Jonathan Aberdein

Jonathan Aberdein
Aberdein in 2021
Nationality South African
BornJonathan David Aberdein
(1998-02-14) 14 February 1998
Cape Town, South Africa
RelativesChris Aberdein (father)
European Le Mans Series
Categorisation FIA Gold
Years active2021, 2023
TeamsUnited Autosports, Inter Europol Competition
Starts12
Championships0
Wins1
Podiums5
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finish2nd in 2021
Previous series
2022
2022
2019-20
2018
2016-17
2016-17		ADAC GT Masters
World Endurance Championship
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
FIA European F3
Formula 4 UAE Championship
ADAC Formula 4
Championship titles
2016-17Formula 4 UAE Championship

Jonathan David Aberdein (born 14 February 1998) is a South African racing driver who last competed in the 2023 European Le Mans Series for Inter Europol Competition.

Beginning his single-seater career in 2016, Aberdein was the inaugural champion of the Formula 4 UAE Championship in early 2017. He also competed in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship in 2016 and 2017, and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2018.

Aberdein then moved to sportscar racing, competing in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters in 2019 and 2020 before switching to endurance prototypes. He finished second overall in the 2021 European Le Mans Series LMP2 class with United Autosports before moving to the FIA World Endurance Championship for 2022, finishing third in the LMP2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A second European Le Mans Series season in 2023 was his most recent racing endeavor.

Career

2016–2018: Junior single-seaters

Aberdein's first single-seater championship was the 2016 ADAC Formula 4 Championship, driving for Motopark. The following year, he won the 2016–17 Formula 4 UAE Championship title with 14 wins out of 18 races. However, he only finished ninth overall in the 2017 ADAC Formula 4 Championship, although he took four podiums during the season.[1]

Aberdein graduated to European Formula 3 for 2018, remaining with Motopark for a third year following an extensive testing programme with the team.[2] He took three podiums across the season, two at Silverstone and one at the Red Bull Ring, and finished 12th in the standings.[3]

2019–2020: Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters

Aberdein switched to touring cars for the 2019 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.

Aberdein's first experience in DTM was in 2017, when he took part in a rookie test for Audi at the Lausitzring.[2] He took part in another test in December 2018, this time for Audi's customer teams at Jerez.[4]

Aberdein was announced to be competing in the 2019 season with Audi Sport Team WRT the following March.[5] He finished the season in tenth overall, with 67 points and a best race result of fourth at Assen and the Nürburgring.[6]

For the 2020 season, Aberdein was originally set to serve as Audi's reserve driver in DTM and Formula E, a deal which likely would have included just one race appearance in place of Robin Frijns at the Norisring.[7] Instead, he moved to BMW Team RMR for a sophomore DTM campaign.[8] He was unable to improve on his results from the previous year, again taking a best race result of fourth at Zolder, and finished 11th in the standings.[9]

2021–2023: LMP2 endurance racing

In 2021, Aberdein moved to the LMP2 class of the European Le Mans Series, competing alongside Tom Gamble and Philip Hanson at United Autosports.[10] With four podiums, including a win at the season-ending race in Portugal, the trio ended up finishing second in the standings.[11] In addition, he joined the team for the 24 Hours of Le Mans together with Nico Jamin and Manuel Maldonado, though the race would conclude in a retirement due to a crash with the sister United car caused by Maldonado.[12][13]

2022 saw Aberdein team up with Ed Jones and Oliver Rasmussen to drive for Jota Sport in the World Endurance Championship.[14] Following a fifth place at Sebring, the team would be forced to retire at Spa-Francorchamps.[15] The team bounced back strongly at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing third in class and joining the sister car, which took victory, on the podium.[16][17] Aberdein, Jones, and Rasmussen took another third place at the penultimate race in Fuji, eventually ending up sixth in the teams' standings.[18]

Aberdein racing in the 2022 ADAC GT Masters.

Aberdein made a brief return to GT racing in 2022 alongside his endurance campaign, competing in the first two rounds of the ADAC GT Masters for Mercedes-AMG–affiliated Mann-Filter Team Landgraf.[19] With three podiums in the first three races, he finished 20th in the overall standings.[20] He also competed in the opening round of the 2022 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie with Team Sorg Rennsport, finishing eighth in the VT2 FWD class.[21]

For 2023, Aberdein returned to the European Le Mans Series. Competing in the LMP2 class for Inter Europol Competition, Aberdein drove alongside Olli Caldwell and Rui Andrade in the team's No. 43 entry.[22] With one podium at Paul Ricard but three retirements out of the six races, the team finished seventh in the standings.[23]

Personal life

Aberdein is the son of Chris Aberdein, who was an Audi works driver in South Africa in the 1990s.[2]

