Klaus Abbelen

Klaus Abbelen (born 15 September 1960) is a German racing driver and businessman.

Abbelen was a regular participant in races sanctioned at the Nürburgring, including the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie and the Nürburgring 24 Hours. He finished on the overall podium of the 2008 24 Hours of Nürburgring and, as the team principal of Frikadelli Racing, won the 2023 24 Hours of Nürburgring. He retired from racing at the Nürburgring in September 2025 and currently competes only in historic racing events.

Abbelen owned his family's business Abbelen GmbH, a German Frikadelle manufacturer, until 2017. Abbelen was also married to German racing driver Sabine Schmitz before her death in 2021.

Racing career

Early career Abbelen's career began in motorcycle racing, rather than cars, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He switched to cars towards the turn of the century and participated in the 1999 Ferrari Porsche challenge, finishing second in his class.

In 2002, Abbelen attempted to run the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, but failed to get in. In 2022, Abbelen placing third overall in the Euro GT Series, and the following year made one appearance in the same series, one in the 2003 Porsche Supercup, and one in the FFSA GT Championship, driving a Porsche 911 for Chateau Sport for two races along with racer Stéphane Ortelli. The pair would fail to reach podium and would settle for a 41st in the final standings. In 2004, Abbelen ran in the Le Mans Endurance Series, driving a Saleen S7-R for Konrad Motorsport in one race. In 2008, he finished on the overall podium at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring for the first time.

Abbelen's trips to the Nürburgring extended outside of NLS and the 24 hour race. In 2019, he entered the Nürburgring round of ADAC GT Masters. In 2024, he competed in the Nürburgring round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, his first GTWC start.

Abbelen announced his retirement ahead of the NLS8 round in the 2025 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie. After suffering an early end to his race with a gearbox issue, he momentarily postponed his retirement to compete in the next round in NLS9. By finishing the race, he became the first GT3 driver to complete an NLS race solo, and finished second in the SP9 Am class.

Other ventures Abbelen competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona for the first time in 2016, racing alongside Patrick Huisman, Sven Müller, Frank Stippler, and his wife Sabine Schmitz. On race day, the crew finished 12th in the GTD class.

In 2024, Abbelen competed in the full Prototype Cup Germany season, having competed in the Nürburgring rounds in both 2022 and 2023, finishing on the podium in the former. He drove a Ligier JS P320 alongside Felipe Fernández Laser. In the final race at the Hockenheimring, Abbelen took his first and only win in the series.

Abbelen competed in some historic racing events in a Porsche 962 in 2025 and 2026.

Frikadelli Racing Frikadelli Racing's Ferrari 296 GT3 at the Nürburgring in 2024. Abbelen owns and is the co-founder of Eifel-based sports car racing team Frikadelli Racing. He and his wife Sabine Schmitz founded the team together in 2005 and were partners in the operation until Schmitz's death in 2021.

One of Frikadelli Racing's most notable achievements came in 2023, when the team scored a breakthrough victory at the 2023 24 Hours of Nürburgring with a Ferrari 296 GT3, driven by Earl Bamber, Nicky Catsburg, Felipe Fernández Laser, and David Pittard. It was the first victory in the event for Ferrari, and the first for a non-German manufacturer since 2002, when Zakspeed won the event with a Chrysler Viper GTS-R.

The team occasionally competes outside of the Nürburgring. They competed in the 2020 24 Hours of Spa, and planned to participate again in 2021 but withdrew because of the 2021 European floods.