Steven Richards

Steven James Richards (born 11 July, 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Australian GT Championship. He also drives for Triple Eight Race Engineering as a co-driver alongside Craig Lowndes in the Pirtek Enduro Cup series.
Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, is himself a four-time Bathurst 1000 winner, having won the event in 1998, 1999, 2013 and 2015. Colloquially known as 'Richo', he also won the Bathurst 24 Hour in 2002.

Early career

Richards' first major career success was winning the Australian Formula Ford Championship on his second attempt in 1994 for Garry Rogers Motorsport. In 1995, Richards made his debut in the Bathurst 1000, finishing fourth for Gibson Motorsport with Anders Olofsson. Richards continued his association with Garry Rogers Motorsport in the years following, competing in the Australian Super Touring Championship from 1995 to 1997 driving an Alfa Romeo 155, Honda Accord and Nissan Primera and making his Australian Touring Car Championship debut for the team in 1996 in a Holden VR Commodore. Richards competed with his father Jim at the Bathurst 1000 in 1996 and 1997, finishing second in the latter. Richards continued with the team for 1998 before leaving to take up a testing role with Nissan in England.

At the 1998 AMP Bathurst 1000 Richards finished second in a Nissan Primera, only two seconds behind his father Jim. A month later driving a Ford EL Falcon, he won the FAI 1000 with Jason Bright for Stone Brothers Racing.

V8 Supercars

In 1999 Richards took up a full-time drive with Gibson Motorsport in 1999, as a team-mate to Greg Murphy in a Holden VT Commodore. Richards finished seventh in the championship with the highlight being defending his Bathurst crown with Murphy. By winning his second Bathurst title in a Holden, he became the first driver to win the Bathurst 1000 in both a Ford and Holden, and remains the only driver to do so in consecutive years. Richards continued with Gibson Motorsport in 2000, winning the inaugural Canberra 400 as well as a round at Calder Park Raceway.

In 2001, Richards moved to Ford Tickford Racing. Richards finished 12th in the standings for the team in 2001. With Ford Tickford Racing scaling back to one car, Richards moved to Perkins Engineering in 2002. He continued with the team for five years, and achieved consistent championship finishes between fifth and seventh. Richards won two rounds for the team, both at the Perth 400 at Barbagallo Raceway.

Ford Performance Racing Ford FG Falcon of Steven Richards at the 2010 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

In 2007, Richards made another manufacturer switch, joining Ford Performance Racing. Richards started competitively for the team, with championship finishes of seventh and eighth, but dropped off in 2009 and 2010 with finishes of thirteenth and fifteenth. Richards was subsequently replaced by Will Davison for 2011, and finished his full-time career with a podium in the final race of the season at the Sydney 500. Richards' highlights for the team were winning the Skycity Triple Crown in 2008, and podium finishes at the 2007 Sandown 500 and 2009 Phillip Island 500 with Owen Kelly and Mark Winterbottom respectively. Richards and Winterbottom were leading the 2007 Bathurst 1000 late in the race before Winterbottom went off the track in wet conditions.

Endurance co-driver

Following his full-time career ending, Richards became a highly sought-after co-driver for V8 Supercars' two endurance events, the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000. He decided to stay on with Ford Performance Racing, renewing his partnership with Winterbottom. In 2013, Richards and Winterbottom won the 2013 on their sixth attempt together. It was the first Bathurst victory for Winterbottom and the team, and Richards' first since 1999.

After his success in 2013, Richards was poached by Triple Eight Race Engineering to drive with Craig Lowndes from 2014 onwards in what had become known as the Pirtek Enduro Cup. The move brought Richards a fourth Bathurst victory in 2015. In doing this Richards joined Lowndes, who along with Tony Longhurst and Jamie Whincup had matched the feat of winning in both a Ford and Holden since Richards had achieved it, as the only two drivers to win more than one Bathurst 1000 for both Ford and Holden.

Endurance racing

Richards won the inaugural Bathurst 24 Hour race in 2002 driving a Holden Monaro 427C for Garry Rogers Motorsport. Richards won the race alongside Garth Tander, Cameron McConville and Nathan Pretty. Driving the same car in the 2003 race, the same quartet finished in second place, less than a second behind their team mates Greg Murphy, Todd Kelly, Jason Bright, and Peter Brock, who had formed a famous partnership with his father Jim in the 1970s and 1980s.

Richards competed in the 2014 24 Hours of Spa with Roger Lago, David Russell and Steve Owen, driving a Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ GT3. They did not finish the race. Richards has also achieved a class victory at the Bathurst 12 Hour, in 2012.

