.jpg) Joest at the2013 6 Hours of Silverstone | |
| Nationality |  German |
|---|---|
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 1969,1971 -1973,1975 -1976,1980 -1981 |
| Teams | Deutsche Auto Zeitung,Martini Racing,Jo Siffert A.T.E. Racing,Joest Racing |
| Best finish | 2nd (1980) |
| Class wins | 0 |
Reinhold Joest (also speltReinhold Jöst; born 24 April 1937) is a formerGermanrace car driver and current team owner. During the last 25 years,Joest Racing has won the24 Hours of Le Mans fifteen times.
Joest's driving career began in 1962 in a localhillclimb race in theOdenwald mountains. He had won two German championships in that category by 1967. Since 1966, he raced successfully on theNürburgring, scoring a class win at the1000 km Nürburgring. He won the race overall twice, in 1970 and 1980, and a total five class wins.
Joest's first entry in the24 Hours of Le Mans was in 1968, with aFord GT40 co-driven byHelmut Kelleners and sponsored by a German car magazine. His first remarkable result came in 1972, after the dominatingPorsche 917 and similar cars were not allowed anymore. Without any modern cars available, Joest borrowed an outdated 3.0 LPorsche 908/02 Langheck Coupé from theJo Siffert Museum. He and his two co-drivers finished third with the 1969 model car. Despite being part of factory Porsche teams on several occasions, he never managed to be in their winning car. He came close in 1980, finishing second together withJacky Ickx in his privately enteredPorsche 936 that was called a "Porsche 908/80" as Porsche did not officially sell the 936.
Despite never winning as a driver at Le Mans, Joest ended his driving career in style. After winning the24 Hours of Daytona in aPorsche 935 and on theNürburgring with his Porsche 908/3 Turbo in 1980 (both withRolf Stommelen), he went on to win several GermanDRM races in 1981 with a mightyPorsche 935 "Moby Dick". He retired after winning theKyalami 9 Hours withJochen Mass at the end of the year.
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Deutsche Auto Zeitung | Helmut Kelleners | Ford GT40 Mk.I | S 5.0 | 341 | 6th | 3rd |
| 1971 | Martini Racing Team | Willi Kauhsen | Porsche 917/20 | S 5.0 | 180 | DNF | DNF |
| 1972 | Jo Siffert A.T.E. Racing |  Mario Casoni [it]Michel Weber [de] | Porsche 908LH | S 3.0 | 325 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 1973 | Martini Racing Team |  Claude Haldi | Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | S 3.0 | 54 | DNF | DNF |
| 1975 | OvoroJoest Racing | Mario Casoni [it]Jürgen Barth | Porsche 908LH | S 3.0 | 325 | 4th | 4th |
| 1976 | Martini RacingJoest | Jürgen Barth | Porsche 936 Spyder | S 3.0 | DNF | DNF | |
| 1978 | Martini RacingPorsche System |  Peter GreggHurley Haywood | Porsche 936/77 | S +2.0 | 362 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 1980 | Equipe Liqui Moly –Martini Racing |  Jacky Ickx | Porsche 908/80 | S +2.0 | 336 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 1981 | Joest Racing | Dale WhittingtonKlaus Niedzwiedz | Porsche 908 | S+2.0 | 60 | 39th | 10th |
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