Date of birth: April 24, 1937
Biography Reinhold Joest
Reinhold Joest’s career as a racing driver began in 1962 with a Porsche 356 S75 at the Eberbach Hill Climb. Reinhold Joest competed mainly in hill climb events till 1967. He was quite successful and won the German Championship twice. From 1966 onwards Reinhold Joest devoted more and more time to circuit racing. Again with lots of success. One of his most important wins was the class win at the 1966 Nürburgring 1000Km.
As a driver, Reinhold Joest celebrated overall victories at the 1000 kilometer race around the legendary Nürburgring-Nordschleife, the world’s most difficult race track, in 1970 and 1980. Six times he celebrated class victories. His driving capabilities did not remain unnoticed.
Porsche works driver
In 1971, Porsche asked Reinhold Joest to join the factory racing team. And so he did. As works driver Reinhold Joest celebrated numerous successes, Unfortunately, Reinhold Joest never won the legendary Le Mans. In 1978 Reinhold Joest finished 2nd at the Le Mans 24H together with the Americans Hurley Haywood and Peter Gregg. That same year he wins the European Sportscar Championship. In 1980 another 2nd place at La Sarthehe was close to that, but he stranded on a second place overall in the Porsche 936. It is, at the same time, the birth year of Joest Racing and an important step from the driver Reinhold Joest to Reinhold Joest as team boss… In 1969 he was third in Le Mans driving a Ford GT40, as well as 1972 in the Porsche 908/2 Long-tail.
The start of the Joest Racing Team
In 1978 Reinhold Joest starts the Joest Racing Team: an important step from the driver Reinhold Joest to Reinhold Joest as team boss. Joest Racing is ‘household name’ within the motorsport world after only one year, and Reinhold Joest expands his team for the 1979 season. Reinhold Joest acts principally as team boss for the first time. The team’s first regular drivers are Rolf Stommelen and Volkert Merl. Joest Racing celebrates its first international wins at the 6-hour races in Dijon and Brands Hatch. The 1980 season starts with overall victory at the 24-hour race at Daytona Beach (Florida). Reinhold Joest, Volkert Merl, and Rolf Stommelen are at the wheel of the Porsche 935. Joest wins another endurance classic, the 1000 kilometers at the Nürburgring, together with Rolf Stommelen and Jürgen Barth in a Porsche 908/3 Turbo.
Joest Racing turns a few heads with a particularly spectacular version of the Porsche 935. Because it is so wide and flat, the Porsche 935 is christened with the nickname “Moby Dick”. Joest Racing celebrates several wins in the German Racing Championship (DRM) with the Porsche. The win at the 9-hour race in Kyalami at the end of the season is a very special one: It is the last race of racing driver Reinhold Joest, who now concentrates solely on his role as team boss.
In 1982 Bob Wollek joins forces with the Joest Racing team: the start of a close relationship between team and driver. The French racer wins the DRM (German Racing Championship in a Joest-Porsche 936 and scores very important points for the team to help Joest Racing win the Porsche Cup. At that time Joest Racing is the world’s most successful Porsche team.
A great sensation at the 1983 group C races when a private Porsche 956 from the Joest Racing team with Bob Wollek and Thierry Boutsen beats the Porsche works team.
The Joest Racing Team: the most successful Le Mans team ever
Joest Racing celebrates the first overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most important endurance race, with Klaus Ludwig and Henri Pescarolo in 1984. The yellow Porsche 956 carried the start number 7 – Joest Racing celebrates many successes with “Lucky Seven”. Furthermore, Joest wins with Mauricio de Narvaez, Hans Heyer, and Stefan Johansson the 12h race at Sebring, the German Racing Championship again and the Porsche Cup for the fourth time in succession in 1984.
One year later: At the 24-hour race at Le Mans, Joest Racing again produces a ‘coup de main’: Last year’s winning car with the start number 7 wins again. Klaus Ludwig, “John Winter” and Paolo Barilla beat the Porsche works team in the progress. Jochen Mass also wins the German Sportscar Championship for Joest Racing.
n 1986, Joest Racing clinched the runner-up spot in the Sportscar World Championship with the Porsche 962, the successor to the 956C. The wins at the season highlight around the Norisring and at the finale in Fuji (Japan) remain fond memories. Joest Racing also wins the first running of the Supercup for sports cars in Germany and the Interseries. With a third place at Le Mans, the team secures another Le Mans podium finish.
The Joest Racing Le Mans victories:
1984 Porsche 956 (#7) Ludwig/Pescarolo
1985 Porsche 956 (#7) Ludwig/“Winter”/Barilla
1996 TWR Porsche WSC95 (#7) Reuter/Jones/Wurz
1997 TWR Porsche WSC95 (#7) Alboreto/Johansson/Kristensen
2000 Audi R8 (#8) Biela/Kristensen/Pirro
2001 Audi R8 (#1) Biela/Kristensen/Pirro
2002 Audi R8 (#1) Biela/Kristensen/Pirro
2006 Audi R10 TDI (#8) Biela/Pirro/Werner
2007 Audi R10 TDI (#1) Biela/Pirro/Werner
2008 Audi R10 TDI (#2) Capello/Kristensen/McNish
2010 Audi R15 TDI (#9) Bernhard/Dumas/Rockenfeller
2011 Audi R18 TDI (#2) Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer
2012 Audi R18 e-tron quattro (#1) Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer
2013 Audi R18 e-tron quattro (#2) Duval/Kristensen/McNish
2014 Audi R18 e-tron quattro (#2) Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer
