Volker Weidler

Last updated
Volker Weidler
Born (1962-03-18) 18 March 1962 (age 61)
Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality Flag of Germany.svg German
Active years 1989
Teams Rial
Entries10 (0 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First entry 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last entry 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years1987, 1989–1992
Teams Porsche Kremer Racing, Mazdaspeed (Mazdaspeed/Oreca)
Best finish1st (1991)
Class wins1 (1991)

Volker Hermann Weidler (born 18 March 1962) is a retired racing driver from Germany, best known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991.

Contents

Career

Formula racing

In 1985, he became German Formula Three champion.

In the 1989 Formula One season, Weidler entered 10 Formula One Grands Prix, racing for the Rial team, but failed to qualify the uncompetitive car on every occasion.

After Formula One, he moved to Japan and raced in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship and the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. He often fought over the title with Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Ross Cheever and others in the Japanese Formula 3000, and became popular in Japan.

GT / Sportscars

In 1991, Weidler teamed with Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot to win Le Mans behind the wheel of the Wankel engine-powered Mazda 787B, marking also the first win of the legendary French race by both a Japanese manufacturer and engine supplier. This Wankel engine-powered car was noted for being very loud.

Possibly related to the hours spent in the noisy Mazda,[ citation needed ] Weidler began to suffer from an ear problem (sensorineural hearing loss) which eventually forced him to retire prematurely from the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship during the 1992 season though Weidler was leading the championship at that time.

When Weidler left the Japanese team, Nova Engineering, he recommended Heinz-Harald Frentzen as his successor.

Post-racing career

Weidler now works as a managing director for Weidler, a building cleaning company owned by his family, based in Weinheim.

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

YearEntrantChassisEngine1234567891011Pos.Pts
1986 Bromley Motorsport with Rial Ralt RT20 Cosworth SIL
10		 VAL
7		 PAU
Ret		 SPA
DNQ		 IMO MUG
16		 PER
DNQ		 ÖST
9		 BIR BUG JAR NC0
1988 Onyx Race Engineering March 88B Cosworth JER
DSQ		 VAL
12		 PAU
DNQ		 SIL
14		 MNZ
9		 PER
Ret		 BRH
6		 BIR
4		 BUG
DNS		 ZOL
Ret		 DIJ
6		15th5
Sources: [1] [2]

Complete Japanese Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearTeam1234567891011DCPts
1990 Team Take One SUZ
Ret		 FSW
Ret		 MIN
11		 SUZ
5		 SUG
21		 FSW
3		 FSW
Ret		 SUZ
20		 FSW
1		 SUZ
DSQ		6th15
1991 Team Nova SUZ
15		 AUT
DNQ		 FSW
19		 MIN
3		 SUZ
3		 SUG
8		 FSW
3		 SUZ
10		 FSW
C		 SUZ
3		 FSW
1		3rd25
1992 Team Nova SUZ
3		 FSW
Ret		 MIN
Ret		 SUZ
1		 AUT
3		 SUG
1		 FSW FSW SUZ FSW FSW 4th26
Source: [2]

Complete Formula One results

(key)

YearEntrantChassisEngine12345678910111213141516WDC Pts
1989 Rial Racing Rial ARC2 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 BRA
DNPQ		 SMR
DNPQ		 MON
DNPQ		 MEX
DNPQ		 USA
DNPQ		 CAN
DNPQ		 FRA
DNPQ		 GBR
DNPQ		 GER
EX		 HUN
DNQ		 BEL ITA POR ESP JPN AUS NC0
Source: [3]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans Results

Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of the winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).

YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLapsPos.Class
Pos.
1987 Flag of Germany.svg Porsche Kremer Racing Flag of Denmark.svg Kris Nissen
Flag of Japan.svg Kunimitsu Takahashi 		Porsche 962CC16DNFDNF
1989 Flag of Japan.svg Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd Flag of Japan.svg Yojiro Terada
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Marc Duez 		Mazda 767 GTP33912th3rd
1990 Flag of Japan.svg Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Bertrand Gachot
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert 		Mazda 787 GTP148DNFDNF
1991 Flag of Japan.svg Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Bertrand Gachot 		Mazda 787B C23621st1st
1992 Flag of Japan.svg Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd.
Flag of France.svg Oreca 		Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Bertrand Gachot
Flag of Brazil.svg Maurizio Sandro Sala 		Mazda MXR-01 C13364th4th
Sources: [1] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Jones (racing driver)</span> Australian racing driver and commentator (born 1946)

Alan Stanley Jones, is an Australian former Formula One driver. He was the first driver to win a Formula One World Championship with the Williams team, becoming the 1980 World Drivers' Champion and the second Australian to do so following triple World Champion Sir Jack Brabham. He competed in a total of 117 Grands Prix, winning 12 and achieving 24 podium finishes. Jones also won the 1978 Can-Am championship driving a Lola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Wendlinger</span> Austrian racing driver (born 1968)

Karl Wendlinger is an Austrian professional racing and former Formula One driver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antônio Pizzonia</span> Brazilian racing driver (born 1980)

