Volker Weidler

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.

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 took popularity in Japan.

In 1991, Weidler teamed with Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot to win Le Mans behind the wheel of the rotary 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 rotary engine-powered cars was noted for being very loud. From 1992, 3.5L F1 engines were promoted by the FISA while rotary engines were banned, rendering the 787B ineligible after the season which saw its maiden win at Le Mans.

Possibly related to the hours spend 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.

Complete Formula One results

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