Zakspeed

Zakspeed

Founded	1968
Founder(s)	Erich Zakowski
Team principal(s)	Peter Zakowski
Current series	ADAC GT Masters
Former series	Superleague Formula V8Star Series German Formula Three Championship
Current drivers	Sebastian Asch Luca Ludwig
Teams' Championships	2002 V8Star Series season 2003 V8Star Series season 2008 Superleague Formula season
Drivers' Championships	2003 V8Star Series season (Lamy) 2008 Superleague Formula season (Rigon)
Website	http://www.zakspeed.de/

Zakspeed (German pronunciation: [ˈtsakspiːt]) is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and after that run by his son Peter Zakowski. It is based in Niederzissen, Rhineland-Palatinate, around 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the Nürburgring circuit.

1973 to 1981: Saloon and sports car racing

Klaus Ludwig drove the Roush-Zakspeed Ford Mustang Turbo during the 1981 and 1982 Camel GT race seasons.

In the late 1970s, Zakspeed was the official Ford team in the German Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM) series, a predecessor of the current DTM. The company constructed and entered an FIA Group 2 Escort and the Group 5 Capri, based on the MKIII production model. During this period, the Zakspeed team achieved a number of victories including the overall championship in 1981 with driver Klaus Ludwig.

In the early 1980s, Zakspeed also prepared a Mustang for Ford USA's Special Vehicle Operations to race in the domestic IMSA Camel GT series. The Mustang chassis was based on the Group 5 Capri.

1982 to 1989: Endurance cars and F1

Zakspeed

Full name	Zakspeed Racing
Base	Niederzissen, Germany
Team principal(s)	Jean-Luc Lagardère
Founder(s)	Erich Zakowski
Noted staff	Paul Brown Chris Murphy Heinz Zollner Gustav Brunner
Noted drivers	Jonathan Palmer Christian Danner Martin Brundle Piercarlo Ghinzani Bernd Schneider
Formula One World Championship career
First entry	1985 Portuguese Grand Prix
Races entered	74
Constructors' Championships	0 (best finish: 10th, 1987)
Drivers' Championships	0
Race victories	0 (best finish: 5th, 1987 San Marino Grand Prix)
Podiums	0
Points	2
Pole positions	0 (best grid position: 13th, 1987 Mexican Grand Prix)
Fastest laps	0
Final entry	1989 Australian Grand Prix

In 1982, Zakspeed ran the works Ford C100 Group C effort in conjunction with the factory. The Zakspeed-prepared machine was run by the works Ford Germany team with Klaus Ludwig, Manfred Winkelhock and Marc Surer at the wheel, but the car was a midfielder at best, although Jonathan Palmer and Desiré Wilson scored a 4th place overall the 1000 km of Brands Hatch in 1982. Ford Germany retracted their support and one car was sold to privateers, while the other chassis was evolved by Zakspeed into the C1/4 and the C1/8, making few appearances in international racing, but becoming a front-runner in the German Interserie, where it won the championship in 1984 with Klaus Niedzwiedz.

The engine was the basis for their Formula One entry from 1985 to 1988. In spite of the team's engineering expertise, Zakspeed never managed to create a competitive chassis/engine package. Their first car, the 184, debuted in 1985, one year after the original plan, and was already outdated. Even with drivers such as the first Formula 3000 champion Christian Danner and ex-Tyrrell driver Martin Brundle, their best result (and only points finish) was a 5th place in the 1987 San Marino Grand Prix, thanks to Brundle.

For their final season, in 1989, they had to use Yamaha engines as turbos were banned. The Japanese engine was unreliable and drivers Bernd Schneider (former German Formula 3 champion) and the rookie Aguri Suzuki struggled to pre-qualify the car. Schneider only qualified the car twice and retired both times, while Suzuki never got past pre-qualifying. In the end, Zakspeed were notable for building their own chassis and engine, something only Ferrari did at that time, but with no competitive showings in five years, the team left Formula One and returned to touring cars, where they had once been at the top of the game.

