Markus Höttinger (28 May 1956 – 13 April 1980) was an Austrian racing driver who died after an accident at Germany's

Hockenheimring The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg () is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it has hos ...

during the third lap of the second round of the

1980 European Formula Two Championship The 1980 European Formula Two season was contested over 12 rounds. Toleman driver Brian Henton clinched the championship title. Calendar Championship Notes *Race 2 was originally scheduled for 30 laps, but abandoned due to Markus Höttinger' ...

, on 13 April 1980. He was 23 years old at the time.

Career

Höttinger started his motor sport career with an internship at

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

in 1975, while on a break from studying at university. He subsequently bought a Ford and entered local club races. He graduated to the Austrian

Renault 5 The Renault 5 is a four-passenger, three or five-door, front-engine, front-wheel drive hatchback supermini manufactured and marketed by the French automaker Renault over two generations: 1972–1985 (also called R5) and 1984–1996 (also called S ...

Cup, winning in his second season in 1977. He met established Austrian racer

Helmut Marko Helmut Marko (born 27 April 1943) is an Austrian former professional racing driver and current advisor to the Red Bull GmbH Formula One teams, and head of Red Bull's driver development program. Biography Marko was born in Graz, Austria. He wa ...

, who helped Höttinger on his way through the lower categories of the sport. Via Marko, Höttinger was given a drive by BMW team principal

Jochen Neerpasch Jochen Neerpasch (born March 23, 1939 in Krefeld, Germany) is a former German racecar driver and motorsports manager. Career His racing career began in the 1960s, first on Borgward touring car, then with the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans as a first m ...

in the 1977 Kyalami 1000kms alongside

Harald Grohs Harald Grohs (born 1944) is a race driver and team owner from Essen, Germany. Grohs took part in more than 50 24 Hours endurance racing races, mainly 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours Nürburgring. Career as driver *1973 first races in a Porsc ...

, and the pair finished third. Neerpasch gave Höttinger a test and development role at BMW for 1978, and also a race seat with GS Tuning in the

DRM DRM may refer to: Government, military and politics * Defense reform movement, U.S. campaign inspired by Col. John Boyd * Democratic Republic of Madagascar, a former socialist state (1975–1992) on Madagascar * Direction du renseignement militai ...

series. Good performances led to appearances in the

World Championship for Makes The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and Nor ...

paired with

Hans-Joachim Stuck Hans-Joachim Stuck (born 1 January 1951), nicknamed "Strietzel", is a German racing driver who has competed in Formula One and many other categories. He is the son of pre-WW2 racing driver Hans Stuck Life and career He was born in Garmisch-Parte ...

, and the

European Touring Car Championship The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World T ...

. He also made his debut in single seaters, in

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 ...

. In 1979, he continued under the guidance of BMW in DRM,

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 ...

and also the new

BMW M1 Procar Championship The BMW M1 Procar Championship, sometimes known simply as Procar, was a one-make auto racing series created by Jochen Neerpasch, head of BMW Motorsport GmbH, the racing division of automobile manufacturer BMW. The series pitted professional ...

, again with the GS Tuning team. His impressive Procar season raised his profile more widely, as he finished fourth behind Formula One drivers

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 ...

, Stuck, and

Clay Regazzoni Gianclaudio Giuseppe "Clay" Regazzoni (5 September 1939 – 15 December 2006) was a Swiss racing driver. He competed in Formula One races from 1970 to 1980, winning five Grands Prix. His first win was the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in his debu ...

. He also took part in five Formula Two Championship events, finishing seventh on three occasions in an unfamiliar car, a March 792. Höttinger was to undertake a full season of Formula Two in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, driving

Maurer Maurer is a German surname, translating in English to "bricklayer" or "wall builder." Notable people with the surname include: *Adrian Maurer (1901–1943), American football player *Alfred Maurer (politician) (1888–1954), Estonian politician * ...

's new MM80 with its BMW engine. His team mate was the experienced Swedish driver

Eje Elgh Eje Elgh (born 15 June 1953) is a Swedish racing driver and television reporter. He currently works as an expert commentator for Formula One in Sweden together with Janne Blomqvist. The two have worked together as Formula One commentators for a ...

. After both cars retired from the opening round at Thruxton, Höttinger and Elgh qualified further up the grid for the next race at

Hockenheim Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" () and Bertha Benz M ...

, and were running in the top ten when Höttinger was killed in a freak accident. On the second lap,

Andrea de Cesaris Andrea de Cesaris (31 May 19595 October 2014) was an Italian racing driver. He started 208 Formula One Grands Prix but never won. As a result, he holds the record for the most races started without a race victory. A string of accidents early in ...

and

Manfred Winkelhock Manfred Winkelhock (6 October 1951 – 12 August 1985) was a German racing driver. He participated in 56 Formula One Grands Prix (with 47 starts) between 1980 and 1985, driving for Arrows, ATS, Brabham and RAM Racing, with a best finish of fi ...

collided, spreading sand on to the circuit. On lap three,

Derek Warwick Derek Stanley Arthur Warwick (born 27 August 1954) is a British former professional racing driver from England, who lives in Jersey. He raced for many years in Formula One, collecting four podiums but never winning a Grand Prix. He did, however, ...

spun on the sand and crashed into the barriers. The right rear wheel was ripped off Warwick's

Toleman Toleman Motorsport was a Formula One constructor based in the UK. It was active between 1981 and 1985 and participated in 70 Grands Prix. Origins The Toleman company was formed in 1926 by Edward Toleman for the purpose of delivering Ford c ...

, and hit Höttinger on the head as he drove past. Höttinger spun and was hit by the March of Irish driver Bernard Devaney before stopping at a guard rail 300m further down the track. Despite swift medical assistance and attention in a trackside ambulance, Höttinger was pronounced dead on his arrival by helicopter at a hospital in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. The incident was similar to

Henry Surtees Henry John Surtees (18 February 1991 – 19 July 2009) was a British racing driver and the son of John Surtees. He died during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch when he was struck by a wheel which came off another car which had spun into a wal ...

' fatal accident in Formula Two at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

in 2009. Höttinger was due to drive in the

1980 Austrian Grand Prix The 1980 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 17 August 1980 at the Österreichring circuit in Austria. It was the tenth race of the 1980 Formula One season. The race was the 13th Austrian Grand Prix and the eleventh to be held ...

later that year, probably for the

ATS ATS or Ats may refer to: Businesses * ATS Wheels, or ''Auto Technisches Spezialzubehör'', a German wheel manufacturer and sponsor of a Formula One racing team * ATS Automation Tooling Systems, an Ontario, Canada-based factory automation company ...

team. His Formula Two rival and friend Hans-Georg Bürger was killed at the Dutch round of the championship, and Helmut Marko has stated his belief that both drivers would have reached Formula One and been competitive.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hottinger, Markus 1956 births 1980 deaths Racing drivers who died while racing Austrian racing drivers Sport deaths in Germany World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Neunkirchen District, Austria European Formula Two Championship drivers