Klaus Niedzwiedz

Klaus Niedzwiedz (born February 24, 1951, in Dortmund, Germany) is a former professional race driver and motoring journalist.

Driver
Team mate Klaus Ludwig's 1981 Group 5 Zakspeed Ford Capri at the Auto & Technik Museum in Sinsheim, Germany
Eggenberger Motorsport Ford Sierra RS500

His greatest success came in the 1980s as a driver for Ford.

Niedzwiedz rose to prominence when driving a Ford Capri for Zakspeed in the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft. The turbocharged 1.4 L engine from the Zakspeed Ford Capri was later enlarged for the 1.7 L "Super Capri". With this 500+ hp car, Niedzwiedz established in 1982 the "eternal lap record" for Group 5 touring car racing at the old 22.8 km Nürburgring with 7:08.59, just 10 seconds slower than the F1 record of 6:58.60 set by Niki Lauda in 1975 (see: Nürburgring lap times).

During the 1982 season, Niedzwiedz also drove in the World Endurance Championship for Zakspeed, in a Ford C100. The Zakspeed-prepared Group C 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 1,000 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 European championship in 1984 with Klaus Niedzwiedz.

In 1982 and 1987, he was the winner at the 24 Hours Nürburgring, in both events with Klaus Ludwig. Driving an Eggenberger Motorsport Ford Sierra he was runner-up in the World Touring Car Championship of 1987 and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft of 1989.

Between 1987 and 1996, Niedzwiedz drove six times in the Bathurst 1000. After driving for Eggenberger Motorsport in 1987, he drove Eggenberger built Sierra RS500s for Allan Moffat Racing in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1992.[1][2][3][4] He returned in 1996 to drive a Ford Falcon EB.

Niedzwiedz also drove for Allan Moffat Racing at the 1989 Fuji 500[5] and 1990 Sandown 500.[3]

In 1998, he won the privateer title in the ADAC German Supertouring car championship (Super Tourenwagen Cup) with an Opel Vectra.

In 2003, he won a VLN race with Porsche 911 GT3 at the Nürburgring

Other events:

Journalist

Since 1984, Niedzwiedz has worked as a journalist and television host in Germany, starting with moderation of Sat.1 magazine Treibstoff. Since 1997, he moderates n-tv Motor.

Tamiya Model

A 1/24 scale model of the 1979 Ford Capri Zakspeed (model 24014) is represented as the D&W Klaus Niedzwiedz car, and is complete with Niedzwiedz in team uniform.

