Christian Josef Danner (born 4 April 1958) is a former racing driver from Germany.

Career Formula Two and Formula 3000 The son of car safety expert Max Danner, Danner started his motor racing career immediately after leaving school in 1977. After having raced in the Renault 5 cup, Danner moved to the European Formula Two Championship for the season. During his years in Formula Two, Danner was a constant frontrunner. He scored several podiums but failed to win a race. Danner also set the F2 lap record of the current configuration of the old Nürburgring. Danner moved to the Formula 3000 championship in 1985 which replaced the Formula Two championship. With four wins, Danner became the inaugural Formula 3000 championship winner.

Formula One

In , Danner made his Formula One debut with Zakspeed. He made two starts but failed to finish any races due to mechanical failures. For , he signed with minor Italian outfit Osella but struggled to make an impression with the car and its under powered Alfa Romeo engine. After failing to finish a race in the first six races, Danner moved to Arrows with their powerful BMW turbo engines and scored his first point at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Danner returned to Zakspeed in . The car was both un-competitive and often unreliable and when Danner finished a race it was always outside the points. After having raced touring cars in 1988, Danner returned to Formula one in with Rial Racing. The car was highly uncompetitive, and a fourth place due to a high attrition rate at the 1989 United States Grand Prix was the only highlight of the year. Danner was fired after the Portuguese Grand Prix after only qualifying for four races that year.

Touring cars

After his Formula One career, Danner became a regular competitor in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft. He made his debut in 1988 after failing to find a ride in Formula one. Danner made an impressive start to his touring car career as he won both races at the Hockenheimring driving a BMW M3. After only making sporadic appearances in 1989 and 1990, Danner made a full-time return to the series in 1991. He had a disappointing season and only had one points scoring finish. In 1993, Danner had his best season. He scored six podium finishes and finished fifth in the points standings. He also won a race at the Non-Championship round in Donington Park. Danner returned to winning ways in 1995 when he won a race at the Norisring. Danner kept racing touring cars through 1997.

In 1991, Danner also started in one British Touring Car Championship race at Thruxton, driving a BMW M3.

Other racing Danner competed in Japanese Formula 3000 in 1990, driving for Leyton House's F3000 team. He scored four points and was ranked 14th. In the nineties Danner made several appearances in the Indy Car World Series. His best finish was a seventh place at Homestead Miami in 1995. He also took part in the now defunct series, Grand Prix Masters.

Media career After his racing career, Danner became an F1 commentator for the channel RTL in his native Germany.

