Helmut Marko (born 27 April 1943) is an Austrian former professional

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

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 ...

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 popu ...

, 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 ...

, 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 The 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 39th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 12 and 13 June 1971. It was the ninth round of the 1971 International Championship for Makes. This year would be the swansong of the mighty engines – the inc ...

, driving a Martini- Porsche 917K with Gijs van Lennep. 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 195 ...

, 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 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, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attra ...

, 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 car ...

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, a ...

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 Cham ...

for some years before setting up and running RSM Marko 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 dr ...

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 championship ...

; running under the name Red Bull Junior Team from 1999 onwards. From 1999 he has also overseen the

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwide, inc ...

driver development programme, which has steered drivers such as Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Max Verstappen into Formula One. Since 2005 he has been advisor to the Red Bull Racing Formula One team and since 2006 he has also advised the Scuderia Toro Rosso, now

Scuderia AlphaTauri Scuderia AlphaTauri, or simply AlphaTauri, is an Italian Formula One racing team and constructor. It is one of two Formula One constructors owned by Austrian beverage company Red Bull, the other being Red Bull Racing. The constructor was rebra ...

Formula One team.

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

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

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

( key)

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

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