70 years of Peter Sauber - congratulations!
10/13/2013
Dear Peter,
I and the "Zwischengas" team would like to congratulate you on your 70th birthday and wish you all the best for the future.
We have known each other for around 37 years now. Back then, your"C5s" were the measure of all things and I photographed them at various events.
I still remember the first big victory at the 1000km race on the Nürburgring in 1986 with Mike Thackwell and Henri Pescarolo. The C8, then still painted in the blue and white colors of the sponsor "Kouros", helped me to work with you and the Sauber team for many years.
In 1989 came the magnificent double success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the C9. 1993 saw the start of the F1 era with the C12. We photographed the new cars at any time of day or night, often together, as soon as they were finished.
In the meantime, two from the old Group C era still remain on the racetracks of this world. Team manager Beat Zehnder and I are still there. Beat started working for you in 1989 and, as I said, I've been involved since 1986.
The highlights of this long period were definitely the double victory at Le Mans in 1989, the two world championship titles in Group C in 1989 and 1990, then the gigantic double victory at the Canadian GP in Montreal on June 8, 2008 with BMW, not forgetting the duel for victory at the 2012 Malaysian GP between Sergio Pérez and Fernando Alonso and, last but not least, Nico Hülkenberg's sensational race in Korea in 2013.
The low blows: above all Karl Wendlinger's serious accident in Monaco in 1994, the shock moment when Robert Kubica crashed at the 2007 Canadian GP, the retirement of the leading C11 at the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans just three hours before the end when a 2-franc bracket dropped the water pump, causing the engine to overheat.
Many stories on the sidelines brought entertaining moments into our lives that we would certainly never want to miss. For example, there was the photo opportunity with your motorcycle in the storm and rain on the Ratenpass, which couldn't be postponed due to time constraints ...
Your good choice of words always hit the mark. I remember the Group C race in Monza in 1990, when you said to Karl: "Mr. Wendlinger, there are curbs here in Monza; but we don't drive over them, we're fast enough as it is!"
Sauber and Surer are two names in the Swiss motorsport scene that are often confused. As long as Surer was competing in F1, people often called Peter "Mr. Surer". And today it's the other way around, so it can happen that Marc is addressed as Mr. Sauber.
And then a recent statement from Mika Salo on Peter Sauber's birthday: "What? He's 70 today, I can hardly believe that, because he looks much younger?"
Thank you very much, dear Peter, and once again all the best.
P.S. A brief historical review
- 1967: Peter Sauber drives club races in a slightly tuned VW Beetle.
- 1970: Sauber founds PP Sauber AG to build racing sports cars. In the same year, he becomes Swiss champion in a Sauber C1. The C2, C3 and C4 follow.
- 1976: Herbert Müller wins the prestigious Interseries in a C5. First appearances at Le Mans follow.
- 1981: Entry into the World Sports Car Championship with the C6.
- 1986: Victory of a C8 in the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring.
- 1988: Sauber becomes a Mercedes works team.
- 1989: The team celebrates a double victory with the C9 at the 24-hour race in Le Mans and also wins the Sports Car World Championship (drivers and teams).
- 1990: Another Sports Car World Championship win (drivers and teams).
- 1993: Entry into Formula 1 at the South African GP in Kyalami. Fifth place for JJ Lehto in the C12.
- 1993 to 2010: Until the German Grand Prix on July 25, 2010, the interim result in Formula 1: 21 Formula 1 drivers scored 518 world championship points in 587 starts.
- 2007: The best World Championship finish was second place in 2007 (after the disqualification of McLaren-Mercedes).
- 2008: The only F1 triumph in the team's history was a one-two victory, achieved by Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld on June 8 in Montréal.
- 2009: Renewed responsibility at Sauber F1 following BMW's withdrawal from Formula 1
