Timo Bernhard

Timo Bernhard
Bernhard in 2014
Nationality	German
Born	(1981-02-24) 24 February 1981 (age 44) Homburg, West Germany
Racing licence	FIA Platinum
24 Hours of Le Mans career Years 2002–2003, 2005, 2009–2011, 2013–2018 Teams Porsche LMP Team #2 Porsche GT Team #94 The Racer's Group Peterson Motorsports/White Lightning Racing Audi Sport Team Joest Best finish 1st (2010, 2017) Class wins 3 (2002, 2010, 2017)

Timo Bernhard (born 24 February 1981) is a former racing driver from Germany. He was a sports car driver from Porsche, ^[1] but was seconded to Audi for selected events in 2009 and 2010. He is the ninth driver to complete the informal triple crown of endurance racing. On 29 June 2018, he became the first person in 35 years to break the all-time Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record, set by Stefan Bellof in 1983 with a Porsche 956, in a derestricted Porsche 919 Evo with a time of 5:19.546. ^[2]

Early career

Bernhard was born in Homburg, Saarland. He debuted in karting in 1991. He finished 5th at the CIK/FIA Junior World Championship and was crowned German junior champion. The next two years, Bernhard was 6th and 3rd at the German Karting Championship. In 1998 he moved to formula cars as he joined Formula Ford, finishing 6th in both the German series and the Eurocup in 1998. In his last year in open-wheelers, 1999, Bernhard finished 3rd in the German Formula Ford.

Sports cars

For 2000, Bernhard drove in Porsche Supercup as a UPS Porsche Junior driver, finishing 3rd in the championship. In 2001, he made his American Le Mans Series debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring, where he finished 2nd in the GT class with Randy Pobst and Christian Menzel, driving for Alex Job Racing. He also made four other ALMS starts, and won the Porsche Carrera Cup championship.

2002

In 2002 he began the season with a class win in the 24 Hours of Daytona for The Racer's Group. He then finished second overall at the 24 Hours Nürburgring driving for Alzen Motorsport. The crowning achievement of the year was winning the GT class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Kevin Buckler and Lucas Luhr. He also finished 3rd in the Carrera Cup, and won his first ALMS race (with Jörg Bergmeister) and finished 4th in the championship.

2003

Bernhard began the season by winning the 24 Hours of Daytona outright in a Porsche 911 GT3-RS, driving with Buckler, Michael Schrom, and Bergmeister. Bernhard and Bergmeister won 3 ALMS races, including Petit Le Mans, and finished second in the championship. He also finished 3rd at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

2004

In 2004, Bernhard again partnered with Jörg Bergmeister in the ALMS. The duo took six wins from nine starts and won the GT class driver's championship. Their successes included class wins at Sebring and Petit Le Mans, both time joined by Sascha Maassen. Bernhard also finished 4th overall and 2nd in class in the Spa 24 Hours. He finished on the podium at the Nürburgring 24 Hours for the 3rd straight year, finishing in third in a Manthey Racing Porsche.

2005

Bernhard joined Romain Dumas in the ALMS for 2005. They scored four class wins, and Bernhard won four poles, but finished second in the championship. Dumas also finished 2nd in the GT2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving with Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Long.

2006

In 2006, Bernhard moved to Penske Racing who owned and captained by legendary owner Roger Penske and the new Porsche RS Spyder in the LMP2 class of the ALMS, again partnering Dumas. After a frustrating start to the season, Bernhard and Dumas took advantage of the Audi R10's absence from the series to take the overall win at Mid-Ohio. This was the first overall win for an LMP2 class car, and the first win for an under-class car since 2003. Bernhard also won the LMP2 class at Petit Le Mans (with Sascha Maassen and Emmanuel Collard), and took four class victories in total and finished 3rd in the championship. He also won the 24 Hours Nürburgring outright, partnering Lucas Luhr, Marcel Tiemann, and Mike Rockenfeller.

2009

Bernhard and Dumas moved to Joest Racing, in which he ran the new Audi R15 TDI. Along with Alexandre Prémat, the #3 car finished 17th in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans.

2010

Along with Dumas and Rockenfeller, Bernhard took the overall win in the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans. This was the first win for either driver and set records throughout and after the race, including breaking the 1971 distance record of 5,335.313 km (3,315.210 mi); the car (#9) ran 397 laps and 5,410.713 km (3,362.061 mi). Bernhard's victory made him the eleventh driver to complete the Triple Crown in endurance racing, with Bernhard also winning not only the 2003 24 Hours of Daytona but also the 2008 12 Hours of Sebring with Penske (also with Dumas but also with Collard). Bernhard partnered Klaus Graf in the Muscle Milk Team CytoSport Porsche RS Spyder to second place at Road America, the seventh round of the 2010 ALMS season.

