Bob Wollek
Bob Wollek (born November 4, 1943 in Strasbourg , † March 16, 2001 in Sebring , Florida ) was a French racing driver . He died after a bicycle accident while preparing for the Sebring 12 hour race .
Career
Wollek won the Sebring 12 Hours back in 1985, with Anthony Joseph Foyt as team partner in a Porsche 962 . Although Wollek was well over 50 years old in 2001, he was still fully competitive in racing. He always followed a rigorous training regimen that was largely based on cycling, and has always been one of the fittest riders throughout his career.
Wollek was best known as a sports car driver. In the 1970s he was driving a Porsche 935 K2 for the Cologne team Kremer Racing . He won the Daytona 24 Hours four times and in 1982 (on a Porsche 936 ) and in 1983 (on a Porsche 956 ) the German Racing Championship , a forerunner series of today's DTM . For many years he was a works driver for Porsche in a wide variety of racing series and was able to win almost all major sports car races in his long career . In addition, he celebrated countless class wins. Despite thirty participations between 1968 and 2000, he was denied a success at the Le Mans 24 Hours . Although he managed six podiums (four times second, twice third), the great triumph never came. At the end of his career, he had two more chances to win, but in 1997 the leading Porsche 911 GT1 retired on Sunday morning due to a driving error by Wollek in the Arnage corner. The car spun, hit the guardrail, and damaged the rear suspension. (The winner was the Joest-Porsche with Alboreto / Johansson / Kristensen.) A year later, a Porsche also won, but Wollek was again in the wrong car and had to settle for second place again.
After Porsche withdrew from the large sports car class, Wollek switched to the GT class. He celebrated class wins with the Porsche 993 GT2 in the ALMS until 2000 .
Deadly accident
On Friday, March 16, 2001 around 4:30 p.m., after he had qualified for the 12-hour race and was cycling back to his hotel, he was driving along Highway 98 from Sebring as he was hit by a motor home driven by an 82-year-old American. He died on the way to the hospital. It was particularly tragic that, before the race, Wollek announced that he would retire from active racing during the season and then work as an “ambassador” for Porsche. In 2001, every major sports car race was held in silence for Wollek.
Records
Wollek contested 480 GT and sports car races between 1968 and 2001. The 73 overall and 24 class wins are record. He finished 198 races in the top three of the overall standings. He started from pole position 60 times .
statistics
Le Mans results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
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1968 |
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Alpine A210 |
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Rank 11 | ||
1969 |
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Alpine A210 |
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failure | Shock absorbers | |
1973 |
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Matra-Simca MS670B |
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failure | Oil pump | |
1974 |
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Matra MS670B |
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failure | Engine failure |
1975 |
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Porsche 911 Carrera RSR |
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disqualified | ||
1976 |
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Porsche 934 |
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Rank 19 | |
1977 |
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Porsche 934 |
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Rank 7 and class win | |
1978 |
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Porsche 936/78 |
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Rank 2 and class win | |
1979 |
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Porsche 936 |
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failure | Engine failure | |
1980 |
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Porsche 935 |
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failure | Cylinder damage | |
1981 |
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Porsche 917 K81 |
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failure | Engine failure |
1982 |
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Porsche 936C |
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failure | Engine failure |
1983 |
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Porsche 956 |
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Rank 6 | |
1984 |
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Lancia LC2 / 84 |
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Rank 8 | ||
1985 |
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Lancia LC2 |
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Rank 6 | |
1986 |
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Porsche 962C |
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failure | accident |
1987 |
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Porsche 962C |
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failure | Engine failure |
1988 |
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Porsche 962C |
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failure | Engine failure |
1989 |
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Porsche 962C |
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Rank 3 | ||
1990 |
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Porsche 962C |
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Rank 8 | |
1991 |
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Jaguar XJR12 |
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Rank 3 | |
1992 |
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Cougar C28 |
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Rank 6 and class win | |
1993 |
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Porsche 962C |
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Rank 9 | |
1994 |
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Toyota 94C-V |
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Rank 4 | |
1995 |
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Courage C34 |
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Rank 2 and class win | |
1996 |
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Porsche 911 GT1 |
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Rank 2 and class win | |
1997 |
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Porsche 911 GT1 |
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failure | Gearbox damage |
1998 |
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Porsche 911 GT1 |
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Rank 2 | |
1999 |
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Porsche 911 GT3-R |
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Rank 19 | |
2000 |
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Porsche 911 GT3-R |
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disqualified |
Sebring results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1984 |
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Porsche 935L |
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Rank 3 | |
1985 |
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Porsche 962 |
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Overall victory | ||
1986 |
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Porsche 962 |
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failure | Engine failure |
1987 |
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Porsche 962 |
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Rank 7 | |
1989 |
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Porsche 962C |
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Rank 5 | |
1990 |
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Porsche 962C |
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failure | accident |
1991 |
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Porsche 962C |
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Rank 3 | |
1997 |
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Porsche 911 GT2 |
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Rank 8 and class win | |
1998 |
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Porsche 911 GT1 Evo |
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Rank 3 | |
1999 |
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Porsche 911 GT1 Evo |
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Rank 4 | |
2000 |
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Porsche 911 GT3-R |
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failure | suspension |
Individual results in the sports car world championship
Web links
- Bob Wollek at Racing Sports Cars (English)
- Bob Wollek. www.motorsportmemorial.org, accessed on May 15, 2020 (English).
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Woolk, Bob |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French racing driver |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 4, 1943 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Strasbourg |
DATE OF DEATH | March 16, 2001 |
Place of death | Sebring |