Quick Facts
Biography
Volker Weidler (born March 18, 1962 in Heidelberg) is a former racing driver from Germany, best known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991.
Career
Formula racing
In 1985, he became German Formula Three champion.
In the 1989 Formula One season, Weidler entered 10 Formula 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. 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-powered Mazda 787B, marking also the first and only win of the legendary French race by both a Japanese manufacturer and engine supplier. This Wankel engine-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) 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.
Racing record
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Bromley Motorsport Rial | SIL 10 | VAL 7 | PAU Ret | SPA DNQ | IMO | MUG 16 | PER DNQ | ZEL 9 | BIR | BUG | JAR | NC | 0 |
| 1988 | Onyx Racing | JER Ret | VAL 12 | PAU DNQ | SIL 14 | MNZ 9 | PER Ret | BRH 6 | BIR 4 | BUG DNS | ZOL Ret | DIJ 10 | 15th | 5 |
Complete Formula One results
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Rial Racing | Rial ARC2 | Ford Cosworth DFR (Mader) 3.5 V8 | BRA DNPQ | SMR DNPQ | MON DNPQ | MEX DNPQ | USA DNPQ | CAN DNPQ | FRA DNPQ | GBR DNPQ | GER EX | HUN DNQ | BEL | ITA | POR | ESP | JPN | AUS | NC | 0 |
Source: | |||||||||||||||||||||
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).
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 |  Porsche Kremer Racing |  Kris Nissen Kunimitsu Takahashi | Porsche 962C | C1 | 6 | DNF | DNF |
| 1989 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd | Yojiro Terada Marc Duez | Mazda 767 | GTP | 339 | 12th | 3rd |
| 1990 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. | Bertrand Gachot Johnny Herbert | Mazda 787 | GTP | 148 | DNF | DNF |
| 1991 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. | Johnny Herbert Bertrand Gachot | Mazda 787B | C2 | 362 | 1st | 1st |
| 1992 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. Oreca | Johnny Herbert Bertrand Gachot Maurizio Sandro Sala | Mazda MXR-01 | C1 | 336 | 4th | 4th |