Klaus Fritzinger

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Klaus Fritzinger in summer 2013
The Ford Capri of Klaus Fritzinger and Hans Heyer at the 6-hour race on the Nürburgring in 1973

Klaus Fritzinger (born January 8, 1937 in Kaiserslautern ; † January 9, 2015 there ) was a German soccer player , automobile racing driver and entrepreneur .

Football career

Klaus Fritzinger from Kaiserslautern played as a footballer among others for the clubs 1. FC Kaiserslautern ( Soccer-Oberliga Südwest , then together with other seasons the highest German soccer league), FC 08 Homburg (2nd Oberliga Südwest), 1. FC Saarbrücken (Oberliga Südwest ) and SV Saar 05 Saarbrücken (Regionalliga Südwest). In the league he made his debut in the 1956/57 season at 1. FCK in a 10-1 home win against Sportfreunde Saarbrücken. He scored a goal as a defender at the side of Horst Eckel , Fritz and Ottmar Walter . When he was a newcomer at 1. FC Saarbrücken in the 1960/61 season , he was used in nine league games. With Saarbrücken he won the championship in the Oberliga Südwest with players like Werner Hesse , Erich Rohe , Herbert Martin and Heinz Vollmar . In total, the player, who was mainly used in defense, played 25 league games with 1. FC Saarbrücken from 1960 to 1963 and scored two goals. At SV Saar 05 Saarbrücken, where he played in the second-rate Regionalliga Südwest from 1963 to 1966 and played 62 league games, Fritzinger finally informed his coach Otto Knefler of the decision to quit football. Knee problems from which he had suffered since a car accident played a role.

Racing career

In 1966 he started his racing career in touring car motorsport. He contested his first races with a Ford GT40 in the GT + 2.0 class of the German Automobile Circuit Championship (DARM). The following year he achieved his first victory in Mainz-Finthen in a Shelby GT-350 . In 1971 he switched to a Ford Capri RS 2600 , and when the German Racing Championship (DRM) was founded, he took part in all races in the 1st division there. He regularly drove to podium places there, and in the race in Kassel-Calden he won his only DRM victory. In the 1972 season Fritzinger also achieved his best result in the DRM and his greatest circuit racing success. Behind Hans-Joachim Stuck , he placed 2nd overall and secured the vice-championship title. In 1973 and 1974 he continued to drive in the DRM; most recently with a Toyota Celica GT in the 2nd division.

In addition, he also took part regularly from 1970 to 1974 in some races in the European Touring Car Championship . Then he ended his involvement in circuit racing. He made his last starts in circuit races in 1984 and 1985 for Toyota at the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour races with a Toyota Corolla .

Fritzinger gained his first experience in rallying in 1971 on a Ford Capri RS 2600. In 1974 he switched to Toyota and for the next few years only drove in rallies.

In 1978, 1979 and 1985 he won the Tour d'Europe rally together with his co-driver Henning Wünsch . These three victories were his greatest rallying successes. During his rallying career, he took part in rally world championship races 20 times. Among them, he started a total of nine times from 1979 to 1986 and after an interruption again in 1989 and 1990 in the Monte Carlo Rally . His best result - 12th overall - he achieved there in 1983 with his co-driver Henning Wünsch in a Toyota Celica 2000 GT. He drove his last Monte Carlo Rally in 1990 together with SWR-3 presenter Stefanie Tücking . From 1987 to 1990 he also took part in four rounds of the ADAC Rallye Deutschland . The 13th place in his last participation was also his best place, which he got there together with Hans-Dieter Stock on a Toyota Celica GT-4.

Fritzinger also started in the German Rally Championship , where he finished 8th in a Toyota Celica in 1981.

At the beginning of the 1990s he ended his racing career, ran a car dealership in Kaiserslautern and was co-owner of a company that manufactures and sells track delimitation elements for go-kart tracks from recycled plastic. Klaus Fritzinger lived in his hometown Kaiserslautern until his death.

Web links

Commons : Klaus Fritzinger  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Farewell to Klaus Fritzinger. From: www.rallye-magazin.de , accessed on January 15, 2015 .
  2. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the DRM 1972. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on September 18, 2012 .
  3. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: DRM 1973 race results. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on September 18, 2012 .
  4. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: DRM 1974 race results. On: www.classicscars.com , accessed on September 18, 2012 .
  5. ↑ Tourdeurope-Thomas - website: The winners of the Tour d'Europe rally. (No longer available online.) On: tourdeurope-thomas.com , archived from the original on August 1, 2013 ; Retrieved September 17, 2012 .
  6. ↑ Classicdriver - website: We'll show you: Datsun 240 Z GT Competition. From: www.classicdriver.com , February 5, 2005, accessed September 17, 2012 .
  7. ↑ a b eWRC-Results - Website: Klaus Fritzinger. From: www.ewrc-results.com , accessed September 17, 2012 .
  8. ^ Forum Rallye Magazin - website: Results DRM since 1971. At: forum.rallye-magazin.de , accessed on September 17, 2012 .
  9. ^ Dunlop - website: Klaus Fritzinger - The multi-athlete. (PDF; 54 kB) At: www.dunlop.eu , accessed on September 17, 2012 .
personal data
SURNAME Fritzinger, Klaus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German soccer player, automobile racing driver and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH January 8, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Kaiserslautern
DATE OF DEATH January 9, 2015
Place of death Kaiserslautern