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| Klaus Ludwig | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Klaus Ludwig in 2009 | |
| Nationality |  German |
| Born | (1949-10-05)5 October 1949 (age 76) |
| Related to | Luca Ludwig (son) |
| Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters | |
| Years active | 2000 |
| Former teams | HWA 2 |
| Starts | 16 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Podiums | 7 |
| Poles | 2 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 3rd in2000 |
| FIA GT Championship | |
| Years active | 1997–1998 |
| Former teams | AMG Mercedes Kremer Racing |
| Starts | 19 |
| Championships | 1 (1998) |
| Wins | 9 |
| Podiums | 14 |
| Poles | 6 |
| Fastest laps | 5 |
| International Touring Car Championship | |
| Years active | 1995–1996 |
| Former teams | Zakspeed Opel Opel Team Rosberg |
| Starts | 33 |
| Wins | 4 |
| Podiums | 8 |
| Poles | 4 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 7th in1996 |
| Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft | |
| Years active | 1985–1995 |
| Former teams | Opel Team Rosberg AMG-Mercedes Ford-Grab Motorsport ABR Ringhausen Rennsport |
| Starts | 173 |
| Championships | 3 (1988,1992,1994) |
| Wins | 32 |
| Podiums | 67 |
| Poles | 23 |
| Fastest laps | 16 |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 1978–1979,1982–1986,1988,1998 |
| Teams | AMG-Mercedes Porsche AG Joest Racing Zakspeed Porsche Kremer Racing Weisberg Gelo Team |
| Best finish | 1st (1979,1984,1985) |
| Class wins | 3 (1979,1984,1985) |
Klaus Karl Ludwig (born 5 October 1949) is a German racing driver,[1] considered[by whom?] one of the greatesttouring car drivers of all time.
Ludwig also known asKönig Ludwig ("King Ludwig") for his success intouring cars and insports car racing.
In the 1970s, Ludwig drove forFord in theDeutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, winning in 1979 with aKremer Racing-Porsche 935. With this car, based on the then 15-year-oldPorsche 911 road car design, he won the24 Hours of Le Mans overall in the wet, an unprecedented win against the faster puresports car racing prototypes (though it was subsequently matched in1995 when aMcLaren F1 GTR won the race at its first attempt).[2]
In 1984 and 1985, Ludwig won the24 Hours of Le Mans forJoest Racing in their #7Porsche 956. Considering Le Mans and sports cars too dangerous after the deaths ofManfred Winkelhock andStefan Bellof, he was recruited for the1987 World Touring Car Championship forFord only to finish runner-up by a single point toBMW driverRoberto Ravaglia after a post-season disqualification (after Ludwig claimed the pole, he and fellow West GermanKlaus Niedzwiedz had finished second behind teammatesSteve Soper andPierre Dieudonné at theBathurst 1000 inAustralia, but both cars were disqualified due to illegal wheel arch size on theirFord Sierra RS500s). He then moved to theDeutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM), and became champion in 1988 in aFord Sierra RS500. Ludwig also represented IMSA in the 1986International Race of Champions, finishing 8th.
Ludwig repeated the success atMercedes-Benz in 1992 and 1994, before moving back to sports cars racing for them in1997 to become the1998FIA GT Champion. He retired when the series did not continue in the 1999 season.
Ludwig soon returned in June 1999, to win the24 Hours Nürburgring on theNordschleife for the third time driving aZakspeedViper.
When the DTM resumed asDeutsche Tourenwagen Masters in 2000, Ludwig returned to the series, winning at the age of 50 years at theSachsenring circuit, only to retire once again.
Ludwig returned as a "hobby pilot" to the Nürburgring Nordschleife when given the opportunity to drive a high power vehicle. The years 2004 and 2005 saw him enter the 24 Hours Nürburgring withUwe Alzen on theJürgen AlzenPorsche 996 GT2 Bi-Turbo. With a normally aspiratedPorsche 997 GT3 of the Alzen brothers, Ludwig andChristian Abt managed to beat the old distance record in the 2006 edition of the 24h, yet finished only second, 1 lap behind the winners.
