Volker Weidler

Volker Hermann Weidler (born 18 March 1962) is a German businessman and retired racing driver, best known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991.

Career

Formula racing

In 1985, Weidler became German Formula Three champion.

In the 1989 Formula One season, Weidler entered ten Formula One Grands Prix, racing for the Rial team, but failed to qualify the uncompetitive car on every occasion.

After Formula One, Weidler 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.)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! Pts

| 1986

! nowrap| Bromley Motorsport with Rial

! nowrap| Ralt RT20

! Cosworth

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SIL

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| VAL

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PAU

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| SPA

| IMO

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MUG

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| PER

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| ÖST

| BIR

| BUG

| JAR

! NC

! 0

| 1988

! nowrap| Onyx Race Engineering

! nowrap| March 88B

! Cosworth

|style="background:#000000; color:#ffffff"| JER

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| VAL

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| PAU

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SIL

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MNZ

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PER

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| BRH

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| BIR

|style="background:#FFFFFF;"| BUG

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ZOL

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DIJ

! 15th

! 5

!colspan="17"|

Complete Formula One results

(key)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! Pts

! nowrap| Rial Racing

! nowrap| Rial ARC2

! nowrap| Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| BRA

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| SMR

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| MON

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| MEX

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| USA

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| CAN

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| FRA

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| GBR

| GER

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| HUN

| BEL

| ITA

| POR

| ESP

| JPN

| AUS

! NC

! 0

!colspan="22"|

Complete Japanese Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"

! Year

! Team

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! DC

! Pts

| 1990

! nowrap| Team Take One

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SUZ Ret

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| FSW Ret

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MIN 11

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SUZ 5

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SUG 21

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| FSW 3

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| FSW Ret

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SUZ 20

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| FSW 1

|style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF"| SUZ DSQ

!6th

!15

| 1991

! nowrap| Team Nova

| style="background:#CFCFFF;" | SUZ 15

| style="background:#FFCFCF;" | AUT DNQ

| style="background:#CFCFFF;" | FSW 19

| style="background:#FFDF9F;" | MIN 3

| style="background:#FFDF9F;" | SUZ 3

| style="background:#CFCFFF;" | SUG 8

| style="background:#FFDF9F;" | FSW 3

| style="background:#CFCFFF;" | SUZ 10

| style="background:#FFFFFF;" | FSW C

| style="background:#FFDF9F;" | SUZ 3

| style="background:#FFFFBF;" | FSW 1

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"|3rd

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"|25

| 1992

! nowrap| Team Nova

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| SUZ 3

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| FSW Ret

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MIN Ret

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| SUZ 1

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| AUT 3

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| SUG 1

| FSW

| SUZ

| FSW

!4th

!26

!colspan="15"|

References

;Footnotes

;Sources

Profile at F1 Rejects