Volker Weidler
| Born | 18 March 1962 Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  German |
| Active years | 1989 |
| Teams | Rial |
| Entries | 10 (0 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
|---|---|
| Years | 1987, 1989–1992 |
| Teams | Porsche Kremer Racing, Mazdaspeed (Mazdaspeed/Oreca) |
| Best finish | 1st (1991) |
| Class wins | 1 (1991) |
Volker Weidler (born 18 March 1962 in Heidelberg) is a former racing driver from Germany, best known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991.
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.
Racing record[]
Complete International Formula 3000 results[]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pos. | 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 | NC | 0 |
| 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 |
15th | 5 |
Complete Formula One results[]
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | 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 | NC | 0 |
Source:[1]
| |||||||||||||||||||||
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).
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Porsche Kremer Racing
|
 Kris Nissen Kunimitsu Takahashi
|
Porsche 962C | C1 | 6 | DNF | DNF |
| 1989 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd
|
Yojiro Terada Marc Duez
|
Mazda 767 | GTP | 339 | 12th | 3rd |
| 1990 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd.
|
Bertrand Gachot Johnny Herbert
|
Mazda 787 | GTP | 148 | DNF | DNF |
| 1991 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd.
|
Johnny Herbert Bertrand Gachot
|
Mazda 787B | C2 | 362 | 1st | 1st |
| 1992 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. Oreca
|
Johnny Herbert Bertrand Gachot Maurizio Sandro Sala
|
Mazda MXR-01 | C1 | 336 | 4th | 4th |
References[]
- Footnotes
- ^ Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 415. ISBN 0851127029.
- Sources
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- 1962 births
- Living people
- German racing drivers
- German Formula One drivers
- Rial Formula One drivers
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers
- German Formula Three Championship drivers
- Japanese Formula 3000 Championship drivers
- International Formula 3000 drivers
- Sportspeople from Heidelberg
- Racing drivers from Baden-Württemberg
- World Sportscar Championship drivers
- Formula One people stubs
- German auto racing biography stubs