Wolfgang Seidel
Wolfgang Seidel ( born July 4, 1926 in Dresden, † March 1, 1987 in Munich) was a German racing driver who drove mainly sports car racing and also started on a case by case in Formula 1.
Career
Wolfgang Seidel was a trained merchant. His motorsport career began in 1950 at the International Rhine -country trip. In the following three years he drove sports cars racing on a Veritas RS, with whom he at the Nürburgring in 1953, together with Josef Peters was fifth at the 1000 km race overall and in the same year the Grand Prix of Germany denied he ranked 16th finished.
Formula 1
Overall, Seidel was at ten rounds of the Drivers' Championship at the start and then drove different makes such as the Maserati 250F, the Lotus 18, Lotus 24 and the Cooper T45 and T43 models. As best ranking he reached ninth place at the Grand Prix of Italy 1960. His last Grand Prix was the Grand Prix of Great Britain at Aintree in 1962.
Sport car
His greatest success Seidel as a sports car driver. The 12- hour race at Sebring 1958 he was with Harry Schell third in the overall standings and winner of the sports car to 2 liters (different sources give here also Jean Behra as a second driver on ). In 1959, he won jointly with Edgar Barth on a Porsche 718 RSK, the Targa Florio. Between 1955 and 1960, Seidel started five times in the 24- hour race at Le Mans. The finish he came only in 1955 and 1960, when he became the overall standings with Edgar Barth eleventh. In 1955 he even managed fifth overall, which he shared with Olivier Gendebien in the Equipe Nationale Belge Porsche.
Withdrawal of the license
1962 withdrew the ONS Seidel racing license after he had the Sports Authority and the AVD publicly criticized the organizers of the Grand Prix of Germany. Was preceded by that Seidel at the Grand Prix of Germany in 1962 could not start because he had completed instead of the prescribed by regulations damaligem at least five practice laps on the Nordschleife due to a technical defect only four. After the criticism of him AVD withdrew the membership and the ONS imposed a lifetime ban, which was revised to two years. By participating, despite lock in a race in Mexico, which did not count for the World Cup, Seidel wanted to achieve that his case would be heard by the international sports court of the FIA , but what it did not come. Then, and because he was afraid to lose in two years to connect to the power state of the competitors, he ended his motorsport career and began working as a car salesman.
Private
During his time as a racing driver Wolfgang Seidel lived in Dusseldorf. He died on 1 March 1987 in a Munich hospital of heart failure.
Le Mans results
Proof
- Formula 1 racing driver ( Germany )
- Drivers in the 24 Hours of Le Mans
- Mountain racers
- World Sports Car Championship racer
- Born in 1926
- Died in 1987
- Man
- German