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This article is about the racing driver. For the actor, see Jim Broadbent.
Jimmy Broadbent
Broadbent driving a Praga R1 at Brands Hatch
Born (1991-06-13) 13 June 1991 (age 33)
Hastings, United Kingdom[1]
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Occupation(s)Racing driver, YouTuber, streamer and commentator
YouTube information
Channel
Genres
Subscribers852 thousand[2][3]
Total views253 million[3]
100,000 subscribers2018
Last updated: 10 January 2023

James Alan "Jimmy" or "Jimmer" Broadbent is an English racing driver, content creator, sim racer and e-sports commentator.

Broadbent's YouTube channel Jimmy Broadbent has over 850,000 subscribers and is mainly about gaming, sim racing and his real life racing. He drives the Praga R1 for Praga in the Praga Cup alongside Gordie Mutch.[4] He also commentates for Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo series.[5]

Broadbent's popularity has been partially attributed to his modest background, having lived in a shed in his mother's garden for a long period of time, and his honesty with personal struggles, both traits in stark contrast with the trend of internet celebrities portraying an artificial idyllic life.[6]

YouTube career

Broadbent began to create content for YouTube in 2012.[7] He reached 10,000 subscribers in 2017;[1] by 2018, he had around 86,000 subscribers. He was temporarily banned by YouTube between 14 and 15 April the same year by accident.[8]

On 4 June 2018, Broadbent reached 100,000 subscribers on YouTube.[9] In November of 2020, Jimmy raised over £71,000 for Mind in memory of his father, Alan Broadbent.[10] By the end of the year, he had over 600,000 subscribers.[11]

Commentary role

Broadbent was invited by Polyphony Digital, the creators of the Gran Turismo video game series, to work as a commentator on their FIA-Certified Gran Turismo Championships.[5]

Sim racing

Broadbent alongside fellow YouTubers, Streamers and sim racers like Stephen J Bailey are part of Doug Henson Racing. In 2019 Broadbent and Bailey alongside Adam David Hodgkinson and Nathanael Lupson won the 2019 iRacing 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual in the Audi R18 2016.[12]

Broadbent took part in the 2020 Formula 1 Bahrain Virtual Grand Prix.[13] During the race Broadbent and Lando Norris were in a battle for fourth place, with the former prevailing.[14]

Broadbent then took part in the 2020 Virtual Le Mans 24 Hours piloting the Aston Martin Vantage GTE for Mahle Racing alongside former IndyCar Series driver Robert Wickens, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters driver Ferdinand Habsburg and sim-racer Kevin Rotting.[15] They classified in 46th place overall and 17th place in their class.

Broadbent returned to the event in 2022 racing the Porsche 911 RSR GTE for Team Project 1 x BPM alongside René Buttler, Bram Beelen and Tim Neuendorf.[16] In the end, the team finished in 33rd place overall and 14th place in their class.

In 2023, it was announced that Broadbent would compete in the 2023 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual, returning to the Mahle Racing BMW M8 GTE #10 entry alongside W Series driver Beitske Visser and sim-racers Muhammed Patel and Michele D’Alessandro. [17] The team qualified in 7th place setting a time of 3:46.894 and then in the race, finished in 9th place and 32nd place overall scoring 4 points.

Motor racing

Broadbent competing in the Club Time Attack Championship in the Pocket Rocket Class.

In March 2022, he founded Team87.[2]

In December 2022, it was announced that Broadbent would be taking part in testing of the 2023 spec BMW M4 GT4 in Spain with BMW Motorsport.[18]

Britcar

In 2021, it was announced that Broadbent would take part in the 2021 Britcar Championship with Team J2 Praga, driving the Praga R1 alongside Jem Hepworth. [4] During the first round of the championship in the Silverstone International circuit, Broadbent finished in P6 in Race 1 and P8 in Race 2. In the following race in Snetterton, Broadbent retired from Race 1 and finished in P10 for the second race. The third race of the season in Oulton Park proved a challenging one as Broadbent finished in P23 in Race 1 and then P12 in Race 2. In the fourth round of the season, Broadbent returned to Silverstone, this time in the Silverstone GP circuit. He finished the race in P6. Due to a support race fatality, the next round in Brands Hatch was cancelled. However, for the final race of the season, it was announced that Gordie Mutch would be replacing Hepworth as Broadbent's teammate to compete in Donington Park. The most successful race weekend of the year, Mutch and Broadbent went on to win both races in the Donington Round.[19] In the end, Broadbent finished in P5 in the Overall Championship Standings.

Britcar racing career of Jimmy Broadbent[20]
Season Team Races Wins Poles F/laps Podiums Points Position
2021 Team J2 Praga 9 2 0 0 2 171 5th

Praga Cup

In 2022 Broadbent re-signed with Praga for the manufacturer's one make series known as the Praga Cup.[21][2] He drove alongside Gordie Mutch.[22] The team went on to win five races and the championship.

