André Ahrlé (born July 27, 1961) is a German former racing driver and entrepreneur. Ahrlé won the 24 Hours of Daytona twice in 1997 in the GTS-2 class and 1999 in the GT2 class. Ahrlé participated in four 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1996 to 1999 with a best overall finish of tenth.
Career
thumb|Ahrlé driving a 1965 [[Shelby Cobra in 2009]]
Ahrlé was active in GT and sports car racing between 1993 and 2002. His career began in 1993 in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany and finished the season 13th overall. In 1995, he finished ninth overall in the Porsche Supercup and made his debut at the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans. He drove a Porsche 911 GT2 for the French racing team Larbre Compétition with teammates Patrick Bourdais and Patrice Goueslard. The trio finished sixth place in the GT2 class and 20th place overall. Ahrlé competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times before retiring from racing. His best overall finish came in 1997, when he finished second in the GT2 class and tenth together with Bruno Eichmann and Andy Pilgrim.
Ahrlé's greatest international success was winning the GT2 class at the 1997 24 Hours of Daytona, again in a Porsche 911 GT2, this time entered by Roock Racing. Ahrlé was part of a four-person team that included Claudia Hürtgen, Patrice Goueslard, and Ralf Kelleners. The quartet finished fourth overall. Ahrlé won the GT2 class in the 1999 24 Hours of Daytona with Roock Racing.
At the beginning of the 2000s, Ahrlé still drove some races in the FIA GT Championship and the American Le Mans Series, and retired from professional racing after the end of the 2002 season.
Ahrlé has participated in vintage racing since 2008, driving a 1965 Shelby Cobra.
Other ventures
Ahrlé was a co-founder of Special Security Services GmbH, a company that provided security services for concerts and sporting events. In 1999, Ahrlé and his partners sold the company to .
Ahrlé is the chief executive officer of Tetre Rouge Assets, an investment company for vintage racing cars.
Racing record
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Co-Drivers
! Car
! Class
! Laps
!
!
|-
!
|align="left"| Larbre Compétition
|align="left"| Patrice Goueslard<br> Patrick Bourdais
|align="left"| Porsche 911 GT2
| GT2
| 284
| 20th
| 6th
|-
!
|align="left"| Roock Racing
|align="left"| Bruno Eichmann<br> Andy Pilgrim
|align="left"| Porsche 911 GT2
| GT2
| 306
| 10th
| style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 2nd
|-
!
|align="left"| Roock Racing
|align="left"| Rob Schirle<br> David Warnock
|align="left"| Porsche 911 GT2
| GT2
| 247
| 22nd
| 8th
|-
!
|align="left"| Roock Racing
|align="left"| Claudia Hürtgen<br> Vincent Vosse
|align="left"| Porsche 911 GT2
| GTS
| 290
| 20th
| 8th
|-
!colspan="8"|
|}
Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Co-Drivers
! Car
! Class
! Laps
!
!
|-
! 1996
|align="left"| Larbre Competition
|align="left"| Karel Dolejsi<br> Bernd Netzeband<br> Andre Lara-Resende
|align="left"| Porsche 911 GT2 Evo
| GTS-1
| 281
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! 1997
|align="left"| Roock Racing
|align="left"| Patrice Goueslard<br> Claudia Hürtgen<br> Ralf Kelleners
|align="left"| Porsche 911 GT2
| GTS-1
| 665
| 4th
| style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st
|-
! 1998
|align="left"| Larbre Competition
|align="left"| Christophe Bouchut<br> Patrice Goueslard<br> Carl Rosenblad
|align="left"| Porsche 911 GT1
| GT1
| 667
| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| 3rd
| style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 2nd
|-
! 1999
|align="left"| Roock Racing
|align="left"| Herbert Haupt<br> Raffaele Sangiuolo<br> David Warnock
|align="left"| Porsche 911 GT2
| GT2
| 634
| 7th
| style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st
|-
! 2000
|align="left"| Larbre Competition
|align="left"| Christophe Bouchut<br> Jean-Luc Chéreau<br> Patrice Goueslard
|align="left"| Porsche 911 GT3-R
| GTU
| 597
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! 2002
|align="left"| RWS Motorsport
|align="left"| Horst Felbermayr<br> Horst Felbermayr Jr.<br> Paul Knapfield
|align="left"| Porsche 996 GT3-R
| GT
| 335
| DNF
| DNF
|-
!colspan="8"|
|}
References
External links
- FIA GT Championship - Driver biography: Andre Ahrle