UNDERRATED, UNDERSTATED, BUT HIGHLY MOTIVATED
In the pantheon of great British racing drivers, few would perhaps list Oliver Jarvis as highly as he deserves. Damien Smith caught up with an endurance racing mainstay who has largely eschewed the glare of the spotlight
PORTRAITS: RICHARD DAVIES
Daytona victory set Olly Jarvis and Tom Blomqvist up to become IMSA champions last term
That remarkable LMP2 result for Jackie Chan DC in 2017
Jarvis was part of Audi’s LMP1 crew for five years
A second Le Mans podium in 2013
In A1 GP action for Team GB at Beijing in 2006
At The Bluebird, Chelsea, earlier this year
Racing drivers tend to be a selfish breed. Actually, it’s common in most sports: to be the best, at your best in any given field, takes total focus and dedication, sometimes to the detriment of a wider perspective. And the truth is, it’s not always an attractive trait.
Yet there are exceptions to the rule. In endurance sports car racing, a delicious tension exists at its heart: to be truly successful the natural ego of the fiercely competitive individual must often be subjugated for the greater good of the team. No matter how quick or experienced you are you don’t always get to qualify, you don’t always get the fresh set of tyres for your stint, you don’t always get to start – or take the glory at the finish. No wonder singleseater aces often take a while to settle, and some never do. But for a select few, who combine platinum-grade ability with an unlikely selflessness, it’s a mix that keeps them gainfully employed for years. The intelligent engineers, team managers and owners love them.
Oliver Jarvis is among their (small) number. Yet somehow you can’t shake off a sense that he’s underrated and overlooked. Is it his age? He’ll hit 40 early next year. But that’s not really old, particularly today when drivers in all codes are increasingly racing harder for longer. It sure isn’t for his lack of experience. He’s raced everything from lairy A1 GP single-seaters to Super GTs in Japan, powerful DTM racers in Europe to sophisticated LMP1 hybrid thoroughbreds from his years as a factory Audi Sport driver.