Alexander Müller (born 20 January 1979) is a German racing driver.
Career
Müller stepped up from
karting
Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motor ...
in 1995, and finished third in BMW Formula Junior driving for
Abt Sportsline
Abt Sportsline is an auto racing and auto tuning company based in Kempten im Allgäu, Germany. Abt mainly deals with Audi and the related primary Volkswagen Group brands—Volkswagen, Škoda, and SEAT—modifying them by using sports-type su ...
. In 1996 he won
Formula Renault Germany. Müller stepped up to
Formula Three
Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers.
History
Formula Three (adop ...
for 1997, finishing third in 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 ...
.
[http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/457/career/ Alex Müller career statistics at Driver Database]
Müller stepped up to
International Formula 3000 for 1998 driving as a BMW Junior for the
Oreca
ORECA (Organisation Exploitation Compétition Automobiles) is a French auto racing, racing team and race car constructor, founded in 1973 and run by Hugues de Chaunac, former team manager of F1 team Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives, AGS. Or ...
team, but only finished in 20th position. He opted to race in the
French Formula Three Championship in 1999, and finished seventh. He then returned to the German championship in 2000, and finished as runner-up to
Giorgio Pantano
Giorgio Pantano (born 4 February 1979) is an Italian former professional racing driver who drove for the Jordan Grand Prix, Jordan Formula One team for much of the 2004 Formula One season, 2004 season before being replaced by Timo Glock. He also ...
, driving for
Team Ghinzani
Team Ghinzani is a motor racing team based in Italy, involved in many areas of motorsport. The team was founded in 1992 by Piercarlo Ghinzani, who raced in Formula One between and .
History
Team Ghinzani have raced in Italian Formula Three C ...
. In 2001, he raced for the team in
Euro 3000, and finished third in the standings behind
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa (; born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for TMG Racing, TMG and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Riley Technologies, Riley. Massa competed in Formula One from to , and w ...
and
Thomas Biagi
Thomas Biagi (born 7 May 1976, in Bologna), is an Italian professional racing driver.
Biagi started his career in open wheel racing, single seaters, driving in Formula Alfa Boxer and Italian Formula Three Championship, where he was 5th best in 19 ...
. Müller returned to International F3000 in 2002, driving the first five rounds for
Durango
Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...
before moving to European Minardi for the next four rounds, but he failed to score any points during his nine races and separated from the team with three rounds remaining.
Müller tested with
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...
team
PDM Racing at the beginning of 2003. He competed at two
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...
short tracks before the end of the season. He finished 26th in the No. 23
Team Racing at
Indianapolis Raceway Park and finished 25th in the No. 07
Green Light Racing at
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville Speedway is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, United States, a community of Martinsville, Virginia. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1947, primarily events sanctione ...
.
Having failed to find sponsorship for NASCAR or IndyCar campaigns, Müller returned to Europe in 2004. He was due to race for Taurus Sports at the
opening round of the inaugural
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 ...
season, but the car did not start the race. He did race in the
2004 Spa 24 Hours for
JMB Racing with
Karl Wendlinger,
Bert Longin and
Pierre-Yves Corthals. The team finished the race in 16th place.
Müller returned to Formula Three in 2005, racing for his old team Ghinzani in the
Italian Formula Three Championship
The Italian Formula Three Championship was the Formula Three racing competition in Italy.
History
Formula Three has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone for F1 hopefuls - it is typically the first point in a driver's care ...
. He finished as runner-up to
Luigi Ferrara, nine points behind, having had twenty points taken away for a technical irregularity.
After sitting out the 2006 season, Müller once again raced in the
Spa 24 Hours
The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by CrowdStrike.
History
The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their and ...
, this time for Scuderia Playteam Sarafree, finishing 18th in a
Maserati MC12.
For 2008, Müller raced full-time 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 ...
for
Jetalliance Racing in their second
Aston Martin DBR9, alongside owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer. Müller set pole position for the second race of the season at Monza, but the car did not finish the race. The car did finish second at Oschersleben behind its sister car driven by
Ryan Sharp and
Karl Wendlinger.
Müller was signed by the
Vitaphone Racing Team for the 2009 season, to race its second Maserati MC12, as teammate to
Miguel Ramos. The pair finished eighth in the standings, after scoring three pole positions. They helped Vitaphone to win the teams championship. Müller also finished third in the GT1 class at the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
with Jetalliance, having set class pole position.
Müller competed in the new
FIA GT1 World Championship
The FIA GT1 World Championship was a world championship sports car racing series, developed by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. I ...
in 2010, driving a
Corvette C6.R for the Mad-Croc Racing banner alongside
Xavier Maassen for the first round before being replaced by
Nicolas Armindo for the second round. At the fifth round at
Spa-Francorchamps, he replaced
Alexandros Margaritis at
Triple H Team Hegersport and reached for them until the end of the season.
Racing record
NASCAR
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Craftsman Truck Series
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete GT1 World Championship results
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
References
External links
Official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Alex
Living people
1979 births
German racing drivers
Formula Renault Eurocup drivers
German Formula Three Championship drivers
International Formula 3000 drivers
French Formula Three Championship drivers
Auto GP drivers
NASCAR drivers
Italian Formula Three Championship drivers
European Le Mans Series drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
FIA GT Championship drivers
FIA GT1 World Championship drivers
People from Emmerich am Rhein
Racing drivers from Düsseldorf (region)
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers
ADAC GT Masters drivers
24 Hours of Spa drivers
Oreca drivers
Durango (racing team) drivers
Karting World Championship drivers
Aston Martin Racing drivers
Abt Sportsline drivers
Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers
Graff Racing drivers
Saintéloc Racing drivers
24H Series drivers