Antônio Reginaldo Pizzonia Júnior is a Brazilian professional racing driver who has raced in Formula One and the Champ Car World Series. Born in Manaus, he started his car racing career in the Formula Vauxhall Junior series in 1997 and then progressed through various junior formulae, winning the Formula Vauxhall Junior Winter Festival in 1997, the Formula Vauxhall Junior and Formula Renault Winter Festival in 1998, the Formula Renault 2.0 UK in 1999, and the British Formula 3 Championship in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedro Lamy</span> Portuguese racing driver (born 1972)

José Pedro Mourão Lamy Viçoso, OIH, known as Pedro Lamy, is a Portuguese professional racing driver currently racing in endurance races teaming up with Mathias Lauda and gentleman driver Paul Dalla Lana. He was the first Portuguese driver to score a point in a Formula One World Championship event, in the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, for Minardi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Warwick</span> British racing driver (born 1954)

Derek Stanley Arthur Warwick is a British former professional racing driver from England, who lives in Jersey. He raced for many years in Formula One, collecting four podiums but never winning a Grand Prix. He did, however, win the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans and 1992 World Sportscar Championship. He was the elder brother of Paul Warwick, who died racing while leading the British Formula 3000 Championship in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Danner</span> German racing driver (born 1958)

Christian Josef Danner is a former racing driver from Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric van de Poele</span> Belgian racing driver (born 1961)

Eric Francis Edouard Ghislain Thérèse van de Poele is a Belgian racing driver and former Formula One driver. He participated in 29 Grands Prix, in 1991 and 1992. He is a three-times class winner at 24 Hours of Le Mans, and won three Formula 3000 races in 1990. Before his Formula One career, he won the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Pierre Beltoise</span> French racing driver (1937–2015)

Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise was a French Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams. He competed in 88 Grands Prix achieving a single victory, at the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix, and a total of eight podium finishes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gianni Morbidelli</span> Italian racing driver (born 1968)

Gianni Morbidelli is an Italian racing driver. He participated in 70 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 11 March 1990. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of 8.5 championship points. He currently competes in the TCR International Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicola Larini</span> Italian racing driver (born 1964)

Nicola Larini is an Italian racing driver. He participated in 75 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 6 September 1987. He finished second in the tragic 1994 San Marino Grand Prix on a substitute outing for Ferrari, but only scored points once more in his career. He enjoyed greater success in touring car racing, primarily for Alfa Romeo.

Emanuele Naspetti is a racing driver and entrepreneur from Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hideki Noda</span> Japanese racing driver (born 1969)

Hideki Noda is a Japanese professional racing driver. He participated in three Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in the 1994 European Grand Prix, but did not score any championship points. He replaced Yannick Dalmas in the Larrousse car for the last three Grands Prix of the season, but failed to finish in any of the three races. In 1995, he joined Simtek as a test driver, hoping to get some races in. However, the Kobe earthquake and the folding of the Simtek team ended his brief Formula 1 career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kazuyoshi Hoshino</span> Japanese racing driver (born 1947)

Kazuyoshi Hoshino is a Japanese former racing driver and businessman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Wilds</span> British racing driver (born 1946)

William Michael Wilds is a British racing driver from England. He participated in eight Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 20 July 1974. He scored no championship points.

Enrico Agostino Bertaggia is a former racing driver from Italy. He enjoyed success in Formula Three, winning the Italian Formula Three Championship in 1987 and the Monaco Grand Prix F3 support race and the Macau Grand Prix the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Trimmer</span> British racing driver (born 1943)

Anthony Hugh Leigh Trimmer is a British former racing driver from England, who won the Shell British Formula Three Championship and E.R. Hall Trophy in 1970. He was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathias Lauda</span> Austrian racing driver (born 1981)

Mathias Lauda is an Austrian racing driver currently racing for Aston Martin Racing as a factory driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He is the son of the late three-time Formula One world champion Niki Lauda and his first wife, Marlene. He has a brother, Lukas, who is currently his manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toshio Suzuki (racing driver)</span> Japanese racing driver (born 1955)

Toshio Suzuki is a former racing driver from Saitama Prefecture, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaroslav Janiš</span> Czech racing driver (born 1983)

Jaroslav "Jarek" Janiš is a Czech auto racing driver. In 2006 he is racing in the FIA GT Championship. He has taken three pole positions Brno, Dijon and the Hungaroring turning two of them into victories, teamed with Sascha Bert and occasionally former Formula One driver Andrea Montermini. Prior to 2006 he had done six GT Championship races, four of them in a Ferrari 360 Modena for the Menx team in 2003, taking a total of 17.5 points.

Andrew Michael Gilbert-Scott is a British former racing driver.

References

Footnotes
  1. 1 2 "Volker Weidler Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Volker Weidler". Motor Sport . Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  3. ↑ Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 415. ISBN   0851127029.
  4. ↑ "Volker Weidler". Automobile Club de l'Ouest . Retrieved 3 January 2024.
Sources
Sporting positions
Preceded by German Formula Three champion
1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1991
With: Johnny Herbert & Bertrand Gachot 		Succeeded by


F1 chequered flag.svg

This biographical article related to German auto racing is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.