Kurt Ahrens Jr.

Last updated
Kurt Ahrens Jr.
Bundesarchiv Bild 183-82487-0008, Internationale Halle-Saale-Schleife.jpg
Kurt Ahrens Jr. (center) in 1961.
Born (1940-04-19) 19 April 1940 (age 83)
Braunschweig Germany
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality Flag of Germany.svg German
Active years 1966-1969
Teamsnon-works Brabham
Entries4
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First entry 1966 German Grand Prix
Last entry 1969 German Grand Prix

Kurt Karl-Heinrich Ahrens, [1] also known as Kurt Ahrens Jr., (born 19 April 1940 in Braunschweig, Germany) is a former sports car racing and touring car racing driver who occasionally appeared in German Grand Prix races, mostly in Formula 2 cars.

Contents

His father, Kurt Ahrens Sr., was a German speedway champion who competed against his son for five years. Kurt Ahrens Jr. started in 1958 with a Cooper-Norton Formula 3 and won the German Formula Junior title in 1961 and 1963, when his father retired.

Kurt Ahrens Jr. driving a Brabham F2 in 1969. Ahrens, Kurt - Brabham 26.04.1969.jpg
Kurt Ahrens Jr. driving a Brabham F2 in 1969.

He then raced Formula 2 and was present when Jim Clark was killed at the Hockenheimring in 1968. Due to the long Nürburgring track, it was possible to take part in the German Grand Prix in Formula 2 cars. He participated mostly with Brabhams for the Caltex Racing team, and was invited to drive the Brabham-Repco F1 in the wet 1968 German Grand Prix.

In 1968, Ahrens Jr. joined the Porsche factory sports car team and shared victory with Jo Siffert in the 1969 Austrian 1000 km event. He co-drove the pole-setting Porsche 917 "long tail" at the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans, but neither car finished. In 1970, he partnered with Vic Elford to win the 1000km Nürburgring in a Porsche 908.

Ahrens retired after 1970, taking pride in never crashing in a race. He had suffered a high speed shunt in April 1970 while testing a long tail Porsche on a wet Ehra-Lessien, with the car disintegrating badly- the car went under the Armco barrier and broke in half (as they were known to do), leaving Ahrens strapped in the back. [2]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

YearEntrantChassisEngine123456789101112WDCPoints
1966 Caltex Racing Team Brabham BT18 (F2) Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4 MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER
Ret
ITA USA MEX NC0
1967 Ron Harris Racing Team Protos (F2) Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 RSA MON NED BEL FRA GBR GER
Ret
CAN ITA USA MEX NC0
1968 Caltex Racing Team Brabham BT24 Repco 740 3.0 V8 RSA ESP MON NED BEL FRA GBR GER
12
CAN ITA USA MEX NC0
1969 Ahrens Racing Team Brabham BT30 (F2) Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 RSA ESP MON NED FRA GBR GER
7
CAN ITA USA MEX NC0
Source: [3]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLapsPos.Class
Pos.
1969 Flag of Germany.svg Porsche System Engineering Flag of Germany.svg Rolf Stommelen Porsche 917LS
5.0
148DNFDNF
1970 Flag of Austria.svg Porsche KG Salzburg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Vic Elford Porsche 917LS
5.0
225DNFDNF

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nürburgring</span> Race track in Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

The Nürburgring is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long Nordschleife "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. The north loop is 20.830 km (12.943 mi) long and contains more than 300 metres of elevation change from its lowest to highest points. Jackie Stewart nicknamed the track "The Green Hell".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacky Ickx</span> Belgian racing driver

Jacques Bernard Edmon Martin Henry "Jacky" Ickx is a Belgian former racing driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times and achieved eight wins and 25 podium finishes in Formula One. He greatly contributed to several World Championships for Makes and World Sports Car championships: Ford (1968), Ferrari (1972), Porsche (1976–1977) and (1982–1985) by his 37 major World Sports Car wins. He also won the Can-Am Championship in 1979 and the 1983 Paris–Dakar Rally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martini Racing</span> Motor racing teams sponsored by Martini & Rossi

Martini Racing is the name under which various motor racing teams race when sponsored by the Italian company Martini & Rossi, a distillery that produces Martini vermouth in Turin. Martini's sponsorship program began in 1958 as Martini International Club, founded by Count Metello Rossi di Montelera of Martini & Rossi. The race cars are marked with the distinctive dark blue, light blue and red stripes on white, red or silver background body cars. The car model which has won the most titles for Martini Racing is the Lancia Delta HF Integrale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German Grand Prix</span> Formula 1 Grand Prix

