Volker Strycek

Volker Strycek (born 13th October, 1957 in Essen, West Germany) is a German former racing driver.

In 1984, Strycek became the first ever DTM champion despite not winning a single race.

Throughout his career, he has gained an affinity with Opel vehicles - most notably in the World Touring Car Masters. In 1990 he was signed by Opel Team Irmscher to race their Opel Kadett E GSi 16V alongside Bernd Schneider. His 5 class wins that season helped him finish third in Class D.

After WTCM switched to the new Super Touring formula in 1991, Strycek was let go by the now Vauxhall team, who chose to keep Bernd Schneider alongside new signing Tim Harvey, prompting Strycek's transfer to the DTM division for most of the year. However, Rhur-based Opel outfit Autosport Mannschaft Gelsenkirchen signed Strycek for their part-time stint in 1991. Strycek would immediately impress, qualifying second in the Pau GP feature race and winning the independent class at Anderstorp later that year.

This earned Volker a contract extension with AM Gelsenkirchen, who now competed full time for 1992 thanks to monetary injections by new sponsor Veltins. Strycek would continue his fine form, finishing on the podium in two consecutive sprint races and winning the independant class at Kyalami, in South Africa.

In later life, Strycek transitioned into management - most notably as the head of the Opel Performance Center brand - as well as becoming the Sportpresident of the AvD club. He also started lecturing at the Technical University of Berlin.

Complete WTCM Results

Year	Team	Car	Class																								WDC	Pts	Class	Pts
1990	Opel Team Irmscher	Opel Kadett E GSi 16V	D			Template:USA				Template:GBR		Template:FRA						Template:FRA		Template:GBR		Template:BEL				Template:AUS	N/A	0	3rd	194
				E	S	E	S	E	S	E	S	E	S	E	S	E	S	E	S	E	S	E	S	E	S	E
				FUJ DNQ	FUJ DNQ	GLN 24	GLN 35†	LAG 27	LAG 38	BRH Ret	BRH 29	PAU DNQ	PAU DNQ	BRN Ret	BRN Ret	MNZ DNQ	MNZ DNQ	CHA Ret	CHA 30	BIR DNQ	BIR DNQ	SPA DNQ	SPA DNQ	NUR DNQ	NUR DNQ	BAT DNQ