Racing achievements

Bernhard driving an Audi R15 TDI at the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans

• ALMS LMP2 class champion: 2007, 2008
• ALMS GT class champion: 2004
• 24 Hours of Le Mans GT class winner: 2002
• 24 Hours of Le Mans Overall winner: 2010, 2017
• 12 Hours of Sebring GT class winner: 2004
• 12 Hours of Sebring Overall winner: 2008
• Petit Le Mans LMP2 class winner: 2006
• Petit Le Mans GT class winner: 2003, 2004
• 24 Hours of Daytona overall winner: 2003
• 24 Hours of Daytona GT class winner: 2002, 2003
• 24 Hours Nürburgring winner: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
• Porsche Carrera Cup Germany champion: 2001

Racing record

Career summary

Series/Event	Class	Years	Races	Wins	Podiums	Best season result
Open Wheel
Formula Ford 1800 Germany	1800	1999	8	0	4	3rd place (1999)
Endurance Racing
FIA World Endurance Championship	LMP1	2012-2017	33	12	23	Champion (2015,2017)
	LMGTE Pro	2013	3	0	1	21st (2012)
Intercontinental Le Mans Cup	LMP1	2011	7	0	3
Le Mans Series	LMP1	2010-2011	5	0	3	13th (2010)
Blancpain Endurance Series	GT3 Pro	2013	1	0	0	28th (2013)
American Le Mans Series	LMP	2006-2011	36	16	30	Champion (2007, 2008)
	GT	2002-2010	44	13	24	Champion (2004)
Grand American Rolex Series	DP	2005-2010	15	0	3	4th place (2010)
	GT	2002-2010	5	2	2	23rd place (2003)
VLN Endurance		2009-2012	3+		2	149th (2010)
24 Hours of Le Mans	LMP1	2009-2017	7	2	2	Winner (2010, 2017)
	GTE Pro	2013	1	0	1	2nd place (2013)
	GT	2002-2005	3	1	2	Winner (2002)
24 Hours of Nürburgring	SP7	2006-2013	6	6	6	Winner (2006-2010, 2013)
	A8	2003-2004	2	1	2	Winner (2003)
	A7	2002	1	1	1	Winner (2002)
GT
FIA GT Championship	GT2	2006	1	0	0
	NGT	2001-2005	2	0	1	13th place (2004)
United SportsCar Championship	GTD	2014	1	0	0	126th place (2014)
Porsche Supercup	GT3	2001-2002	14	1	8	3rd place (2002)
Porsche Carrera Cup Germany	GT3	1999-2003	27	6	8	Champion (2001)
Karting
Andrea Margutti Trophy	ICA	1996				18th place (1996)
Five Continents Cup	Junior A	1995				5th place (1995)
German Kart Championship		1996-1997				3rd place (1997)
German Junior Kart Championship		1995				Champion (1995)
Source: [3] [4]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2002	The Racer's Group	Kevin Buckler Lucas Luhr	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	GT	322	16th	1st
2003	The Racer's Group	Kevin Buckler Jörg Bergmeister	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	GT	304	20th	5th
2005	Petersen Motorsports White Lightning Racing	Jörg Bergmeister Patrick Long	Porsche 911 GT3-RSR	GT2	331	11th	2nd
2009	Audi Sport Team Joest	Romain Dumas Alexandre Prémat	Audi R15 TDI	LMP1	333	17th	13th
2010	Audi Sport North America	Romain Dumas Mike Rockenfeller	Audi R15 TDI plus	LMP1	397	1st	1st
2011	Audi Sport Team Joest	Romain Dumas Mike Rockenfeller	Audi R18 TDI	LMP1	116	DNF	DNF
2013	Porsche AG Team Manthey	Patrick Pilet Jörg Bergmeister	Porsche 911 RSR	GTE Pro	315	16th	2nd
2014	Porsche Team	Brendon Hartley Mark Webber	Porsche 919 Hybrid	LMP1-H	346	NC	NC
2015	Porsche Team	Brendon Hartley Mark Webber	Porsche 919 Hybrid	LMP1	394	2nd	2nd
2016	Porsche Team	Brendon Hartley Mark Webber	Porsche 919 Hybrid	LMP1	346	13th	5th
2017	Porsche LMP Team	Brendon Hartley Earl Bamber	Porsche 919 Hybrid	LMP1	367	1st	1st
2018	Porsche GT Team	Romain Dumas Sven Müller	Porsche 911 RSR	GTE Pro	92	DNF	DNF
Sources: [5] [3]

