Paul Holton

Paul Holton (born 11 October 1993) is an American racing driver competing in the GS class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge for Team TGM. He was a McLaren factory driver from 2018 to 2022.

Career

Holton made his car racing debut in 2014, racing in the TCB class of the Pirelli World Challenge for Shea Racing. Driving a Honda Fit in his first season in the series, Holton scored a lone win at Road America en route to a fourth-place points finish. Switching to Audi A3-fielding Compass360 Racing for 2015 to compete in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, Holton scored a lone win at Road Atlanta as he ended the year 14th in the ST standings. During 2015, Holton also raced for the same team on a part-time basis in Pirelli World Challenge's TCA and GTS classes, in which he scored wins at Mosport and Laguna Seca in the former class.

Remaining with C360R to step up to the GS class for 2016, Holton scored a best result of second at Daytona and a pair of third-place finishes to end the year fourth in points driving a Ford Shelby GT350R-C. During 2016, Holton also raced all but one round of the Audi Sport TT Cup, scoring a best result of seventh at the Norisring. In 2017, Holton continued with C360R for a dual campaign in the GS class of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the TC class of the Pirelli World Challenge. Driving a McLaren 570 GT4 in the former, Holton scored a lone win at Circuit of the Americas and a podium at Watkins Glen to end the season fifth in points. Racing a Audi RS 3 LMS in the latter, Holton kicked off the seson with wins at VIR and Mosport, before winning both races at Laguna Seca to clinch the TC title.

Joining the McLaren factory roster for 2018, Holton remained with Compass Racing for a dual campaign in the GS class of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the GTS Pro-Am class of the SprintX GT Championship Series. Between the two campaigns, Holton found more success in the former, scoring a best result of second at Road Atlanta to end the year fifth in the GS standings. During 2018, Holton raced at the non-championship Long Beach of the Pirelli World Challenge, scoring a GTS class win. Continuing with Compass Racing for another season in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, Holton scored a lone win at Daytona and a podium at Road America to take 15th in the GS standings. During 2019, Holton also raced in the Sprint rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship in GTD for the same team. Another campaign in the Sprint rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship then ensued in 2020, before making one-off appearances in TCR South America and the Indianapolis 8 Hours in 2021 for KMW Motorsports and Crucial Motorsports, the latter of which he worked as team manager. In 2022, Holton continued with Crucial Motorsports to race in select rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship in GTD.

After a year as Crucial Motorsports' partnerships director, Holton joined Aston Martin-fielding Team TGM to race in the 2024 Michelin Pilot Challenge from Sebring onwards. In the nine races he contested, Holton scored a lone win at Watkins Glen and three other podiums en route to a third-place points finish in the GS points. Continuing with Team TGM for 2025, Holton scored a best result of fifth at Watkins Glen to end the season eighth in points. The following year, Holton remained with Team TGM, as they switched to a Ford Mustang, to remain in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, as well as joining Forte Racing to compete in McLaren Trophy America.

Racing record

Racing career summary

† As Holton was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete Michelin Pilot Challenge results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

External links

• career summary at DriverDB.com