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| Klaus Abbelen | |
|---|---|
 Abbelen in 2009 | |
| Born | (1960-09-15)15 September 1960 (age 65) Tönisvorst, West Germany |
| Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie career | |
| Current team | Frikadelli Racing |
| Racing licence |  FIA Bronze |
| Car number | 97 |
| Previous series | |
| 2003–04 | FIA GT Championship |
| Championship titles | |
| 2000 | Euro GT Series |
Klaus Abbelen (born 15 September 1960) is a German formerracing driver and businessman. Abbelen was a regular participant in races sanctioned at theNürburgring, including theNürburgring Langstrecken-Serie and theNürburgring 24 Hours. With his team Frikadelli Racing, he won the2023 24 Hours of Nürburgring as a team principal.[1]
He owns his family's business Abbelen GmbH, a GermanFrikadelle manufacturer.[2] Abbelen was also married to German racing driverSabine Schmitz before her death in 2021.[3]
Abbelen started his endurance career in 1999, joining class A in the Ferrari Porsche Challenge in a Porsche, finishing second in his class.[4] In 2002, Abbelen attempted to run the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, but failed to get in. In the same year, Abbelen joined the A Class in the Euro GT Series, where he joined Team W&A, placing 3rd overall.
In 2003, Abbelen joined multiple series, beginning with the Euro GT Series. Then, he joined theFFSA GT Championship, driving aPorsche 911 for Chateau Sport for 2 races along with racerStéphane Ortelli.[5] The pair would fail to reach podium and would settle for a 41st in the final standings. Abbelen would then join Zwaan's Racing in theFIA GT Championship, driving their Chrysler Viper with Arjan van der Zwaan and Robert van der Zwaan. In 7 races, the team would fail to reach podium, finishing the championship 19th in points. Abbelen would then move to thePorsche Supercup, racing for DeWalt Racing driving their Porsche 911 for a single race.
In 2004, Abbelen ran in theEuropean Le Mans Series, driving aSaleen S7-R forKonrad Motorsport in one race. In 2004, Abbelen returned to Zwaan's Racing in the FIA GT Championship before not making podium again.
In 2006, he andSabine Schmitz drove the #97Porsche 911 (997) in theNürburgring Langstrecken-Serieendurance racing series on theNürburgring, entered by Land Motorsport.
Abbelen competed in the24 Hours of Daytona for the first time in2016, racing alongsidePatrick Huisman,Sven Müller,Frank Stippler, and his wifeSabine Schmitz.[2] On race day, the crew finished 12th in the GTD class.
Abbelen announced his retirement ahead of the NLS8 round in the2025 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie. After suffering an early end to his race with a gearbox issue, he momentarily postponed his retirement to compete in the next round in NLS9 with the aim of both finishing a race as a proper sendoff and completing all four hours of the race as a solo entry.[6][7]
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Abbelen owns and is the co-founder ofEifel-basedsports car racing team Frikadelli Racing.[2][8] He and his wifeSabine Schmitz founded the team together and were partners in the operation until Schmitz's death in 2021.[9]
One of Frikadelli Racing's most notable achievements came in 2023, when the team scored a breakthrough victory at the2023 24 Hours of Nürburgring with aFerrari 296 GT3, driven byEarl Bamber,Nicky Catsburg,Felipe Fernández Laser, andDavid Pittard.[1] It was the first victory in the event forFerrari, and the first for a non-German manufacturer since 2002, whenZakspeed won the event with aChrysler Viper GTS-R.[10]
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