Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship.

Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, is himself a five-time Bathurst 1000 winner, having won the event in 1998, 1999, 2013, 2015 and 2018. Colloquially known as 'Richo', he also won the Bathurst 24 Hour in 2002.

Career history

Early career

Richards' first major career success was winning the Australian Formula Ford Championship on his second attempt in 1994 for Garry Rogers Motorsport. In 1995, Richards made his debut in the Bathurst 1000, finishing fourth for Gibson Motorsport with Anders Olofsson.

At the 1998 AMP Bathurst 1000, Richards finished second in a Nissan Primera, only two seconds behind his father Jim. A month later driving a Ford EL Falcon, he won the FAI 1000 with Jason Bright for Stone Brothers Racing.

Supercars Championship

In 1999, Richards took up a full-time drive with Gibson Motorsport in 1999, as a team-mate to Greg Murphy in a Holden VT Commodore. Richards finished seventh in the championship with the highlight being defending his Bathurst crown with Murphy. By winning his second Bathurst title in a Holden, he became the first driver to win the Bathurst 1000 in both a Ford and Holden, and remains the only driver to do so in consecutive years. Richards continued with Gibson Motorsport in 2000, winning the inaugural Canberra 400 as well as a round at Calder Park Raceway. In doing this Richards joined Lowndes, who along with Tony Longhurst and Jamie Whincup had matched the feat of winning in both a Ford and Holden since Richards had achieved it, as the only two drivers to win more than one Bathurst 1000 for both Ford and Holden. Richards won the race again with Lowndes in 2018 winning his Fifth Bathurst crown becoming one of the most successful winners of the great race throughout the current decade and sixth on the all-time list of Bathurst champions.

Richards announced his retirement from Supercars racing after the 2019 season.

Endurance racing

Richards won the inaugural Bathurst 24 Hour race in 2002 driving a Holden Monaro 427C for Garry Rogers Motorsport. Richards won the race alongside Garth Tander, Cameron McConville and Nathan Pretty. Driving the same car in the 2003 race, the same quartet finished in second place, less than a second behind their teammates Greg Murphy, Todd Kelly, Jason Bright, and Peter Brock, who had formed a famous partnership with his father Jim in the 1970s and 1980s.

Richards competed in the 2014 24 Hours of Spa with Roger Lago, David Russell and Steve Owen, driving a Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ GT3. They did not finish the race. Richards has also achieved a class victory at the Bathurst 12 Hour, in 2012.

Carrera Cup

thumb|Richards placed fourth in the [[2013 Australian Carrera Cup Championship]]

After the conclusion of his full-time V8 Supercars career, Richards entered the Australian Carrera Cup Championship in 2011 in a team backed by Laser Plumbing & Electrical. He consistently became a top-five championship runner since joining the series. His highlight was in 2014 when he won the championship title and broke the stranglehold on the series held by Craig Baird. It was Richards' first championship title in twenty years. Richards slipped back in the following two years before stepping back from the series to focus on his team's entry in the Australian GT Championship.

Australian GT

In 2013 and 2014, Richards competed in selected events of the Australian GT Championship in a Lamborghini Gallardo alongside Justin McMillan. They finished fifth in the 2014 championship. Richards then made a one-off appearance in the 2015 season in a Chevrolet Camaro.

In 2016, Richards re-joined the series full-time, this time with his own team, Steven Richards Motorsport. The team became the factory-supported customer entrant for the new BMW M6 GT3 in Australia. The team has also entered two cars in the 2017 Bathurst 12 Hour.

Personal life

Before taking up motor racing full-time, Richards served his apprenticeship as an aircraft engineer.

Richards is married to Angela (m. 1998) and has two children, Clayton (born 2000) and Priya (born 2001).