Christian Danner

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Christian Danner
Born (1958-04-04) 4 April 1958 (age 65)
Munich, West Germany
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityGermany German
Active years19851987, 1989
TeamsZakspeed, Osella, Arrows, Rial
Entries47 (36 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points4
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1985 Belgian Grand Prix
Last entry1989 Portuguese Grand Prix

Christian Josef Danner (born 4 April 1958) is a former racing driver from Germany.

Career

Formula Two and Formula 3000

The son of car safety expert Max Danner, Danner started his motor racing career immediately after leaving school in 1977.[1] After having raced in the Renault 5 cup Danner moved to the European Formula Two Championship for the 1981 season. During his years in Formula Two Danner was a constant frontrunner. He scored several podiums but failed to win a race. Danner also set the F2 lap record of the current configuration of the old Nürburgring. Danner moved to the Formula 3000 championship in 1985 which replaced the Formula Two championship. With four wins Danner became the inaugural Formula 3000 championship winner.

Formula One

Danner at the 1985 European Grand Prix

1985 saw Danner also made his Formula One debut with Zakspeed. He made two starts but failed to finish any races due to mechanical failures. For 1986 he signed with minor Italian outfit Osella but struggled to make an impression with the car and its under powered Alfa Romeo engine. After failing to finish a race in the first six races, Danner moved to Arrows with their powerful BMW turbo engines and scored his first point at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Danner returned to Zakspeed in 1987. The car was both un-competitive and often unreliable and when Danner finished a race it was always outside the points. After having raced touring cars in 1988, Danner returned to Formula one in 1989 with Rial Racing. The car was highly uncompetitive and a fourth place due to a high attrition rate at the 1989 United States Grand Prix was the only highlight of the year. Danner was fired after the Portuguese Grand Prix after only qualifying for four races that year.[2]

Touring cars

Christian Danner -Schubel Engineering - Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI 94 exits The Esses, Donington 1994 DTM

After his Formula one career Danner became a regular competitor in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft. He made his debut in 1988 after failing to find a ride in Formula one. Danner made an impressive start to his touring car career as he won both races at the Hockenheimring driving a BMW M3. After only making sporadic appearances in 1989 and 1990, Danner made a full-time return to the series in 1991. He had a disappointing season and only had one points scoring finish. In 1993 Danner had his best season. He scored six podium finishes and finished fifth in the points standings. He also won a race at the Non-Championship round in Donington Park. Danner returned to winning ways in 1995 when he won a race at the Norisring. Danner kept racing touring cars through 1997.

In 1991 he also started in one British Touring Car Championship race at Thruxton driving a BMW M3.

Other racing

Danner competed in Japanese Formula 3000 in 1990 driving for Leyton House's F3000 team. He scored 4 points and was ranked 14th. In the nineties Danner made several appearances in the Indy Car World Series. His best finish was a seventh place at Homestead Miami in 1995. He also took part in the now defunct series, Grand Prix Masters.

Media career

After his racing career Danner became an F1 commentator for the channel RTL in his native Germany.[1]

