What could have been: Muller in Indycars
It’s a curious historical anomaly that, of the international superstars who’ve tried their luck in Indycars, German drivers have made a negligible impression. Timo Glock is the only driver to emerge from the nation’s motorsport ladder to score a podium (at Montreal in 2005), with such talents as Michael Krumm, Andre Lotterer and Lucas Luhr limited to fleeting cameos. Yet the complexion of the discussion might have been different had Jorg Muller taken the leap to Indycars and not the American Le Mans Series.
Fresh from winning the 1996 International Formula 3000 title, Muller was pitched against Tom Kristensen, Allan Mcnish and Patrick Carpentier at Sebring in a shootout for Bettenhausen Motorsports. Carpentier got the drive, while Muller, unhappy with the feel of the brakes but not permitted set-up changes, ended up in the wall. But he says this had no bearing on his decision not to take a drive with an unnamed team for 1998, having been distinctly unimpressed when he arrived for a test at Homestead.
“They put some soft foam on the side of my seat and said, ‘Can you drive like that?’” says Muller, still a regular in NLS races on the Nordschleife. “I thought, ‘I’m not going 400km/h on an oval, where every little bit is so important that you don’t risk your life, with some soft foam on the side.’ I was sitting like a brick in that car! So I called Dr [Helmut] Marko [Muller’s mentor] and said, ‘I’m coming home, I’m not doing that.’”
Instead, he focused on sportscars, finishing second at Le Mans with Porsche in 1998 and winning the Sebring 12 Hours with BMW in 1999. Muller also turned down a Bettenhausen drive for 2001 and won the ALMS GT title instead, before becoming a stalwart of BMW’S Super 2000 touring car and GT programmes. Today, Muller maintains he doesn’t regret never racing in Indycars.
“I drove in America for a few years in the ALMS and I really liked the country, but the chances I got [in Indycars] were not professional enough for me,” he says. “I never wanted to fill a field; I wanted to win and fight with other competitors, but my experiences there were not that good. There are no regrets. I enjoyed every time I sat in a race car. I never raced in Formula 1, but I’ve had a fantastic career.”