Jan Lammers

Jan Lammers (born 2 June 1956) is a Dutch former racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1979 to 1982 and briefly in 1992, participating in 23 Grands Prix, while achieving his greatest success in endurance racing by winning the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans for Silk Cut Jaguar TWR—breaking Porsche's seven-year winning streak—and the 1990 24 Hours of Daytona, establishing himself as one of the Netherlands' most successful sports car racers. Lammers won the 1978 European Formula 3 Championship after a close battle with Anders Olofsson, beating highly touted rivals including Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, and Nigel Mansell—all future Formula One World Champions. He also became the youngest Dutch touring car champion in history in 1973.

His Formula Three success earned Formula One opportunities from 1979-1982 with Shadow, ATS, Ensign, and Theodore—small teams that provided limited chances for competitive results. The highlight of his Formula One career was fourth place qualifying at Long Beach in 1980, demonstrating his speed when given reasonable equipment. After four Formula One seasons yielded no points, Lammers left Formula One for sports car racing, where his career flourished. His greatest triumph came at the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he partnered with Andy Wallace and Johnny Dumfries for Silk Cut Jaguar TWR.

Lammers drove 13 of the 24 hours, beating Porsche's factory team which had remained unbeaten since 1981. The victory was particularly sweet as Jaguar defeated Porsche's dominance through reliability and strategy. He won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1990, again driving a Jaguar XJR-12 with Davy Jones and Andy Wallace, cementing his reputation as one of endurance racing's elite drivers. Lammers made a surprising Formula One return for two races with March in 1992—ten years after his previous Grand Prix, the longest gap between successive Grands Prix in Formula One history.

The comeback was brief and unsuccessful, confirming his future lay in sports car racing. During his Racing for Holland days, Lammers combined racing and management duties, winning the 2002 and 2003 FIA Sportscar Championship. He participated at Le Mans 23 times from 1983 to 2018, with his final appearances in 2017-2018 for Racing Team Nederland in LMP2, sharing with Rubens Barrichello and Frits van Eerd. Lammers' career exemplifies a driver whose Formula One statistics (23 starts, no points) dramatically understated his talent and achievements.

His Le Mans and Daytona victories, multiple sports car championships, and sustained competitiveness across four decades established him as one of the Netherlands' greatest racing drivers, proving success isn't measured solely by Formula One results.