Bob Wollek

Bob Wollek (* November 4, 1943 in Strasbourg, † March 16, 2001 in Sebring, Florida) was a French racing driver. He died after an accident with the bike, as he prepared for the 12 - hour race at Sebring.

Career

Bob Wollek won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1985, with Anthony Joseph Foyt as a team partner in a Porsche 962 Wollek Although 2001 was well over 50 years old, he was still fully competitive in racing. He always pursued a rigorous training program, which built mainly on cycling, and was throughout his career always one of the fittest pilots.

Wollek was known primarily as a sports car driver. In the 1970s he was already on the Cologne-based Kremer team on a Porsche 935K2 go. He won four times the 24 Hours of Daytona and 1982 ( a Porsche 936 ) and 1983 ( a Porsche 956), the German Racing Championship, a precursor of today's DTM series. He was for many years factory driver for Porsche in a variety of racing series and won almost all the major sports car races in his long career. To this end, he celebrated countless class wins. Despite thirty participations 1968-2000 him a success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans was denied. Although he managed six podiums places ( second four times, third twice ) but the great triumph that had never set. At the end of his career he had twice the chance of winning, but in 1997 the Porsche 911 GT1 lying in leadership fell on Sunday morning by a driver error Wolleks in Arnage curve. The car turned, struck the guardrail and damaged the rear suspension. ( The winner was the Joest Porsche with Alboreto / Johansson / Kristensen. ) Although a year later won a Porsche, but Wollek was back in the wrong car and had to be content with second place again.

After the withdrawal of Porsche sports cars from the large class Wollek moved to the GT class. Until the year 2000, he celebrated class victory with the Porsche 993 GT2 in the ALMS.

Fatal accident on the bike

On Friday, March 16, 2001 around 16:30 clock after he qualified for the 12 -hour race and was riding a bike on the way back to his hotel, he drove from Sebring coming along Highway 98, as he was of an RV driven by a 82- year-old American, approached. He died on the way to hospital. It was particularly tragic that Wollek had announced before the race to retire during the season from active racing, to then work as "ambassadors" for Porsche. In all major sports car racing in 2001 minutes of silence were inserted for the great racing driver.

Le Mans results