Kane, who was born in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland, and grow up in Ballynahinch, was voted McLarenAutosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year in 2001 (earning a test with the McLaren Formula One team), after winning the Junior Formula FordZetec championship by taking 8 wins and 4 runners-up spots in 12 races. From 2003 to 2005 he competed in Formula Three; finishing as runner-up in the Scholarship class (for year-old cars) of the 2003 British Formula 3 Championship, finishing 3rd overall in Spain in 2004, and in 2005 he was 9th in the main British F3 championship. That year he took 3 poles and a win, despite the deal only coming together a day before the season began. At the end of 2005 he became the first driver ever to race a Lola at the Macau Formula Three race.[1] He then raced in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, with a best result of 2nd.
For 2007 he moved into the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, finishing 3rd overall and fighting for the title until the final round,[2] with a series-high seven wins, including pole position at Thruxton.[3]
In 2008 he competed in the BTCC, driving a BMW for the Motorbase Performance team.[4] He started the year strongly, finishing 8th on his debut[5] and later taking a 6th place at Rockingham Motor Speedway[6] after a tough weekend.[7] At Croft he ran 4th for a while, but dropped out with an electrical problem on the final lap.[8] His first podium finish came at the next meeting at Snetterton.[9] At the next meeting at Oulton Park, he qualified 15th before advancing to 9th in race 1, and from 9th on the grid to 4th in race 2, before being eliminated from race 3 after a first-lap hit from Tom Chilton.
He did not return to the BTCC for 2009. He is the series test driver for the new FIA Formula Two Championship, and co-commentator alongside Martin Haven on Eurosport2's coverage of the championship.
On 26 September 2009 he was a guest driver in the Kumho BMW Championship at Oulton Park. He qualified first in both qualifying sessions, and won both races. He was later punished with two points on his racing license after he was deemed by the stewards to have taken out another competitor on purpose.[10]
Kane returned to the BTCC with the Airwaves BMW team for the 2010 season, partnering Mat Jackson. Kane won his first BTCC race at Thruxton on 4 April 2010 when he completed a one-two for Airwaves BMW in race three.[11] He finished sixth overall at the end of the 2010 season with 169 points.
On 15 June 2011, it was announced that Kane would pilot a Lola-Mazda prototype for Dyson Racing in the American Le Mans Series, partnering with Humaid al-Masaood.[12] He and al-Masaood finished 3rd overall (and 3rd in the LMP1 class) in each of their first two ALMS events at Lime Rock Park and Mosport. Kane and al-Masaood claimed their first overall victory at the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix.
Kane switched from racing in North America to Europe in 2013, joining JRM Racing to campaign a Nissan GT-R in the Blancpain Endurance Series alongside Peter Dumbreck and Lucas Luhr.[15] Kane and Dumbreck finished eighth in the series' Pro Cup standings.
2014 started brightly for Kane as he and his team mates Guy Smith and Andy Meyrick took a fourth place at Monza in April, followed by a home win at Silverstone in late May. A further victory came at the end of June at Paul Ricard which ultimately ensured a runners-up position in the final Blancpain Endurance Series standings.
For 2015 Kane stays with Bentley. His season started well with fourth-place finishes at both the Bathurst 12 Hours in February and the opening Monza Blancpain race in April.
Racing record
Career summary
Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded in first race) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races) (* signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point given all races)
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