I won a world championship on had 640 horsepower, with an inline four-cylinder engine, a turbo and 44 pounds of boost. It would go from 0-60 miles per hour in under two seconds. So it wasn’t so bad!
“A lot of people don’t understand, though. They’re amazed I can race against a Bronze like Ben Keating, who has decades of experience. Well, I have decades of experience in competitive racing, and that helped me ascend quickly. I’ll probably never reach a Silver or Gold level, but I feel highly competitive in this sport as a Bronze because of my foundation and because I take care of myself. I take it very seriously.”
Making your way in the world of GT racing is not easy, yet Hardwick has relished the mental, physical and financial challenges it presents. In the years since he first got the taste of high-performance circuit racing, he’s collected a number of wins and accolades stateside in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition.
“I learned quickly in Super Trofeo, won the national championship and the world championship and rose up the amateur ranks,” he says. “So I started GT3, and I thought I could do that pretty well. But it was eye-opening, I wasn’t as quick as I expected. I made mistakes, but learned a lot and knew that it was where I wanted to be, especially after joining Wright Motorsports, winning GTD at the Sebring 12 Hours (in 2020), the Rolex 24 Hours (in 2022) and finishing second in the championship twice.”
But the scope of his ambition didn’t stop there. Having made a name for himself in IMSA, he chose to race further afield and went on to win the European Le Mans Series’ GTE title in 2023, racing a Porsche 911 GTE RSR with Proton Competition. It was a rollercoaster season, in which he clinched the championship along with teammates Zach Robichon and Alessio Picariello in the season finale, after book-ending the campaign with wins at Barcelona and Portimao.
“I got to Le Mans through an IMSA invite, but to me, just showing up wasn’t enough,” Hardwick explains when asked about his move to racing in the ELMS. “I wanted to do it properly, so I raced in Europe, which taught me a lot of the ACO rules like full-course yellows. I had no idea how I’d stack up in a GTE. I definitely flat-spotted a lot of tires early on, but Proton were superb; we were so competitive, we even won our first race, and it grew my love for racing in Europe.”
It was that year that he made the pilgrimage to Le Mans for the first time, too. Racing in the centenary Le Mans 24 Hours, he says, was special and a real privilege, even though it didn’t go to plan.
“I watched the race roughly 15 years ago and after that, I started to learn as much as I could. I got super into it,” he reflects. “So when I was there in the flesh doing it the first time… I’ll never forget standing on the grid before the race. It was so emotional for me and my family, even though the race didn’t go well.”
Looking back, it’s clear that the DNF on debut at La Sarthe, plus last year’s struggles racing with the brand-new Ford Mustang GT3 in the first season for the LMGT3 class in WEC, lit a fire inside Hardwick. It led him on a path to where he is today, back racing the Manthey 1st Phorm-liveried Porsche in LMGT3 with Porsche stalwart Richard Lietz and rapid Italian Riccardo Pera.
Hardwick and teammates Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz celebrate after winning the Six Hours of Imola. Jakob Ebrey/Getty Images
“Last year in the WEC was a really cool opportunity,” he says of his first WEC season and second Le Mans attempt. “I was approached by Chris (Ried, from Proton Competition) and Ford when they were trying to put a line-up together. To be approached for a first-year development program with a new car was nice. But we were on the back foot from the start. We were learning a new car, new tire, and torque sensors – it was a lot.
“And I’ll say now I feel more suited to a mid or rear-engined car. It’s why I left and came back to Porsche for this year. It was a tough decision, but to join Manthey…. They know how to prepare and win. I’m glad I made the jump, as I believe this is the car, the team, the co-drivers, the engineering group, that it would take for me to win.
“I focus on the things I can control. I can control studying data and test notes. I can control my diet and workouts. I can control how I drive when I’m on track. I can control who I race with. That’s what makes the difference at the end of the season.”
Hardwick feels Manthey’s deep line-up offers him his best chance at Le Mans glory. Jakob Ebrey/Getty Images
Heading into his third attempt at winning Le Mans, Hardwick has reason to be confident and believe this year’s edition will prove to be a case of “third time lucky” after winning the second round of the WEC season at Imola back in April and finishing in the points at Spa last time out.
“It’s clichéd, but I have two main aims: to win Le Mans and to win a world championship,” he says. “To me, this is the highest level as a Bronze. The racing in the WEC is perfect as you get a lot of drive time, and the Bronze plays a pivotal role.
“I feel like this is my home now, and I will continue to keep this as my focus until I achieve those two goals.”