Racing record

Career summary
Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
1977 Challenge de Formule Renault Europe  ?  ?  ?  ?  ? 0 NC
1978 FIA European Formula 3 Championship Team Eufra Europe Formel Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1979 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft Zakspeed 1 0 0 0 0 10 23rd
European Touring Car Championship 12  ?  ?  ?  ? 65 12th
World Sportscar Championship 1 0 0 0 0 0 [N 1]
1980 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft Zakspeed 13 2 1 0 7 129 5th
1981 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft Zakspeed 13 1 0 1 5 88 9th
World Sportscar Championship Liqui Moly Zakspeed 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Joest Racing 1 0 0 0 0
1982 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft Zakspeed 10 2 1 1 6 106 3rd
World Sportscar Championship Ford Motor Company 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Interserie Zakspeed 2 0 1 0 1 15 16th
1983 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft Zakspeed 6 1 0 0 3 52 3rd
World Sportscar Championship Jägermeister Ford Zakspeed Team 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Interserie Zakspeed 2 0 0 1 1 0 NC
1984 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft  ?  ?  ?  ?  ? 21 12th
World Sportscar Championship GWB Ford Zakspeed Team 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Interserie 6 4 3 4 5 95 1st
1985 Deutschen Produktionswagen Meisterschaft Ford Rennsport HWRT 4 1 0 1 2 29 18th
World Sportscar Championship John Fitzpatrick Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Porsche Kremer Racing 1 0 0 0 0
British Saloon Car Championship Radiopaging 1 0 0 0 1 4 26th
1986 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Ford Rennsport HWRT 9 1 4 2 2 83 6th
World Sportscar Championship Porsche Kremer Racing 1 0 0 0 0 28 17th
Richard Lloyd Racing 3 0 0 1 1
1987 World Touring Car Championship Eggenberger Motorsport 10 4 7 4 5 268 2nd
European Touring Car Championship 2 1 0 0 2 0 NC
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Wolf Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1988 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Ringshausen ABR Motorsport 14 0 0 2 3 115 17th
European Touring Car Championship Eggenberger Motorsport 9 3 4 3 6 204 8th
Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship Allan Moffat Enterprises 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Trampio Object-T 1 1 0 0 1
1989 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Ford Motorsport Eggenberger 22 4 2 2 9 274 2nd
1990 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Opel Team Irmscher 18 0 0 0 0 10 22nd
Japanese Touring Car Championship Allan Moffat Enterprises 1 0 0 0 1 24 40th
Australian Endurance Championship 2 0 1 0 0 1 41st
1991 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Opel Team Eggenberger 24 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1993 ADAC GT Cup Wolf Racing 8 0 0 0 0 12 12th
1994 ADAC GT Cup Mamerow 8 0 0 0 4 90 3rd
1995 Super Tourenwagen Cup Honda Team Linder 16 0 0 0 1 145 13th
FIA Touring Car World Cup 2 0 0 0 0 22 7th
1996 Super Tourenwagen Cup Honda Team Linder 16 0 0 0 1 269 8th
1997 Super Tourenwagen Cup AUGROS MIG Austria 20 0 0 0 0 103 21st
1998 Super Tourenwagen Cup Auto Dienst Bemani Team 20 0 0 0 0 156 17th
2002 24 Hours of Nürburgring - N3 1 1 ? ? 1 N/A 1st
2005 24 Hours of Nürburgring - A6 Sport Auto 1 1 ? ? 1 N/A 1st
2006 SEAT León Supercopa VIP SEAT Deutschland 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP6 Sport Auto 1 0 ? ? 0 N/A 7th
2008 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP Cup Daniela Schmid 1 0 0 0 0 N/A ?
2009 24 Hours of Nürburgring - AT Volkswagen Motorsport 1 1 ? ? 1 N/A 1st
2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup N/A 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
24 Hours of Nürburgring - AT Volkswagen Motorsport 1 1 0 0 1 N/A 1st
2011 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup N/A 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
24 Hours of Nürburgring - AT Volkswagen Motorsport 1 1 ? ? 1 N/A 1st
2012 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup N/A 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2013 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup N/A 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2014 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP3T mathilda racing - Team pistenkids 1 0 ? ? 0 N/A DNF
2016 24 Hours of Nürburgring - TCR mathilda racing - Team pistenkids 1 0 ? ? 0 N/A DNF
Source:[6][7]

† As Niedzwiedz was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Footnotes
  1. No drivers' Championship.

Complete World Sportscar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos. Pts
1979 Zakspeed Racing Gr.5 Ford Capri Turbo Ford 1.4 L4t DAY MUG DIJ SIL NÜR
Ret		 PER GLN BRH VAL [N 1]
1981 Liqui Moly Zakspeed Gr.5 Ford Capri Turbo Ford 1.7 L4t DAY SEB MUG MNZ RSD SIL NÜR
DNS		 NC 0
Joest Racing S
+2.0		 Porsche 908/80 Porsche 911/78 2.1 F6t LMS
Ret		 PER DAY GLN SPA MOS ROA BRH
1982 Ford Motor Company C Ford C100 Cosworth DFL 4.0 V8 MNZ SIL NÜR LMS
Ret		 SPA
18		 MUG FUJ BRH
Ret		 NC 0
1983 Jägermeister Ford Zakspeed Team C Zakspeed C1 Ford 1.8 L4t MNZ SIL NÜR LMS SPA
Ret		 FUJ KYA NC 0
1984 GWB Ford Zakspeed Team C1 Zakspeed C1 Cosworth DFL 3.3 V8 MNZ SIL LMS NÜR
Ret		 BRH MOS SPA IMO FUJ KYA SAN NC 0
1985 John Fitzpatrick Racing C1 Porsche 956 Porsche Type 935/76 2.6 F6t MUG MNZ
11		 SIL LMS NC 0
Porsche Kremer Racing HOC
Ret		 MOS SPA BRH FUJ SHA
1986 Porsche Kremer Racing C1 Porsche 962C Porsche Type 935/76 2.6 F6t MNZ
8		 17th 28
Richard Lloyd Racing Porsche 956 GTi SIL
4		 LMS NOR BRH JER
Porsche Type 935/79 2.8 F6t NÜR
2		 SPA FUJ
Ret
1988 Team Sauber Mercedes C1 Sauber C9 Mercedes-Benz M117 5.0 V8t JER JAR MNZ SIL LMS
DNS		 BRN BRH NÜR SPA FUJ SAN NC 0
Footnotes
  1. No drivers' Championship.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1981 West Germany Joest Racing West Germany Reinhold Joest
United States Dale Whittington		 Porsche 908/80 S
+2.0		 80 DNF DNF
1982 West Germany Ford Germany West Germany Manfred Winkelhock Ford C100 C 71 DNF DNF
1988 Switzerland Team Sauber Mercedes United Kingdom Kenny Acheson Sauber C9-Mercedes C1 - DNS DNS
Source:[8]