Racing record

Karting career summary

Season Series Team Position
2013 ROK Cup International Final — Super ROK 14th
2014 ROK Cup International Final — Super ROK 13th
2015 Rotax Max Challenge Euro Trophy — Senior 13th
ROK Cup International Final — Senior RKT 6th
Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Senior 59th
2016 WSK Champions Cup — OK RKT 20th
Source:[24]

Racing career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2016 ADAC Formula 4 Championship Motopark 24 0 0 0 1 49 14th
Formula 4 UAE Championship - Trophy Event Team Motopark 3 3 2 1 3 N/A NC
2016–17 Formula 4 UAE Championship Team Motopark 18 14 12 11 16 368 1st
2017 ADAC Formula 4 Championship Motopark 21 0 0 1 4 94 9th
2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship Motopark 30 0 0 1 3 108 12th
2019 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Audi Sport Team WRT 18 0 0 0 0 67 10th
2020 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters BMW Team RMR 18 0 0 0 0 62 11th
2021 European Le Mans Series - LMP2 United Autosports 6 1 0 0 4 86 2nd
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2022 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Jota Sport 6 0 0 1 2 70 8th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 3rd
Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - VT2 FWD Team Sorg Rennsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
ADAC GT Masters MANN-FILTER Team Landgraf 4 0 1 0 3 56 20th
2023 European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Inter Europol Competition 6 0 0 0 1 33 7th
Source:[24]

Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results

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

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pos Points
2016 Motopark OSC1
1
15		 OSC1
2
24		 OSC1
3
11		 SAC
1
10		 SAC
2
Ret		 SAC
3
8		 LAU
1
Ret		 LAU
2
13		 LAU
3
13		 OSC2
1
8		 OSC2
2
13		 OSC2
3
4		 RBR
1
26		 RBR
2
9		 RBR
3
21		 NÜR
1
14		 NÜR
2
9		 NÜR
3
15		 ZAN
1
7		 ZAN
2
10		 ZAN
3
2		 HOC
1
23		 HOC
2
6		 HOC
3
27		 14th 49
2017 Motopark OSC1
1
3		 OSC1
2
8		 OSC1
3
3		 LAU
1
Ret		 LAU
2
13		 LAU
3
Ret		 RBR
1
14		 RBR
2
4		 RBR
3
12		 OSC2
1
2		 OSC2
2
7		 OSC2
3
9		 NÜR
1
Ret		 NÜR
2
9		 NÜR
3
16		 SAC
1
13		 SAC
2
9		 SAC
3
16		 HOC
1
Ret		 HOC
2
2		 HOC
3
17		 9th 94

Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results

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

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points
2016–17 Team Motopark DUB1
1
1		 DUB1
2
1		 DUB1
3
1		 YMC1
1
1		 YMC1
2
1		 YMC1
3
1		 YMC1
4
1		 DUB2
1
1		 DUB2
2
3		 DUB2
3
1		 YMC2
1
1		 YMC2
2
7		 YMC2
3
1		 YMC2
4
2		 YMC3
1
1		 YMC3
2
1		 YMC3
3
1		 YMC3
4
5		 1st 368

Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results

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

Year Entrant Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 DC Points
2018 Motopark Volkswagen PAU
1
12		 PAU
2
19		 PAU
3
8‡		 HUN
1
17		 HUN
2
14		 HUN
3
8		 NOR
1
16		 NOR
2
14		 NOR
3
Ret		 ZAN
1
7		 ZAN
2
11		 ZAN
3
8		 SPA
1
Ret		 SPA
2
9		 SPA
3
7		 SIL
1
5		 SIL
2
3		 SIL
3
3		 MIS
1
10		 MIS
2
14		 MIS
3
11		 NÜR
1
9		 NÜR
2
7		 NÜR
3
12		 RBR
1
7		 RBR
2
6		 RBR
3
3		 HOC
1
16		 HOC
2
11		 HOC
3
7		 12th 109

‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

Year Entrant Chassis 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points
2019 Audi Sport Team WRT Audi RS5 Turbo DTM HOC
1
15		 HOC
2
12		 ZOL
1
Ret		 ZOL
2
12		 MIS
1
8		 MIS
2
7		 NOR
1
13		 NOR
2
14		 ASS
1
6		 ASS
2
4		 BRH
1
9		 BRH
2
13		 LAU
1
14		 LAU
2
7		 NÜR
1
4		 NÜR
2
5		 HOC
1
14		 HOC
2
Ret		 10th 67
2020 BMW Team RMR BMW M4 Turbo DTM SPA
1
10		 SPA
2
9		 LAU
1
15		 LAU
2
9		 LAU
1
14		 LAU
2
7		 ASS
1
6		 ASS
2
13		 NÜR
1
10		 NÜR
2
8		 NÜR
1
6		 NÜR
2
10		 ZOL
1
11		 ZOL
2
11		 ZOL
1
4		 ZOL
2
Ret		 HOC
1
5		 HOC
2
7		 11th 62

