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LAMMERS, JAN

F-1 BIOGRAPHY BY CARLOS DE PAULA

 

Born 6/2/1956, Zandvoort

Starts:23

Points: 0

Wins:0

Poles:0

Fastest Laps:0
Dutch drivers never quite excelled in Formula 1, but there were quite a few Dutch drivers in the Formula 3 scene around 1978, including Rothengatter, Bleekemolen and Lammers who seemed to be destined for bigger things. Of the bunch, Lammers appeared the most apt, in fact, he won the 1978 European Formula 3 championship. This gave him enough clout to be hired by Shadow in 1979, to partner Elio de Angelis in the team. Jan’s time at Shadow was unsuccessful, the car was not fast, and the best he did was 14th in qualifying and 9th in a race. There were no points, so he was lured to join ATS for 1980. He failed to qualify for the first three races of the season, then astounded the Grand prix world by qualifying fourth in Long Beach. Unfortunately, he lasted one lap in the race, and the car never again showed any pace in races or qualifying. He was lured to join Ensign after France, to replace the injured Regazzoni, but things did not improve: out of eight outings, he dnq’d 6 times. He was called back by ATS to do a few races in the early part of 1981, with a best 12th place, one retirement and two dnq’s. For 1982, Lammers was hired by Theodore, enduring more of the same: mostly dnq, one retirement and one dns, after getting injured in Detroit. After that Lammers became involved in Sports Car racing, in fact became one of the most successful sports cars drivers of the late 80’s and early 90’s, winning many races including Le Mans. No doubt feeling he had unfinished business in Formula 1, he scrapped sponsorship to race the March Ilmor in the last two races of 1992. The March team was a shadow of its former Capelli heyday, and Lammers was nowhere near competitive. Still, he finished 12th in Australia, going back to a career involving sports cars, touring cars (including driving a Volvo station wagon in the BTCC), Formula 3000, and recently a surprise choice for the GP Masters series. He also runs the A1GP Racing for Holland team.
  • Cars driven out of Formula 1:

Formula 2: March

Formula 3000: Reynard, March

Formula 3: Ralt

Formula Indy: March, Eagle, Lola

Sports cars: Porsche (956, 911), Dome, Jaguar, Ford Capri Turbo, BMW M1, Toyota, Lotus Elise, Courage, Bitter, Lola, Audi, Nissan, Ferrari GT, MG Lola

Touring cars: Volvo Station Wagon, V8 Star
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