Motorsports career results

Career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 1980 German Racing Championship Cassani Racing 5 0 0 0 0 20 23rd 1981 European Formula Two March Racing 12 0 0 0 0 2 18th 24 Hours of Le Mans Helmut Marko RSM 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF 1982 European Formula Two March Racing 13 0 0 1 0 6 14th 1983 European Formula Two Onyx Racing 12 0 0 0 1 21 5th Formula Pacific Andrew Miedecke 8 0 1 1 3 46 7th 1984 European Formula Two BS Automotive 11 0 1 0 4 23 5th World Sportscar Championship Richard Lloyd Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC 1985 International Formula 3000 BS Automotive 11 4 2 4 7 51 1st Formula One West Zakspeed Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC 24 Hours of Le Mans Kreepy Krauly Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 22nd European Touring Car Championship Magnum Racing 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC 1986 Formula One Osella Squadra Corse 6 0 0 0 0118th Barclay Arrows BMW 10 0 0 0 0 24 Hours of Le Mans Kouros Sauber Racing Team 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF 1987 Formula One West Zakspeed Racing 15 0 0 0 0 0 NC European Touring Car Championship Schnitzer Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC 1988 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Alpina 22 2 ? 0 3 151 11th European Touring Car Championship Prodrive 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC 1989 Formula One Rial Racing 13 0 0 0 0 3 21st Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Linder Rennsport 6 0 ? 0 0 46 21st 1990 Japanese Formula 3000 Leyton House Racing 9 0 0 0 1 4 15th Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Schnitzer Rennsport 3 0 ? 0 0 0 NC 1991 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft MM-Diebels 15 0 ? 0 0 6 21st British Touring Car Championship Prodrive 1 0 0 0 0 8 18th 1992 PPG Indycar Series Euromotorsport 9 0 0 0 0 0 39th 1993 PPG Indycar Series Euromotorsport 3 0 0 0 0 2 31st Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Schübel Engineering 22 0 ? 2 6 161 5th FIA Touring Car Challenge 2 0 0 0 0 10 18th 1994 PPG Indycar Series Project Indy 3 0 0 0 0 2 30th Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Schübel Engineering 24 0 0 0 3 88 9th 1995 PPG Indycar Series Project Indy 2 0 0 0 0 6 25th Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Schübel Engineering 14 1 0 1 1 48 9th International Touring Car Championship 10 1 1 0 1 22 13th 1996 International Touring Car Championship TV Spielfilm Alfa Corse 26 0 2 0 2 48 15th 1997 Super Tourenwagen Cup JAS Engineering 20 0 0 0 0 37 29th PPG Indycar Series Dale Coyne Racing 3 0 0 0 0 1 31st 2001 Formula One Jaguar Racing Test driver 2002 V8Star Series JAG Racing Team 1 0 0 0 0 27 25th 2004 Mini Challenge Deutschland O2 can Race Team 1 1 0 0 1 30 24th 2005 Grand Prix Masters Team Unipart 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 7th Italian Formula 3000 Championship Durango 1 0 0 0 0 1 23rd 2006 Grand Prix Masters Team LUK 2 0 2 0 0 10 2nd Mini Challenge Deutschland Team MINI Deutschland 2 0 2 0 0 0 NC 2007 Formula One Super Aguri Test driver Mini Challenge Deutschland Team MINI Deutschland 2 0 1 0 0 29 27th 2008 Speedcar Series Phoenix Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 20th 2017 GT4 European Series Northern Cup MOMO-Megatron Team Partrax 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC GT4 European Series Southern Cup 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC2018GT4 Central European Cup - AmTeam GT21022438thFrench GT4 Cup - Am200000NC2019GT4 European Series - AmTeam GT21002437thADAC GT4 Germany400000NC

Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pts Cassani Racing Team Ralt RT1 BMW THR HOC NÜR VLL PAU SIL ZOL MUG ZAN PER MIS HOC NC 0 March Racing March 812 BMW SIL HOC THR NÜR VLL MUG PAU PER SPA DON MIS MAN 18th 2 March Racing March 822 BMW SIL HOC THR NÜR MUG VLL PAU SPA HOC DON MAN PER MIS 14th 6 Onyx Racing March 832 BMW SIL THR HOC NÜR VLL PAU JAR DON MIS PER ZOL MUG 5th 21 BS Automotive March 842 BMW SIL HOC THR VLL MUG PAU HOC MIS PER DON BRH 5th 23

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Helmut Marko RSM Peter Oberndofer Prince Leopold von Bayern BMW M1 GT 49 DNF DNF Kreepy Krauly Racing Graham Duxbury Almo Coppelli March 85G-Porsche C1 270 22nd 17th Kouros Sauber Racing Team Henri Pescarolo Dieter Quester Sauber C8-Mercedes C1 86 DNF DNF

Complete International Formula 3000 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts 1985 BS Automotive March 85B Cosworth SIL THR EST NÜR VLL PAU SPA DIJ PER ÖST ZAN DON 1st 51

Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pts West Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed 841 Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4t BRA POR SMR MON CAN DET FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA BEL EUR RSA AUS NC 0 Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1G Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8t BRA ESP SMR MON CAN 18th 1 Osella FA1H BEL Barclay Arrows BMW Arrows A8 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t DET FRA GBR GER AUT ITA POR MEX AUS Arrows A9 HUN West Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed 861 Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4t BRA SMR NC 0 Zakspeed 871 BEL MON DET FRA GBR GER HUN AUT ITA POR ESP MEX JPN AUS Rial Racing Rial ARC2 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 BRA SMR MON MEX USA CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR ESP JPN AUS 21st 3

Complete Japanese Formula 3000 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points 1990 Leyton House Racing SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ SUG FUJ FUJ SUZ FUJ SUZ 15th 4

