Callan O'Keeffe
| Callan O'Keeffe | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | South African |
| Born | 9 June 1996 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Previous series | |
| 2017 2017 2017 2014–2015, 2019 2014–2016 2013 2012 | U.S. F2000 National Championship British LMP3 Cup BRDC British Formula 3 Championship Formula Renault Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup ADAC Formel Masters Formula BMW Talent Cup |
Callan O'Keeffe (born 9 June 1996) is a South African former racing driver, driver coach and founder of the School Of Send. He is a former member of both the Red Bull Junior Team and the Lotus F1 Junior Team.
Racing career
Karting
O'Keeffe started karting at the age of 13. In 2010 he finished third in the KF3 CIK-FIA World Cup. In 2011 O'Keefe won the British Karting Junior Championship in and was the runner-up in the KF3 CIK-FIA World Cup.
Lower formulae
O'Keeffe began his career in single-seater racing cars in 2012 with the Formula BMW Talent Cup. He won 4 races during the regular season. In the Grand Final, he only finished in ninth with 13 points.
In 2013 he competed in the ADAC Formel Masters for Lotus. He finished the season in thirteenth.
Formula Renault
For the 2014 season, he signed a contract with the ART Junior Team to start in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. Later in the season, he switched his team driver for KTR alongside fellow Lotus F1 juniors Alex Albon and Gregor Ramsay. He took his first Formula Renault race win in the Northern European Cup at TT Circuit Assen. after also scoring his first pole position. At the end of the season he had scored one win and was on the podium three times. He was seventh in the drivers' standings with 187 points. In the Eurocup he collected a total of 28 points and finished sixteenth in the final drivers' standings.
In 2015 he joined Fortec Motorsports to compete in both the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. In the Northern European Cup he scored 3 podiums and finished the season in seventh. In the Eurocup he only finished in fourteenth after leaving the series ahead of the final two rounds.
In 2016 he only competed in one round of the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup for JD Motorsport.
In 2019 he returned to the Formula Renault Eurocup with FA Racing by Drivex. Ahead of the fifth round at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps he moved to M2 Competition. He finished the season in seventeenth.
BRDC British Formula 3 Championship
In 2016 O'Keeffe competed in the BRDC British Formula 3 Auumn Trophy for Fortec Motorsport, where he finished third.
In 2017 he joined Douglas Motorsport for a full season in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship. He scored 3 podiums and finished the season in sixth.
British LMP3 Cup
In 2017 O'Keeffe also made his debut in sports car racing by competing in some events of the 2017 British LMP3 Cup together with his team Douglas Motorsport.
U.S. F2000 National Championship
In 2017 O'Keeffe also competed in selected races of the U.S. F2000 National Championship.
Formula One
In 2012 he was signed by the Red Bull Junior Team. He was dropped by Red Bull after the 2013 season. He then joined the Lotus F1 Junior Team in 2014. He parted ways with Lotus F1 prior to the 2015 season.
School Of Send
After retiring from racing in 2019 O'Keeffe founded the driver development program School Of Send. The program offers simulator training, in-car tuition, online coaching and trackside support for its drivers. The programs current drivers include Matthew Rees, Hunter Yeany, Rui Andrade, Max Cuthbert and Sonny Smith. In 2021 Matthew Rees became the F4 British Championship champion with O'Keeffe as head coach.
Personal life
As of 2019, O'Keeffe resides near St Albans, England.
Racing record
Racing career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Formula BMW Talent Cup | N/A | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 9th |
| 2013 | ADAC Formel Masters | Lotus | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 13th |
| 2014 | Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | ART Junior Team | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 16th |
| KTR | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | ART Junior Team | 13 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 187 | 7th | |
| KTR | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2015 | Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | Fortec Motorsports | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 14th |
| Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 168.5 | 7th | ||
| 2016 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | JD Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 28th |
| BRDC British Formula 3 Autumn Trophy | Fortec Motorsport | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 3rd | |
| 2017 | BRDC British Formula 3 Championship | Douglas Motorsport | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 373 | 6th |
| British LMP3 Cup | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | NC† | ||
| U.S. F2000 National Championship | Team BENIK | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 27th | |
| 2019 | Formula Renault Eurocup | FA Racing by Drivex | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 17th |
| M2 Competition | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
† O'Keeffe was ineligible to score points.