Motorsports career results

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
1980 German Racing Championship Cassani Racing 5 0 0 0 0 20 23rd
1981 European Formula Two March Racing 12 0 0 0 0 2 18th
24 Hours of Le Mans Helmut Marko RSM 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
1982 European Formula Two March Racing 13 0 0 1 0 6 14th
1983 European Formula Two Onyx Racing 12 0 0 0 1 21 5th
Formula Pacific Andrew Miedecke 8 0 1 1 3 46 7th
1984 European Formula Two BS Automotive 11 0 1 0 4 23 5th
World Sportscar Championship Richard Lloyd Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1985 International Formula 3000 BS Automotive 11 4 2 4 7 51 1st
Formula One West Zakspeed Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
24 Hours of Le Mans Kreepy Krauly Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 22nd
European Touring Car Championship Magnum Racing 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1986 Formula One Osella Squadra Corse 6 0 0 0 0 1 18th
Barclay Arrows BMW 10 0 0 0 0
24 Hours of Le Mans Kouros Sauber Racing Team 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
1987 Formula One West Zakspeed Racing 15 0 0 0 0 0 NC
European Touring Car Championship Schnitzer Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1988 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Alpina 22 2 ? 0 3 151 11th
European Touring Car Championship Prodrive 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1989 Formula One Rial Racing 13 0 0 0 0 3 21st
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Linder Rennsport 6 0 ? 0 0 46 21st
1990 Japanese Formula 3000 Leyton House Racing 9 0 0 0 1 4 15th
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Schnitzer Rennsport 3 0 ? 0 0 0 NC
1991 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft MM-Diebels 15 0 ? 0 0 6 21st
British Touring Car Championship Prodrive 1 0 0 0 0 8 18th
1992 PPG Indycar Series Euromotorsport 9 0 0 0 0 0 39th
1993 PPG Indycar Series Euromotorsport 3 0 0 0 0 2 31st
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Schübel Engineering 22 0 ? 2 6 161 5th
FIA Touring Car Challenge 2 0 0 0 0 10 18th
1994 PPG Indycar Series Project Indy 3 0 0 0 0 2 30th
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Schübel Engineering 24 0 0 0 3 88 9th
1995 PPG Indycar Series Project Indy 2 0 0 0 0 6 25th
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Schübel Engineering 14 1 0 1 1 48 9th
International Touring Car Championship 10 1 1 0 1 22 13th
1996 International Touring Car Championship TV Spielfilm Alfa Corse 26 0 2 0 2 48 15th
1997 Super Tourenwagen Cup JAS Engineering 20 0 0 0 0 37 29th
PPG Indycar Series Dale Coyne Racing 3 0 0 0 0 1 31st
2001 Formula One Jaguar Racing Test driver
2002 V8Star Series JAG Racing Team 1 0 0 0 0 27 25th
2004 Mini Challenge Deutschland O2 can Race Team 1 1 0 0 1 30 24th
2005 Grand Prix Masters Team Unipart 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 7th
Italian Formula 3000 Championship Durango 1 0 0 0 0 1 23rd
2006 Grand Prix Masters Team LUK 2 0 2 0 0 10 2nd
Mini Challenge Deutschland Team MINI Deutschland 2 0 2 0 0 0 NC
2007 Formula One Super Aguri Test driver
Mini Challenge Deutschland Team MINI Deutschland 2 0 1 0 0 29 27th
2008 Speedcar Series Phoenix Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 20th
2017 GT4 European Series Northern Cup MOMO-Megatron Team Partrax 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
GT4 European Series Southern Cup 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2018 GT4 Central European Cup - Am Team GT 2 1 0 2 2 43 8th
French GT4 Cup - Am 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2019 GT4 European Series - Am Team GT 2 1 0 0 2 43 7th
ADAC GT4 Germany 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Source:[3]

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

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

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos. Pts
1980 Cassani Racing Team Ralt RT1 BMW THR HOC NÜR
DNS
VAL PAU SIL ZOL MUG ZAN PER MIS HOC NC 0
1981 March Racing March 812 BMW SIL
10
HOC
9
THR
5
NÜR
10
VAL
Ret
MUG
16
PAU
Ret
PER
Ret
SPA
Ret
DON
14
MIS
Ret
MAN
11
18th 2
1982 March Racing March 822 BMW SIL
Ret
HOC
Ret
THR
Ret
NÜR
9
MUG
DNS
VAL
13
PAU
Ret
SPA
9
HOC
Ret
DON
7
MAN
6
PER
5
MIS
4
14th 6
1983 Onyx Racing March 832 BMW SIL
3
THR
13
HOC
2
NÜR
3
VAL
10
PAU
5
JAR
9
DON
5
MIS
Ret
PER
7
ZOL
4
MUG
10
5th 21
1984 BS Automotive March 842 BMW SIL
7
HOC
6
THR
2
VAL
3
MUG
3
PAU
4
HOC
Ret
MIS
6
PER
Ret
DON
3
BRH
10
5th 23
Source:[4]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1981 Austria Helmut Marko RSM West Germany Peter Oberndofer
West Germany Prince Leopold von Bayern
BMW M1 GT 49 DNF DNF
1985 South Africa Kreepy Krauly Racing South Africa Graham Duxbury
Italy Almo Coppelli
March 85G-Porsche C1 270 22nd 17th
1986 Switzerland Kouros Sauber Racing Team France Henri Pescarolo
Austria Dieter Quester
Sauber C8-Mercedes C1 86 DNF DNF
Sources:[5][6]

Complete International Formula 3000 results

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

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos. Pts
1985 BS Automotive March 85B Cosworth SIL
4
THR
6
EST
9
NÜR
C
VAL
3
PAU
1
SPA
3
DIJ
1
PER
3
ÖST
16
ZAN
1
DON
1
1st 51
Sources:[5][4]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

