Manfred Schurti
(born 24 December 1941) is a former touring and prototype racing car driver from
Liechtenstein
mainly known for racing factory-entered
Porsches
.
Biography
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Schurti (third from front) at the 1977 1000km Nurburgring.
He was born on Christmas Eve in Austria, but his parents moved after the war to the nearby small principality of Liechtenstein.
A mechanic by trade who became leader of the national motor vehicle inspection authority (Motorfahrzeugkontrolle MFK), Schurti began with
moto cross
and wanted to switch to motorcycle racing. His sponsor Baron von Falz-Fein denied support for a two-wheel effort, but offered a ride in a
Formula Vee
, where a group of Austrians including
Niki Lauda
supported each other with slipstreaming. Schurti managed to keep up with them, winning his first race in 1969 in Hockenheim, and then the 1970 World championship. In 1972, with
Hilti
support, he won the Formel Super Vau Castrol Trophy series and the International Castrol GTX Trophy, and was elected Sportsman of the year in Liechtenstein.
His entry in
Formula 2
was expensive but the car was not competitive. In 1976, after testing a similar Williams-F1 in Goodwood, the 34-year-old switched to touring car and sportscar racing, like the German
Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
series, where he won three events. In
1980
he competed in the
BMW M1 Procar Championship
, winning once, on the AVUS in Berlin.
Peter Sauber
made him a good offer to race sportscars, but the 39-year-old, who witnessed fatal crashes, decided to retire from pro racing. He came out of retirement to contest the
1984 Nurburgring Race of Champions
in a
Mercedes-Benz 190E
, which he later bought once converted to a road car.
[1]
Le Mans results
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Schurti entered the
1974 24 Hours of Le Mans
with a factory
Martini Racing
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo prototype which caught fire while the other car finished second overall. In 1975, when Porsche was absent developing the 911-based
Porsche 935
and the
Porsche 936
sports car for 1976, he finished 5th (and 1st in GTS class) in a regular 911 Carrera RSR together with three other drivers.
Schurti was a test driver for Porsche, which in 1976 competed in two separate World Championships. With main drivers
Jacky Ickx
,
Jochen Mass
, and
Rolf Stommelen
also busy in F1, Schurti and
Jurgen Barth
substituted or raced backup cars.
He backed up the factory Le Mans entry with the 935 in 1976, finishing first in class (Group 5) and 4th overall. He returned in 1977 and 1978 in the factory 935, and in 1979, when the factory was absent, with a private 935, while another private 935 won. He also supported the factory entries of
Porsche 924
variants from 1980 to 1982.
Complete results
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References
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External links
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