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year	Team		Class	Chassis Engine	Co-drivers		Results									Championship
							1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Points	Rank
2013		Porsche AG Team Manthey	LMGTE Pro	Porsche 911 RSR 4.0 L Flat-6		Jörg Bergmeister Patrick Pilet	SIL 7	SPA Ret	LMS 2	SÃO	COA	FUJ	SHA	BHR		42	12th
2014		Porsche Team	LMP1-H	Porsche 919 Hybrid 2.0 L Turbo V4 (Hybrid)		Mark Webber Brendon Hartley	SIL 3	SPA 12	LMS NC	COA 5	FUJ 3	SHA 6	BHR 3	SÃO Ret		64.5	9th
2015		Porsche Team	LMP1	Porsche 919 Hybrid 2.0 L Turbo V4 (Hybrid)		Mark Webber Brendon Hartley	SIL Ret	SPA 3	LMS 2	NÜR 1	COA 1	FUJ 1	SHA 1	BHR 5		166	1st
2016		Porsche Team	LMP1	Porsche 919 Hybrid 2.0 L Turbo V4 (Hybrid)		Mark Webber Brendon Hartley	SIL Ret	SPA 26	LMS 10	NÜR 1	MEX 1	COA 1	FUJ 3	SHA 1	BHR 3	134.5	4th
2017		Porsche LMP Team	LMP1	Porsche 919 Hybrid 2.0 L Turbo V4 (Hybrid)		Brendon Hartley Earl Bamber	SIL 2	SPA 3	LMS 1	NÜR 1	MEX 1	COA 1	FUJ 4	SHA 2	BHR 2	208	1st
Sources: [3] [6]

^* Season still in progress. (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Rank	Points
2014	Park Place Motorsports	GTD	Porsche 911 GT America	Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6	DAY 23†	SEB	LGA	BEL	WGL	MOS	IMS	ELK	VIR	AUS	ATL	126th	1
2018	Tequila Patrón ESM	P	Nissan Onroak DPi	Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6	DAY	SEB	LBH	MDO	DET	WGL	MOS	ELK	LGA	PET 6		53rd	25
2019	Mazda Team Joest	DPi	Mazda RT24-P	Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L Turbo I4	DAY 11	SEB 11	LBH	MDO	DET	WGL 2	MOS	ELK	LGA	PET 6		15th	97
Source: [3]

^† Bernhard did not complete sufficient laps in order to score full points.

References

1. http://www.timo-bernhard.de/news_detail.php?id=186%5B%5D
2. 5:19.55 minutes – Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo takes record on Porsche Newsroom
3. "Timo Bernhard Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
4. "Timo Bernhard: Racedriver biography - career and success". Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
5. "Timo Bernhard". Automobile Club de l'Ouest . Retrieved 15 August 2023.
6. "Timo Bernhard". FIA World Endurance Championship . Retrieved 15 August 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Timo Bernhard career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Jörg Bergmeister	Porsche Carrera Cup Germany champion 2001	Succeeded by Marc Lieb
Preceded by David Brabham Marc Gené Alexander Wurz	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2010 With: Romain Dumas & Mike Rockenfeller	Succeeded by Marcel Fässler André Lotterer Benoît Tréluyer
Preceded by Sébastien Buemi Anthony Davidson	FIA World Endurance Champion 2015 With: Brendon Hartley & Mark Webber	Succeeded by Romain Dumas Marc Lieb Neel Jani
Preceded by Romain Dumas Neel Jani Marc Lieb	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2017 With: Earl Bamber & Brendon Hartley	Succeeded by Sébastien Buemi Kazuki Nakajima Fernando Alonso
Preceded by Romain Dumas Neel Jani Marc Lieb	FIA World Endurance Champion 2017 With: Earl Bamber & Brendon Hartley	Succeeded by Sébastien Buemi Kazuki Nakajima Fernando Alonso
Preceded by Sebastian Vettel	Race of Champions Nations' Cup 2018 With: René Rast	Succeeded by Tom Kristensen Johan Kristoffersson