Volker Hermann Weidler (born 18 March 1962) is a retired racing driver from

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 ...

, best known for 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 ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Career

Formula racing

In 1985, he became German Formula Three champion. In the 1989 Formula One season, Weidler entered 10

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

Grands Prix, racing for the Rial team, but failed to qualify the uncompetitive car on every occasion. After Formula One, he moved to Japan and raced in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship and the

All Japan Sports Prototype Championship The , abbreviated as JSPC, formed by the Japan Automobile Federation, was a domestic championship which took place in Japan for Group C and IMSA GTP Sports prototype, prototype cars and also featured cars that were eligible for touring car racin ...

. 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 The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric (mechanism), eccentric Pistonless rotary engine, rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. The concept was proven by German engineer Felix Wankel, f ...

-powered

Mazda 787B The Mazda 787 and its derivative 787B are Group C sports prototype auto racing, racing cars that were developed by Japanese automobile manufacturer Mazda for use in the World Sportscar Championship, All Japan Sports Prototype Championship, and th ...

, marking also the first win of the legendary French race by both a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese manufacturer and engine supplier. This

-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 Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a type of hearing loss in which the root cause lies in the inner ear, sensory organ (cochlea and associated structures), or the vestibulocochlear nerve (Cranial nerves, cranial nerve VIII). SNHL accounts for a ...

) 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.)

Complete Formula One results

( key)

Complete Japanese Formula 3000 results

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

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans Results

Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of the winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).

References

;Footnotes ;Sources
Profile at F1 Rejects
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weidler, Volker 1962 births Living people German racing drivers German Formula One drivers Rial Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers German Formula Three Championship drivers Japanese Formula 3000 Championship drivers International Formula 3000 drivers Sportspeople from Heidelberg Racing drivers from Karlsruhe (region) World Sportscar Championship drivers Oreca drivers RSM Marko drivers Walter Lechner Racing drivers Josef Kaufmann Racing drivers Team Joest drivers