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pos. Pts
1985 Ford Rennsport HWRT Ford Sierra XR4 TI ZOL WUN AVU
1		 MFA
Ret		 ERD
2		 ERD
Ret		 DIE DIE ZOL SIE NÜR 18th 29
1986 Ford Rennsport HWRT Ford Sierra XR4 TI ZOL
6		 HOC
3		 NÜR
4		 AVU
Ret		 MFA
1		 WUN
Ret		 NÜR
10		 ZOL
9		 NÜR
Ret		 6th 83
1987 Wolf Racing Ford Sierra XR4 TI HOC ZOL NÜR AVU MFA NOR NÜR
Ret		 WUN DIE SAL NC 0
1988 Ringshausen ABR Motorsport Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth ZOL
1
11		 ZOL
2
2		 HOC
1
6		 HOC
2
6		 NÜR
1
Ret		 NÜR
2
Ret		 BRN
1
11		 BRN
2
7		 AVU
1		 AVU
2		 MFA
1		 MFA
2		 NÜR
1
Ret		 NÜR
2
DNS		 NOR
1		 NOR
2		 WUN
1		 WUN
2		 SAL
1
C		 SAL
2
C		 HUN
1
3		 HUN
2
2		 HOC
1
10		 HOC
2
Ret		 17th 115
1989 Ford Motorsport Eggenberger Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth ZOL
1
6		 ZOL
2
3		 HOC
1
11		 HOC
2
3		 NÜR
1
9		 NÜR
2
5		 MFA
1
7		 MFA
2
5		 AVU
1
23		 AVU
2
1		 NÜR
1
7		 NÜR
2
4		 NOR
1
2		 NOR
2
2		 HOC
1
3		 HOC
2
1		 DIE
1
9		 DIE
2
16		 NÜR
1
10		 NÜR
2
9		 HOC
1
1		 HOC
2
1		 2nd 274
1990 Opel Team Irmscher Opel Omega 3000 24v ZOL
1
WD		 ZOL
2
WD		 HOC
1		 HOC
2		 NÜR
1		 NÜR
2		 AVU
1
25		 AVU
2
Ret		 MFA
1
Ret		 MFA
2
Ret		 WUN
1
21		 WUN
2
12		 NÜR
1
9		 NÜR
2
5		 NOR
1
Ret		 NOR
2
Ret		 DIE
1
Ret		 DIE
2
DNS		 NÜR
1
18		 NÜR
2
16		 HOC
1
28		 HOC
2
DNS		 22nd 10
1991 Opel Team Eggenberger Opel Omega 3000 Evo 500 ZOL
1
Ret		 ZOL
2
DNS		 HOC
1
24		 HOC
2
19		 NÜR
1
Ret		 NÜR
2
21		 AVU
1
28		 AVU
2
17		 WUN
1
Ret		 WUN
2
Ret		 NOR
1
Ret		 NOR
2
DNS		 DIE
1
25		 DIE
2
20		 NÜR
1
Ret		 NÜR
2
DNS		 ALE
1
Ret		 ALE
2
DNS		 HOC
1
17		 HOC
2
24		 BRN
1
Ret		 BRN
2
DNS		 DON
1
17		 DON
2
Ret		 NC 0

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DC Pts Class
1985 Industrial Control Services Ltd. Ford Sierra XR4Ti A SIL OUL THR DON THR SIL DON SIL
3		 SNE BRH BRH SIL 26th 4 10th

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos. Pts
1987 Eggenberger Motorsport Ford Sierra RS Cosworth MNZ
DSQ		 JAR
5		 DIJ
3		 NÜR
1		 SPA
Ret		 2nd 268
Ford Sierra RS500 BRN
1		 SIL
6		 BAT
DSQ		 CLD
12		 WEL
1		 FUJ
1

