Benjamin "Benji" Goethe (born 2 April 2003) is a British-born Danish-German racing driver. He won the Silver Cup category in the 2022 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.
Early career
Karting Having been introduced to motorsport at a young age, Goethe started his karting career in 2015. He first raced in various regional and national competitions in France, before competing in a select few international events in 2017, his final year of kart racing.
Formula 4 Goethe made his single-seater debut in 2018, where he competed in the F4 Spanish Championship for Drivex School. The Dane experienced a challenging campaign, as he finished 13th in the standings with a highest race result of fifth at Jerez.
Sportscar career
2019 – GT debut In 2019, Goethe switched to sportscar racing, driving with GPX Racing in four rounds of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup alongside Jordan Grogor and his driver coach in karting and F4, Stuart Hall. The team ended up 20th in the Silver Cup, scoring 16 points, with Goethe becoming that year's recipient of the SRO Merit Award.
Goethe also took part in the 24 Hours of Barcelona as part of the 24H GT Series, where he took his first podium in car racing, finishing third.
2020 – Move to WRT Goethe returned to the newly rebranded GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup the following year, this time driving for ROFGO Racing with Team WRT, having become a member of the Bullet Sports Management roster. The campaign started out in disappointing fashion, as an eighth place in class at Imola was followed up by a retirement at the Hockenheimring. At the third round, the 24 Hours of Spa, which he contested as the youngest of 179 entrants, Goethe made an error in the closing stages, as he spun off in wet conditions, which forced his car to retire. The conclusion to his season proved to be more positive, as Goethe, along with teammates Stuart Hall and Rik Breukers, finished the race in fourth place in the Silver Cup, which elevated the squad to twelfth in the standings.
2021 – Double campaign For the 2021 season, Goethe remained with the team, but this time competed in both the Endurance Cup and the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup.
Goethe would be paired up alongside James Pull and Stuart Hall for the former championship. Their season started out strongly at the opening round in Monza, where Goethe and his teammates finished sixth in the overall results, whilst taking a podium for the Silver Cup. Despite this ending up as the only podium of their campaign, the team took fifth in the Silver Cup, with an impressive charge up the field at the Barcelona season finale being a particular highlight of Goethe's season.
In the latter series, Goethe experienced a mixed campaign, scoring only two points finishes but taking one podium in Race 2 at Misano, which put him 21st overall. He summed up his season as having been "challenging", but also described it as a positive learning experience.
2022 – Silver Cup title
Goethe started his 2022 season by finishing second in the Dubai 24 Hour race, before announcing that he would stay on in both the Endurance and Sprint Cup with ROFGO Racing with Team WRT, driving with Thomas Neubauer in the Sprint series, with the pair being partnered by Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer in the former championship.
The Sprint Cup series campaign began in torrid fashion, as a first-corner retirement caused by a rival car in the first race at Brands Hatch was followed by a meager 16th place in Race 2. A pair of points finishes in class at Magny-Cours came next, before Goethe and Neubauer scored a pair of podiums for the Silver Cup, as well as their first points for the main standings, during the next event in Circuit Zandvoort. The penultimate round, held at Misano, brought significant successes to the pairing, which finished third overall in Race 1, with Goethe holding off Audi factory driver Christopher Haase in the dying embers of the contest, after which they took another class podium on Sunday. Their campaign ended with a fourth place and class podium at Valencia, which meant that Goethe and Neubauer finished third in the Silver Cup and eleventh in the overall drivers' standings.
Goethe's season in the Endurance Cup would prove to bring even more success, starting out with a class win at Imola, where Goethe took his first ever victory in car racing, which he called "the perfect way to start". This was followed by a pole position in the Silver category at Le Castellet, but a spin from Goethe put the win out of reach for his team, which eventually finished fourth in class. What came next were the 24 Hours of Spa, where, having avoided any mistakes, Goethe, Simmenauer and Neubauer won in the Silver Cup, putting the outfit into the lead of the championship. At the Hockenheimring, Goethe and his teammates finished third in their class, enough to clinch the Silver Cup title with one remaining round. The team finished the season in style by winning in their category at Barcelona, leaving them with 125 points, 49 ahead of second place.
With those results, Goethe, along with Neubauer, was crowned as the overall GT World Challenge Europe Silver Cup champion.
2023 – McLaren move At the beginning of 2023, Goethe returned to take part in the Dubai 24 Hours, this time partnering brother Oliver, father Roald, Stuart Hall and Jordan Grogor in the GT4 category, with the team ending up as the winners within said class. During the same winter, he teamed up with Marvin Kirchhöfer and Alexander West at Garage 59 for the GT class of the Asian Le Mans Series. Goethe continued his relationship with Garage 59 for the remainder of the season, embarking on a full-season GT World Challenge Europe campaign in the Pro class. In the Sprint Cup, Goethe formed a pairing with Nicolai Kjærgaard, while Kirchhöfer completed the Endurance Cup trio. Both campaigns were discrete, as Goethe finished 13th in the Sprint Cup and 24th in the Endurance Cup standings.
2024 After retiring from the 2024 Dubai 24 Hours due to an electrical failure, Goethe returned to Garage 59 for full seasons in the Sprint and Endurance cups. In tandem with Tom Gamble in the Sprint Cup, Goethe finished in the top-ten in each of the ten races, finishing sixth in the standings after capping off the campaign with third place in Barcelona.
Personal life Goethe is part of a racing family. His father, Roald Goethe, is a gentleman driver who competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship and owns a collection of Gulf Oil race cars called ROFGO. His younger brother, Oliver, is currently racing in Formula 2.
