Frank Diefenbacher (born 19 March 1982 in

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...

) is a German

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

driver.

Career

Diefenbacher won the German Junior Kart Championship in 1996. His first steps out of karting were in

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

in Germany in 1998, where he finished third. He finished fourth in Formula König in 1999. Diefenbacher stepped up to the German Formula Three Championship in 2000. He finished tenth in his first year, but improved in 2001 to finish third, before finishing fourth in 2002. In 2003 Diefenbacher was signed by

SEAT Sport Cupra Racing, formerly known as SEAT Sport, is the high-performance motorsport subsidiary of the Spanish automobile manufacturer SEAT, founded in 1985, succeeding the "SEAT Special Vehicles department" which had been formed in 1971 with the mi ...

for their

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 In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...

campaign. In 2003 he beat teammate

Jordi Gené Jordi Gené Guerrero (born 5 December 1970) is a racing driver who competed in the World Touring Car Championship between 2005 and 2010. His younger brother, Marc is also a ex-racing driver and is currently a Brand Ambassador for the Scuderia Fe ...

in the final standings to finish 15th, and finished 11th in 2004, tied on points with new teammate and experienced touring car driver

Rickard Rydell Rickard Rydell (born 22 September 1967) is a retired Swedish racing driver. He won the 1998 British Touring Car Championship, the 2011 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, and has also been a frontrunner in the European/World Touring Car Cham ...

. He was not retained by SEAT for their

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sin ...

campaign in 2005. He did join the RS Line team to compete in selected rounds. However, Diefenbacher suffered a heavy accident during practice for his first race of the season, the Race of France at

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a motor racing circuit located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers, some from Paris and from Lyon. It staged the Formula One French Grand Prix from 1991 (succeeding Circuit Paul Rica ...

, which kept him on the sidelines for the rest of the year. Diefenbacher returned to racing in 2006, competing in the first race of the

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

for the Race Alliance team, although his car retired on the first lap.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diefenbacher, Frank 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Pforzheim Racing drivers from Baden-Württemberg German racing drivers Formula Ford drivers German Formula Three Championship drivers World Touring Car Championship drivers FIA GT Championship drivers European Touring Car Championship drivers Opel Team BSR drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers Cupra Racing drivers