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

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Pts
1985 West Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed 841 Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4t BRA POR SMR MON CAN DET FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA BEL
Ret
EUR
Ret
RSA AUS NC 0
1986 Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1G Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8t BRA
Ret
ESP
Ret
SMR
Ret
MON
DNQ
CAN
Ret
18th 1
Osella FA1H BEL
Ret
Barclay Arrows BMW Arrows A8 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t DET
Ret
FRA
11
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
AUT
6
ITA
8
POR
11
MEX
9
AUS
Ret
Arrows A9 HUN
Ret
1987 West Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed 861 Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4t BRA
9
SMR
7
NC 0
Zakspeed 871 BEL
Ret
MON
EX
DET
8
FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
HUN
Ret
AUT
9
ITA
9
POR
Ret
ESP
Ret
MEX
Ret
JPN
Ret
AUS
7
1989 Rial Racing Rial ARC2 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 BRA
14
SMR
DNQ
MON
DNQ
MEX
12
USA
4
CAN
8
FRA
DNQ
GBR
DNQ
GER
DNQ
HUN
DNQ
BEL
DNQ
ITA
DNQ
POR
DNQ
ESP JPN AUS 21st 3
Sources:[4][5][7]

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
1988 Alpina BMW M3 ZOL
1

26
ZOL
2

8
HOC
1

1
HOC
2

1
NÜR
1

Ret
NÜR
2

14
BRN
1

34
BRN
2

Ret
AVU
1

11
AVU
2

Ret
MFA
1

4
MFA
2

6
NÜR
1

9
NÜR
2

3
NOR
1

24
NOR
2

Ret
WUN
1

24
WUN
2

26
SAL
1

C
SAL
2

C
HUN
1

11
HUN
2

13
HOC
1

12
HOC
2

7
11th 151
1989 Linder Rennsport BMW M3 ZOL
1

17
ZOL
2

4
HOC
1
HOC
2
NÜR
1
NÜR
2
MFA
1
MFA
2
AVU
1
AVU
2
NÜR
1
NÜR
2
NOR
1

22
NOR
2

8
HOC
1
HOC
2
DIE
1
DIE
2
NÜR
1
NÜR
2
HOC
1

13
HOC
2

7
21st 46
1990 Schnitzer Motorsport BMW M3 ZOL
1
ZOL
2
HOC
1
HOC
2
NÜR
1
NÜR
2
AVU
1
AVU
2
MFA
1
MFA
2
WUN
1
WUN
2
NÜR
1
NÜR
2
NOR
1

Ret
NOR
2
DIE
1
DIE
2
NÜR
1
NÜR
2
HOC
1

18
HOC
2

14
NC 0
1991 MM-Diebels BMW M3 ZOL
1

23
ZOL
2

6
HOC
1

18
HOC
2

14
NÜR
1

16
NÜR
2

12
AVU
1

Ret
AVU
2

DNS
WUN
1

22
WUN
2

Ret
NOR
1
NOR
2
DIE
1

DNS
DIE
2

DNS
NÜR
1

Ret
NÜR
2

12
ALE
1

14
ALE
2

Ret
HOC
1

29
HOC
2

19
BRN
1
BRN
2
DON
1
DON
2
21st 6
1993 Schübel Engineering Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti ZOL
1

2
ZOL
2

2
HOC
1

8
HOC
2

6
NÜR
1

6
NÜR
2

Ret
WUN
1

4
WUN
2

5
NÜR
1

6
NÜR
2

2
NOR
1

3
NOR
2

3
DON
1

1
DON
2

2
DIE
1

7
DIE
2

Ret
ALE
1

6
ALE
2

4
AVU
1

4
AVU
2

2
HOC
1

Ret
HOC
2

5
5th 161
1994 Schübel Engineering Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti ZOL
1

10
ZOL
2

9
HOC
1

6
HOC
2

5
NÜR
1

2
NÜR
2

2
MUG
1

3
MUG
2

Ret
NÜR
1

4
NÜR
2

8
NOR
1

Ret
NOR
2

11
DON
1

9
DON
2

DSQ
DIE
1

7
DIE
2

5
NÜR
1

Ret
NÜR
2

DNS
AVU
1

10
AVU
2

18
ALE
1

5
ALE
2

Ret
HOC
1

10
HOC
2

6
9th 88
1995 Schübel Engineering Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti HOC
1

