Mercedes Benz

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Stuttgart, Germany, Jun 28, 2011

Driver profiles

John Surtees OBE
Born on: 11 February 1934

John Surtees is a virtuoso driver on both two and four wheels: the Brit remains the only person to have won World Championships on a motorcycle (many times over) and in Formula One. He was 500cc motorcycle World Champion in 1956 and from 1958 to 1960, as well as 350cc World Champion from 1958 to 1960. He won the Formula One World Championship in 1964. The son of a London motorcycle dealer, he enjoyed early success in sidecar racing with his father Vincent. He worked as an apprentice at Vincent's firm prior to joining the competition, Norton, as a works rider in 1955. Following his major triumphs on motorcycles, he switched to four wheels in 1960, at the age of 26, and seamlessly continued his successful career. In the late 1960s, he formed the Surtees Racing Organisation team, which was active in Formula One from 1970 to 1978. Due to his services to motorsport and charity, Surtees has been awarded an MBE and an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. In 1996, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.


Paul Stewart
Born on: 29 October 1965

Former Formula racing driver Paul Stewart and the son of three-times Formula One World Champion Jackie Stewart achieved his initial motorsport successes in Formula Ford 2000. In 1988, he formed the Paul Stewart Racing team and competed in the British Formula Three Championship from 1989 to 1990 and in Formula 3000 from 1991 to 1993. During this period, he was the teammate of Marco Apicella in 1991, David Coulthard in 1992 and Gil de Ferran in 1993. Paul Stewart then retired from actively competing, instead focusing on various tasks as team manager from 1994. The team was Team Champion in Formula Three eight times (1992 to 1994 and 1996 to 2000). In 1996, he and Jackie Stewart formed Stewart Grand Prix, which competed in Formula One from 1997 to 1999. At the end of 1999, Ford took over the team, which was named Jaguar Racing for the 2000 season and ultimately continued as Red Bull Racing from 2005.

Bernd Schneider
Born on: 20 July 1964

Five-time DTM champion Bernd Schneider was born in 1964 in St. Ingbert (Saarland), Germany. He celebrated his initial racing successes in karting and Formula Three. Schneider also raced in Formula One and the Le Mans 24 Hours and took part in the FIA GT Championship (1997 title). DTM was the stage on which he achieved his most glorious victories. From 1992, Schneider drove for the AMG-Mercedes team. Having finished third in the overall ranking of the German Touring Car Championship in both 1992 and 1993, he finally won the 1995 championship title with the team. After DTM changed its name to the German Touring Car Masters in 2000, Schneider was champion in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006. He was also runner-up in 2002. Schneider is currently a test driver and brand ambassador for Mercedes-AMG.

Klaus Ludwig
Born on: 5 October 1949

Nicknamed “King Ludwig” by his fans, the German racing driver and three-time DTM champion Klaus Ludwig was born in Bonn in 1949. He began his motorsport career in the early 1970s by taking part in slalom racing , orienteering and touring car racing. His initial major successes included championship titles in the German Racing Championship ( DRM ) in 1979 and 1981 as well as victories in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1979, 1984 and 1985. It was in 1985 that Ludwig switched to DTM, where he raced initially for Ford, winning his first title in 1988. In 1989, he joined the AMG-Mercedes team, with which in the years up to 1994 he won two championship titles (1992 and 1994, runner-up in 1991) with a total of 19 victories. In 1995 and 1996, he drove in the DRM for Opel Team Rosberg, after which he rejoined AMG-Mercedes and, together with Ricardo Zonta, won the driver's and team trophies in the 1998 International FIA GT Championship. Although he thereafter officially ended his motorsport career, Ludwig again raced in the new German Touring Car Masters in 2000, where he finished the season − and his racing career − in overall third place in a Mercedes-Benz CLK.


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