Complete Bathurst 1000 results
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1987 Switzerland Eggenberger Motorsport West Germany Klaus Ludwig Ford Sierra RS500 1 159 DSQ DSQ
Ford Sierra RS500 1 - DNS DNS
1988 Australia Allan Moffat Enterprises Canada Allan Moffat
Australia Gregg Hansford		 Ford Sierra RS500 A 129 DNF DNF
1989 Australia Allan Moffat Enterprises West Germany Frank Biela Ford Sierra RS500 A 161 2nd 2nd
1990 Australia Allan Moffat Enterprises West Germany Frank Biela
Belgium Pierre Dieudonné		 Ford Sierra RS500 1 151 10th 10th
Australia Gregg Hansford
Belgium Pierre Dieudonné		 Ford Sierra RS500 1 138 DNF DNF
1992 Australia Allan Moffat Enterprises Australia Gregg Hansford Ford Sierra RS500 A 128 19th 17th
1996 Australia Allan Moffat Enterprises Australia Ken Douglas Ford EB Falcon 157 10th 10th

Complete Super Tourenwagen Cup results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos. Pts
1995 Honda Team Linder Honda Accord ZOL
1
24†		 ZOL
2
20†		 SPA
1
DSQ		 SPA
2
10		 ÖST
1
3		 ÖST
2
18†		 HOC
1
Ret		 HOC
2
13		 NÜR
1
9		 NÜR
2
10		 SAL
1
8		 SAL
2
4		 AVU
1
Ret		 AVU
2
Ret		 NÜR
1
22		 NÜR
2
Ret		 13th 145
1996 Honda Team Linder Honda Accord ZOL
1
9		 ZOL
2
5		 ASS
1
10		 ASS
2
6		 HOC
1
Ret		 HOC
2
DNS		 SAC
1		 SAC
2		 WUN
1
8		 WUN
2
12		 ZWE
1
15		 ZWE
2
9		 SAL
1
5		 SAL
2
5		 AVU
1
2		 AVU
2
4		 NÜR
1
4		 NÜR
2
Ret		 8th 269
1997 AUGROS MIG Austria Audi A4 Quattro HOC
1
24		 HOC
2
20		 ZOL
1
20		 ZOL
2
20		 NÜR
1
18		 NÜR
2
DNS		 SAC
1
Ret		 SAC
2
12		 NOR
1
14		 NOR
2
9		 WUN
1
12		 WUN
2
Ret		 ZWE
1
12		 ZWE
2
8		 SAL
1
22		 SAL
2
20		 REG
1
Ret		 REG
2
14		 NÜR
1
21		 NÜR
2
15		 21st 103
1998 Auto Dienst Bemani Team Opel Vectra HOC
1
17		 HOC
2
14		 NÜR
1
16		 NÜR
2
15		 SAC
1
18		 SAC
2
15		 NOR
1
11		 NOR
2
Ret		 REG
1
15		 REG
2
12		 WUN
1
13		 WUN
2
13		 ZWE
1
16		 ZWE
2
16		 SAL
1
18		 SAL
2
14		 OSC
1
21		 OSC
2
16		 NÜR
1
15		 NÜR
2
Ret		 17th 156

References
  1. Normoyle, Steve (1989). "The Great Race 8". The Great Race: Tooheys 1000 Bathurst Sunday Sept 30 1990. Hornsby: Chevron Publishing. ISSN 1031-6124.
  2. Normoyle, Steve (1990). "The Great Race 9". The Great Race: Tooheys 1000 Bathurst Sunday Sept 30 1990. Hornsby: Chevron Publishing. ISSN 1031-6124.
  3. Normoyle, Steve (1991). "The Great Race 10". The Great Race: Tooheys 1000 Bathurst Sunday Sept 30 1990. Hornsby: Chevron Publishing. ISSN 1031-6124.
  4. Normoyle, Steve (1993). "The Great Race 12". The Great Race: Tooheys 1000 Bathurst Sunday Sept 30 1990. Hornsby: Chevron Publishing. ISSN 1031-6124.
  5. Fuji Inter-tec 500 km Touring Car Racing.net
  6. Klaus Niedzwiedz - Driver Database
  7. History of Touring Car Racing
  8. "All Results of Klaus Niedzwiedz". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
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