Rolf Stommelen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Rolf Stommelen

Stommelen in 1972
Born	Rolf Johann Stommelen (1943-07-11)11 July 1943 Siegen, Nazi Germany
Died	24 April 1983(1983-04-24) (aged 39) Riverside, California, United States
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	German
Active years	1969–1976, 1978
Teams	Surtees, Brabham, Eifelland, Hill, RAM, Hesketh, Arrows
Entries	63 (54 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	1
Career points	14
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1970 South African Grand Prix
Last entry	1978 Canadian Grand Prix

Rolf Johann Stommelen (born July 11, 1943 – died April 24, 1983) was a famous racing driver from Siegen, Germany. He took part in 63 Formula One Grand Prix races. He achieved one podium finish, which means he finished in the top three. Overall, he scored 14 championship points during his Formula One career.

Rolf Stommelen was also one of the best endurance sports car racing drivers. He raced from the 1960s to the early 1980s. He won the tough 24 Hours of Daytona race four times. These wins were in 1968, 1978, 1980, and 1982. He also won the Targa Florio race in 1967. He achieved this victory driving a Porsche 910 car.

Rolf Stommelen's Racing Career

Stommelen driving for Brabham at the 1976 German Grand Prix.

Stommelen driving a Porsche for Georg Loos in 1977.

Rolf Stommelen showed his speed early on. In 1969, he earned the pole position for the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans race. He was driving a powerful Porsche 917. The year before, he had finished third in a Porsche 908. In 1969, he made history at Le Mans. He was the first driver to go faster than 350 kilometers per hour (217 mph). This incredible speed was achieved on the Le Mans circuit's long Mulsanne Straight. He was driving his special Porsche 917 LH.

In 1970, Rolf Stommelen started his Formula One career. He joined the Brabham team with support from a German magazine. Throughout the 1970s, he raced in both sports car events and Formula One. He drove for teams like Toj and Porsche.

A Difficult Moment in Spain

In 1975, Rolf Stommelen was involved in a serious accident. This happened during the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. He was racing at the Montjuich Park track. The rear wing of his Hill GH1 car broke. This caused his car to crash into the crowd. Sadly, five spectators died, and Rolf was badly hurt. This accident led to the Spanish Grand Prix no longer being held at that track.

After recovering from his injuries, Stommelen returned to sports car racing. He continued to win many races. He drove for Alfa Romeo. He also won the 24 Hours of Daytona three more times.

Porsche and Nürburgring Legends

In 1976, Rolf Stommelen had the honor of driving the very first race of the Porsche 936. This was at the 300 km Nürburgring race. His black Porsche 936, without its usual air-intake, became known as the "black widow." He started second, right between two factory Renault Alpine A442 cars. The Renault team really wanted to win on Porsche's home ground.

On race day, it was raining heavily. Stommelen quickly overtook the leading Renault right at the start. As he approached a corner called Nordkehre, he braked. He purposely left space for the Renaults behind him to try and pass. The Renault drivers, eager to regain the lead, rushed past him. But they drove into water puddles and crashed into the fences. Stommelen then took the lead again! This event led to a famous saying: "On the Nordschleife, you can never brake later than Rolf Stommelen!"

Later in that same race, the throttle cable of his Porsche 936 got stuck. This meant the engine stayed "open" and wouldn't slow down. Instead of giving up, Stommelen found a clever way to keep racing. He would turn off the car's main power switch before corners to brake. Then, he would turn it back on after the corners to speed up. He finished the race in second place, showing incredible skill and determination.

In 1978, Porsche asked him to drive their special Porsche 935 "Moby Dick." This car had a huge 3.2-liter turbo engine with 845 horsepower. Stommelen was the fastest driver on the Mulsanne Straight. He reached 365 km/h (235 mph). This was even faster than the special prototype cars like the Porsche 936. However, the "Moby Dick" used a lot of fuel. This meant Stommelen had to stop for fuel too often to win the race.

He continued to race the Porsche 935 at Le Mans. In 1979, he almost won the 24 hours of Le Mans. He was co-driving with Dick Barbour and the famous actor Paul Newman. They were delayed by a 23-minute pit stop because of a stuck wheel nut. The team wouldn't have been so close to winning if Stommelen hadn't been consistently seconds faster than his teammates on every lap.

Rolf also raced Toj SC320 prototype sports cars. He even had some success against the factory Alfa Romeo team. Toj was a small German car maker. He also competed in one NASCAR race in 1971 at Talladega Superspeedway.

He won the German GT Championship, called Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, in 1977. He drove a Porsche 935 for the Gelo Racing Team. He was known as a master at the Nürburgring track. He often won races held there. In the 1980s, he was still a highly sought-after driver for prototype cars. He achieved success driving cars like the Kremer CK5, Lancia LC1, and Porsche 956.

Rolf Stommelen's Death

Rolf Stommelen tragically died in a crash on April 24, 1983. This happened during the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix. It was a 6-hour International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) GT Championship event. The race was held at Riverside International Raceway. He was driving a Porsche 935 with co-driver Derek Bell. Stommelen had just taken over the car from Bell. He was in second place when the rear wing of his car broke. This happened at a very high speed of 306 km/h (190 mph). The car became impossible to control. It hit a concrete wall, flipped over, and caught fire. Rolf Stommelen died from severe injuries to his chest and head.

Racing Records

24 Hours of Le Mans Results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1965	Christian Poirot	Christian Poirot	Porsche 904	GT 2.0	13	DNF	DNF
1966	Porsche System Engineering	Günter Klass	Porsche 906/6L Carrera 6	S 2.0	330	7th	1st
1967	Porsche System Engineering	Jochen Neerpasch	Porsche 910/6K	P 2.0	351	6th	2nd
1968	Porsche System Engineering	Jochen Neerpasch	Porsche 908	P 3.0	325	3rd	2nd
1969	Porsche System Engineering	Kurt Ahrens Jr.	Porsche 917	S 5.0	148	DNF	DNF
1970	Autodelta S.P.A.	Nanni Galli	Alfa Romeo T33/3	P 3.0	213	DSQ	DSQ
1972	Autodelta S.P.A.	Nanni Galli	Alfa Romeo T33/TT/3	S 3.0	263	DNF	DNF
1976	Martini Racing Porsche System	Manfred Schurti	Porsche 935	Gr.5	331	4th	1st
1977	Martini Racing Porsche System	Manfred Schurti	Porsche 935	Gr.5	52	DNF	DNF
1978	Martini Racing Porsche System	Manfred Schurti	Porsche 935	Gr.5 +2.0	326	8th	3rd
1979	Dick Barbour Racing	Paul Newman Dick Barbour	Porsche 935	IMSA +2.5	299	2nd	1st
1980	Gozzy Kremer Racing	Tetsu Ikuzawa Axel Plankenhorn	Porsche 935	Gr.5	167	DNF	DNF
1982	Martini Racing	Michele Alboreto Teo Fabi	Lancia LC1	Gr.6	92	DNF	DNF
Source:

Images for kids

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  Stommelen in 1972

See also

In Spanish: Rolf Stommelen para niños