Jochen Neerpasch (born 23 March 1939) is a German former racecar driver and motorsports manager.

Career

His racing career began in the 1960s, first on

Borgward Borgward was a car manufacturing company, based in Bremen, Germany, founded by Carl F. W. Borgward (1890–1963). It produced cars of four brands, which were sold to a diversified international customer base: Borgward, Hansa, Goliath a ...

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The ...

, then with the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans as a first major event. Racing a

Porsche 907 The Porsche 907 is a sportscar racing prototype built by Porsche in 1967 and 1968. 1967 The 907 was introduced at the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. Following a suggestion by Ferdinand Piëch, the position of the driver was moved from the traditi ...

, he won the 1968

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 ...

. After his third-place finish in Le Mans the same year, he retired from racing. In the 1970s, he became a successful manager in the

Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (translated as ''German Racing Championship'') or simply DRM as it was known, was a touring car and Sportscar racing series. It is regarded as a predecessor of the current DTM as Germany's top national series. Hi ...

and the

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 In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...

. First he managed Ford, then he took the 1972 champion

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 him to BMW, to found the successful

BMW M BMW M GmbH, formerly known as BMW Motorsport GmbH, is a subsidiary of BMW AG that manufactures high-performance luxury cars. BMW M ("M" for "motorsport") was initially created to facilitate BMW's racing program, which was very successful in ...

team and company. In the 1980s, Neerpasch was in charge of

Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG, currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber, is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who pro ...

- Mercedes

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

team, winning 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 ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

. He also discovered and taught talents like

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...

, Karl Wendlinger, and

Heinz-Harald Frentzen Heinz-Harald Frentzen (; born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Frentzen was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won three Grands Prix across 10 se ...

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

Complete Targa Florio results

External links

* Auto racing crew chiefs German racing drivers 1939 births Living people Sportspeople from Krefeld Racing drivers from Düsseldorf (region) 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers European Touring Car Championship drivers {{Germany-autoracing-bio-stub 12 Hours of Reims drivers Porsche Motorsports drivers