Jörg Bergmeister
Joerg Bergmeister ( born February 13, 1976 in Leverkusen ) is a German racing driver, and since 2002, Porsche works driver. He is married and lives in Langenfeld. Bergmeister is a graduate in Business Administration. His hobbies include mountain biking and snowboarding.
Career
Beginnings in motorsport
As already his father Willi (1949-2013) had been active in motorsports, he began to race in karting at the age of 11 years. After four years Bergmeister joined the Formula König, finished to rely on as the series champion in his first season as a third party to a year. Then he received a cockpit in Formula Renault and the German Formula Opel, which he left in 1995 as runner-up.
Porsche Cups
Unlike his older brother Tim, Jörg turned to GT racing, and received a driver's seat in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany. With interruption in 1996, in which he drove for a season in Formula Opel, he remained until 2001 in the series. He rose in the years to come, went in 1999 to third place overall and finished the 2000 season with the league title in the series. Then Bergmeister extended its commitment to the Porsche Supercup, he already won in the first year. In his last season in the German Carrera Cup he was, however, only beaten by Timo Bernhard. Due to its good performance in the one-make cup series Bergmeister won the 2002 contract as a Porsche factory driver.
Porsche works driver
Its first use in the Porsche group was the 24- hour race at Daytona, among others, his former Cup opponents Timo Bernhard. The championship round of the Grand-Am Sports Car Series ended the team in seventh place overall and class victory of the GT category. Then the team Bernhard / Bergmeister joined the American Le Mans Series for there to be driving a Porsche 996 GT3 RS. The first championship race in the 12 Hours of Sebring race had to be canceled due to a technical defect. Over the year increased the two factory riders and finished the 500 miles from Road America as a class winner of the GT class. But remained in the course of the season behind their team and team mates Lucas Luhr and Sascha Maassen back. Already in his first year as a works driver, he received the opportunity to participate in Freising Motorsport 's 24-hour race at Le Mans. Together with Maassen and Romain Dumas, he finished the race on the podium of the GT category.
2003 was followed by a further application in the 24- hour race at Daytona. He, Bernard and the two Americans Kevin Buckler and Michael Schrom brought with her GT Porsche overall victory in the race. A curiosity, the prototypes were introduced in 2003 Daytona 996 GT3 RS Porsche superior to the employed, the team started only ranked 16th in the race. However, it lacked the new vehicles of reliability and the carriage of The Racers Group won the opening round of the Grand-Am Sports Car Series. After this and Bergmeister Bernhard turned to their main involvement in the American Le Mans Series again. The duo now won three championship races in its class, including the long-distance races Petit Le Mans Romain Dumas. At the end of the two factory riders finished third rank of the GT category, but lagged behind their teammates Luhr and Maassen, who could decide the season for themselves. Away from its operations in America, he was reported in 2003 in Le Mans, was on the Porsche of The Racers Group but not able to match his results at Daytona earlier this year.
Beginning of 2004, Mountain Master third appearance at Daytona, the other hand he only finished in midfield. Despite several class wins in the ALMS, his teammate Bernhard decided the championship alone in his favor. Bergmeister was third only because he could not go due to illness in the first round at Sebring. Bernhard and Sascha Maassen therefore had alone deny the 12h Sebring. In addition, Bergmeister was active this year in Europe. In Freising Yukos Motorsport he drove both the 24 -hour race in Spa- Francorchamps, as well as another round of the FIA GT Championship at Imola. Both championship races, he finished on the podium and thus helped the German team winning the championship title of the series. In the championship independent 24 - hour race at Le Mans Bergmeister won also with Sascha Maassen and Patrick Long its class. His final season then made the 6- hour race at Vallelunga, which he finished for car Lando Motorsport to fourth place overall and class victory of the N - GT.