Goethe was educated at the Millfield School, which is located in Somerset.
Racing record
Racing career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 2018 F4 Spanish Championship Drivex School 17 0 0 0 0 39 13th 2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup GPX Racing 3 0 0 0 0 2 33rdBlancpain GT Series Endurance Cup - Silver 0 0 0 0 16 20th Campeonato de España de Resistencia - GT54255208 3rd24H GT Series – European Championship - A6 1 0 0 0 1 0 NC25 Hours VW Fun Cup MAK Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 41st 2020 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup ROFGO Racing with Team WRT 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver 0 0 0 0 31 12thIntercontinental GT Challenge 1 0 0 0 0 0 NCADAC GT Masters Team WRT 4 0 1 0 0 0 NC† Campeonato de España de Resistencia - GT GPX Racing200013615th 2021GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver ROFGO Racing with Team WRT 5 0 0 0 1 61 5th GT World Challenge Sprint Cup 10 0 0 0 110.5 21st Le Mans Cup - GT3 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC†Intercontinental GT ChallengeTeam WRT 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC 24H GT Series - GT3 Pro 1 0 0 0 1 26 2nd 2022 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup ROFGO Racing with Team WRT50000135thGT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver 3 2 0 4125 1st GT World Challenge Sprint Cup10000118.511th GT World Challenge Sprint Cup - Silver 1 0 3 5 82 3rd Intercontinental GT Challenge Team WRT 1 0 0 0 0 2 18th 24H GT Series Continents’ - GT3 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 1 0 0 0 1 29 5th 2022–23 Middle East Trophy - GT4 ROFGO with Dragon Racing 1 1 0 0 1 0 NC†2023 Asian Le Mans Series - GT Garage 59 4 0 0 0 0 16 8th GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup500100NC GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup1000001013th 2023–24 Middle East Trophy - GT3 ROFGO with Dragon Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC†2024 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Garage 59 5 0 0 0 0 2 30th GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup 10 0 0 0 1 36.5 6th British GT Championship - GT3 Orange Racing powered by JMH100000NC†2024–25 Asian Le Mans Series - GT Optimum Motorsport600001217th2025 Middle East Trophy - GT3 Optimum Motorsport100000NC†FIA GT World Cup 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 10th GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Garage 5950101397th GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup10220480 3rd International GT Open100000NC†2025–2624H Series Middle East - GT3Optimum Motorsport2026FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGT3Garage 59GT World Challenge Europe Endurance CupIMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD ProRLL Team McLaren1000019244th † As Goethe was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. * Season still in progress.
Complete F4 Spanish 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 2018 Drivex School ARA1 ARA2 ARA3 CRT1 CRT2 CRT3 ALG1 ALG2 ALG3 CAT1 CAT2 JER1 JER2 JER3 NAV1 NAV2 NAV3 NAV4 13th 39
Complete GT World Challenge results GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pos. Points 2019 GPX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Silver MNZ SIL LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H CAT 20th 16 2020 ROFGO Racing with Team WRT Audi R8 LMS Evo Silver IMO NÜR SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H LEC 12th 31 2021 ROFGO Racing with Team WRT Audi R8 LMS Evo Silver MNZ LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜR CAT 5th 61 2022 ROFGO Racing with Team WRT Audi R8 LMS Evo II Silver IMO LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H HOC CAT 1st 125 2023 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo Pro MNZ LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜR CAT 24th 4 2024 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo Pro LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜR MNZ JED 30th 2 2025 Garage 59McLaren 720S GT3 EvoPro LEC MNZ SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜR CAT 7th 39 2026 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo Gold LEC MNZ SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜR ALG 2nd* 86* *Season still in progress.
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos. Points2021ROFGO Racing with Team WRTAudi R8 LMS EvoPro MAG1 MAG2 ZAN1 ZAN2 MIS1 MIS2 BRH1 BRH2 VAL1 VAL 2 21st 10.5 2022 ROFGO Racing with Team WRT Audi R8 LMS Evo II Silver BRH1 BRH2 MAG1 MAG2 ZAN1 ZAN2 MIS1 MIS2 VAL1 VAL2 3rd 82 2023 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo Pro BRH1 BRH2 MIS1 MIS2 HOC1 HOC2 VAL1 VAL2 ZAN1 ZAN2 13th 10 2024 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo Pro BRH1 BRH2 MIS1 MIS2 HOC1 HOC2 MAG1 MAG2 CAT1 CAT2 6th 36.5 2025 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo Pro BRH1 BRH2 ZAN1 ZAN2 MIS1 MIS2 MAG1 MAG2 VAL1 VAL2 3rd 80 * Season still in progress.
Complete 24 Hours of Spa results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class 2020 ROFGO Racing with Team WRT Rik Breukers Stuart Hall Audi R8 LMS GT3 Silver Cup 453 34th† 7th† 2021 ROFGO Racing with Team WRT Franco Colapinto James Pull Audi R8 LMS Evo Silver Cup 546 22nd 6th 2022 ROFGO Racing with Team WRT Thomas Neubauer Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer Audi R8 LMS Evo II Silver Cup 533 13th 1st 2023 Garage 59 Marvin Kirchhöfer Nicolai Kjærgaard McLaren 720S GT3 Evo Pro 208 DNF DNF 2024 Garage 59 Tom Gamble Dean MacDonald McLaren 720S GT3 Evo Pro 477 11th 9th 2025 Garage 59 Marvin Kirchhöfer Joseph Loake McLaren 720S GT3 Evo Pro 549 6th 6th
Complete Intercontinental GT Challenge results