After growing up as one of Britain’s best young karting stars, Dillon Battistini had to wait to get his break in the sport, despite putting on impressive performances at every stage of his young career. Battling in his youth against some of England’s best drivers, including Dan Wheldon, Justin Wilson, Darren Manning, Jenson Button and others, Battistini often came across the line first.
Dillon went on to compete in Formula 3 in Asia, racing in China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia, becoming Asia-Pacific Formula 3 Champion and also the Pan Delta Chinese Formula 3 Champion in 2007. He gained valuable experience racing in hot climates, mixing with many cultures and showed he could perform confidently on Live TV and under media scrutiny.
Following a very successful Champ Car test with team Minardi USA, Dillon competed in the 2008 U.S. Indy Lights championship with Panther Racing. He made a name for himself by winning four races in his debut season. That year he won the Freedom 100, the premier event of the Indy Lights series held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway alongside the Indy 500 and became the test driver for Panther Racing's National Guard, Delphi no.4 Indycar.
After a number of selected Indy Lights races in 2009 and joining Bryan Herta Autosport in 2010, Dillon made his Indycar race debut in 2011 with Conquest Racing. Looking to spread his wings 2012 brought Dillon a test with Dyson Racing in their LMP1 Lola, impressing the whole team, which was followed by a test in 2014 with Murphy Prototypes in their LMP2 Oreca-Nissan.
2015 has seen Dillon gain experience with a GT car, testing Macmillan Racing's Aston Martin Vantage GT4 which has been run by the factory Prodrive team for the development of their latest upgrade package.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2015
Test driver for Macmillan Racing for the 2016 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 development program, working with the factory Prodrive outfit
2014
LMP2 test with ELMS race winning team Murphy Prototypes
2012
Successful test in LMP1 Lola-Mazda for championship winning outfit Dyson Racing
2011
IZOD Indycar Series race debut at Kentucky Speedway for Conquest Racing
2008
Immediately on the frontrunning pace when testing Panther Racing’s IRL Indycar machine at Kentucky Speedway, with a best lap of 217.4 mph
Winner of 4 races, more than any other driver in the Firestone Indy Lights series and a 25% hit rate, during his rookie season in the USA
Pole Position and Victory at the Firestone Freedom 100, the season’s Blue Riband event supporting the Indianapolis 500, at his first attempt
Won first career Firestone Indy Lights race at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Panther Racing. The race was Battistini’s first career event on an oval circuit and he was victorious after spending just two days prior to the race testing on a non-road course event
Passed his Indy Lights rookie test with 2003 Firestone Indy Lights Champion Panther Racing, who signed him to a one-year contract for the 2008 season
2007
Tested a Champ Car World Series machine for Team Minardi at Sebring International Raceway
Asian Formula 3 Champion, collecting a total of 5 race victories en route to his championship season
His successful season in Asian Formula 3 included 10 podium finishes and one pole position in a total of 13 races
2006
Finished 4th in the Asian Formula 3 Championship, collecting 5 podium finishes in 18 races
Early Career
Competed in British Caterham R400 Championship, finishing 2nd in overall points, winning the most races and the Driver of the Year Award
Raced in British Formula Renault for four races in 2000
During the 1999 season, collected 3 victories while racing in the British Formula 600 series
Finished 2nd in the prestigious “London Cup”
British Open Kart Champion, Junior UK Club Kart Champion, Southern UK Area Kart Champion
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