The German Grand Prix was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg and occasionally AVUS in Berlin. The race continued to be known as the German Grand Prix, even through the era when the race was held in West Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 German Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1976 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Nürburgring on 1 August 1976. It was the scene of reigning world champion Niki Lauda's near-fatal accident, and the last Formula One race to be held on the Nordschleife section of the track. The 14-lap race was the tenth round of the 1976 Formula One season and was won by James Hunt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedro Rodríguez (racing driver)</span> Mexican racecar driver (1940–1971)

Pedro Rodríguez de la Vega was a Mexican racing driver. He began his Formula One career in 1963, won the 1967 South African Grand Prix in a Cooper and the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix in a BRM. He was the older brother of Ricardo Rodríguez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porsche 917</span> Race vehicle

The Porsche 917 is a sports prototype race car developed by German manufacturer Porsche to exploit the regulations regarding the construction of 5-litre sports cars. Powered by a Type 912 flat-12 engine which was progressively enlarged from 4.5 to 5.0 litres, the 917 was introduced in 1969 and initially proved unwieldy on the race track but continuous development improved the handling and it went on to dominate sports-car racing in 1970 and 1971. In 1970 it gave Porsche its first overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a feat it would repeat in 1971. It would be chiefly responsible for Porsche winning the International Championship for Makes in 1970 and 1971. Porsche went on to develop the 917 for Can-Am racing, culminating in the twin-turbocharged 917/30 which was even more dominant in the role. Porsche drivers would win the Can-Am championship in 1972 and 1973. 917 drivers also won the Interserie championship every year from 1969 to 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masten Gregory</span> American racing driver

Masten Gregory was an American racing driver. He raced in Formula One between 1957 and 1965, participating in 43 World Championship races, and numerous non-Championship races. He was also a successful sports car racer, winning the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolf Stommelen</span> German racing driver (1943–1983)

Rolf Johann Stommelen was a racing driver from Siegen, Germany. He participated in 63 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium, and scored a total of 14 championship points. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior</span> Brazilian racecar driver and team owner

Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior is a Brazilian former racing driver and Formula One team owner. He participated in 38 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on May 1, 1972, scoring a total of three championship points. He ran the Fittipaldi Formula One team between 1974 and 1982. He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Piper (racing driver)</span> British racing driver

David Ruff Piper is a British former Formula One and sports car racing driver from England. He participated in 3 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 July 1959. He scored no championship points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerhard Mitter</span>

Gerhard Karl Mitter was a German Formula One and sportscar driver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubert Hahne</span> German racing driver (1935–2019)

Hubert Hahne was a racing driver from Germany. He was the older brother of Armin Hahne, as well as the uncle of Jörg van Ommen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jo Schlesser</span>

Joseph Théodule Marie Schlesser was a French Formula One and sports car racing driver. He participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, including the 1968 French Grand Prix in which he was killed. He scored no championship points. He was the uncle of Jean-Louis Schlesser who himself became a Formula One driver in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Hawkins (racing driver)</span> Australian racing driver (1937–1969)

Robert Paul Hawkins was an Australian motor racing driver. The son of a racing motorcyclist-turned-church minister, Hawkins was a capable single-seater driver but really made his mark as an outstanding sports car competitor driving Ford GT40s and Lola T70s. In 1969 Hawkins was included in the FIA list of graded drivers, an elite group of 27 drivers who by their achievements were rated the best in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Attwood</span>

Richard James David "Dickie" Attwood is a British motor racing driver, from England. During his career he raced for the BRM, Lotus and Cooper Formula One teams. He competed in 17 World Championship Grands Prix, achieved one podium and scored a total of 11 championship points. He was also a successful sports car racing driver and won the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans race, driving a Porsche 917, the first of Porsche's record 19 victories at the famous race.

Christopher Adrian Craft was a British racing driver who competed in many different forms of motor sport.

Xavier Roger Perrot was a Swiss racing driver and garage owner, who won the European Hill Climb Championship in 1972. He had previously competed in Formula Two and drove his Brabham in the Formula Two class of the 1969 German Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brabham BT24</span> Formula One racing car

The Repco Brabham BT24 was a Formula One racing car design. It was one of three cars used by the Brabham racing team during their championship-winning 1967 Formula One season. Only three BT24 chassis were ever raced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1970 1000 km of Nürburgring</span>

The 1970 1000km of Nürburgring was an endurance race held at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, Nürburg, West Germany on May 31, 1970. It was the seventh round of the 1970 World Sportscar Championship season.

References

  1. FIA Year Book of Automobile Sport 1971. Patrick Stephens Ltd. 1971. white p. 32. ISBN   0-85059-062-0.
  2. http://www.ahrens24.de/html/sportwagen.html%5B%5D
  3. Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 14. ISBN   0851127029.