Klaus Bachler

Klaus Bachler
Bachler in 2024
NationalityAustria Austrian
Born (1991-07-27) 27 July 1991 (age 33)
Unzmarkt, Austria
Racing licence FIA Platinum
Championship titles
2023–24
2007		AsLMS - GT
Formula Lista Junior

Klaus Bachler (born 27 July 1991, in Unzmarkt) is an Austrian racing driver. As a Porsche-contracted driver, Bachler has won races in multiple high-level categories, including the Porsche Supercup, ADAC GT Masters, GTWC Europe Endurance Cup, IMSA SportsCar Championship, and FIA World Endurance Championship.[1][2]

His accolades include the 2007 title in the Formula Lista Junior series, as well as winning the 2023–24 Asian Le Mans Series with Pure Rxcing, the team he currently drives for in the WEC.[3]

Bachler began his car racing career in the Lista Junior championship, where he took five wins as well as the 2007 title for Neuhauser Racing. He moved up to the ADAC Formel Masters, finishing third in 2008 and second in 2009.[4] After making his German F3 debut at the end of 2010, Bachler went into the series full-time in 2011, where two victories helped him towards third place in the standings.[5]

After winning the 2011 Porsche junior driver shootout, the Austrian switched to sportscar racing in 2012, driving a full season in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, as well as making his debut in the Porsche Supercup.[6] He would enter the Supercup for the next two years, winning a race at Spa in 2013. Following a race win with Proton Competition in the ELMS in 2013, Bachler entered the FIA WEC in 2014, where he helped the team to third in the standings, in addition to finishing second in class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[7][8]

From 2015 on, Bachler drove in the ADAC GT Masters, where he took two wins over eight years in the series. He also began driving in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup starting in 2019, when he won the season-opening race with Dinamic Motorsport.[9] He returned to the Italian team in 2021 after a season with Rowe Racing and repeated that feat, before scoring a podium at the final round to finish sixth overall.[10] Two further podiums, including a win at Barcelona, came in 2022, which led to a record-high fourth in the standings for Bachler.[11]

Bachler driving his Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) at Spa-Francorchamps in 2024.

As a Porsche-contracted driver, Bachler entered the GTD Pro class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2023, partnering Patrick Pilet at Pfaff Motorsports.[12] The pair won at the 12 Hours of Sebring and scored six further podiums on their way to fourth in the standings.[13] During the same year, the Austrian driver entered the Bronze Cup category of the GTWC Endurance Cup alongside Joel Sturm and bronze-ranked Alex Malykhin, where they won at the season-opener and finished second in class at the 24 Hours of Spa, leaving them fifth in the standings.[14] The trio remained together for the Asian Le Mans Series and won the 2024 title thanks to two race victories.[15][16]

For PureRxcing's main season, Bachler and his teammates would drive in the WEC's new LMGT3 class, as well as racing as a Pro-classed lineup in the GTWC Endurance Cup.[17][18] At the first WEC race in Qatar, the PureRxcing trio took victory.[19]

  1. ^ "Action Express Cadillac Wins Incident-Filled Sebring 12 Hours". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  2. ^ Euwema, Davey (2024-03-02). "Sturm, Bachler Credit Malykhin for Historic LMGT3 Win – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  3. ^ "Manthey EMA and Manthey PureRxcing enter the 2024 FIA WEC Endurance Championship with strong driver line-ups". Endurance-Info. 24 January 2024. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Klaus Bachler Vize-Champion / ADAC Formel Masters - SPEEDWEEK.COM". www.speedweek.com (in German). 2009-10-18. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  5. ^ Magazine, Speedsport. "German Formula-3-Cup - 2011: Point standings". www.speedsport-magazine.com. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  6. ^ Hub, Porsche Motorsport. "Porsche Junior Driver: Klaus Bachler | Porsche Motorsport Hub". motorsports.porsche.com. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  7. ^ "2014 FIA World Endurance Championship – 6 Hours of Silverstone – Provisional Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  8. ^ "Race Recap: 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans defines 'endurance'". Autoblog. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  9. ^ Bosch, Miguel (2019-04-18). "Klaus Bachler: "When the Audi ran into problems we knew we'd have to be careful"". GT REPORT. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  10. ^ "Dinamic Win Again At Rainy Monza". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  11. ^ "Standings Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Endurance Cup Drivers 2022". Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  12. ^ Goodwin, Graham (December 5, 2022). "Pfaff Confirm Bachler & Pilet For 2023 IMSA Campaign". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  13. ^ "IMSA Sebring 12 Hours: Post-Race Paddock Notes". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  14. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (2023-03-28). "Bachler to Lead Pure Rxcing Porsche Lineup – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  15. ^ "Porsche clinches Asian Le Mans Series GT title in Abu Dhabi". PorscheSport | Latest Motorsport News & Interviews. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  16. ^ Klein, Jamie (2024-02-11). "CrowdStrike Seals Title as APR Wins Abu Dhabi Finale – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  17. ^ "Manthey EMA and Manthey PureRxcing enter the 2024 FIA WEC Endurance Championship with strong driver line-ups". Endurance-Info. 24 January 2024. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Stacked 55-car field confirmed for Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS opener at Circuit Paul Ricard". gt-world-challenge-europe.com. SRO Motorsports Group. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Pure Rxcing Porsche Wins LMGT3 On WEC Debut". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-05-24.