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pts 1988 Alpina BMW M3 ZOL1 ZOL2 HOC1 HOC2 NÜR1 NÜR2 BRN1 BRN2 AVU1 AVU2 MFA1 MFA2 NÜR1 NÜR2 NOR1 NOR2 WUN1 WUN2 SAL1 SAL2 HUN1 HUN2 HOC1 HOC2 11th 151 1989 Linder Rennsport BMW M3 ZOL1 ZOL2 HOC1 HOC2 NÜR1 NÜR2 MFA1 MFA2 AVU1 AVU2 NÜR1 NÜR2 NOR1 NOR2 HOC1 HOC2 DIE1 DIE2 NÜR1 NÜR2 HOC1 HOC2 21st 46 1990 Schnitzer Motorsport BMW M3 ZOL1 ZOL2 HOC1 HOC2 NÜR1 NÜR2 AVU1 AVU2 MFA1 MFA2 WUN1 WUN2 NÜR1 NÜR2 NOR1 NOR2 DIE1 DIE2 NÜR1 NÜR2 HOC1 HOC2 NC 0 1991 MM-Diebels BMW M3 ZOL1 ZOL2 HOC1 HOC2 NÜR1 NÜR2 AVU1 AVU2 WUN1 WUN2 NOR1 NOR2 DIE1 DIE2 NÜR1 NÜR2 ALE1 ALE2 HOC1 HOC2 BRN1 BRN2 DON1 DON2 21st 6 1993 Schübel Engineering Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti ZOL1 ZOL2 HOC1 HOC2 NÜR1 NÜR2 WUN1 WUN2 NÜR1 NÜR2 NOR1 NOR2 DON1 DON2 DIE1 DIE2 ALE1 ALE2 AVU1 AVU2 HOC1 HOC2 5th 161 1994 Schübel Engineering Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti ZOL1 ZOL2 HOC1 HOC2 NÜR1 NÜR2 MUG1 MUG2 NÜR1 NÜR2 NOR1 NOR2 DON1 DON2 DIE1 DIE2 NÜR1 NÜR2 AVU1 AVU2 ALE1 ALE2 HOC1 HOC2 9th 88 1995 Schübel Engineering Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti HOC1 HOC2 AVU1 AVU2 NOR1 NOR2 DIE1 DIE2 NÜR1 NÜR2 ALE1 ALE2 HOC1 HOC2 9th 48

Complete British Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 DC Pts 1991 BMW Team Finance BMW M3 SIL SNE DON THR SIL BRH SIL DON1 DON2 OUL BRH1 BRH2 DON THR SIL 18th 8

Complete International Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Pts 1995 Schübel Engineering Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti MUG1 MUG2 HEL1 HEL2 DON1 DON2 EST1 EST2 MAG1 MAG2 13th 22 1996 TV Spielfilm Alfa Corse Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti HOC1 HOC2 NÜR1 NÜR2 EST1 EST2 HEL1 HEL2 NOR1 NOR2 DIE1 DIE2 SIL1 SIL2 NÜR1 NÜR2 MAG1 MAG2 MUG1 MUG2 HOC1 HOC2 INT1 INT2 SUZ1 SUZ2 15th 48

Complete Super Tourenwagen Cup results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pts 1997 JAS Engineering Alfa Romeo 155 TS HOC1 HOC2 ZOL1 ZOL2 NÜR1 NÜR2 SAC1 SAC2 NOR1 NOR2 WUN1 WUN2 ZWE1 ZWE2 SAL1 SAL2 REG1 REG2 NÜR1 NÜR2 29th 37

American Open-Wheel racing results

PPG Indycar Series (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) Year Team No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref 1992 Euromotorsport 50 SRF PHX LBH INDY DET POR MIL NHA TOR MCH CLE ROA VAN MDO NAZ LAG 39th 0 1993 Euromotorsport SRF PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH NHA ROA VAN MDO NAZ LAG 31st 2 1994 Project Indy 64 SRF PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH MDO NHA VAN ROA NAZ LAG 30th 2 1995 Project Indy MIA SRF PHX LBH NAZ INDY MIL DET POR ROA TOR CLE MCH MDO NHA VAN LAG 25th 6 1997 Payton/Coyne 34 MIA SRF LBH NAZ RIO GAT MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH MDO ROA VAN LAG FON 31st 1

Complete Grand Prix Masters results (key) Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap. Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 2005 Team Unipart Delta Motorsport GPM Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8 RSA 2006 Team LUK Delta Motorsport GPM Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8 QAT ITA GBR MAL RSA

References

External links

Christian Danner – Official Website Profile at grandprix.com