Manfred Winkelhock
German Formula 1 Driver Killed at Mosport
Manfred Winkelhock was born on October 6th, 1951 in Germany, but he was well into his twenties before motor racing became a career. Initially, Winkelhock was a mechanic but, in 1976, he competed in and won a single-make series driving a Volkswagen Scirocco.
Winkelhock Signed by BMW
BMW had taken note of Winkelhock’s performances in the Scirroco and, by 1977, he was a driver for the famous marque, competing in the Group 5 silhouette championship. It was 1979 before Winkelhock drove a single-seater for BMW, driving in that year’s European Formula 2 championship.
At Imola the following year he found himself in an Arrows Formula 1 car, but failed to qualify for the Italian Grand Prix. 1981 saw Winkelhock involved in one of the most spectacular accidents ever caught on film when his Formula 2 car literally took off at the Nurburgring. Despite the car being comprehensively destroyed its driver escaped incredibly unscathed.
Formula 1 with ATS, RAM and Brabham
In 1982 Winkelhock became a bona fide Formula 1 driver with the small German ATS team. The team used Ford engines that year, before obtaining BMW turbo units. Unfortunately, the huge power gain came at the expense of reliability. Despite showing impressive pace in qualifying Winkelhock’s car usually failed in the race. The end result was no points scored in either season.
Winkelhock switched to the RAM team for the 1984 Formula 1 season, partnering Frenchman Philippe Alliot in the Hart engined cars. Brian Hart produced several fine engines but was always held back by financial constraints. At that year’s Portuguese Grand Prix Winkelhock was given a Brabham-BMW to drive, replacing the Fabi brothers Teo and Corrado, who were attending their father’s funeral. The Fabi brothers shared the Brabham depending on who was available. He qualified the car a lowly 19th but had improved to 10th by the chequered flag.
Winkelhock Wins at Monza but is Killed at Mosport
Unlike in Formula 1 Winkelhock was a front-runner in Group C sports cars. By the time he reached Mosport in 1985 for the Group C race he had already won the Monza 1000 km, sharing a Kremer Porsche with Swiss driver Marc Surer. During the Mosport race Winkelhock’s car left the track at high speed and ploughed into a concrete retaining wall. After a long delay while he was extricated from the wreckage Winkelhock was transported to hospital where he died the following day. He was 33 years old.
The Winkelhock Racing Family
The Winkelhock name remained prominent in racing circles following Manfred’s death. Both of his brothers, Thomas and Joachim, went on to successful careers. Thomas competed in national touring car championships while Joachim became a BMW star, winning international touring car titles and Le Mans in 1999. The latest member of the family to taste success is Manfred’s son Markus, who made his Formula 1 debut for Spyker in 2007. He currently competes in the German DTM series.
Manfred Winkelhock in RAM F1 car
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