# Michael Christensen (racing driver)

Michael Klitgaard Christensen (born 28 August 1990) is a Danish racing driver. He is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Porsche in the Hypercar class in the #5 Porsche 963.

## Early career
### Karting

Born in Karlslunde, Christensen had a very successful karting career, winning the 2004 Nordic ICA Junior Championship. The following year he gathered both Nordic and European titles in ICA Junior class. For 2006 Christensen graduated to Formula A and he achieved a second place in the Formula A World Championship and was twice champion in the German Kart Championship Winner of the Macau Int. Kart Grand prix Formula A. In 2007 Michael repeated as German Kart Champion and also won the KF1 South Garda Winter Cup.

### Formula BMW Europe

Christensen made his open-wheel racing debut in the 2008 Formula BMW Europe season at Barcelona which supported the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix, where he was involved in a potentially serious incident, flipping his car. He finished the season in sixth place and as the top rookie in the rookie standings.
He moved to Mücke Motorsport for the 2009 season. He started the season as the strongest candidate to win the championship, and a victory in the first race of the season was promising. He finished the season in fourth place, although he lost results from five races including three wins, after his team lost an appeal over a breach of technical regulations was rejected by the FIA.

### GP3 Series

In 2010, Christensen became the first driver to join MW Arden for the 2010 GP3 Series season.

## Sportscar career
### Porsche

In 2012, Christensen joined the Porsche young driver program. He resulted 7th in the 2012 Porsche Carrera Cup Germany and 6th in the 2013 Porsche Supercup.
He became a factory driver in 2014, racing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship joining Patrick Long in the GTLM class, winning 12 Hours of Sebring and North American Endurance Cup. In 2015 he competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship together with Richard Lietz, joining the Manthey Racing team in the GTE-Pro class. Winning the manufactures championship, and finishing 3rd in the drivers championship. In the 2018-2019 FIA World Endurance Championship he in succeeded winning 24 Hours of Le Mans for Porsche.

## Hypercar career

For the 2023 World Endurance Championship season, Christensen was named in the lineup for Porsche Penske Motorsport, partnering Dane Cameron and Frédéric Makowiecki. For the 2024 WEC season, Christensen would again drive the Porsche 963 for Penske, alongside Makowiecki and Matt Campbell.

## Personal life

Christensen's hobbies are improving on personal fitness, and training, while his favourite driver is Michael Schumacher, and his favourite circuit is the Nürburgring.