Personal life

Broadbent's father Alan Broadbent committed suicide when Jimmy was only 13 years old after struggling from alcoholism and depression.[23]

In an interview with DriveTribe in 2020 Broadbent told that around 2014 he "lost everything" due to depression and other mental health issues, especially regarding sociability. He lost his job, his house and his fiancée broke up with him. He stated that he had struggled and still struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts.

With nowhere to live, he moved to a shed in his mother's house's garden. He stayed there and also produced content from there. The shed eventually became an inside joke of Broadbent and his YouTube community.[24] In 2021, Broadbent bought his own house and currently lives there.[25]

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2021 Britcar Endurance Championship - Praga Team J2 Praga 9 2 0 0 2 171 5th
2022 Praga Cup Fanatec Praga Team87 11 5 2 3 7 219 1st

* Season still in progress.

Complete Britcar results

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC CP Points
2021 Team J2 Praga Praga R1 (Mk5) Praga SIL1
1
6 		SIL1
2
8 		SNE
1
Ret 		SNE
2
10 		OUL
1
23 		OUL
2
12 		SIL2
1
6 		BRH
1
C 		BRH
2
C 		DON
1
1 		DON
2
1 		5th 5th 171

Complete Praga Cup results

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points
2022 Fanatec Praga Team87 Praga R1 (Mk5) SIL1
1
4 		SIL1
2
9 		OUL
1
2 		SNE
1
DSQ 		SNE
2
1 		SIL2
1
6 		SIL2
1
1 		DON1
1
1 		DON1
2
4 		DON2
1
1 		DON2
2
1 		1st 219

References

  1. ^ a b Culmer, Kris (29 May 2021). "How Jimmy Broadbent is swapping sim racing for real motorsport". autocar.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Harrison-Lord, Thomas (5 June 2022). "The sim racing star shining the spotlight on national motorsport". Autosport. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b "About Jimmy Broadbent". YouTube.
  4. ^ a b "Sim racing star Jimmy Broadbent joins Praga for real-world 2021 Britcar campaign". pragaofficial.com. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b Channell, Mike (29 November 2019). "How Gran Turismo gets esports right". topgear.com. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  6. ^ Krustofski, Nana (24 September 2020). "Jimmy Broadbent: How YouTube Transformed His Life". Overtake. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  7. ^ Krustofski, Nana (24 September 2020). "Jimmy Broadbent: how YouTube transformed his life". overtake.gg. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  8. ^ Priday, Richard (16 May 2018). "YouTube's algorithm is causing havoc for gaming livestreamers". Wired UK. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  9. ^ Mukans, Sandis (3 June 2020). "Jimmy Broadbent's PC Specs & Sim Racing Equipment". streamerwiz.com. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  10. ^ Riekes, Alina (10 December 2020). "Jimmy Broadbent hosted his second Race for Mental Health". overtake.gg. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  11. ^ Riekes, Alina (30 December 2020). "Jimmy Broadbent is OverTake's Hero of the Month for December". overtake.gg. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  12. ^ Our Biggest Sim Racing Achievement | 24 Hours Of Le Mans Highlights, retrieved 2022-02-23
  13. ^ "RACE HIGHLIGHTS: Guanyu Zhou takes victory in a thrilling Bahrain Virtual Grand Prix". formula1.com. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  14. ^ Leporati, Gregory (23 April 2020). "Virtual races are drawing millions of viewers. Sim racers and streamers are seizing the moment". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  15. ^ Broadbent, Jimmy (29 May 2021). "How Jimmy Broadbent is swapping sim racing for real motorsport". Autocar. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  16. ^ Melillo, Justin (14 January 2022). "Jimmy Broadbent joins 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual". Traxion. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  17. ^ Harrison-Lord, Thomas (13 January 2023). "Jimmy Broadbent: "I'm honoured to be back" for the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual". Traxion.gg. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  18. ^ "SUPER excited to share that I'll be away in Spain this week testing this absolute unit with BMW! Thanks so much to @BMWMotorsport for giving me this opportunity! I can't wait to see what the #bmwm4gt4 can do!". @JimmyBroadbent. 5 December 2022. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  19. ^ "DONINGTON PARK DELIGHT FOR SEVERAL BARC CHAMPIONSHIPS".
  20. ^ "Jimmy Broadbent | Racing career profile". driverdb.com. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  21. ^ Taylor, James (22 December 2021). "Praga R1 (2022) review: perfectly formed". CAR. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Global sim-racing superstar Jimmy Broadbent returns with Praga for 2022 | PRAGA". Praga Global. 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  23. ^ @JimmyBroadbent (17 September 2019). "So...here we go.On the 12th/13 of October i'll be holding a 24 hour endurance charity race to benefit…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Meet the YouTuber who lives in a shed but owns an R32 Skyline GT-R, retrieved 2022-02-22
  25. ^ Jimmy Broadbent has moved out of his shed! – House tour, retrieved 2022-02-22
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