Dirk Müller (born 18 November 1975) is a German
Ford factory racing driver, driving for
Ford Chip Ganassi Racing in the 2016
IMSA
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, ACCUS arm of the Féd ...
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...
. His former
Schnitzer BMW team-mate
Jörg Müller
Jörg Müller (, ; born 3 September 1969) is a Dutch-born German BMW factory driver.
Racing career
Born in Kerkrade, Netherlands, Müller won the titles in 1989 German Formula Opel Lotus Challenge and in 1989 European Formula Ford 1600.
Th ...
is unrelated, as is French driver
Yvan Muller
Yvan Muller (born 16 August 1969) is a French auto racing driver most noted for success in touring car racing. He is a four-time World Touring Car Championship, World Touring Car Champion, winning the title in 2008 with SEAT, in 2010 and 2011 wit ...
.
Biography
Born in
Burbach, Müller won a
Formula 3
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 ...
race at the
Nürburgring
The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...
in 1996. In 1998, after a win in the GT1 class of the
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 racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...
, he scored his first title, the
Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, to be followed by the
ALMS
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving.
Etymology
The word ''alms'' come ...
GT title in 2000.
From the 2002 to 2005 season, both Dirk and Jörg were driving
BMW 3 Series (E46) touring cars for the Schnitzer-operated works squad ''Team Deutschland'' in the FIA
European Touring Car Championship
The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...
(now
WTCC). Since 2006, the team uses the new
BMW 3 Series (E90) which is based on the
BMW 320si limited-edition model that has a 4-cyl engine rather than the usual 6-cyl.
The 2004
24 Hours Nürburgring
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
Evolution of the H ...
was won by both Müllers (and
Hans-Joachim Stuck
Hans-Joachim Stuck (; born 1 January 1951) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Strietzel", Stuck won the World Sportscar Championship in 1985 and is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans ...
) with the
BMW M3
The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M GmbH. M3 models have been produced for every generation of 3 Series since the E30 M3 was introduced in 1986.
The initial mod ...
GTR V8 that had been raced successfully in the 2001 ALMS. In 2005, the Müllers finished 2nd behind their sister car.
After touring cars he joined to Ferrari AF Corse with Toni Vilander and won the FIA GT Championship in GT2 class. In 2008 raced in the American Le Mans Series in Ferrari F430 GTC with
Dominik Farnbacher in the GT2 class.
In 2009, Müller rejoined BMW to spearhead its factory program with
Rahal Letterman Racing in the
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...
. He and
Joey Hand won the 2011
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...
GT driver's championship following wins at the Twelve Hours of Sebring, Grand Prix of Long Beach and Lime Rock Park.
Müller was entered as an international driver in the
2011 Armor All Gold Coast 600
The 2011 Armor All Gold Coast 600 was a motor race for the Australian sedan-based V8 Supercars racing cars. It was the eleventh event of the 2011 International V8 Supercars Championship. It was held on the weekend of 21 to 23 October at the Surf ...
for
V8 Supercars
The Supercars Championship, also known as the Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship and historically as V8 Supercars, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération I ...
, alongside second-generation racer
Steven Johnson. The German crashed out of the first race and the pairing finished 12th in the second.
For 2016, Müller joined the Ford factory program for the IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He was reunited with teammate Joey Hand, while
Sébastien Bourdais
Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (; born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver who currently races in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Cadillac Hertz Team Jota in the Hypercar category. He is one of the most successful dr ...
joined the team for the endurance races including Le Mans.
Racing record
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete Super Tourenwagen Cup results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete European Touring Car Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
† — Did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
Complete World Touring Car Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
External links
Official websiteProfile– b
FIA GT Championship official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Dirk
1975 births
Living people
People from Siegen-Wittgenstein
Racing drivers from Arnsberg (region)
German racing drivers
World Touring Car Championship drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
FIA GT Championship drivers
German Formula Three Championship drivers
American Le Mans Series drivers
Supercars Championship drivers
EFDA Nations Cup drivers
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
Rolex Sports Car Series drivers
Porsche Supercup drivers
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
24 Hours of Spa drivers
European Touring Car Championship drivers
Asian Le Mans Series drivers
GT World Challenge America drivers
Australian Endurance Championship drivers
Chip Ganassi Racing drivers
Schnitzer Motorsport drivers
BMW M drivers
Multimatic Motorsports drivers
Porsche Motorsports drivers
CRS Racing drivers
Abt Sportsline drivers
Dick Johnson Racing drivers
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers
AF Corse drivers
Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers
Porsche Carrera Cup Germany drivers
Manthey Racing drivers
Proton Competition drivers