 STEVEN KANE
Steven Kane co-drove with Chris Dyson and Guy Smith in 2012's first race, the 12 Hours of Sebring, where they took home first place ALMS P1 points in their #16 Mazda-powered ModSpace/Thetford entry. He repeated his winning ways with additional first place ALMS P1 points at the season-ending 1,000 mile Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda.
Steven and the #20 Oryx Dyson Racing Mazda joined the American Le Mans Series mid-season in 2011. In his first race in the series, he qualified second and finished third at Lime Rock Park. "What a great way to start off our racing in the ALMS. It was probably some of the most fun I have had in racing. Working the traffic was quite the challenge. The fact we were two tenths off the pole time and a tenth off the fastest lap was a great achievement for the whole team."
Steven and his co-driver, Humaid Al Masaood, went on to win the 2011 Baltimore Grand Prix on Labor Day weekend. “It felt unreal to win in such a short period of time. It was our fifth race in the ALMS and it was an unbelievable experience." It was a one-two finish for Dyson Racing.
Steven Kane was born in Northern Ireland in 1980 and grew up on the family farm. By the age of fourteen, he was competing in motocross and won three consecutive major championships in 1995, 1996, and 1997. Steve switched to go-karts in 1999 and in his first full year of four-wheel competition, won his championship and the Northern Ireland Kart Driver of the Year award.
Steven progressed quickly through the ranks of British and International motorsports. In 2001 he won the Junior Formula Ford Zetec Championship with eight wins and four seconds in twelve races. He also won the prestigious British Racing Drivers Club McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year award in 2001. Past winners have included Jenson Button, Dario Franchitti and David Coulthard.
Steven competed in Formula Three for three years starting in 2003. He won the Scholarship class of British Formula Three that year, the Spanish Formula Three championship in 2004 and the Championship Class of British Formula Three in 2005.
He moved to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2006, with a best finish of second. In 2007, he further diversified his racing resume and ran the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, winning a series high seven races. He competed in the British Touring Car Championship in 2008, driving a BMW and moved back to single seaters the next year as Formula Two development driver for Williams Grand Prix. He remained with Williams Grand Prix in 2010 and returned to the British Touring Car Championship, winning his first race back at Thruxton.
When asked what was the one word that described his success as a race driver, Steven summed it up as, “enjoyment: if you are not happy and you do not really, really want to be in that driving seat, you will never win championships or get the best out of yourself. At this level, you need everyone, including yourself, to be pushing 100% in the same direction.”
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