| BIOGRAPHY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Full Name | Karl Heinrich Ahrens, Jr. | |
| Nationality |  |
||
| Born | 19 April 1940, Braunschweig |
||
| Died | |||
| Website | |||
| PRE-F1 CAREER | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Series | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums | F/L | Pts | Rank | |
| 1960 | German Formula Junior | 8 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6.37 | 2nd | |
| 1961 | German Formula Junior | 7 | 0 | 2 | ? | 0 | 38 | 1st | |
| 1962 | German Formula Junior | 7 | 1 | 2 | ? | 3 | 71 | 1st | |
| 1963 | German Formula Junior | 7 | 1 | 5 | ? | 4 | 75 | 1st | |
| 1966 | French Formula 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14th | |
| FORMULA 1 CAREER | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries | Races | Non-Starts | Best Grid | Best Finish | Podiums | F/L | Pts | DNFs | ||
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 17/20 | 7th | 0 | ? | ? | ? | ||
| First Grand Prix | Last Grand Prix |
| 1966 German Grand Prix | 1969 German Grand Prix |
| Season | Team | Chassis | Engine | Races | Poles | Wins | Pod | F/L | Pts | Rank |
| 1966 | Caltex Racing | Brabham BT18* | Ford Cosworth 1.0 4cyl | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1967 | Ron Harris Racing | Protos* | Ford Cosworth 1.6 4cyl | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1968 | Caltex Racing | Brabham BT24 | Repco 3.0 V8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1969 | Ahrens Racing | Brabham BT30* | Ford Cosworth 1.6 4cyl | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
*Denotes Formula 2 Class
| POST-F1 CAREER | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums | F/L | Pts | Rank | |
| 1967 | Formula 3 European Cup Formula 3 Åbningsløbet |
Caltex Racing Team | 1 1 |
0 0 |
1 1 |
1 1 |
0 0 |
– – |
1st 1st |
|
| 1968 | European Formula 2 | Kurt Ahrens Junior | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 7th | |
| 1969 | European Formula 2 Österreichring 1000Km Le Mans 24 Hours |
Ahrens Racing Team Porsche System Porsche System |
4 1 1 |
0 ? 1 |
0 1 0 |
0 1 0 |
0 ? 0 |
6 – – |
9th 1st DNF |
|
| 1970 | Nürburgring 1000Km Le Mans 24 Hours |
Porsche KG Salzburg | 1 1 |
? 1 |
1 0 |
1 0 |
? 0 |
– – |
1st DNF |
|
Biography
The son of former Speedway champion Kurt Ahrens, he competed against his father for the first five years of his motorsport career, while also dovetailing this with drives in the German Formula 3 and Formula Junior championships, winning the latter titles in 1961, 1962 and 1963.
Ahrens moved into Formula 2, and it was under the then-rules of the sport that he would be allowed to compete in Formula 2 class machinery at his home Grand Prix in three of the four races at the Nürburgring between 1966 and 1969.
The exception came when he was invited to drive an F1-spec Brabham BT24 at the 1968 race (pictured above), finishing twelfth overall the wet conditions.
That year, he also joined Porsche’s factory sports car team, sharing victory with Jo Siffert at the 1969 1000Km of Austria, as well as being a co-driver in the pole-winning ‘long tail’ Porsche 917 at the 1969 and 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans. He also won the 1000Km Nürburgring with Vic Elford in a Porsche 908 in 1970.
He hung up his helmet in 1970, boasting the feat of never having crashed in a single race he contested.
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