Kurt Kuhnke (30 April 1910,

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

– 8 February 1969,

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

) was a racing driver from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, although he was more successful in

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

racing. After racing motorcycles during the late 1940s Kurt moved into car racing with a

Formula Three 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 ...

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

500 which he raced regularly 1950s with a number of wins and good finishes. He also competed in a few

Formula Junior Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (''International Sporting Commission'', the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class ...

and

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...

races before he finally moved into

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, ...

, failing to qualify

Wolfgang Seidel Wolfgang Seidel (4 July 1926 – 1 March 1987) was a racing driver from Germany. He participated in 12 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 2 August 1953. He scored no championship points. Seidel often entered cars under his ow ...

Lotus 18 The Lotus 18 was a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Lotus in Formula Junior, Formula Two, and Formula One. Overview Lotus 18 was the first mid-engined car built by Lotus and was a marked improvement over Chapman's early and only ...

at the non-Championship 1962 Pau Grand Prix before retiring the same car from the Solitude Grand Prix that year with engine failure. The first appearance of his

Borgward The former Borgward car manufacturing company, based in Bremen, Germany, was founded by Carl F. W. Borgward (1890–1963). It produced cars of four brands, which were sold to a diversified international customer base: Borgward, Hansa, Go ...

-engined Lotus was delayed through problems preparing the engine, and Kuhnke missed four races he had entered in the second half of 1962. This engine was an old

Sports Car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

unit, equipped with twin cams and direct fuel injection. In 1963, Kuhnke failed to qualify his BKL Lotus at the Rome Grand Prix, along with team-mate Ernst Maring, and both cars suffered engine failures at the Solitude Grand Prix in July. His single World Championship Formula One entry was at the

1963 German Grand Prix The 1963 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring on August 4, 1963. It was race 6 of 10 in both the 1963 World Championship of Drivers and the 1963 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 15-lap race was ...

where he failed to qualify by a considerable margin. The BKL Lotus was simply an ordinary Lotus, lightly modified by Kuhnke, the initials standing for Borgward Kuhnke Lotus. After this, he retired from the

Kanonloppet Kanonloppet ("the cannon race") is an annual auto racing, motor race, run at the Karlskoga Motorstadion in Gelleråsen in the outskirts of Karlskoga, Sweden. The first races were run in 1950 and 1952, and then from 1954 onwards it was an annual eve ...

at the

Karlskoga Circuit Karlskoga Motorstadion, also known as Gelleråsen Arena, is the oldest permanent motorsport race track in Sweden. The circuit is located north of Karlskoga. The layout is such that the whole track can be seen from all spectator areas. It is cur ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

with

fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All comp ...

problems, before moving away from Formula One as a driver. He subsequently entered two BKL Lotus cars in the 1964 Solitude Grand Prix for Maring and German

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

pilot Joachim Diel. Diel's car was one of seven eliminated in wet-weather accidents on the first lap, but Maring managed to finish 10th and last, four laps down on the leader – the only occasion on which one of Kuhnke's cars finished a Formula One race.

Complete Formula One World 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 ...

)

Non-Championship

(

)

References

* "The Grand Prix Who's Who", Steve Small, 1995. * "The Formula One Record Book", John Thompson, 1974.
Kurt Kuhnke profile at The 500 Owners Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuhnke, Kurt 1910 births 1969 deaths Sportspeople from Szczecin Sportspeople from the Province of Pomerania German racing drivers German Formula One drivers