Mike Rockenfeller (born 31 October 1983), nicknamed "Rocky", is a German professional racing driver and was an

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

factory driver competing in the DTM and the FIA World Endurance Championship. He won his first DTM title in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, driving for Audi Sport Team Phoenix. He also won the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Career

Rockenfeller began racing karts in 1995 at age of 11, winning the Bambini North state championship. He competed in various local and national karting series in the 1990s. In 2002, he won the

Jörg van Ommen Jörg Van Ommen (born 27 September 1962 in Moers, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a former German racing driver. He drove for Mercedes-AMG in the DTM in 1995 and 1996, finishing in second place in 1995 in a Mercedes C-Class. He also is the nephew o ...

Kart Cup Super Series. In 2001, Rockenfeller moved to cars, and finished 4th in the

Formula König Formula König was an open wheel racing series based in Germany and sponsored by German automobile company König Komfort- und Rennsitze GmbH (König comfort and racing seats GmbH). It ran from 1988 to 2004 as a single-seater feeder series. Its ...

championship, winning one race. In 2002, he joined the

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

Junior team and raced in the German Carrera Cup, finishing 10th, and in a partial

Porsche Supercup The Porsche Supercup (officially known as Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, known as Porsche Michelin Supercup prior to 2007) is an international one-make sports car racing series supporting the FIA Formula One World Championship organized by Porsche ...

season. In 2003, he finished 2nd in the German Carrera Cup championship, and made his

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 and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' hea ...

debut at

Petit Le Mans The Petit Le Mans (French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which ...

, finishing 10th in GT2 class. In 2004, Rockenfeller won the German Carrera Cup and also won two races in Porsche Supercup. That year he also raced in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 1000km of Nürburgring, and

. 2005 became Rockenfeller's breakthrough year. He became a full Porsche factory driver and won the GT2 class driver championship title in 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 ...

driving with

Marc Lieb Marc Lieb (born 4 July 1980) is a former German Porsche factory motor-racing driver. He won the FIA GT Championship in 2003 and 2005, and the European Le Mans Series in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010. He won the 24 Hours Nürburgring four times, one ...

for GruppeM Racing. He collected 6 class wins, including the

Spa 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Spa is an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by TotalEnergies. History The Spa 24 Hours was ...

. Rockenfeller also won the GT2 class at the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

, driving with Lieb and Leo Hindrey for

Alex Job Racing Alex Job Racing is a former professional sports car racing team based in the United States. The team, which is noted for its long-time association with Porsche, has competed in the American Le Mans Series, the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge series, and th ...

. 2006 saw him race again in the ALMS and

Grand-Am Grand-Am Road Racing or Grand-Am was an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America. Its primary focus was the Rolex Sports Car Series, an endurance racing championship series. ...

series for Alex Job. He won in the ALMS at Houston and finished second in LMP2 class at

, driving a

Porsche RS Spyder The RS Spyder (Type 9R6) is a racing car designed by Porsche in conjunction with Penske to compete in Le Mans Prototype Class 2 (LMP2) racing. The car takes its name from the legendary Porsche 550 Spyder of the 1950s (combined with Porsche's c ...

for

Penske Racing Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organiza ...

. He also took two Grand-Am wins. DTM Audi A4 Rockenfeller09 amk

For 2007, Rockenfeller became an

factory driver and raced an A4 DTM for Audi Sport Team Rosberg in the

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM, German Touring Car Masters) is a grand touring car series sanctioned by ITR e.V. who have been affiliated to the DMSB-FIA since 1984. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The ser ...

. He also participated in the

driving an Audi R10. In addition to DTM and having already moderate experience with

Le Mans Prototype A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were create ...

cars, in 2008 he drove for

Audi Sport Team Joest Joest Racing is a sports car racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest. Their headquarters are in Wald-Michelbach, Germany. Early years As a combined driver/team owner, Reinhold Joest first began t ...

in the

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

, alongside

Alexandre Prémat Alexandre Prémat (born 5 November 1982) is a French racing driver. He won the Pirtek Enduro Cup for Triple Eight Race Engineering alongside Shane van Gisbergen in 2016. He also won the 2019 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 with Scott McLaughlin, ...

. Despite not winning any races, Rockenfeller and Prémat won the title at the 2008 1000 km of Silverstone, after an accident on lap 46 for the

Peugeot 908 HDi FAP The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP is a sports prototype racing car built by the French automobile manufacturer Peugeot to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, starting in 2007 and eventually winning in 2009. This effort, in development sin ...

Nicolas Minassian Nicolas Minassian (born 28 February 1973) is a French professional racing driver of Armenian descent. After finishing 2nd place in the 1993 Formula Renault Eurocup, Marseille-born Minassian graduated to the French Formula Three Championship whe ...

and

Marc Gené Marc Gené i Guerrero (born 29 March 1974) is a Spanish professional racing driver. He is best known as a tester for Williams and Ferrari in Formula One, Minardi Formula One driver and factory driver for Peugeot's Le Mans team, with which ...

. He also participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, occupying the third Audi entry with Prémat and

Lucas Luhr Lucas Luhr (born 22 July 1979) is a German BMW factory racing driver, currently competing for BMW and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the GTLM category of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship. Early career Born in Mülheim-Kärlich, Luhr ...

. After qualifying fifth, their entry finished in fourth place overall, seven laps down on winning team-mates

Rinaldo Capello Rinaldo "Dindo" Capello (born 17 June 1964) is an Italian professional racing driver. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Bentley in 2003 and Audi in 2004 and 2008. Capello is a two-time American Le Mans Series champion, ...

Tom Kristensen Tom Kristensen (born 7 July 1967) is a Danish former racing driver. He holds the record for the most wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with nine, six of which were consecutive (from 2000 to 2005). In 1997, he won the race with the Joest Racing te ...

and

Allan McNish Allan McNish (born 29 December 1969) is a British former racing driver, commentator, and journalist from Scotland. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in 2013, as well as a three-time winner of the American Le Ma ...

. For 2009, Rockenfeller continues in the DTM with Team Rosberg. Rockenfeller started the 2010 racing season winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona overall in the Action Express Racing Porsche Riley with co-drivers

João Barbosa João Barbosa (born 11 March 1975 in Porto, Portugal) is a Portuguese auto racing driver. He currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Sean Creech Motorsport in the LMP3 class. Before the 2021 Six Hours of the Glen, ...

Terry Borcheller Terry Borcheller (born March 22, 1966, in Hialeah, Florida) is an American professional racing driver who races in the Grand American Road Racing Association Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series. As a teenager, Borcheller was the ...

, and

Ryan Dalziel Ryan Dalziel ( ; born 12 April 1982), is a Scottish professional racing driver. Dalziel has seen the most success in his career in the United States, racing in the American Le Mans Series GT1 class and the Champ Car World Series, and winning t ...

2014 DTM HockenheimringII Mike Rockenfeller by 2eight 8SC4754

In the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rockenfeller was involved in a horrific accident while passing a slower GTE vehicle at 5:49 into the race. Shortly after nightfall, he was involved in a violent crash at the kinks on the straight between Mulsanne Corner and Indianapolis after near contact with the number 71 car of Robert Kauffman. Rockenfeller then climbed from his car and jumped to safety over the Armco barrier. He sustained a small flesh wound on his right arm and was admitted into a hospital overnight for observation. Rockenfeller took part in the 2014 Rolex

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 ...

racetheCheckeredFlag.co.uk
/ref> in the Spirit of Daytona Corvette

Daytona Prototype A Daytona Prototype is a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, which replaced their main prototype racing class, specifically ...

with

Richard Westbrook Richard Westbrook (born 10 July 1975) is a British professional racing driver noted for his success in racing Porsche and International sports cars. As a junior, he attended St Joseph's College, Ipswich. He has won both the Porsche Supercup i ...

and

Michael Valiante Michael Valiante (born November 11, 1979, in New Westminster, British Columbia) is a Canadian racing driver. Formula racing Valiante began racing in karting where his success earned him a full-season scholarship in the Skip Barber 2.0 Series. ...

Accolades

GT2 Champion:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

* 24 Hours Nürburgring overall winner: 2006 *

GT2 winner:

overall winner:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

overall winner:

Champion:

Racing record

Complete Porsche Supercup results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ‡ - Not eligible for points.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

24 Hours of Daytona results

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft results

(

) ^† Driver did not finish, but was classified as he completed 90% of the winner's race distance.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(

)(Races in bold indicate pole position) ^* Season still in progress.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

(

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

NASCAR

(

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series

References

External links

* *
Fourtitude Magazine profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockenfeller, Mike 1983 births Living people People from Neuwied Racing drivers from Rhineland-Palatinate German racing drivers Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers American Le Mans Series drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Porsche Supercup drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers Blancpain Endurance Series drivers Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters champions WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Porsche Carrera Cup GB drivers NASCAR drivers Action Express Racing drivers Audi Sport drivers Team Rosberg drivers Corvette Racing drivers Abt Sportsline drivers Team Joest drivers Phoenix Racing drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Porsche Motorsports drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers G-Drive Racing drivers W Racing Team drivers Team Penske drivers