Ludwig has also worked as a TV commentator on DTM races.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Willi Kauhsen Racing Team | March 762 | Hart | HOC Ret | THR | VAL 13 | SAL | PAU 7 | HOC 9 | ROU | MUG 9 | PER | EST | NOG 6 | HOC 10 | 12th | 4 | |
| 1977 | Willi Kauhsen Racing Team | Jabouille 2J | Renault | SIL Ret | THR Ret | HOC Ret | NÜR 8 | VAL DSQ | PAU 7 | MUG | ROU | NOG | PER | MIS | EST | NC | 0 | |
| KWS Autotechnik | Chevron B40 | Ford | DON Ret | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Weisberg Gelo Team |  John Fitzpatrick Toine Hezemans | Porsche 935/77 | Gr.5 +2.0 | 19 | DNF | DNF |
| 1979 | PorscheKremer Racing |  Don WhittingtonBill Whittington | Porsche 935 K3 | Gr.5 +2.0 | 307 | 1st | 1st |
| 1982 | Ford GermanyZakspeed |  Marc SurerManfred Winkelhock | Ford C100 | C | 67 | DNF | DNF |
| 1983 | Sorga S.A. Joest Racing |  Stefan Johansson Bob Wollek | Porsche 956 | C | 354 | 6th | 6th |
| 1984 | New-Man Joest Racing | Henri Pescarolo | Porsche 956B | C1 | 360 | 1st | 1st |
| 1985 | New-Man Joest Racing |  Paolo BarillaLouis Krages | Porsche 956B | C1 | 374 | 1st | 1st |
| 1986 | Joest Racing | Paolo BarillaLouis Krages | Porsche 956B | C1 | 196 | DNF | DNF |
| 1988 | Porsche AG | Hans-Joachim StuckDerek Bell | Porsche 962C | C1 | 394 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 1998 | AMG-Mercedes | Bernd Schneider Mark Webber | Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM | GT1 | 19 | DNF | DNF |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Eggenberger Motorsport | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth | MNZ DSQ | JAR ovr:4 cls:1 | DIJ ovr:4 cls:4 | NÜR ovr:1 cls:1 | SPA Ret | 2nd | 268 | ||||||
| Ford Sierra RS500 | BRN ovr:1 cls:1 | SIL ovr:6 cls:1 | BAT DSQ | CLD ovr:12 cls:8 | WEL ovr:1 cls:1 | FUJ ovr:1 cls:1 | |||||||||
* Overall positions shown. WTCC points paying positions may be different
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Opel Team Rosberg | Opel Calibra V6 4x4 | MUG 1 8 | MUG 2 Ret | HEL 1 15 | HEL 2 Ret | DON 1 8 | DON 2 Ret | EST 1 17 | EST 2 8 | MAG 1 3 | MAG 2 Ret | 14th | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | ZakspeedOpel | Opel Calibra V6 4x4 | HOC 1 Ret | HOC 2 DNS | NÜR 1 Ret | NÜR 2 Ret | EST 1 3 | EST 2 11 | HEL 1 3 | HEL 2 Ret | NOR 1 1 | NOR 2 1 | DIE 1 Ret | DIE 2 Ret | SIL 1 1 | SIL 2 Ret | NÜR 1 Ret | NÜR 2 11 | MAG 1 9 | MAG 2 5 | MUG 1 | MUG 2 | HOC 1 1 | HOC 2 2 | INT 1 Ret | INT 2 18† | SUZ 1 Ret | SUZ 2 10 | 7th | 130 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft Champion 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft Champion 1981 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1979 with: Bill Whittington Don Whittington | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1984 with: Henri Pescarolo | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Klaus Ludwig Henri Pescarolo | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1985 with: Paolo Barilla Louis Krages | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | German Touring Car Champion 1988 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | German Touring Car Champion 1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | German Touring Car Champion 1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | FIA GT Champion 1998 with: Ricardo Zonta | Succeeded by |
| Years active | 1999–2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel | |||||||||
| Former drivers |
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| International | |
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| People | |