Complete European Le Mans Series results

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

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points
2021 United Autosports LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT
3		 RBR
7		 LEC
2		 MNZ
2		 SPA
8		 ALG
1		 2nd 86
2023 Inter Europol Competition LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT
Ret		 LEC
3		 ARA
Ret		 SPA
Ret		 ALG
6		 POR
4		 7th 33

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2021 United Kingdom United Autosports France Nico Jamin
Venezuela Manuel Maldonado		 Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 75 DNF DNF
2022 United Kingdom Jota Sport United Arab Emirates Ed Jones
Denmark Oliver Rasmussen		 Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 368 7th 3rd

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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

Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points
2021 United Autosports LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SPA ALG MNZ LMS
Ret		 BHR BHR NC 0
2022 Jota Sport LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SEB
5		 SPA
Ret		 LMS
3		 MNZ
10		 FUJ
3		 BHR
7		 8th 70

Complete ADAC GT Masters results

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

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 DC Points
2022 Mann-Filter Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo OSC
1
3		 OSC
2
33		 RBR
1
31		 RBR
2
14		 ZAN
1		 ZAN
2		 NÜR
1		 NÜR
2		 LAU
1		 LAU
2		 SAC
1		 SAC
2		 HOC
1		 HOC
2		 20th 56

References

  1. ↑ "DTM test for Jonathan Aberdein: It's 'like a dream come true' for the South African ex-ADAC Formula 4 driver". ADAC Motorsport. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Simmons, Marcus (29 January 2018). "Aberdein joins Motopark for rookie European F3 season". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  3. ↑ Allen, Peter (22 March 2019). "Jonathan Aberdein graduates to DTM in WRT Audi". Formula Scout. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  4. ↑ Khorounzhiy, Valentin (28 November 2018). "Audi names six drivers for DTM rookie test". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  5. ↑ Watkins, Gary (22 March 2019). "Aberdein confirmed for WRT Audi, second car proving "difficult"". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  6. ↑ Haidinger, Sven; Thukral, Rachit (29 January 2020). "Aberdein poised for works BMW DTM drive". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  7. ↑ Haidinger, Sven (24 December 2019). "Aberdein in line for Norisring Audi DTM drive". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  8. ↑ Thukral, Rachit (6 February 2020). "Aberdein leaves Audi, completes BMW's DTM line-up". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  9. ↑ Klein, Jamie (8 February 2021). "Ex-BMW racer Aberdein switches to ELMS with United". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  10. ↑ Lloyd, Daniel (8 February 2021). "United Completes LMP2 Lineup with Aberdein Signing". Sportscar365. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  11. ↑ Lloyd, Daniel (24 October 2021). "United Wins Portimao Finale as LMP3, GTE Titles Decided". Sportscar365. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  12. ↑ Lloyd, Daniel (9 June 2021). "Aberdein Joins United's Le Mans LMP2 Lineup". Sportscar365. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  13. ↑ Bradley, Charles (21 August 2021). "Le Mans 24h, H8: Toyota extends 1–2 lead, trouble for Alpine". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  14. ↑ Mercier, Laurent (12 January 2022). "Will Stevens 3e homme chez Jota Sport, un nouveau trio sur la #28". Endurance Info (in French). Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  15. ↑ "Spa WEC: #7 Toyota victorious in dramatic mixed weather race". Motorsport.com. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "Le Mans 24h: Toyota takes fifth straight win as rivals falter". Motorsport.com. 12 June 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  17. ↑ Euwema, Davey (12 June 2022). "JOTA Takes LMP2 Honors at Le Mans With Commanding Run". Sportscar365. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  18. ↑ Lloyd, Daniel (11 September 2022). "No. 8 Toyota Wins 6H Fuji to Match Alpine Crew in Points". Sportscar365. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  19. ↑ Plümer, Jonas (26 March 2022). "ADAC GT Masters: MANN-FILTER bestätigt Programm". GT-Place.com (in German). Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  20. ↑ "ADAC GT Masters 2022 standings". DriverDB. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  21. ↑ "67. ADAC Westfalenfahrt – Offielles Ergebnis Rennen nach Klassen" (PDF). Nürburgring Langenstrecken-Serie (in German). 26 March 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  22. ↑ Lloyd, Daniel (23 March 2023). "WEC Drivers in All-New Inter Europol LMP2 Lineup". Sportscar365. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  23. ↑ "European Le Mans Series standings 2023". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  24. 1 2 "Jonathan Aberdein". DriverDB. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
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