Jochen Neerpasch

Jochen Neerpasch
Neerpasch in 1973
Born	(1939-03-23) 23 March 1939 (age 86) Krefeld, Germany
Nationality	German
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1964 – 1968
Teams	B. Cunningham J. Simone Essex Wire Corporation Porsche System Engineering
Best finish	3rd (1968)
Class wins	0

Jochen Neerpasch (born 23 March 1939) is a German former racecar driver and motorsports manager.

Career

His racing career began in the 1960s, first on Borgward touring car, then with the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans as a first major event. Racing a Porsche 907, he won the 1968 24 Hours of Daytona. After his third-place finish in Le Mans the same year, he retired from racing.

In the 1970s, he became a successful manager in the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft and the European Touring Car Championship. First he managed Ford, then he took the 1972 champion Hans-Joachim Stuck with him to BMW, to found the successful BMW M team and company.

In BMW, he also led the development of the mid-engined BMW M1, which he designed to take on Porsche in Group 5 racing. While the required 400 homologation cars were being assembled, to gain racing experience for the cars, he contacted March Engineering's head Max Mosley, who was a member of Formula One Constructors' Association, and together they created a one-make racing series BMW M1 Procar Championship, that ran in 1979 and 1980. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Neerpasch himself later raced in a 2008 one-time revival of the Procar Championship, driving a M1 Procar designed by Andy Warhol.

In the 1980s, Neerpasch was in charge of Sauber-Mercedes sports car racing team, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1989. He also discovered and taught talents like Michael Schumacher, Karl Wendlinger, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen ^{[ citation needed ]}.

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1964	Briggs S. Cunningham	Chris Amon	Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe	GT +3.0	131	DSQ (Outside assistance)
1965	J. Simone (private entrant)	Jo Siffert	Maserati Tipo 65	P 5.0	3	DNF (Accident damage)
1966	Essex Wire Corporation	Jacky Ickx	Ford GT40	S 5.0	154	DNF (Engine)
1967	Porsche System Engineering	Rolf Stommelen	Porsche 910 kurzheck	P 2.0	351	6th	2nd
1968	Porsche System Engineering	Rolf Stommelen	Porsche 908LH	P 3.0	325	3rd	2nd

Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1968	Porsche System Engineering	Vic Elford Rolf Stommelen Jo Siffert Hans Herrmann	Porsche 907LH	P	673	1st	1st

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1968	Porsche Automobile Company	Vic Elford	Porsche 907	P 3.0	226	2nd	2nd

Complete Targa Florio results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1964	Porsche System Engineering	Günther Klass	Porsche 356B Carrera 2000 GS/GT	GT 2.0	10	7th	3rd
1967	Porsche System Engineering	Vic Elford	Porsche 910	P 2.0	10	3rd	2nd
1968	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 907	P 3.0	10	4th	2nd

External links

• Jochen Neerpasch career summary at DriverDB.com

1. Boeriu, Horatiu (13 February 2025). "Jochen Neerpasch: The Godfather of BMW M – Untold Stories and Secrets". BMW BLOG. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
2. "BMW M1 Procar". www.qv500.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
3. Mills, James (27 December 2024). "How the BMW M1 Procar Championship Was Dreamed Up Over Beer and Whisky". Hagerty UK. Retrieved 18 October 2025.