Jochen Neerpasch

Jochen Neerpasch
File:Neerpasch, Jochen 1973-07-06.jpg Neerpasch in 1973
Born	(1939-03-23) 23 March 1939 Krefeld, Germany
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1964 – 1968
Teams	B. Cunningham J. Simone Essex Wire Corporation Porsche System Engineering
Best finish	3rd (1968)
Class wins	0

Jochen Neerpasch (born 23 March 1939) is a German former racecar driver and motorsports manager.

Career

His racing career began in the 1960s, first on Borgward touring car, then with the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans as a first major event. Racing a Porsche 907, he won the 1968 24 Hours of Daytona. After his third-place finish in Le Mans the same year, he retired from racing.

In the 1970s, he became a successful manager in the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft and the European Touring Car Championship. First he managed Ford, then he took the 1972 champion Hans-Joachim Stuck with him to BMW, to found the successful BMW M team and company.

In BMW, he also led the development of the mid-engined BMW M1, which he designed to take on Porsche in Group 5 racing. While the required 400 homologation cars were being assembled, to gain racing experience for the cars, he contacted March Engineering's head Max Mosley, who was a member of Formula One Constructors' Association, and together they created a one-make racing series BMW M1 Procar Championship, that ran in 1979 and 1980. Neerpasch himself later raced in a 2008 one-time revival of the Procar Championship, driving a M1 Procar designed by Andy Warhol.

In the 1980s, Neerpasch was in charge of Sauber-Mercedes sports car racing team, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1989. He also discovered and taught talents like Michael Schumacher, Karl Wendlinger, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1964	Briggs S. Cunningham	Chris Amon	Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe	GT +3.0	131	DSQ (Outside assistance)
1965	J. Simone (private entrant)	Jo Siffert	Maserati Tipo 65	P 5.0	3	DNF (Accident damage)
1966	Essex Wire Corporation	Jacky Ickx	Ford GT40	S 5.0	154	DNF (Engine)
1967	Porsche System Engineering	Rolf Stommelen	Porsche 910 kurzheck	P 2.0	351	6th	2nd
1968	Porsche System Engineering	Rolf Stommelen	Porsche 908LH	P 3.0	325	3rd	2nd

Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1968	Porsche System Engineering	Vic Elford Rolf Stommelen Jo Siffert Hans Herrmann	Porsche 907LH	P	673	1st	1st

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1968	Porsche Automobile Company	Vic Elford	Porsche 907	P 3.0	226	2nd	2nd

Complete Targa Florio results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1964	Porsche System Engineering	Günther Klass	Porsche 356B Carrera 2000 GS/GT	GT 2.0	10	7th	3rd
1967	Porsche System Engineering	Vic Elford	Porsche 910	P 2.0	10	3rd	2nd
1968	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 907	P 3.0	10	4th	2nd

External links

• Jochen Neerpasch career summary at DriverDB.com