Helmuth Koinigg (3 November 1948 – 6 October 1974) was an
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n racing driver who died in a crash in the
1974 United States Grand Prix
The 1974 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 6, 1974, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 15 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 Inter ...
, in his second Grand Prix start.
Racing career
Koinigg was born in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. Like several other Formula One drivers, Koinigg's first racing car was a
Mini Cooper Mini Cooper may refer to:
*Cars of the original Mini series called the "Mini Cooper", made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors 1961–1971, and 1990–2000
*Cars of the Mini (marque), including a number of different models produced ...
, which he had purchased from
Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in Formula ...
. He raced in
touring cars
Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.
While the cars do not move ...
,
Formula Vee
Formula Vee (Formula Fau Vee in Brazil and Germany) or Formula Volkswagen is a popular open wheel, single-seater junior motor racing formula, with relatively low costs in comparison to Formula Ford.
On the international stage, Niki Lauda, Eme ...
and
Formula Ford
Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...
before a period in
sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...
. He subsequently found the finance to buy a seat with
Scuderia Finotto
Scuderia Finotto was a motor racing team from Italy, founded by Jürg Dubler. It raced in Formula One in 1974, using customer Brabham cars.
Formula One
For the season, Martino Finotto bought two Brabham BT42s, and leased both cars to the Swiss J ...
driving their Brabham at his home Grand Prix in 1974, and although he failed to qualify, this led to a contract with
Surtees
The Surtees Racing Organisation was a race team that spent nine seasons (1970 to 1978) as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2, and Formula 5000.
History
The team was formed by John Surtees, a four-time 500cc motorcycle champion and the ...
for the last two races of the season.
After a good showing at the
1974 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1974 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on 22 September 1974. It was race 14 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.
Niki Lauda wa ...
, Koinigg was beginning to establish himself as a good prospect for 1975. But running near the back in the
US Grand Prix
The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...
at
Watkins Glen, Koinigg's car suffered a suspension failure at turn 7, pitching it head-on into the
Armco barrier
Traffic barriers (sometimes called Armco barriers,AK Steel (formerly Armco) genericized trademark also known in North America as guardrails or guard rails and in Britain as crash barriers) keep vehicles within their roadway and prevent them from ...
. The speed at which Koinigg crashed was relatively low, and he ought to have escaped the accident uninjured. However, as with a number of other circuits at that time, the Armco was insecurely installed and the bottom portion of it buckled as the vehicle struck it. The car passed underneath the top portion, which remained intact, decapitating Koinigg and killing him instantly. Koinigg's accident was reminiscent of the death of Formula One driver
François Cevert
Albert François Cevert Goldenberg (25 February 1944 – 6 October 1973) was a French racing driver who took part in the Formula One World Championship. He competed in 48 World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one win, 13 podium finishes and 8 ...
at the same track the previous year, and
Romain Grosjean
Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a Swiss-French professional racing driver, competing under the French flag in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Grosjean had previously spent nine ...
's non-fatal crash at the
2020 Bahrain Grand Prix
The 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2020) was a Formula One motor race that took place over 57 laps on 29 November 2020 on the 'Grand Prix Circuit' configuration at the Bahrain Internationa ...
.
Complete Formula One results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
24 Hours of Le Mans results
References
External links
Koinigg's profile at www.grandprix.com
1948 births
1974 deaths
Sportspeople from Vienna
Austrian racing drivers
Austrian Formula One drivers
Deaths by decapitation
Racing drivers who died while racing
Sports deaths in New York (state)
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
Formula Super Vee Champions
Silvio Moser Racing Team Formula One drivers
Surtees Formula One drivers
World Sportscar Championship drivers
{{F1-bio-stub
Formel Super Vau drivers
Porsche Motorsports drivers