Carrera Cup

Richards placed fourth in the 2013 Australian Carrera Cup Championship

After the conclusion of his full-time V8 Supercars career, Richards entered the Australian Carrera Cup Championship in 2011 in a team backed by Laser Plumbing & Electrical. He consistently became a top five championship runner since joining the series. His highlight was in 2014 when he won the championship title and broke the stranglehold on the series held by Craig Baird. It was Richards' first championship title in twenty years. Richards slipped back in the following two years before stepping back from the series to focus on his team's entry in the Australian GT Championship.

Australian GT

In 2013 and 2014, Richards competed in selected events of the Australian GT Championship in a Lamborghini Gallardo alongside Justin McMillan. They finished fifth in the 2014 championship. Richards then made a one-off appearance in the 2015 season in a Chevrolet Camaro.

In 2016, Richards re-joined the series full-time, this time with his own team, Steven Richards Motorsport. The team became the factory-supported customer entrant for the new BMW M6 GT3 in Australia. The team has also entered two cars in the 2017 Bathurst 12 Hour.

Before taking up motor racing full-time, Richards served his apprenticeship as an aircraft engineer.

Richards is married to Angela and has two children, Clayton and Priya.

Richards won the 2014 Australian Carrera Cup Championship

Richards placed fifth in the 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia series

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Year	No.	Team	Car	Co-driver	Position	Laps
1995	2	Gibson Motorsport	Holden VR Commodore	Anders Olofsson	4th	161
1996	32	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VR Commodore	Jim Richards	DNF	33
1997	34	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Nissan Primera	Matt Neal	DNF	84
1997	34	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VS Commodore	Jim Richards	2nd	161
1998	34	Team Dynamics	Nissan Primera	Matt Neal	2nd	161
1998	4	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford EL Falcon	Jason Bright	1st	161
1999	7	Gibson Motorsport	Holden VT Commodore	Greg Murphy	1st	161
2000	7	Gibson Motorsport	Holden VT Commodore	Greg Murphy	3rd	161
2001	5	Ford Tickford Racing	Ford AU Falcon	Glenn Seton	9th	161
2002	16	Perkins Engineering	Holden VX Commodore	Russell Ingall	2nd	161
2003	11	Perkins Engineering	Holden VY Commodore	Larry Perkins	4th	161
2004	11	Perkins Engineering	Holden VY Commodore	Jim Richards	21st	148
2005	24	Perkins Engineering	Holden VZ Commodore	Paul Dumbrell	DNF	28
2006	7	Perkins Engineering	Holden VZ Commodore	Paul Dumbrell	5th	161
2007	6	Ford Performance Racing	Ford BF Falcon	Mark Winterbottom	10th	161
2008	6	Ford Performance Racing	Ford BF Falcon	Mark Winterbottom	4th	161
2009	6	Ford Performance Racing	Ford FG Falcon	Mark Winterbottom	DNF	49
2010	6	Ford Performance Racing	Ford FG Falcon	James Moffat	11th	161
2011	5	Ford Performance Racing	Ford FG Falcon	Mark Winterbottom	4th	161
2012	5	Ford Performance Racing	Ford FG Falcon	Mark Winterbottom	11th	161
2013	5	Ford Performance Racing	Ford FG Falcon	Mark Winterbottom	1st	161
2014	888	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Holden VF Commodore	Craig Lowndes	10th	161
2015	888	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Holden VF Commodore	Craig Lowndes	1st	161
2016	888	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Holden VF Commodore	Craig Lowndes	16th	156

* Events highlighted in green denote designated co-driver role

Complete Bathurst 24 Hour results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2002	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Garth Tander Nathan Pretty Cameron McConville	Holden Monaro 427C	1	532	1st	1st
2003	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Garth Tander Nathan Pretty Cameron McConville	Holden Monaro 427C	A	527	2nd	2nd

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results

Year	Car #	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1993	22	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Paul Fordham	Nissan Pulsar SSS	B	234	21	3
2012	30	Hunter Sports Group	Steven Johnson Nathan Tinkler	Porsche 997 GT3 Cup	B	254	4	1
2013	48	GB Galvanising	Ross Lilley Justin McMillan	Lamborghini Gallardo LP560	A	247	13	10
2014	48	M Motorsport	Ross Lilley Justin McMillan Dale Wood	Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4	A	78	DNF	DNF
2015	48	M Motorsport	Craig Baird Justin McMillan	Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4	AP	129	DNF	DNF