Manfred Winkelhock (6 October 1951 – 12 August 1985) was a German racing driver. He participated in 56

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, ...

Grands Prix (with 47 starts) between 1980 and 1985, driving for Arrows, ATS, Brabham and

RAM Racing RAM Racing was a Formula One racing team which competed during the racing seasons of 1976 to 1985. The team entered other manufacturers' chassis from 1976 to 1980, then ran March's team from 1981 to 1983, only entering a car entirely their ow ...

, with a best finish of fifth at the

1982 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jacarepaguá on March 21, 1982. It was the second round of the 1982 Formula One season. Many drivers suffered exhaustion because of the intensely hot weather, particularly Brabham ...

. He is the older brother of Joachim and Thomas Winkelhock and father of

Markus Winkelhock Markus Winkelhock (born 13 June 1980) is a German professional racing driver. He is the son of Manfred Winkelhock and nephew of Joachim Winkelhock, both of whom were Formula One drivers in the 1980s. During his brief Formula One career he led the ...

, who are all also racing drivers.

Racing career

Born in

Waiblingen Waiblingen (; Swabian: ''Woeblinge'') is a town in the southwest of Germany, located in the center of the densely populated Stuttgart region, directly neighboring Stuttgart. It is the capital and largest city of the Rems-Murr district. , Waib ...

on 6 October 1951, Manfred Winkelhock was the older brother of

Joachim Winkelhock Joachim Winkelhock (born 24 October 1960) is a German motor racing driver. The younger brother of the late Manfred Winkelhock, Winkelhock was born in Waiblingen, near Stuttgart. The youngest brother, Thomas Winkelhock, and Manfred's son Mark ...

. He began racing in Formula Two in 1978 and survived a major crash at Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit, when he flipped his March at the very steep rise-and-fall Flugplatz corner. Winkelhock along with

Hervé Poulain Hervé Poulain (born 16 December 1940) is a retired French racing driver, author, and auctioneer. He is best known today as the instigator of the BMW Art Car project. Poulain's idea was to invite contemporary artists to use new automobiles, whi ...

and

Marcel Mignot Marcel Mignot (born 11 June 1944) is a French former racing driver. Mignot along with Hervé Poulain and Manfred Winkelhock drove a BMW M1 Group 4 racing version that was painted by pop artist Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhol ...

drove a BMW M1

Group 4 Group 4 may refer to: *Group 4 element, chemical element classification *Group 4 (racing), classification for cars in auto racing and rallying * G4S, formerly Group 4 Securicor, a prominent British security company *IB Group 4 subjects The Group 4 ...

racing version that was painted by pop artist

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

for the

1979 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 47th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 9 and 10 June 1979. With no other major works cars this year, the Porsche team were the strong favourites to win. Their competition would be from Cosworth-pow ...

. They completed came in 6th overall and 2nd in their class. Winkelhock's first attempt at qualifying for a

Grand Prix race was in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, when he stood in for the injured Jochen Mass at Arrows. He was able to land a drive with ATS in . As BMW became the team's engine supplier in , he qualified well on several occasions in 1983 and , but the car was rarely reliable, so there were few results and a lot of accidents. His son,

, is also a racing driver.

Death

At the same time he was a regular

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 ...

and

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

driver, winning the

1000km Monza The 6 Hours of Monza (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Monza and known after 1966 as "Trofeo Filippo Caracciolo") is an endurance race, mainly for sports cars, which is held at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. Overview Despi ...

with

Marc Surer Marc Surer (born 18 September 1951 in Arisdorf) is a former racing driver from Switzerland currently working as TV commentator and racing school instructor. He participated in 88 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 9 Septembe ...

in 1985. He was killed in the summer of 1985 when he crashed heavily at the fearsome Turn 2 at

Mosport Park Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi- track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a ad ...

Bowmanville Bowmanville is a town of approximately 40,000 people located in the Municipality of Clarington, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately east of Toronto, and east of Oshawa along Highway 2. Bowmanville was first incorporated as a to ...

near

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, during the Budweiser 1000 km World Endurance Championship event, driving a Porsche 962C for

Kremer Racing Kremer Racing is a motorsports team based in Cologne, Germany, founded by racing driver Erwin Kremer and his brother Manfred. They have competed internationally with Porsches for nearly all of their existence, and were even one of the factory-bac ...

with co-driver

. The crash was Sunday, 11 August and he succumbed to injuries the next day

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

wire story. Title "West German racer dies at Toronto. Accessed 29 August 2021. Link: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19850810&id=6pQgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_2cFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1485,2017867 while at the Sunnybrook Medical Center in Toronto. At the time of Winkelhock's death, he was a driver for the Skoal Bandit sponsored

team in Formula One, though it had been a frustrating season with a best finish of 12th in the

1985 French Grand Prix The 1985 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Paul Ricard on 7 July 1985. It was the seventh race of the 1985 Formula One World Championship. It was the 63rd French Grand Prix and the ninth to be held at Paul Ricard. The race w ...

Paul Ricard Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...

. His death saw him replaced by Northern Irish driver

Kenny Acheson Kenneth Henry Acheson (born 27 November 1957) is a British former racing driver from Northern Ireland who competed for RAM Racing in the 1983 and 1985 Formula One seasons. He completed only one of his three race starts, finishing in 12th positi ...

, though lack of money saw the team fold before the end of the season.

Racing record

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

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

Complete Formula One results

( key)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkelhock, Manfred 1951 births 1985 deaths People from Waiblingen Sportspeople from Stuttgart (region) German racing drivers German Formula One drivers Arrows Formula One drivers ATS Wheels Formula One drivers Brabham Formula One drivers RAM Racing Formula One drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers Sport deaths in Canada Accidental deaths in Ontario 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Racing drivers from Baden-Württemberg World Sportscar Championship drivers