Dirk Müller (born 18 November 1975) is a German
Ford factory racing driver, driving for
Ford Chip Ganassi Racing in the 2016
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...
. His former
Schnitzer BMW team-mate
Jörg Müller
Jörg Müller (, ; born 3 September 1969) is a Dutch-born German BMW factory driver.
Racing career
Born in Kerkrade, Netherlands, Müller won the titles in 1989 German Formula Opel Lotus Challenge and in 1989 European Formula Ford 1600.
The 1 ...
is unrelated, as is French driver
Yvan Muller
Yvan Muller (born 16 August 1969 in Altkirch, Haut-Rhin) is a French auto racing driver most noted for success in touring car racing. He is a four-time World Touring Car Champion, winning the title in 2008 with SEAT, in 2010 and 2011 with Chev ...
.
Biography
Born in
Burbach Burbach is a name meaning "farmer's brook" (from Old High German ''bur'' "farmer" + ''bach'' "brook"). It can refer to:
Places in Germany
* Burbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, municipality in Siegen-Wittgenstein district
* Burbach, Rhineland-Palati ...
, Müller won a
Formula 3
Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dr ...
race at the
Nürburgring
The 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 "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village a ...
in 1996. In 1998, after a win in the GT1 class of the
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...
, he scored his first title, the
Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, to be followed by the
ALMS GT title in 2000.
From the 2002 to 2005 season, both Dirk and Jörg were driving
BMW 3 Series (E46)
The fourth generation of the BMW 3 Series range of compact executive cars is designated under the model code E46, which was produced by the German automaker BMW from 1997 to 2006, and was the successor to the E36 3 Series which ceased product ...
touring cars for the Schnitzer-operated works squad ''Team Deutschland'' in the FIA
European Touring Car Championship
The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...
(now
WTCC). Since 2006, the team uses the new
BMW 3 Series (E90)
The fifth generation of the BMW 3 Series range of compact executive cars is designated under the model codes E90 (saloon), E91 (estate, marketed as 'Touring'), E92 (coupé) and E93 (convertible). The model was introduced in December 2004, and p ...
which is based on the
BMW 320si
The fifth generation of the BMW 3 Series range of compact executive cars is designated under the model codes E90 (saloon), E91 (estate, marketed as 'Touring'), E92 (coupé) and E93 (convertible). The model was introduced in December 2004, and ...
limited edition model that has a 4-cyl engine rather than the usual 6-cyl.
The 2004
24 Hours Nürburgring
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smalles ...
was won by both Müllers (and
Hans-Joachim Stuck
Hans-Joachim Stuck (born 1 January 1951), nicknamed "Strietzel", is a German racing driver who has competed in Formula One and many other categories. He is the son of pre-WW2 racing driver Hans Stuck
Life and career
He was born in Garmisch-Part ...
) with the
BMW M3
The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M GmbH. M3 models have been produced for every generation of 3 Series since the E30 M3 was introduced in 1986.
The initial mo ...
GTR V8 that had been raced successfully in the 2001 ALMS. In 2005, the Müllers finished 2nd behind their sister car.
After touring cars he joined to Ferrari AF Corse with Toni Vilander and won the FIA GT Championship in GT2 class. In 2008 raced in the American Le Mans Series in Ferrari F430 GTC with
Dominik Farnbacher in the GT2 class.
In 2009, Müller rejoined BMW to spearhead its factory program with
Rahal Letterman Racing
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is an auto racing team that has participated in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IndyCar Series. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana and Hilliard, Ohio, it is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 wi ...
in the
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...
. He and
Joey Hand won the 2011
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...
GT driver's championship following wins at the Twelve Hours of Sebring, Grand Prix of Long Beach and Lime Rock Park.
Müller was entered as an international driver in the
2011 Armor All Gold Coast 600 for
V8 Supercars
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
, alongside second-generation racer
Steven Johnson. The German crashed out of the first race and the pairing finished 12th in the second.
For 2016, Müller joined the Ford factory program for the IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He was reunited with teammate Joey Hand, while
Sébastien Bourdais
Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships un ...
joined the team for the endurance races including Le Mans.
Racing record
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete World Touring Car Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
External links
Dirk MüllerProfile– b
FIA GT Championship official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Dirk
1975 births
Living people
People from Siegen-Wittgenstein
Sportspeople from Arnsberg (region)
German racing drivers
World Touring Car Championship drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
FIA GT Championship drivers
German Formula Three Championship drivers
American Le Mans Series drivers
Supercars Championship drivers
EFDA Nations Cup drivers
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
Racing drivers from North Rhine-Westphalia
Rolex Sports Car Series drivers
Porsche Supercup drivers
Blancpain Endurance Series drivers
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
24 Hours of Spa drivers
European Touring Car Championship drivers
Asian Le Mans Series drivers
GT World Challenge America drivers
Australian Endurance Championship drivers
Chip Ganassi Racing drivers
Schnitzer Motorsport drivers
BMW M drivers
Multimatic Motorsports drivers
Porsche Motorsports drivers
CRS Racing drivers
Abt Sportsline drivers
Dick Johnson Racing drivers
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers
AF Corse drivers
Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers