Erich Zakowski is a German master mechanic, and the founder and longtime head of the Zakspeed

Zakspeed

Zakspeed is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and nowadays run by his son Peter Zakowski. Their home town of Niederzissen is located not far away from the Nürburgring race track.-1973 to 1981: Saloon and sports car racing:...

 racing team.

After the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Zakowski fled from Prussia with his mother and four siblings initially to Dortmund

Dortmund

Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....

 then Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

 and finally the family settled in Niederzissen

Niederzissen

Niederzissen is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany....

. Zakowski graduated in Andernach

Andernach

Andernach is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of currently about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the Neuwied basin on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing village of Fornich in the north and the mouth of the...

 as an apprentice auto mechanic

Auto mechanic

An auto mechanic is a mechanic with a variety of car makes or either in a specific area or in a specific make of car. In repairing cars, their main role is to diagnose the problem accurately and quickly...

, and passed his master exam. He founded his own garage in Niederzissen, which was the location of the Zakspeed racing operation, starting in 1968. In 1968, under the name "Zakowski Niederzissen tuning", he started using a Ford Escort

Ford Escort

Ford Escort may refer to:* Ford Escort , a vehicle manufactured by Ford Motor Company's European division from 1968 through 2003* Ford Escort , a compact car that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company for the North American market...

 for the Eifel race on the Nürburgring

Nürburgring

The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...

.

In the 1970s and 1980s, under the direction of Erich Zakowski, Zakspeed established itself in various racing series, (especially in sports car

Sports car

A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....

 racing). Zakspeed entered the Formula 1 series in 1985. In 1990, after five years of racing, Zakowski retired active leadership of the team and handed it to his son Peter.