Swedish sportscar driver Anders Olofsson, a former class winner at the Le Mans 24 hours, has died at the age of 55.

Born in 1952, Olofsson was a star in Formula Three, winning his national title in 1977 and 78 and finishing as runner up in the European championship in both years too.

A move up to Formula Two and Formula 3000 failed to see his early promise realised and his single-seater career ended in the late 1980s, prompting a move into sportscars and touring cars.

Three consecutive tin-top titles in Japan will go down as his career highlights, as will his victory at the 1991 Spa 24 hours, driving a Nissan Skyline with David Brabham and Naoki Hattori.

He moved back to Europe to compete in the BPR Global Endurance Championship [which was later re-named the FIA GT Championship] and won one race in 1996 with Luciano della Noce's Enea team.

1997 saw his final year in full-time racing, and he capped it with second place at Le Mans - and first in the GT1 class - in a McLaren F1 he shared with Pier-Henri Raphanel and Jean-Marc Gounon.

Following his retirement, he worked in a management role for a number of teams in the Swedish Touring Car Championship, including Elgh Motorsport.

His association with Elgh saw him in the FIA World Touring Car paddock this year, while he still took part in the odd race, usually in a friend's Ferrari in FIA GTs.

Jamie O'Leary / Eurosport