## Racing record
### Career summary

| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | FLaps | Podiums | Points | Position |
| 2008 | Formula BMW Europe | Räikkönen Robertson Racing | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 158 | 6th |
| 2008 | Formula BMW Pacific | Motaworld Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | NC† |
| 2008 | Formula BMW World Final | Josef Kaufmann Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2nd |
| 2009 | Formula BMW Europe | Mücke Motorsport | 16 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 233 | 4th |
| 2010 | GP3 Series | MW Arden | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31st |
| 2011 | GP3 Series | RSC Mücke Motorsport | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 11th |
| 2011 | ADAC GT Masters | Vulcan Racing - Mintgen Motorsport | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2012 | Porsche Carrera Cup Germany | Konrad Motorsport | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 148 | 7th |
| 2012 | Porsche Supercup | Konrad Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† |
| 2013 | Porsche Supercup | DAMS | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 95 | 6th |
| 2013 | ADAC GT Masters | Tonino powered by Herberth Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 23rd |
| 2013 | ADAC GT Masters | Team Geyer & Weinig EDV-Unternehmensberatung Schütz Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 23rd |
| 2013 | American Le Mans Series - GT | CORE Autosport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 29th |
| 2013 | Rolex Sports Car Series - GT | Konrad Motorsport/Orbit | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 62nd |
| 2013 | Porsche Carrera Cup Germany | Team 75 Motorsport GmbH | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | NC† |
| 2013 | 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 | Pinta Team Manthey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | ? |
| 2014 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTLM | Porsche North America | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 303 | 6th |
| 2015 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Porsche Team Manthey | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 127 | 3rd |
| 2015 | 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | Porsche Team Manthey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 5th |
| 2015 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTLM | Porsche North America | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 56 | 17th |
| 2015 | 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP-Pro | Wochenspiegel Team Manthey | 1 | 0 | ? | ? | 0 | N/A | DNF |
| 2016 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Dempsey-Proton Racing | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 8th |
| 2016 | 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | Dempsey-Proton Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 8th |
| 2016 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTLM | Porsche North America | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 89 | 13th |
| 2016 | 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 | Manthey Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DNF |
| 2017 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 67 | 11th |
| 2017 | 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DNF |
| 2017 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD | Alegra Motorsports | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 131 | 23rd |
| 2017 | Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup | KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 22nd |
| 2017 | Intercontinental GT Challenge | KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 10th |
| 2017 | 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 | Frikadelli Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 6th |
| 2018 | Pirelli World Challenge | Alegra Motorsports | 19 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 364 | 3rd |
| 2018 | SprintX GT Championship Series | Alegra Motorsports | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 198 | 2nd |
| 2018 | 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 1st |
| 2018 | 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 | KÜS Team75 Bernhard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 19th |
| 2018–19 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 155 | 1st |
| 2019 | Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup | GPX Racing | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 10th |
| 2019 | Intercontinental GT Challenge | GPX Racing | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 11th |
| 2019 | 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 9th |
| 2019 | 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 | Manthey Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | DSQ |
| 2019-20 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 148 | 3rd |
| 2020 | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | KCMG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 33rd |
| 2020 | Intercontinental GT Challenge | KCMG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2020 | 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 6th |
| 2021 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 88 | 5th |
| 2021 | 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 3rd |
| 2021 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTLM | WeatherTech Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 348 | 11th |
| 2021 | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | Schnabl Engineering | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 27th |
| 2021 | Intercontinental GT Challenge | Schnabl Engineering | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2021 | 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 | Manthey Racing | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 1st |
| 2022 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 132 | 2nd |
| 2022 | 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | N/A | 4th |
| 2022 | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | GPX Martini Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 29th |
| 2022 | Intercontinental GT Challenge | GPX Martini Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | * |
| 2022 | 24 Hours of Nürburgring -SP9 | Manthey Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DNF |
| 2023 | FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar | Porsche Penske Motorsport | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 7th |
| 2023 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTP | Porsche Penske Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 556 | 18th |
| 2023 | 24 Hours of Le Mans - Hypercar | Porsche Penske Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 9th |
| 2023 | 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 | Manthey EMA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DNF |
| 2024 | FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar | Porsche Penske Motorsport | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 104 | 5th |
| 2024 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro | AO Racing | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1208 | 17th |
| 2025 | FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar | Porsche Penske Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10th* |
† – As Christensen was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points. $^*$ Season still in progress.

### Complete GP3 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Points |
| 2010 | MW Arden | CAT FEA Ret | CAT SPR 16 | IST FEA 13 | IST SPR 11 | VAL FEA Ret | VAL SPR 14 | SIL FEA Ret | SIL SPR 15 | HOC FEA Ret | HOC SPR 10 | HUN FEA 10 | HUN SPR Ret | SPA FEA 10 | SPA SPR 23 | MNZ FEA 15 | MNZ SPR 10 | 31st | 0 |
| 2011 | RSC Mücke Motorsport | IST FEA 7 | IST SPR 2 | CAT FEA 18 | CAT SPR 12 | VAL FEA Ret | VAL SPR Ret | SIL FEA Ret | SIL SPR 13 | NÜR FEA 26† | NÜR SPR 12 | HUN FEA 2 | HUN SPR 13 | SPA FEA 15 | SPA SPR 4 | MNZ FEA 12 | MNZ SPR 11 | 11th | 19 |
| Source: ||||||||||||||||||||

### Complete Porsche Supercup 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 | DC | Points |
| 2012 | Konrad Motorsport | BHR | BHR | MON 20 | VAL | SIL | HOC 8 | HUN | HUN | SPA | MNZ | NC† | 0† |
| 2013 | DAMS | CAT 5 | MON 25 | SIL 3 | NÜR 1 | HUN 10 | SPA 3 | MNZ 8 | YMC 10 | YMC 7 | | 6th | 95 |
$^†$ As Christensen was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

### Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Rank | Points |
| 2014 | Porsche North America | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | DAY 9 | SEB 1 | LBH 5 | LGA 8 | WGL 8 | MOS 9 | IMS 3 | ELK 5 | VIR 8 | COA 3 | PET 2 | | 6th | 303 |
| 2015 | Porsche North America | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | DAY 7 | SEB | LBH | LGA 3 | WGL | MOS | ELK | VIR | COA | PET | | | 17th | 56 |
| 2016 | Porsche North America | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | DAY 3 | SEB 3 | LBH | LGA | WGL | MOS | LIM | ELK | VIR | COA | PET 5 | | 13th | 89 |
| 2017 | Alegra Motorsports | GTD | Porsche 911 GT3 R | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | DAY 1 | SEB 10 | LBH 12 | COA | DET | WGL 7 | MOS | LIM | ELK | VIR | LGA | PET 2 | 23rd | 131 |
| 2021 | WeatherTech Racing | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 | DAY | SEB | DET | WGL | WGL | LIM | ELK | LGA | LBH | VIR | PET 2 | | 11th | 348 |
| 2023 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | GTP | Porsche 963 | Porsche 9RD 4.6 L V8 | DAY 7 | SEB 5 | LBH | LGA | WGL | MOS | ELK | IMS | PET | | | | 18th | 556 |
| 2024 | AO Racing | GTD Pro | Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) | Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 | DAY 2 | SEB 9 | LGA | DET | WGL | MOS | ELK | VIR | IMS 1 | PET 11 | | | 17th | 1208 |
| Source: ||||||||||||||||||||

### Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points |
| 2015 | Porsche Team Manthey | LMGTE Pro | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | SIL 2 | SPA | LMS 7 | NÜR 1 | COA 1 | FUJ 4 | SHA 1 | BHR 5 | | 3rd | 127 |
| 2016 | Dempsey-Proton Racing | LMGTE Pro | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | SIL 9 | SPA 4 | LMS 6 | NÜR 6 | MEX 6 | COA 6 | FUJ 7 | SHA 6 | BHR 7 | 8th | 74 |
| 2017 | Porsche GT Team | LMGTE Pro | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | SIL Ret | SPA 6 | LMS Ret | NÜR 3 | MEX 5 | COA 2 | FUJ 3 | SHA Ret | BHR Ret | 11th | 67 |
| 2018–19 | Porsche GT Team | LMGTE Pro | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | SPA 2 | LMS 1 | SIL 3 | FUJ 1 | SHA 3 | SEB 5 | SPA 3 | LMS 5 | | 1st | 155 |
| 2019–20 | Porsche GT Team | LMGTE Pro | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 | SIL 2 | FUJ 2 | SHA 2 | BHR 7 | COA 2 | SPA 1 | LMS 11 | BHR 1 | | 3rd | 148 |
| 2021 | Porsche GT Team | LMGTE Pro | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 | SPA | ALG 3 | MNZ | LMS 2 | BHR | BHR 2 | | | | 5th | 88 |
| 2022 | Porsche GT Team | LMGTE Pro | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 | SEB 1 | SPA 2 | LMS 4 | MNZ 4 | FUJ 3 | BHR 3 | | | | 2nd | 132 |
| 2023 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Hypercar | Porsche 963 | Porsche 4.6 L Turbo V8 | SEB 5 | ALG 10 | SPA 4 | LMS 7 | MNZ 4 | FUJ 12 | BHR 7 | | | 7th | 61 |
| 2024 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Hypercar | Porsche 963 | Porsche 4.6 L Turbo V8 | QAT 3 | IMO 3 | SPA Ret | LMS 6 | SÃO 3 | COA 7 | FUJ Ret | BHR 2 | | 5th | 104 |
| 2025 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Hypercar | Porsche 963 | Porsche 4.6 L Turbo V8 | QAT 10 | IMO | SPA | LMS | SÃO | COA | FUJ | BHR | | 10th* | 2* |
| Sources: ||||||||||||||||
$^*$ Season still in progress.

### Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
| 2015 | Porsche Team Manthey | Richard Lietz Jörg Bergmeister | Porsche 911 RSR | GTE Pro | 327 | 30th | 5th |
| 2016 | Dempsey-Proton Racing | Philipp Eng Richard Lietz | Porsche 911 RSR | GTE Pro | 329 | 31st | 8th |
| 2017 | Porsche GT Team | Kévin Estre Dirk Werner | Porsche 911 RSR | GTE Pro | 179 | DNF | DNF |
| 2018 | Porsche GT Team | Kévin Estre Laurens Vanthoor | Porsche 911 RSR | GTE Pro | 344 | 15th | 1st |
| 2019 | Porsche GT Team | Kévin Estre Laurens Vanthoor | Porsche 911 RSR | GTE Pro | 337 | 29th | 9th |
| 2020 | Porsche GT Team | Kévin Estre Laurens Vanthoor | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | GTE Pro | 331 | 35th | 6th |
| 2021 | Porsche GT Team | Kévin Estre Neel Jani | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | GTE Pro | 344 | 22nd | 3rd |
| 2022 | Porsche GT Team | Kévin Estre Laurens Vanthoor | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | GTE Pro | 348 | 31st | 4th |
| 2023 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Dane Cameron Frédéric Makowiecki | Porsche 963 | Hypercar | 325 | 16th | 9th |
| 2024 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Matt Campbell Frédéric Makowiecki | Porsche 963 | Hypercar | 311 | 6th | 6th |
| Sources: ||||||||