1990s and beyond: Return to sports and touring cars

After withdrawing from F1, they ran Mercedes 190E and Opel Calibra cars in the 1990s Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft and the short-lived ITC series, now managed by Peter Zakowski who had taken over from his father after his Formula 3 career. His career as a driver did not lead him into F1, but he was quick around the old Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in endurance races, winning the 24 Hours Nürburgring several times.

In 1998, Zakspeed entered two Porsche 911 GT1 in the FIA GT Championship, where French Team Oreca dominated the GT2-class with their heavily modified Chrysler Viper GTS-Rs. One of these Vipers was purchased by Zakspeed to be entered on the Nürburgring VLN series to take advantage of the new, less restrictive rules for the 1999 season. Zakowski and his teammate dominated the 1999 season, winning every race, before the rules were altered for 2000 and the Porsche 996 GT3 showed up. The team won the 24 Hours Nürburgring again in 2001 and 2002. In 2003, against factory competition, they were disqualified due to a dispute over fuel tank size.

A company related to Zakspeed, Nitec, built the NASCAR-like V8-powered tube frame prototype cars of the V8Star Series Championship series which ran from 2001 to 2003. These identical cars used bodies modelled after road cars from Jaguar, BMW, Opel, Lexus and others. Zakspeed itself won in 2003 with Pedro Lamy in a Jaguar-bodied car.

In 2001, the Zakspeed team also made a brief return to single-seaters with a foray into CART racing in the US in partnership with the long-established Forsythe Championship Racing. Nobody from Zakspeed came over to the U.S. and Forsythe ended the partnership.

In 2006, the Zakspeed team returned to the FIA GT Championship with the Saleen S7-R. Currently, the company also runs a racing school operating at the Nürburgring circuit.

Superleague Formula

In 2008, Zakspeed managed the Superleague Formula cars of Borussia Dortmund and Beijing Guoan, with the latter taking the overall title from such clubs as PSV Eindhoven, Liverpool F.C. and A.C. Milan. Dortmund took one win in the season and Beijing took three on the way to the title with driver Davide Rigon.

In 2009, Zakspeed managed Sporting CP (who won a race with Pedro Petiz) and R.S.C. Anderlecht.

Gallery

• 
  1981 Group 5 Zakspeed Ford Capri at the Auto & Technik Museum in Sinsheim, Germany
• 
  Company founder Erich Zakowski (right) and Martin Schanche pictured at the British Rallycross GP 1983 at Brands Hatch
• 
  The Zakspeed 841 being driven by Jonathan Palmer at the 1985 German Grand Prix.
• 
  Zakspeed Dodge Viper GTS-R in the 24h, 2007

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	WCC
1985	841	1500/4 1.5 L4 t	G		BRA	POR	SMR	MON	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	BEL	EUR	RSA	AUS	0	NC
				Jonathan Palmer		Ret	Ret	11			Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
				Christian Danner													Ret	Ret
1986	861	1500/4 1.5 L4 t	G		BRA	ESP	SMR	MON	BEL	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	AUT	ITA	POR	MEX	AUS	0	NC
				Jonathan Palmer	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	13	Ret	8	Ret	9	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	12	10	9
				Huub Rothengatter			Ret	DNQ	Ret	12	DNS	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret
1987	861 871	1500/4 1.5 L4 t	G		BRA	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	AUT	ITA	POR	ESP	MEX	JPN	AUS	2	10th
				Martin Brundle	Ret	5	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	NC	NC	Ret	DSQ	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	Ret	Ret
				Christian Danner	9	7	Ret	EX	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	7
1988	881	1500/4 1.5 L4 t	G		BRA	SMR	MON	MEX	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS	0	NC
				Bernd Schneider	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	DNQ	12	DNQ	13	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	DNQ
				Piercarlo Ghinzani	DNQ	Ret	Ret	15	14	DNQ	EX	DNQ	14	DNQ	Ret	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	Ret
1989	891	Yamaha OX88 3.5 V8	P		BRA	SMR	MON	MEX	USA	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS	0	NC
				Bernd Schneider	Ret	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	Ret	DNPQ
				Aguri Suzuki	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ

External links

• Official website
• Zakspeed Formula One History and Team Record
• Profile of the highly successful Zakspeed-built Group 5 racing Capri
• Article on Zakspeed's partnership with Yamaha (archived from the original)