Helmut Koinigg

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Helmut Koinigg
Helmut Koinigg on July 13, 1974 during training for the 6-hour race at the Nürburgring
Nation: AustriaAustria Austria
Automobile world championship
First start: 1974 Canadian Grand Prix
Last start: 1974 USA Grand Prix
Constructors
1974  Team Surtees
statistics
World Cup balance: no World Cup placement
Starts Victories Poles SR
2 - - -
World Cup points : -
Podiums : -
Leadership laps : -
Template: Info box Formula 1 driver / maintenance / old parameters

Helmut Koinigg (born November 3, 1948 in Vienna , † October 6, 1974 in Watkins Glen , USA ) was an Austrian automobile racing driver . In his home country he was very popular as a talented Formula Super Vee racing driver and with the Ford Cologne Capri touring car racing team .

Endurance racing

Koinigg also competed internationally in endurance races. Among other things, he drove a Lola T 290 together with Guy Edwards in the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1972 , which, however, failed after a leak in the fuel line. In 1974 he and Manfred Schurti finished seventh in the overall classification of the 1000 km race in a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR from the Martini Racing Team. He also drove in the European touring car championship , for example in the 6-hour race at the Nürburgring in 1973 with Werner Schommers in a Ford Escort and in 1974 with Harald Ertl in a BMW 3.0 CSL, with which he crashed due to a brake defect and retired. In 1973 and 1974 he competed in the Le Mans 24-hour race.

formula 1

In his first qualifying for an F1 race, the Austrian Grand Prix 1974 , in a Brabham BT42 of the Italian Scuderia Finotto , he failed to qualify for the race as the last in training.

When the two regular drivers Carlos Pace and Jochen Mass resigned from Team Surtees because they thought the vehicle was too unsafe, John Surtees invited Koinigg to a test in Goodwood and then offered him a two-year contract. At the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport International Raceway , Koinigg crossed the finish line in a Surtees TS16 in tenth place after finishing 22nd and gave the team one of the best results of the season. Two weeks later at the US Grand Prix in Watkins Glen Koinigg also only reached 22nd place on the grid. On the ninth lap he went off the track at a rather slow point for reasons that were never entirely clear. When it hit the guardrail , the lower of the three steel strips loosened from the bracket and the car shot through the guardrail. In the process, the lower edge of the middle, remaining steel band cut through the driver's neck. His accident hadn't even been noticed for the time being, so that there was also some uncertainty, and it was also said that the accident had happened on the eighth or tenth lap.

Private

Helmut Koinigg was a journalism and mechanical engineering student and married. A few days after the accident in Watkins Glen he was buried in the Hietzingen cemetery .

statistics

Le Mans results

year team vehicle Teammate Teammate placement Failure reason
1973 GermanyGermany Ford Motor Works Ford Capri LV FranceFrance Jean Vinatier United KingdomUnited Kingdom Gerry Birrell failure Valve damage
1974 GermanyGermany Martini Racing Porsche Carrera RSR LiechtensteinLiechtenstein Manfred Schurti failure Fire

Individual results in the sports car world championship

season team race car 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 10 11
1972 Barclays Racing Lola T290 ArgentinaArgentina BUA United StatesUnited States DAY United StatesUnited States SEB United KingdomUnited Kingdom BRH ItalyItaly MON BelgiumBelgium SPA ItalyItaly TAR GermanyGermany ONLY FranceFrance LEM AustriaAustria ZEL United StatesUnited States WAT
DNF
1973 Ford Germany
Martini Racing
Ford Capri
Porsche Carrera RSR
United StatesUnited States DAY ItalyItaly VAL FranceFrance DIJ ItalyItaly MON BelgiumBelgium SPA ItalyItaly TAR GermanyGermany ONLY FranceFrance LEM AustriaAustria ZEL United StatesUnited States WAT
DNF 8th
1974 Eberhard Sindel
Porsche
Porsche 911 Carrera ItalyItaly MON BelgiumBelgium SPA GermanyGermany ONLY ItalyItaly IMO FranceFrance LEM AustriaAustria ZEL United StatesUnited States WAT FranceFrance LEC United KingdomUnited Kingdom BRH South Africa 1961South Africa KYA
DNF 8th DNF DNF DNF

See also

Web links

Commons : Helmut Koinigg  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Michael Behrnd, Jörg-Thomas Födisch, Matthias Behrndt: ADAC 1000 km race . Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2008, ISBN 978-3-89880-903-0 .
  2. Programs for the 6-hour race on the Nürburgring
  3. «Nobody noticed Koinigg's death» . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna October 8, 1974, p. 13 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  4. Thomas Karny on the death of Helmut Koinigg.