Timo Bernhard (born 24 February 1981) is a former driver from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. He was a

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

driver from Porsche, but was seconded to Audi for selected events in 2009 and 2010. He is a winner of the Triple Crown in endurance racing. On 29 June 2018, he became the first person in 35 years to break the all-time Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record, set by Stefan Bellof in 1983 with a Porsche 956, in a derestricted Porsche 919 Evo with a time of 5:19.546.5:19.55 minutes – Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo takes record on Porsche Newsroom
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Early career

Bernhard was born in Homburg, Saarland. He debuted in karting in 1991. He finished 5th at the CIK/FIA Junior World Championship and was crowned German junior champion. The next two years, Bernhard was 6th and 3rd at the German Karting Championship. In 1998 he moved to formula cars as he joined

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula Fo ...

, finishing 6th in both the German series and the Eurocup in 1998. In his last year in open-wheelers, 1999, Bernhard finished 3rd in the German Formula Ford.

Sports cars

For 2000, Bernhard drove in Porsche Supercup as a UPS Porsche Junior driver, finishing 3rd in the championship. In 2001, he made his

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 ...

debut at the

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second ro ...

, where he finished 2nd in the GT class with

Randy Pobst Randy Franklin Pobst (born June 26, 1957, in Dayton, Ohio), also known as "RFP" or "The Rocket," is an American race car driver and journalist for ''Motor Trend'' magazine. Active in the SCCA World Challenge GT series and the Grand American se ...

and Christian Menzel, driving for Alex Job Racing. He also made four other ALMS starts, and won the Porsche Carrera Cup championship.

2002

In 2002 he began the season with a class win in the 24 Hours of Daytona for The Racer's Group. He then finished second overall at the 24 Hours Nürburgring driving for Alzen Motorsport. The crowning achievement of the year was winning the GT class at the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

, with Kevin Buckler and Lucas Luhr. He also finished 3rd in the Carrera Cup, and won his first ALMS race (with Jörg Bergmeister) and finished 4th in the championship.

2003

Bernhard began the season by winning the 24 Hours of Daytona outright in a Porsche 911 GT3-RS, driving with Buckler, Michael Schrom, and Bergmeister. Bernhard and Bergmeister won 3 ALMS races, including Petit Le Mans, and finished second in the championship. He also finished 3rd at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

2004

In 2004, Bernhard again partnered with Jörg Bergmeister in the ALMS. The duo took six wins from nine starts and won the GT class driver's championship. Their successes included class wins at Sebring and Petit Le Mans, both time joined by

Sascha Maassen Sascha Maassen (born 28 September 1969 in Aachen, Germany) is a veteran sports car driver. Early career Maassen began his career in karts, and moved to cars in 1989, in Formula Ford 1600. During the early 1990s, he raced in the German Formula 3 s ...

. Bernhard also finished 4th overall and 2nd in class in the Spa 24 Hours. He finished on the podium at the Nürburgring 24 Hours for the 3rd straight year, finishing in third in a Manthey Racing Porsche.

2005

Bernhard joined Romain Dumas in the ALMS for 2005. They scored four class wins, and Bernhard won four poles, but finished second in the championship. Dumas also finished 2nd in the GT2 class at the

, driving with Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Long.

2006

In 2006, Bernhard moved to Penske Racing who owned and captained by legendary owner Roger Penske and the new Porsche RS Spyder in the LMP2 class of the ALMS, again partnering Dumas. After a frustrating start to the season, Bernhard and Dumas took advantage of the Audi R10's absence from the series to take the overall win at Mid-Ohio. This was the first overall win for an LMP2 class car, and the first win for an under-class car since 2003. Bernhard also won the LMP2 class at Petit Le Mans (with

and Emmanuel Collard), and took four class victories in total and finished 3rd in the championship. He also won the 24 Hours Nürburgring outright, partnering Lucas Luhr,

Marcel Tiemann Marcel Tiemann (born 19 March 1974) is a retired racing driver from Germany. He is best known for being a five-time winner of the 24 Hours Nürburgring race with Opel and Porsche. Career Early series Tiemann started his career in Formula König ...

, and Mike Rockenfeller.

2009

Bernhard and Dumas moved to Joest Racing, in which he ran the new Audi R15 TDI. Along with Alexandre Prémat, the #3 car finished 17th in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans.

2010

Along with Dumas and Rockenfeller, Bernhard took the overall win in the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans. This was the first win for either driver and set records throughout and after the race, including breaking the distance record of ; the car (#9) ran 397 laps and . Bernhard's victory made him the eleventh driver to complete the Triple Crown in endurance racing, with Bernhard also winning not only the 2003 24 Hours of Daytona but also the

2008 12 Hours of Sebring The 2008 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida was the 56th running of this event and the opening round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Sebring International Raceway, Florida on March 15, ...

with Penske (also with Dumas but also with Collard). Bernhard partnered Klaus Graf in the Muscle Milk Team CytoSport Porsche RS Spyder to second place at

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Ch ...

, the seventh round of the 2010 ALMS season.

Racing achievements

* ALMS LMP2 class champion:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

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* ALMS GT class champion:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

GT class winner: 2002 *

Overall winner: 2010,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

GT class winner:

Overall winner:

* Petit Le Mans LMP2 class winner: 2006 * Petit Le Mans GT class winner:

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* 24 Hours of Daytona overall winner:

* 24 Hours of Daytona GT class winner: 2002,

* 24 Hours Nürburgring winner: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 * Porsche Carrera Cup Germany champion: 2001

Racing record

Career summary

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

^* Season still in progress. ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernhard, Timo 1981 births Living people People from Homburg, Saarland Racing drivers from Saarland German racing drivers American Le Mans Series drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers FIA GT Championship drivers Formula Ford drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Porsche Supercup drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Blancpain Endurance Series drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Sports car racing team owners 12 Hours of Sebring drivers Team Penske drivers Porsche Motorsports drivers Audi Sport drivers Team Joest drivers Extreme Speed Motorsports drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers KCMG drivers Rowe Racing drivers Phoenix Racing drivers