Roland Asch (born 12 October 1950 in Altingen,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

) is a

race car 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 organi ...

driver from

Ammerbuch Ammerbuch is a municipality in the district of Tübingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 7 km northwest of Tübingen. Geographical location The municipality Ammerbuch is 345–551 meters above sea level in part on the edge of ...

, near

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. Asch was a distinctive figure on the German motor racing scene in the 1990s.

Racing career

Asch's career started in 1973 with

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

before moving to

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the fir ...

to become German Champion in 1981. After racing on circuits in the lower ''Trophy'' division of the

Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (translated as ''German Racing Championship'') or simply DRM as it was known, was a touring car and Sportscar racing series. It is regarded as a predecessor of the current DTM as Germany's top national series. His ...

, he made his

Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) was a touring car racing series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in Germany, it held additional rounds elsewhere in Europe and later worldwide. The original DTM had resumed racing with producti ...

(DTM) début at age 34 in 1985. From 1985 to 1994 Asch drove for Mercedes in DTM, moving to the German Supertouring Championship (STW) in 1995 for four years when the DTM faltered. Apart from

touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not move ...

, Asch was also busy in

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 ...

series. He won the German

Porsche 944 The Porsche 944 is a sports car manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Porsche from 1982 until 1991. A front-engine, rear-wheel drive mid-level model based on the 924 platform, the 944 was available in coupé or cabriolet body styles, ...

Turbo Cup twice, in 1988 and 1989, before winning the German

Porsche Carrera Cup Porsche Carrera Cup (sometimes abbreviated PCC) is a number of one-make racing by Porsche premier series competed with, initially Porsche 911 Carrera Cup, then later Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The cars are specifically built by Porsche for one- ...

in 1991. In his 50s, Asch returned to the German Porsche Carrera Cup, where he raced until 2003, bar a one-off race during the 2004 season. In 2004 he also drove races in the

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 T ...

for RS-Line

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, the brand he runs a dealership for at Ammerbuch. From 1999 until 2005 Asch raced the

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 smallest c ...

, aboard the

Nissan Skyline GT-R The is a sports car based on the Nissan Skyline range. The first cars named "Skyline GT-R" were produced between 1969 and 1972 under the model code KPGC10, and were successful in Japanese touring car racing events. This model was followed by ...

entry of Japanese team Falken every year as their lead driver. He last appeared on the race in 2010, in a project made by German magazine

Sport auto (Germany) ''sport auto'' is a German automobile magazine, established in 1969, published monthly by Motor Presse Stuttgart, based in Stuttgart. The magazine publishes its "Supertest" of cars, featuring the laptime at the Nordschleife. Until 2015 almost a ...

and Porsche test driver

Walter Röhrl Walter Röhrl (; born 7 March 1947) is a German rally and auto racing driver, with victories for Fiat, Opel, Lancia and Audi as well as Porsche, Ford and BMW. Röhrl has scored 14 victories over his career, with his notable achievements including ...

, who did not take part due to health reasons. Currently, he is supporting his son

Sebastian Asch Sebastian Asch (born 4 June 1986 in Tübingen, lives in Ammerbuch, Baden-Württemberg) is a race car driver and the son of Roland Asch Roland Asch (born 12 October 1950 in Altingen, West Germany) is a race car driver from Ammerbuch, near S ...

, who is racing in the

SEAT León The SEAT León (), also spelled Leon in some other languages (named after the city of León, which also means "Lion" in Spanish), is a hatchback compact car built by the Spanish car manufacturer SEAT since October 1999.ETKA The first two León ...

Cup.

Incidents

In 1994, Asch was involved in a controversial incident in DTM at the

Alemannenring The Alemannenring was an auto racing circuit in Southern Germany. The circuit was located on public roads around in the industrial area of Singen in Baden-Württemberg. It hosted its final motor race in 1995. Circuit The circuit was long and ba ...

Alessandro Nannini Alessandro "Sandro" Nannini (born 7 July 1959) is a former racing driver from Italy. He is the younger brother of singer Gianna Nannini. His five-year F1 career resulted in his one and only win at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix but ended less tha ...

, racing for rivals Alfa Romeo, was running directly ahead of an already lapped Asch. While closing on a car in front, Nannini momentarily locked his rear wheels on the entry to the hairpin. He then regained control and took the racing line into the corner. Asch intentionally plowed into the side of Nannini, spinning him and damaging his car. As a result of this, Asch's Mercedes teammate

Klaus Ludwig Klaus Karl Ludwig (born 5 October 1949) is a German racing driver. Biography He also known as ''König Ludwig'' ("King Ludwig") for his success in touring cars and in sports car racing. In the 1970s, Ludwig drove for Ford in the Deutsche R ...

won the championship. After entering the pits, Nannini rejoined behind Asch and intentionally rammed him off the track in revenge at the same hairpin. At the end of the 1999 and final STW season at the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

, Asch was again accused by some of hitting an opponent intentionally to support his

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...

teammate

Uwe Alzen Uwe Alzen (born 18 August 1967) is a German racing driver specialised in touring car racing and sports car racing. Biography He won the 1992 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, the 1994 Porsche Supercup and the 1995 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterscha ...

. Asch was called into the pits for a jump start penalty, but later stated that his radio had failed. On the last lap, he was driving behind championship contenders and race leaders Alzen and

Christian Abt Christian Abt (born 8 May 1967) is a race car driver born in Kempten, Germany, into a family of amateur race drivers and car dealers. His elder brother Hans-Jürgen Abt runs the Abt Sportsline Audi racing teams as well as their tuning company f ...

, who were about to lap Abt's teammate

Kris Nissen The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its dist ...

. With the championship already going Abt's way as per the running order, Nissen tangled with Alzen on the second-to-last corner, causing heavy damage to Alzen's car. Asch then hit the

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 ...

of Abt in the last corner, handing the cup to Alzen, who came home second with his damaged car. While this incident was initially considered a race accident, Asch was punished for ignoring the penalty. Alzen celebrated immediately after the race, but the championship was given to Abt in November after Asch's move on him in the last corner was considered deliberate action by a

DMSB The German Motor Sport Federation (german: Deutscher Motor Sport Bund or ''DMSB'', formerly known as or ''ONS'') is Germany's motor racing governing body. It represents Germany at FIA and FIM. The , founded in 1972 by Herbert Linge as , is con ...

court of appeal, based on video evidence.

Racing record

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft 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)

Complete Super Tourenwagen Cup results

(

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

References

External links

Homepage of a fan
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asch, Roland 1950 births Living people German racing drivers Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers Racing drivers from Baden-Württemberg Porsche Supercup drivers ADAC GT Masters drivers European Touring Car Championship drivers 24H Series drivers Auto racing controversies Mercedes-AMG Motorsport drivers Abt Sportsline drivers Team Rosberg drivers Walter Lechner Racing drivers Morand Racing drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers