Volker Hermann Weidler (born 18 March 1962) is a retired racing driver from
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, best known for winning 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 race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...
in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
.
Career
Formula racing
In 1985, he became
German Formula Three champion.
In the
1989 Formula One season
The 1989 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 43rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It began on 26 March and ended on 5 November. Alain Prost won his third Drivers' Championship, and McLaren won the Constructors' Championship ...
, Weidler entered 10
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
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
The , abbreviated as JSPC, formed by the Japan Automobile Federation, was a domestic championship which took place in Japan for Group C and IMSA GTP prototype cars and also featured cars that were eligible for touring car racing in its earlier y ...
. He often fought over the title with
Kazuyoshi Hoshino
is a Japanese former racing driver and businessman.
Motorsport career
Hoshino's nickname was . He won the Japanese motocross national championships in the 90cc and 125cc classes for Kawasaki in 1968 before switching to cars as a Nissan facto ...
,
Ross Cheever
Ross Cheever (born April 12, 1964 in Rome, Italy) is an American race car driver and is the younger brother of former Formula One driver and Indianapolis 500 champion Eddie Cheever. Born in Rome, Ross never completed a full season in elite level mo ...
and others in the Japanese Formula 3000, and became popular in Japan.
GT / Sportscars
In 1991, Weidler teamed with
Johnny Herbert
John Paul "Johnny" Herbert (born 25 June 1964) is a British former racing driver and current television announcer for Sky Sports F1. He raced in Formula One from 1989 to 2000, for seven different teams, winning three races and placing 4th in ...
and
Bertrand Gachot to win Le Mans behind the wheel of the
Wankel engine
The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. It was invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, and designed by German engineer Hanns-Dieter Paschke. ...
-powered
Mazda 787B
The Mazda 787 and its derivative 787B are Group C sports prototype racing cars that were developed by Japanese automobile manufacturer Mazda for use in the World Sportscar Championship, All Japan Sports Prototype Championship, and the 24 Hours of ...
, marking also the first win of the legendary
French race by both a
Japanese manufacturer and engine supplier. This
Wankel engine
The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. It was invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, and designed by German engineer Hanns-Dieter Paschke. ...
-powered car was noted for being very loud.
Possibly related to the hours spent in the noisy Mazda, 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
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...
though Weidler was leading the championship at that time.
When Weidler left the Japanese team, Nova Engineering, he recommended
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver. He competed in multiple disciplines including Sportscars, Formula One and DTM. He had his most success in Formula One, entering over 150 Grands Prix and winning three.
...
as his successor.
Post-racing career
Weidler now works as a managing director for Weidler, a building cleaning company owned by his family, based in Weinheim.
Racing record
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)
Complete Japanese Formula 3000 results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula One results
(
key)
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).
References
;Footnotes
;Sources
Profile at F1 RejectsDriver Database Profile
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
{{Germany-autoracing-bio-stub
Oreca drivers
RSM Marko drivers
Walter Lechner Racing drivers
Josef Kaufmann Racing drivers
Team Joest drivers