Porsche Motorsport mourns the loss of Walter Lechner (1949-2020). The Austrian has been a valued member of the Porsche family since 1985, already in his debut at the wheel of the Porsche 956 that year, he celebrated his maiden victory.
During his successful career spanning more than two decades, the racing driver won two titles in the Interserie driving Group C vehicles from Porsche and also contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“Walter Lechner was a very special person and a man of action, who was respected in the motor racing scene and much further afield. He was a man of his word and he lived by this principle. For decades, Walter Lechner has been a trusted partner of Porsche Motorsport and has had a huge impact on our brand’s customer racing. Under the most difficult conditions, he built up the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East, which has now been running for more than ten years. His death is a great loss for the Porsche Motorsport family,” commiserates Michael Dreiser, Director Motorsport Sales.
After hanging up his racing helmet in 1996, Walter Lechner established a successful motorsport company. Today, Lechner Racing is managed by his sons Robert and Walter Jnr. and,
in addition to the racing team, includes a racing driver school and event agency. During his career, Walter Lechner promoted numerous talented drivers, with both professional and personal dedication, including Formula 1 drivers Stefan Bellof from Germany and Karl Wendlinger from Austria. He managed drivers and teams in several race series such as the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.
A total of eleven team titles, most recently seven of them in a row, makes Lechner Racing the most successful squad in the history of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Moreover, Walter Lechner’s drivers have claimed eight titles in the same championship.
As the organiser of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East, Walter Lechner spread his enthusiasm for Porsche Motorsport throughout the world. Last weekend in Bahrain was his final campaign in this racing series.
The Porsche Motorsport family wishes Walter Lechner’s family the strength to come through this difficult time, and says wholeheartedly: Thank you, Walter! (Source: Porsche Dubai)