Volker Weidler
Volker Hermann Weidler (born 18 March 1962) is a retired racing driver from Germany, best known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991.
| Born | 18 March 1962 Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  German |
| Active years | 1989 |
| Teams | Rial |
| Entries | 10 (0 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
|---|---|
| Years | 1987, 1989–1992 |
| Teams | Porsche Kremer Racing, Mazdaspeed (Mazdaspeed/Oreca) |
| Best finish | 1st (1991) |
| Class wins | 1 (1991) |
Career
Formula racing
In 1985, he became German Formula Three champion.
In the 1989 Formula One season, Weidler entered 10 Formula One 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. He often fought over the title with Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Ross Cheever and others in the Japanese Formula 3000, and became popular in Japan.
GT / Sportscars
In 1991, Weidler teamed with Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot to win Le Mans behind the wheel of the Wankel engine-powered Mazda 787B, marking also the first win of the legendary French race by both a Japanese manufacturer and engine supplier. This Wankel engine-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 though Weidler was leading the championship at that time.
When Weidler left the Japanese team, Nova Engineering, he recommended Heinz-Harald Frentzen 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.)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Bromley Motorsport with Rial | Ralt RT20 | Cosworth | SIL 10 |
VAL 7 |
PAU Ret |
SPA DNQ |
IMO | MUG 16 |
PER DNQ |
ÖST 9 |
BIR | BUG | JAR | NC | 0 |
| 1988 | Onyx Race Engineering | March 88B | Cosworth | JER DSQ |
VAL 12 |
PAU DNQ |
SIL 14 |
MNZ 9 |
PER Ret |
BRH 6 |
BIR 4 |
BUG DNS |
ZOL Ret |
DIJ 6 |
15th | 5 |
Complete Japanese Formula 3000 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Team Take One | SUZ Ret |
FSW Ret |
MIN 11 |
SUZ 5 |
SUG 21 |
FSW 3 |
FSW Ret |
SUZ 20 |
FSW 1 |
SUZ DSQ |
6th | 15 | |
| 1991 | Team Nova | SUZ 15 |
AUT DNQ |
FSW 19 |
MIN 3 |
SUZ 3 |
SUG 8 |
FSW 3 |
SUZ 10 |
FSW C |
SUZ 3 |
FSW 1 |
3rd | 25 |
| 1992 | Team Nova | SUZ 3 |
FSW Ret |
MIN Ret |
SUZ 1 |
AUT 3 |
SUG 1 |
FSW | FSW | SUZ | FSW | FSW | 4th | 26 |
Complete Formula One results
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Rial Racing | Rial ARC2 | Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 | BRA DNPQ |
SMR DNPQ |
MON DNPQ |
MEX DNPQ |
USA DNPQ |
CAN DNPQ |
FRA DNPQ |
GBR DNPQ |
GER EX |
HUN DNQ |
BEL | ITA | POR | ESP | JPN | AUS | NC | 0 |
Source:[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||
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).
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Porsche Kremer Racing |
 Kris Nissen Kunimitsu Takahashi |
Porsche 962C | C1 | 6 | DNF | DNF |
| 1989 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd |
Yojiro Terada.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Marc Duez |
Mazda 767 | GTP | 339 | 12th | 3rd |
| 1990 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. |
Bertrand Gachot Johnny Herbert |
Mazda 787 | GTP | 148 | DNF | DNF |
| 1991 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. |
Johnny Herbert Bertrand Gachot |
Mazda 787B | C2 | 362 | 1st | 1st |
| 1992 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. Oreca |
Johnny Herbert Bertrand Gachot Maurizio Sandro Sala |
Mazda MXR-01 | C1 | 336 | 4th | 4th |
References
- Footnotes
- Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 415. ISBN 0851127029.
- Sources
- Profile at F1 Rejects
- Volker Weidler career summary at DriverDB.com