Timo Bernhard was born in Homburg, Saarland, Germany. He began his motorsport career in karting in 1991, achieving fifth place at the CIK/FIA Junior World Championship and winning the German junior championship. He continued in karting for the following two years, finishing sixth and third in the German Karting Championship respectively.
Bernhard transitioned to formula cars in 1998, competing in Formula Ford and finishing sixth in both the German series and the Eurocup. He continued in Formula Ford in 1999, finishing third in the German championship. In 2000, he joined the Porsche Supercup as a UPS Porsche Junior driver, finishing third in the championship. He made his American Le Mans Series (ALMS) debut in 2001 at the 12 Hours of Sebring)), finishing second in the GT class with Randy Pobst and Christian Menzel, driving for Alex Job Racing. He also won the Porsche Carrera Cup championship that year.
In 2002, Bernhard began the season with a class win in the 24 Hours of Daytona for The Racer's Group. He then finished second overall at the 24 Hours Nürburgring driving for Alzen Motorsport, and won the GT class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Kevin Buckler and Lucas Luhr. He also finished third in the Carrera Cup, and won his first ALMS race (with Jörg Bergmeister) and finished fourth in the championship.
The 2003 season saw Bernhard win the 24 Hours of Daytona outright, driving with Buckler, Michael Schrom, and Bergmeister. He and Bergmeister won three ALMS races, including Petit Le Mans, and finished second in the championship. He also finished third at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
In 2004, Bernhard partnered with Jörg Bergmeister in the ALMS, taking six wins from nine starts and winning the GT class driver's championship. Their successes included class wins at Sebring and Petit Le Mans, both times joined by Sascha Maassen. He also finished fourth overall and second in class in the Spa 24 Hours, and finished on the podium at the Nürburgring 24 Hours for the third straight year, finishing third in a Manthey Racing Porsche.
Bernhard joined Romain Dumas in the ALMS for 2005, scoring four class wins and winning four poles, but finishing second in the championship. In 2006, Bernhard moved to Penske Racing in the LMP2 class of the ALMS, again partnering Dumas. They achieved the first overall win for an LMP2 class car at Mid-Ohio, and Bernhard won the LMP2 class at Petit Le Mans (with Sascha Maassen and Emmanuel Collard), taking four class victories in total and finishing third in the championship. He also won the 24 Hours Nürburgring outright, partnering Lucas Luhr, Marcel Tiemann, and Mike Rockenfeller.
In 2009, Bernhard and Dumas moved to Joest Racing, running the Audi R15 TDI, and finished 17th in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2010, along with Dumas and Rockenfeller, Bernhard took the overall win in the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, breaking the 1971 distance record with 5,410.713 km completed. This victory made him the eleventh driver to complete the Triple Crown in endurance racing, having previously won the 2003 24 Hours of Daytona and the 2008 12 Hours of Sebring) with Penske.
The 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans saw Bernhard, Dumas, and Rockenfeller not only win the race but also set a new distance record, completing 397 laps. Bernhard’s victory at Le Mans in 2010 marked his first win in the prestigious race.
Bernhard secured the ALMS LMP2 class championship in 2007 and 2008, and the ALMS GT class championship in 2004. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans GT class in 2002 and the overall race in 2010 and 2017. He also won the 12 Hours of Sebring) in the GT class in 2004 and overall in 2008. He achieved Petit Le Mans victories in the LMP2 class in 2006 and in the GT class in 2003 and 2004. He won the 24 Hours of Daytona overall in 2003 and in the GT class in 2002 and 2003. He also won the 24 Hours Nürburgring in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011, and the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany championship in 2001.
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