My Sporting Inquisition: Timo Bernhard
What is the first sport you remember playing/competing in?
Other than taking part in school sports competitions I remember competing in a Kettcar race when I was 7. Even though Kettcars don’t have engines it was my first step into motorsports.
When did you first remember being at a race track and what event was it?
The very first race I ever went to was when my mum took me to one of my dad’s hill climb races in July 1981 when I was only 5 months old. When I was about 5, I accompanied my dad to a VLN race he competed in on the Nordschleife and I knew then I wanted to be a racing driver!
If you could have become a professional in any other sport what would it be?
To be honest it would have been racing or nothing. I was interested in running when I was younger but I would probably not have been good enough to make it as a pro.
Which sports stars outside of Motorsport do you most admire?
I have always admired German football goalkeeper Oliver Kahn as he’s always had an incredible determination for his sport. Another sports star I’ve got a lot of respect for is Germany pole vault jump World Champion and Olympic Bronze medal winner Raphael Holzdeppe. His sport is so complex and requires a significant amount of skills.
Which sporting venue other than a race circuit would you like to visit?
I would love to visit a venue of the Olympic Summer Games. I’ve followed many games on TV and have always been fascinated by the venues the athletes compete in, so that’s on top of my list of things to go and see.
Which circuits that are not on the FIA WEC calendar would you most like to drive the Porsche 919 Hybrid on?
I would love to race our 919 hybrid around Suzuka. Every driver who’s raced there loved it. Sportscar racing has a long heritage in Japan and the track at Suzuka looks to be very challenging with absolutely no room for mistakes.
Monza is another track I would love to race on. It’s a traditional track with a lot of history and emotion and of course the Italian fans, who love racing, create a very special atmosphere in the Parco di Monza which I really like. I am really looking forward to being there next Spring for the Prologue.
If you could share the Porsche cockpit with two racing heroes from the past who would they be?
I’m happy with my current two team mates but if I had to pick two racing heroes from the past I would love to have shared the cockpit with two childhood heros of mine: Stefan Bellof and ’Le professeur Alain Prost’.
Alain had an impressive career with 4 world championship titles and over 50 race wins. He had a very intelligent approach to racing and was also very considerate in choosing the right teams at the right point in his career.
The second driver would be Stefan Bellof who I first remember from the famous Rothmans Porsches 956/ 962 in my childhood. When I joined Porsche I got to know some of his mechanics and engineers. Stefan’s effortlessness and his pure speed have always fascinated me. He was a thoroughbred racer and I would have loved to have met him.
Did you ever go to endurance races as a spectator, if so what memories do you have?
As a Porsche Junior I went to watch the 24hours of Nürburgring in 2000. It was an amazing experience to see the cars and experience their sheer speed and manoeuvrability and to watch them race from the side of the track. I remember thinking back then ‘I want to do that as well’. Little did I know that only a year later in 2001 I was racing there myself and I won my first overall title there at the 24-hour race in 2006.
