Horst Felbermayr Sr. Passes Away at 74

Photo: Proton Competition

Longtime gentleman driver and Austrian logistics and construction industry mogul Horst Felbermayr Sr. passed away on Friday at the age of 74.

Felbermayr Sr., who had been the board chairman of his family-owned Felbermayr transport company, succumbed due to a “serious illness” last week, according to a statement published on the company’s website.

While having gotten his start in motorsport in the 1970s with Porsche club racing, Felbermayr Sr. was mostly known for his involvement with Proton Competition, initially in the FIA GT Championship before stretching into the European Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Then-known as Team Felbermayr-Proton, the Ried family-led operation was one of Porsche’s leading customer teams, highlighted by GT2 class victory at Le Mans in 2010 with the all-factory lineup of Marc Lieb, Wolf Henzler and Richard Lietz.

Felbarmayr Sr. made his debut at Le Mans as a driver in 1999 and had a total of six participations in the French endurance classic, including four with his son Horst Felbermayr Jr.

Despite having sustained injuries from an accident at Le Mans in 2011, Felbermayr Sr. returned to the wheel in ELMS competition in 2013 and 2014, also with Proton. 

Felbermayr Sr.’s company employees more than 2,700 employees in 19 countries throughout Europe.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John