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Jann Mardenborough Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 29, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth9 September 1991

Age32 Years

BirthplaceDarlington, County Durham, England

ProfessionCar Racer

NationalityBritish

Marital statusUnmarried

FamilyFather - Steve Mardenborough; Mother - Lesely-Anne Mardenborough; Brother - Coby Mardenborough

Jann Mardenborough Biography

British racing driver Jann Mardenborough rose from virtual racing to professional motorsport after winning GT Academy. He has competed across GT, endurance

Early life and background

Jann Mardenborough was born on 9 September 1991 in Darlington, County Durham, England, and grew up in a family with strong sporting connections. His father, Steve Mardenborough, is a former professional footballer, and the family relocated to Cardiff while his father was signed to a Welsh club. Jann’s grandparents emigrated to England from Saint Kitts and Nevis in the early 1960s.

From childhood he was fascinated by cars and racing. He began playing the Gran Turismo video game at about eight years old and, as a teenager facing financial constraints, built his own racing simulator rather than buying a ready-made rig. He attended Radyr Comprehensive School in Cardiff and later enrolled at the Swansea Metropolitan University Technium to study motorsport engineering, a course he left after three weeks.

Career

Mardenborough’s breakthrough came through the GT Academy competition linked to Gran Turismo 5. In 2011 he advanced from an online time trial among tens of thousands of entrants to the final on-track stages. He won a 20-minute race at Silverstone driving a Nissan 370Z despite having had no prior experience in sports cars or on a racing circuit. His success in GT Academy led to a professional racing contract with Nissan and formal training that launched his motorsport career.

He moved quickly into international endurance and GT competition. In 2012 he raced a Nissan 370Z GT4 in the Dubai 24 Hour and contested the British GT Championship with RJN Motorsport in a Nissan GT-R GT3, teaming with Alex Buncombe to finish sixth in the GT3 standings. In 2013 he made his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut with Greaves Motorsport in an LMP car and later drove for OAK Racing and Nissan Motorsports in subsequent Le Mans campaigns, including an appearance in the LMP1 class in 2015.

Mardenborough also progressed through single-seater and junior formulae. He competed in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand in 2013, earning recognition as the championship’s top rookie, and raced with Carlin in both the FIA European Formula Three Championship and British Formula 3 that same year. In 2014 he joined Arden International in GP3 and recorded his first GP3 race win in Germany, starting from pole and setting the fastest lap in the reverse-grid sprint. He moved to Carlin for the 2015 GP3 season, scoring multiple top-five finishes and ending the year ninth in the championship.

His career has been concentrated in Japan in later years. In 2016 he raced in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship with B-MAX Racing, taking four wins and finishing as the season runner-up. That year he also campaigned in Japan’s Super GT series in the GT300 class with NDDP Racing, scoring a win at the Fuji 500km and challenging for the title before finishing fourth overall. He stepped up to Super GT’s GT500 class in 2017 with the Calsonic-sponsored Impul team and continued in GT500 with Impul and later Kondo Racing, achieving points finishes and a fourth-place result in the championship when partnered with Mitsunori Takaboshi.

Mardenborough’s career has also included simulator and development roles. After the 2020 season he was not retained by Nissan and spent about two years away from active racing. During that break he worked as a simulator and car development driver for Nissan e.dams and for McLaren’s Formula E customer team.

Public profile

Mardenborough’s life story attracted mainstream attention beyond motorsport. A film based on his journey, titled Gran Turismo and directed by Neill Blomkamp, was released in 2023. The film features Archie Madekwe portraying Mardenborough, while Jann himself contributed as a stunt driver. He has also appeared in lists recognizing athlete marketability, having been ranked among the world’s more marketable athletes by Sports Pro Media in 2015.

Outside the cockpit he enjoys playing football and has kept pets throughout his life, including a Goldfish named Sharky early on and two dogs, Bentley and Heidi Hot Legs. He is known to favor the colour purple and has said the Nürburgring is his favourite race track.

Latest updates

Mardenborough returned to competitive racing after his hiatus by taking part in the Fuji 24 Hours race of the Super Taikyu Series in May 2023, driving a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 for Helm Motorsports. His career spans GT, endurance, single-seater and development roles, reflecting a transition from virtual competition to a varied professional motorsport résumé.
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Recent Work

Fuji 24 Hours (Super Taikyu Series)

Returned to racing in May 2023 with Helm Motorsports driving a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3

2023
Gran Turismo (film)

Subject of the 2023 feature film directed by Neill Blomkamp; also worked as a stunt driver

2023
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Career Highlights

  1. Won GT Academy and earned a professional racing contract with Nissan
  2. Competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Greaves Motorsport, OAK Racing and Nissan Motorsports
  3. 2013 Toyota Racing Series top rookie
  4. GP3 race winner in Germany (2014)
  5. 2016 Japanese Formula 3 Championship runner-up with four victories
  6. Victorious in the 2016 Super GT Fuji 500km (GT300 class)
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Jann Mardenborough born?

9 September 1991

What is Jann Mardenborough known for?

Car Racer

What is Jann Mardenborough’s marital status?

Unmarried