page_title: Sport in Germany
section_title: Motorsport
hierarchical_section_title: Sport in Germany / Motorsport
caption_attribution_description: Michael Schumacher in Hockenheim 2005
context_page_description: Sport in Germany is an important part of German culture and society.
  In 2006 about 27.5 million people were members of the more than 91,000 sport clubs in Germany. Almost all sports clubs are represented by the German Olympic Sports Federation.
context_section_description: Germany is one of the leading motorsports countries in the world. While countless race winning cars have come from Germany, only Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg have been Formula One world champions (they have won 12 titles combined) and Walter Röhrl being the sole World Rally Champion from Germany (he won two titles). Jochen Rindt, who was F1 world champion in 1970, was born in Germany but raced with an Austrian licence for his whole career. One other German driver came close to winning the title: Wolfgang von Trips. Unfortunately, he died in a crash in the last race of the season at Monza in 1961, giving the championship to his Ferrari teammate Phil Hill.
  Schumacher has won more Formula One championships and races than any other driver since the Formula One world championship began in 1950. In 2003, Schumacher set a new record for driver's championships when he surpassed Juan Manuel Fangio's total of 5 championships, a record that had stood for 46 years since 1957. He was also the highest paid athlete in sports history, with an annual salary of some U.S. $70 million from the Ferrari team, and an estimated $25–30 million more coming from endorsements. In 2005, he became the world's first billionaire athlete, according to Eurobusiness magazine. He is regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time; when he first retired at the end of the 2006 season, he held 7 championships and every significant F1 record. He returned to F1 in 2010, celebrated his completion of 20 years in F1 in August 2011, and retired for a second time at the end of the 2012 season.
  In 2010, Vettel became the youngest driver ever to win the world championship, he also successfully defended the title in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Before winning his first F1 drivers' championship, Vettel had already been the youngest ever to drive at a Grand Prix meeting, earn F1 world championship points, start from pole position in an F1 race, and finish as runner-up for the drivers' championship.
  In 2016, Nico Rosberg became the third German driver to win the Formula One World Championship.
  The DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) is the national touring car series. It is considered one of the best touring car series in the world. Many Formula 1 drivers have made the switch to the series, including, Mika Häkkinen, Jean Alesi and others. From 1995, only German marques of cars are allowed to compete in the series. Currently only Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz compete, but Opel and Alfa Romeo have a history in the sport. The races are held mainly in Germany, but some races occur elsewhere in Europe. The races draw monster crowds and television ratings and many celebrities have attended race days.
  Situated in Germany is the Nürburgring with its historical Nordschleife course. Since 1970 it is host to the annual 24 Hours Nürburgring endurance race, one of the biggest motorsports events in the world with over 200 participating teams and over 800 drivers, many of them touring car legends and veterans, among hundreds of thousands of live spectators camping along the race track.
  In sports car racing, Stefan Bellof and Hans-Joachim Stuck won the World Sportscar Championship in 1984 and 1985, whilst more recently André Lotterer, Timo Bernhard and Marc Lieb won the World Endurance Championship in 2012, 2015 and 2016  respectively.
  The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a prestigious annual race held in France. Porsche has won the race 16 times, far more than any other constructor. Second on the list is Audi, who have dominated the race in recent years, scoring 11 wins since their first in the year 2000. Audi driver Frank Biela was one of the most successful drivers in touring and sports cars in the 1990s and 2000s, winning the FIA World Touring Car Cup in 1995 and the Guia Race in 1996, as well as the German, French and British Touring Car titles, before winning the Le Mans 24 Hours five times and the 12 Hours of Sebring four times.
caption: Michael Schumacher has claimed 91 race victories and 7 championships in his F1 career.
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