Europe’s finest during the 70s & early 80s, the DRM-championship: part 5, 1979
By Marcel Hundscheid / Speed-O-Graphica
In the fifth part of our retrospective on one of the most prominent touring car championships, the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, we take a closer at the 1979 season.
The DRM also implemented a number of regulatory changes for the 1979 season. In the under-two-litre class for turbo engines, the minimum weight was raised from 735 kg to a substantial 885 kg. However this measure had little effect as turbo car’s once again clinched the title.
Harald Ertl switched to Zakspeed for a season best forgotten as quickly as possible. Hans Heyer benefited from the reliability issues that plagued Manfred Winkelhock, even though Winkelhock’s season with Schnitzer had initially looked very promising.
Heyer incidentally, competed in the smaller division. Markus Höttinger was unable to capitalize on the semi-works BMW 320 Turbo, which was far from reliable despite the tremendous power the engine produced.
One man dominated the 1979 season: Klaus Ludwig, who—driving the Kremer-Porsche 935 K3—won every race that year except one. Ludwig was defeated only once that season, at the Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring, when Bob Wollek drove the Gelo Sportswear Team Porsche 935/77A to victory.
Liqui Moly Equipe remained a serious contender with Rolf Stommelen, Volker Merl and their two Porsche 935/77As. The cars were undoubtedly capable of competing at the front and achieved podium finishes yet not a single victory was recorded that season.
The addition of the ‘Rennsport Trophae’ (Racing Trophy) for Group 2 and Group 4 cars ensured well-filled starting grids. These featured among others, Group 2 Ford Escorts, BMW 320s, and Porsche 934s.
A welcome addition was the inclusion of BMW M1 Procars, admitted under a so-called ONS National homologation. The M1 proved to be a formidable contender, particularly against the 1976 Group 4 Porsches. The Division 1 Ford Capris, which battled against the Porsches, also drew plenty of fans to the championship.
Hans Heyer’s successful performance at the Hockenheim race prompted Ford and Zakspeed to switch from Division 2 to Division 1. In Division 2 the Zakspeed Ford Capri—featuring a 1425 cc engine—delivered over 400 hp. In Division 1, the engine displacement was increased to 1745 cc. Depending on the turbo boost pressure, it could generate around 650 hp.
Ford fell short when compared to the Porsche 935, which put over 700 hp onto the tarmac. However, Porsche was assigned a weight penalty of around 200 kg due to its six-cylinder engine, unlike the Capri’s four-cylinder unit.
The advantage this gave the Capri was substantial. They proved to be far more agile than the Porsche 935s, particularly under braking. Ford immediately recognized the potential and decided to strengthen its driver lineup.
None of the teams competing in the 1979 season had anticipated that the Porsche 935 K3, Kremer’s latest weapon and the dominance of Klaus Ludwig would combine to form an unbeatable force. Nor had the rival Porsche teams of that season—Gelo Racing Team (with Bob Wollek, John Fitzpatrick, and Manfred Schurti) and Joest Racing (with Rolf Stommelen)—foreseen this phenomenon.
Zakspeed believed that with Hans Heyer and Harald Ertl, they had enough potential to give the Porsches a run for their money. Schnitzer-BMW, for their part, brought in Manfred Winkelhock. Zakspeed dominated Division 2, securing no fewer than eight victories thanks to Hans Heyer and Harald Ertl; Heyer contributed the most to this success with six wins, while Ertl stood on the top step of the podium twice.
Heyer stood the best chance of making life difficult for Klaus Ludwig and mounting a challenge for the title. However, with Manfred Winkelhock and Markus Höttinger claiming three victories in the GS BMW 320 and Heyer failing to finish at the Norisring, his title hopes evaporated—quite apart from Ludwig’s overwhelming dominance.
Ludwig made his mark during the season’s opening race by completely outclassing the rest of his highly experienced Porsche rivals. He went on to add nine more convincing victories to his winning streak and clinched the championship.
Results DRM Championship 1979
- Klaus Ludwig, Mampe Kremer Team Porsche 935 K3
- Hans Heyer, Mampe Ford Zakspeed Capri III Turbo
- Manfred Winkelhock, Rodenstock Würth Team Schnitzer BMW 320 Turbo
In the next part of our retrospective of the iconic DRM championship, we focus on 1980.
