Volkert Merl (born 10 February 1944) is a retired German racing driver.
Merl primarily competed for Joest Racing throughout his career in the early 1980s competing in the World Sportscar Championship and Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM). He won the 1980 24 Hours of Daytona with Rolf Stommelen and Reinhold Joest in a Porsche 935 and placed second in 1983 DRM championship points in a Porsche 956. That same year, he also finished 4th in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 |  Meccarillos Racing |  Bernard Béguin Claude Haldi | Porsche 935-K3/80 | Gr. 5 SP 2.0+ | 37 | DNF | DNF |
| 1983 |  Sorga S. A./Joest Racing |  Mauricio de Narváez Clemens Schickentanz | Porsche 956 | C | 361 | 4th | 4th |
| 1984 | New-Man Joest Racing Schornstein Racing Team | Dieter Schornstein "John Winter" | Porsche 956 | C1 | 340 | 5th | 5th |
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The Porsche 935 was a race car developed and manufactured by German automaker Porsche. Introduced in 1976 as the factory racing version of the 911 (930) Turbo and prepared for FIA-Group 5 rules, it was an evolution of the Carrera RSR 2.1 turbo prototype, the second place overall finisher in the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Porsche 936 is a Group 6 sports prototype racing car introduced in 1975 by Porsche as a delayed successor to the 917, a five-litre Group 5 Sports Car, and the 908, a three-litre Group 6 Prototype-Sports Car, both of which were retired by the factory after 1971. Its name came from using a variant of the Porsche 930's turbocharged engine, as well as competing in Group 6 racing.
Bob Wollek, nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He was killed on 16 March 2001 at age 57 in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation after the day's practice sessions for the following day's race, the 12 Hours of Sebring. He won a total of 76 races in his career, 71 in Porsche cars.
Reinhold Joest is a former German race car driver and current team owner. During the last 25 years, Joest Racing has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans fifteen times.
The 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 52nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 16 – 17 June 1984. It was also the third round of the 1984 World Endurance Championship.
The 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 49th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 13 and 14 June 1981. It was also the eighth round of the World Endurance Championship of Drivers, and the fifth round of the World Championship for Makes.
The 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 48th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14 and 15 June 1980. It was the seventh round of both the World Championship for Makes and World Challenge for Endurance Drivers. With neither the Porsche nor Renault works teams contesting the big Group 6 sports-cars for outright victory, it left the prospects open for a privateer victory from Joest, Rondeau or De Cadenet, or from Group 5 again, if they were to fail. The wet weather throughout the race further added to the uncertainty, reducing the advantage of the more powerful cars.
Louis Krages, more commonly known by his pseudonym John Winter, was a German racing driver and businessman.
Jean Rondeau was a French race car driver and constructor, who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1980, in a car bearing his own name, an achievement which remains unique in the history of the race.
Davy Jones is an American racing driver.
The Supercup was a West German auto racing series created by the ADAC in 1986 as a replacement for the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM). The series used Group C category sports prototypes identical to the ones used in the World Sportscar Championship, yet running nearly exclusively within West Germany. The series lasted for four years before it was cancelled following the 1989 championship.
Joest Racing is a sports car racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest. Their headquarters are in Wald-Michelbach, Germany.
Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long-distance races.
Brun Motorsport GmbH was a Swiss auto racing team founded by driver Walter Brun in 1983. They competed as a Porsche privateer team in sports car racing for their entire existence, running in a multitude of international championships. They notably won the World Sportscar Championship in 1986 and later became a full-fledged chassis constructor. Brun was also briefly part of the EuroBrun Formula One team from 1988 to 1990. The team was eventually dissolved in 1992.
John Fitzpatrick is a former English racing driver, winning many titles throughout his career. He works within motorsport as a consultant doing corporate events and driver management. He published a book "Fitz-My Life at the Wheel" in 2016.
Ronny Meixner is a German racing driver and the founder of VICI Racing.
Mauricio de Narváez is a Colombian former racing driver. He competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1981 and 1985 for Joest Racing, resulting 4th overall in 1983 driving a Porsche 956. He won the 1984 12 Hours of Sebring as an owner-driver in a Porsche 935, joined by Hans Heyer and Stefan Johansson.
Champion Racing was a sports car racing team based in Pompano Beach, Florida, USA. Founded in 1994 by Dave Maraj, a former rally driver from Trinidad, as the motorsport wing of the Champion Motors car dealership, the team has campaigned various Porsches and Audis in North American road racing series. Champion Racing's extensive record includes a win at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2005, and 5 straight American Le Mans Series LMP1 championships, 2 as a private team and 3 as a factory team under the name Audi Sport North America.
Mike Rockenfeller, nicknamed "Rocky", is a German professional racing driver, who drives the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series, and was an Audi factory driver competing in the DTM and the FIA World Endurance Championship. He won his first DTM title in 2013, driving for Audi Sport Team Phoenix. He also won the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Romain Dumas is a French racing driver and a Porsche factory driver. He first started out in karting and single-seater before becoming an expert driver in endurance racing, GT and sport-prototype. He has won the greatest races of the discipline, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Spa, the 24 Hours Nürburgring, and the 2008 12 Hours of Sebring. He has been one of Porsche’s factory drivers since 2004.