Break
2005 Bergmeister was no longer active for the Porsche factory team. He took the opportunity and expanded its commitment to the Grand-Am Sports Car Series. The Racers Group, with which he was already driving for several years in the 24- hour race at Daytona, put a joint project with one driven by Pontiac Daytona Prototype with Krohn Racing. Bergmeister was initially called alongside Max Papis on the vehicle. However, in the course of the season his teammate alternated between Papis and Christian Fittipaldi. With both drivers, he finished several races on the podium, with Fittipaldi, he also won the 250 - mile race from Watkins Glen International and was fourth at the end of the championship. Despite his contract in the Grand-Am, Bergmeister and the American Le Mans Series was preserved. Together with Porsche works driver Patrick Long, he won six of the ten championship races in its class. The two significantly longer races the Petit Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring. His only European race in 2005 denied Bergmeister in Le Mans. Again with Long and Bernhard at his side, he went to the podium in the GT2 category and was only beaten by Mike Rockenfeller, Marc Lieb and Leo Hindery.
2006 The Racers Group finished the prototype project and joined in the GT class of the Grand-Am Sports Car Series. Bergmeister, however, stayed with Tracy Krohn and still drove a Riley XI. War in the vehicle initially built Pontiac engine, changed the team after the 24 - hour race at Daytona to Ford, he also had to re- adjust to different teammates. In addition to Colin Braun and Niclas Jönsson Krohn familiar next to the regular driver Bergmeister on Boris Said. At the end of the season Bergmeister finished three runs as the overall winner and as a champion of the series. Also in the American Le Mans Series GT2 title he could his defense, he and Patrick Long finished three championship races as a class winner. In Le Mans Bergmeister made , not as in the past with his ALMS teammate Long a team, but grabbed Tracy Krohn and Niclas Jönsson next to the wheel of the 996 GT3 RSR. At dawn Bergmeister remained, after an accident, lying on the track.
Back at Porsche
At the end of Bergmeister also the famous Daytona Prototype Crawford DP03 with Porsche engine of his former American Le Mans race team Alex Job Racing. So Bergmeister was resumed in the works driver squad during the winter break and now played one more season in the Grand-Am. He was put aside Patrick Long. With the new car, however, he was unable to repeat his performance in the previous year. Except for his victory at Laguna Seca, the duo drove in the middle of the prototype class. In the American Le Mans Series, Bergmeister joined the Flying Lizard Motorsports and got with Johannes van Overbeek a new teammates and with the Porsche 997 GT3 RSR is a new application device. Despite good results, including a class win at Petit Le Mans reinforced by Marc Lieb, Overbeek and Bergmeister of Mika Salo and Jaime Melo were beaten. At Le Mans he fell, van Overbeek and team owner of Flying Lizard Seith Neiman with transmission failure from.
For the 2008 season Bergmeister more focused on the American Le Mans Series. In the Grand-Am Sportscar Series, he played only the 24 - hour race at Daytona in a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup for Farnbacher Loles. He finished the race due to technical problems in the back of the midfield. In the following 12 - hour race at Sebring ALMS he won with Marc Lieb and his new teammate Wolf Henzler in the GT2 category. Through three class victories won, driving a both the driver and the team title in the GT2 category. At Le Mans, however, the team Flying Lizard fell after an accident with subsequent repair pit stop far back and played no role in the battle for the GT2 podium. In addition, he supported, if possible, his brother Tim in the ADAC GT Masters. So the brothers won both races at the Lausitzring and thus opened Tim Bergmeister title in the German GT Series.
2009 Bergmeister has been allocated for the eponymous race in the Grand -Am vehicle category The Racers Group. He, Justin Marks, Andy Lally, Richard Valentine and Patrick Long finished the 24 -hour race in the Cup - Porsche as the winner of the GT category. He then formed again with the Long race team for the American Le Mans Series, where he finished with six of the ten championship races as a class winner and at the end of a title for the fourth time in a GT category of the ALMS import. In addition, he assisted in three championship rounds of the FIA GT British team track speed, did not come with its changing teammates, however, beyond midfield positions. His remaining European intervention at Flying Lizard at Le Mans had to end Bergmeister prematurely. After several technical problem at night and in the morning a collision Temeigner Seith Neiman took the car back out of the race.
In 2010, Flying Lizard Motorsport cooperated with The Racers Group at the 24 Hours of Daytona. So with Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Seith Neiman and Johannes van Overbeek went to the podium of the GT category. In addition, he will defend for the team of Neiman with teammates Long try his GT2 title in the American Le Mans Series.