16
HOC
2

9
AVU
1

8
AVU
2

3
NOR
1

1
NOR
2

6
DIE
1

8
DIE
2

Ret
NÜR
1

12
NÜR
2

14
ALE
1

7
ALE
2

4
HOC
1

15
HOC
2

16
9th 48
Sources:[4][5][8]

Complete British 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 12 13 14 15 DC Pts
1991 BMW Team Finance BMW M3 SIL SNE DON THR
5
SIL BRH SIL DON
1
DON
2
OUL BRH
1
BRH
2
DON THR SIL 18th 8
Sources:[4][5][8]

Complete International 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 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Pos. Pts
1995 Schübel Engineering Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti MUG
1

Ret
MUG
2

12
HEL
1

1
HEL
2

13†
DON
1

12
DON
2

9
EST
1

15
EST
2

DNS
MAG
1

Ret
MAG
2

13
13th 22
1996 TV Spielfilm Alfa Corse Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti HOC
1

13
HOC
2

Ret
NÜR
1

9
NÜR
2

10
EST
1

12
EST
2

13
HEL
1

8
HEL
2

Ret
NOR
1

Ret
NOR
2

DNS
DIE
1

15
DIE
2

Ret
SIL
1

10
SIL
2

13
NÜR
1

18
NÜR
2

20
MAG
1

Ret
MAG
2

DNS
MUG
1

12
MUG
2

Ret
HOC
1

7
HOC
2

6
INT
1

3
INT
2

Ret
SUZ
1

2
SUZ
2

7
15th 48
Sources:[4][8]

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
1997 JAS Engineering Alfa Romeo 155 TS HOC
1

17
HOC
2

23
ZOL
1

23
ZOL
2

23
NÜR
1

17
NÜR
2

Ret
SAC
1

Ret
SAC
2

Ret
NOR
1

17
NOR
2

Ret
WUN
1

18
WUN
2

Ret
ZWE
1

24
ZWE
2

21
SAL
1

20
SAL
2

18
REG
1

20
REG
2

18
NÜR
1

23
NÜR
2

18
29th 37
Source:[8]

Complete Japanese Formula 3000 Championship results

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

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
1990 Leyton House Racing SUZ
13
FUJ
Ret
MIN
9
SUZ
15
SUG
17
FUJ
Ret
FUJ
10
SUZ
16
FUJ
3
SUZ 15th 4
Source:[4]

American Open-Wheel racing results

PPG Indycar Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref
1992 Euromotorsport SRF PHX LBH INDY DET
18
POR MIL NHA TOR
16
MCH CLE
16
ROA
16
VAN
21
MDO
19
NAZ
13
LAG
20
39th 0 [9]
1993 Euromotorsport SRF PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE
25
TOR MCH NHA ROA
11
VAN MDO NAZ LAG
26
31st 2 [10]
1994 Project Indy SRF PHX LBH INDY MIL DET
12
POR CLE
Wth
TOR MCH MDO NHA VAN ROA
12
NAZ LAG 30th 2 [11]
1995 Project Indy MIA
7
SRF PHX LBH NAZ INDY MIL DET
22
POR ROA TOR CLE MCH MDO NHA VAN LAG 25th 6 [12]
1997 Payton/Coyne MIA SRF LBH NAZ RIO GAT MIL DET
12
POR
27
CLE TOR MCH MDO ROA VAN
23
LAG FON 31st 1 [13]

Complete Grand Prix Masters results

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

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5
2005 Team Unipart Delta Motorsport GPM Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8 RSA
7
2006 Team LUK Delta Motorsport GPM Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8 QAT
2
ITA
C
GBR
3
MAL
C
RSA
C
Source:[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Christian Danner's CV". christian-danner.net. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  2. ^ "CONSTRUCTORS: RIAL". grandprix.com. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Christian Danner". Driver Database. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Christian Danner". Motor Sport. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Christian Danner Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Christian Danner". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  7. ^ Small, Steve (2000). "Danner, Christian". Grand Prix Who's Who (Third ed.). Reading, Berkshire: Travel Publishing. pp. 154–155. ISBN 978-1-902007-46-5. Retrieved 3 January 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ a b c d "Christian Danner race results". TouringCars.net. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Christian Danner – 1992 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Christian Danner – 1993 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Christian Danner – 1994 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Christian Danner – 1995 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Christian Danner – 1997 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by International Formula 3000 Champion
1985
Succeeded by