Roock Racing is an
auto racing
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...
team based in
Leverkusen
Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. The city is part of the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
that was highly successful in numerous sports car and endurance racing series during the 1990s.
Roock Racing Team Results The team was founded in 1984 by brothers Fabian and Michael Roock.
24 Hours of Le Mans
Roock Racing's Porsche 911 won the GT2 class at the
1996 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 64th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 15 and 16 June 1996. It was won by a Tom Walkinshaw-Porsche prototype run by Joest Racing with drivers Davy Jones, Manuel Reuter and Le Mans rookie Alexande ...
. The team's winning drivers were
Ralf Kelleners, Guy Martinolle an
Bruno Eichmann
At the
1997 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 65th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14 and 15 June 1997. It was won by teammates Michele Alboreto, Stefan Johansson, and Tom Kristensen, driving a Porsche WSC-95. The race was the first of a rec ...
, Roock's Porsche 911 GT2 driven by
André Ahrlé,
Andy Pilgrim
Andrew Pilgrim (born 18 August 1956) is an American racing driver. He has competed in the SCCA World Challenge, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, and NASCAR.
Racing career
Having taken a keen interest in motorcycles as a child, Pilgrim ...
and Bruno Eichmann finished second in its class, only one lap behind Elf Haberthur Racing's Porsche 911. At the
1998 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 66th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 6 and 7 June 1998.
Schedule
Events for the 24 Hours of Le Mans began on 2 May with technical inspections, before initial pre-qualifying on 3 May. The race week ...
, Roock Racing finished third in the GT2 class. That year's 911 GT2 was driven by
Claudia Hürtgen, Michel Ligonnet and Robert Nearn. In 1999, the Roock
Roock Racing's Porsches differed greatly from factory GT2s in order to keep their cars competitive. The cars were developed in-house by Mike Gramke. By 1998, Roock's 911 GT2 sported a 600 HP 3.8 engine, sequential Gemini gearbox, Thielert engine management, repositioned radiators and fuel tank, tracks increased by 7 cm, a lightened and reinforced Matter tub and revised air circulation with specific floors. They are the lightest 993 GT2s ever built and at the 1998 Le Mans race they weighed only 1060 kg.
Roock Porsche 993 GT2
GT2 Racing

Beginning in 1996, Roock Racing joined the
BPR Global GT Series
The BPR Global GT Series (sometimes referred to as the BPR Global GT Endurance Series or simply abbreviated as BPR) was a grand tourer-based sports car racing series which ran from 1994 to 1996 before becoming the FIA GT Championship in 1997. The ...
and scored several GT2 class wins. That same year was the team's first participation in the 24-hour race at Le Mans, where it won its class.
In 1997, the inaugural season of the
FIA GT Championship
The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...
, Roock's Porsches finished in second and third place in their class at Le Mans. During the 1997 season, the team celebrated four class wins and shared the championship in the GT2 class. In 1998, Roock Racing faced the increasing dominance of the Chrysler Viper GTS-R but could still won a share of the championship.
American Le Mans Series
In 2000, Roock entered its Porsche GT 2 in the American Le Mans Series, a new race league. In the 2001 season, the team debuted with a Roock Racing Lola B2K/40 in the LMP675 class. There, the team narrowly missed the championship and again finished second in the team standings. Roock Racing ceased its motorsports activities after the 2001 season. Michael Roock formed Roock Sport System GmbH in Germany while Fabian Roock opened Roock Autosport in the U.S.
Porsche Carrera Cup
Roock began by racing in the
Porsche Carrera Cup
Porsche Carrera Cup (sometimes abbreviated PCC) is a number of one-make racing by Porsche premier series competed with, initially Porsche 911 Carrera Cup, then later Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The cars are specifically built by Porsche for on ...
. In 1993, the team had its first major success as drivers
Christian Fittipaldi
Christian Fittipaldi (born 18 January 1971) is a Brazilian former racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car, and NASCAR. He was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, and parti ...
,
Uwe Alzen
Uwe Alzen (born 18 August 1967) is a German racing driver specialised in touring car racing and sports car racing.
Biography
He won the 1992 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, the 1994 Porsche Supercup and the 1995 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meistersch ...
and
Jean-Pierre Jarier
Jean-Pierre Jacques Jarier (; born 10 July 1946) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to .
Jarier contested 143 Formula One Grands Prix for March, Shadow, ATS, Ligier, Lotus, Tyrrell, and Osella. He achieve ...
won the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps and also won the team title in the Porsche Carrera Cup. In 1994, Roock Racing's Alzen won the 1994
Porsche Supercup
The Porsche Supercup (officially known as Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, known as Porsche Michelin Supercup prior to 2007 and often abbreviated as PSC) is an international One-design racing, one-make production stock car racing series supporting the ...
. Alzen and
Ralf Kelleners also drove for Roock in the ADAC GT Cup. Kelleners secured the championship in 1994 and won the title again in 1995.
Roock Autosport
In 1999, Fabian Roock created Roock Autosport, a tuning company specializing in water-cooled Porsches located in Atlanta, Georgia, North America.
CNN Interview with Fabian Roock
In 2004, Roock Autosport released its Porsche RST 650, a custom Porsche 911 The RST's modified engine produced 650 hp at 6560 RPM and 620 lb.-ft of torque at 4960 RPM, putting it firmly among the world's fastest supercars at the time
Car and Driverreviewed the RST 650 in its April 2004 issue and gave the car high marks, saying "it's the kind of explosive ferocity you expect 650 horsepower to feel like. And in this case, the high-performance feel translated directly to the test track, where the Roock Porsche posted world-class supercar numbers."
Car & Driver, April 2004
Roock RST 650 LM
In 2008, Roock announced its newest limited edition, tuner Porsches, the RST 600 LM and RST 650. The 600 LM was designed to commemorate Roock Racing's win at the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Autoblog:Roock celebrates Le Mans win with limited production of RST 650 LM
Motor Authority: Roock RST 600 LM based on the Porsche 911 Turbo
The RST 600 LM and RST 650 included upgraded turbochargers, titanium exhaust systems, and an upgraded ECU good for over 600 horsepower and at least 611 lb-ft torque. Performance numbers were a claimed 3.1 second sprint to 60 mph and a top end of 211 mph. Roock also added a carbon fiber clutch, expertly tuned suspension, and massive 380mm drilled and vented brakes. Inside, the RST'
Roock RSTgot carbon fiber trim, oil and temperature gauges, and custom seats with four point harnesses. Finally, subtle exterior modifications were added including a new front splitter, rear diffuser, rear spoiler, and lightweight aluminum racing wheels.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Corporate websiteRoock Racing 911 at Zolder Circuit (Belgium)
Automotive motorsports and performance companies
German auto racing teams
FIA GT Championship teams
24 Hours of Le Mans teams
Auto racing teams established in 1984