Frank Jelinski (born 23 May 1958 in

Bad Münder am Deister Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect *Unhealthy, or counter to well-being * Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored trolle ...

) is a retired

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

racing driver.

Career

After karting, Jelinski moved to the

German Formula Three Championship The German Formula Three Championship was the national Formula Three championship of Germany, and the former West Germany, from 1950 to 2002, then as Formel 3 until 2014. In 2003, the series had merged with the French Formula Three Championship ...

in 1978 and European

Formula Super Vee Formula Super Vee was an open-wheel racing series that took place in Europe and the United States from 1970 to 1990. The formula was created as an extension of Formula Vee, a racing class that was introduced in 1959. Formula Super Vee in Europe wa ...

in 1979 finishing 4th. In 1980 he won the German F3 championship and finished 13th in the European championship. He repeated his German F3 championship in 1981. He moved to

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009– 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name ...

in 1982 and finished 12th. In 1983 he made 4 F2 starts and began a transition to sports cars that would last the rest of his career. In 1984 he made 6

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and ...

starts and two DTM starts. He captured his first World Sportscar Championship win in 1986 driving for

Brun Motorsport {{Unsourced, date=December 2016 Brun Motorsport GmbH was a Swiss auto racing team founded by driver Walter Brun in 1983. They competed as a Porsche privateer team in sports car racing for their entire existence, running in a multitude of interna ...

and moved to

Joest Racing 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 1987. He continued with Joest until the 1991

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 layo ...

, which he won with teammates

Hurley Haywood Hurley Haywood (born May 4, 1948) is a retired American race car driver. Haywood has won multiple events, including five overall victories at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, three at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and two at the 12 Hours of Sebring. He is cre ...

, "John Winter", Henri Pescarolo, and

Bob Wollek Bob Wollek (4 November 1943 – 16 March 2001), nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He was killed on 16 March 2001 at age 57 in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation afte ...

. He moved to DTM full-time that year driving an AZR

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. ...

to 10th in points. He retired from full-time racing in 1992, but returned for 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 ...

every year until 1995, and has since occasionally come out of retirement for one-off appearances.

Racing record

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

( key)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft results

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

References

External links

Frank Jelinski
at Driver Database

at The Motor-Racing Picture Collection 1958 births German racing drivers German Formula Three Championship drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers FIA European Formula 3 Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Living people World Sportscar Championship drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers People from Hameln-Pyrmont {{Germany-autoracing-bio-stub Audi Sport drivers Team Joest drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers