Helmut Marko (born 27 April 1943) is an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

former professional racing driver and current advisor to the

Red Bull GmbH Red Bull GmbH () is an Austrian private company known for its range of energy drinks of the same name. It is also known for its sponsorship of a range of sporting events and teams. The headquarters of Red Bull GmbH are located in Fuschl am S ...

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

teams, and head of Red Bull's driver development program.

Biography

Marko was born in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

, Austria. He was a school friend of

Jochen Rindt Jochen is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jochen Asche, East German luger, competed during the 1960s *Jochen Böhler (born 1969), German historian, specializing in the history of World War II *Jochen Babock (born 1953), East G ...

, who became

world champion in 1970. Marko competed in several race series, including 10 Formula One Grands Prix in 1971 and 1972, but scored no World Championship points. 24 heures du MANS 1971 22 (5001114203)

He had more success in endurance racing, winning the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving a

Martini Martini may refer to: * Martini (cocktail) * Martini (vermouth), a brand of vermouth * Martini (surname), an Italian surname * Martini (automobile company), a Swiss automobile company * Automobiles Martini, a French manufacturer of racing cars * M ...

- Porsche 917K with

Gijs van Lennep Gijsbert van Lennep (born 16 March 1942, in Aerdenhout, North Holland) is a Dutch racing driver who competed in eight Formula One races. However his main achievements were in sports car racing. He is a member of the untitled Dutch nobility. Ca ...

. During that year, they set a distance record which remained unbeaten until the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans (5,335.313 km, at an average of 222.304 km/h). (Changes to the track reduced the average speed.) 1972-05-21 Targa Florio Collesano Alfa Romeo T33-3 Galli+Marko

1972-05-21 Targa Florio Collesano Alfa Romeo T33-3 Galli+Marko

At the

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

, he drove the fastest laps around the 72 km Sicilian mountain circuit in the 1972 race, catching up over two minutes on the leader within two laps to finish second by a mere 17 seconds. His fastest lap in the

Alfa Romeo 33 The Alfa Romeo 33 (Type 905 and 907) is a small family car produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo between 1983 and 1995. From a mechanical standpoint it was essentially an evolution of its predecessor, the Alfasud, whose floorpan, chassi ...

was 33 min 41 sec, at an average of 128.253 km/h. A few weeks later, during the 1972 French Grand Prix at

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

, a stone thrown up by

Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver. Known by the nickname 'SuperSwede', he was a two-time runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Peterson began his motor racing caree ...

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

pierced Marko's helmet visor, permanently blinding his left eye and ending his racing career. Marko, Helmut 1970 (sw)

Marko completed a doctorate in law in 1967. He owns two hotels in

– the ''Schlossberghotel'' and ''Augartenhotel''. He was manager for Austrian racing drivers

Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger (born 27 August 1959) is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver. He competed in Formula One for 14 seasons, twice finishing 3rd overall in the championship ( and ), both times driving for Ferrari. He won ten Grands Prix, ach ...

and

Karl Wendlinger Karl Wendlinger (born 20 December 1968) is an Austrian professional racing and former Formula One driver. Mercedes Juniors Born in Kufstein, Wendlinger started his career in karting and in Formula Ford before entering the German Formula 3 C ...

for some years before setting up and running

RSM Marko RSM Marko (known as Red Bull Junior Team in 1999-2003) was a Austria auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing ha ...

in 1989, a race team competing in

Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...

and

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championships ...

; running under the name

Red Bull Junior Team The Red Bull Junior Team is a driver development program run by the energy drink company Red Bull GmbH in an attempt to identify potential future racing stars in open wheel racing. The similar Red Bull Driver Search, now ended, was an American ...

from 1999 onwards. From 1999 he has also overseen the Red Bull driver development programme, which has steered drivers such as Sebastian Vettel,

Daniel Ricciardo Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ( "Ricardo", ; born 1 July 1989) is an Italian-Australian racing driver who last raced in Formula One driving for McLaren, under the Australian flag. He made his debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix with the HR ...

Carlos Sainz Jr. Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro (; born 1 September 1994), otherwise known as Carlos Sainz Jr. or simply Carlos Sainz, is a Formula One drivers from Spain, Spanish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He is th ...

and

Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...

into Formula One. Since 2005 he has been advisor to the

Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, is a Formula One racing team, racing under an Austrian licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned ...

Formula One team and since 2006 he has also advised the Scuderia Toro Rosso, now Scuderia AlphaTauri Formula One team.

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete British Saloon Car Championship 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 ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(

)

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

)

References

Notes

External links

Profile at grandprix.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marko, Helmut 1943 births Living people Sportspeople from Graz 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers Austrian Formula One drivers Austrian motorsport people Austrian racing drivers BRM Formula One drivers Ecurie Bonnier Formula One drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers Red Bull Racing World Sportscar Championship drivers Scuderia Toro Rosso Porsche Motorsports drivers