Manfred Winkelhock

Manfred Winkelhock (6 October 1951 – 12 August 1985) was a German racing driver, who competed in Formula One between Template:F1 and Template:F1.Template:Efn

Born and raised in Waiblingen, Winkelhock was the older brother of Joachim and Thomas. Winkelhock participated in 56 Formula One Grands Prix for Arrows, ATS, Brabham and RAM, with a best finish of fifth at the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix.

During the 1985 1000 km of Mosport, Winkelhock died following a single-vehicle collision with a concrete barrier, driving the Porsche 962C for Kremer. His son Markus went on to also compete in Formula One at the 2007 European Grand Prix for Spyker, and won the FIA GT1 World Championship in 2012 with Münnich.

Racing career

Born in Waiblingen on 6 October 1951,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Manfred Winkelhock was the older brother of Joachim and Thomas. He began racing in Formula Two in 1978 and survived a major crash at Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit. The front wing of his March 802, still made of metal at that time, got bent early in the race, suffering some loss of downforce. Despite driving carefully, in the fourth lap, when going over the very steep rise of Quiddelbacher Höhe before Flugplatz corner, the car suddenly lifted its nose, went airborne, somersaulted backwards and then sideways.

Winkelhock along with Hervé Poulain and Marcel Mignot drove a BMW M1 Group 4 racing version that was painted by pop artist Andy Warhol for the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> They came in 6th overall and 2nd in their class.<ref name=":0" />

Winkelhock's first attempt at qualifying for a Formula One Grand Prix race was in Italy, when he stood in for the injured Jochen Mass at Arrows. He was able to land a drive with ATS in Template:F1. As BMW became the team's engine supplier in Template:F1, he qualified well on several occasions in 1983 and Template:F1, but the car was rarely reliable, so there were few results and a lot of accidents.

His son, Markus Winkelhock, is also a racing driver. He participated in only one F1 race, the European GP at the Nürburgring in 2007, and led for six laps due to rain.

Death

At the same time he was a regular sports car and touring car driver, winning the 1000km Monza with Marc Surer in 1985. He was killed in the summer of 1985 when he crashed heavily at the fearsome Turn 2 at Mosport Park of Bowmanville near Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during the Budweiser 1000 km World Endurance Championship event, driving a Porsche 962C for Kremer Racing with co-driver Marc Surer. The crash was Sunday, 11 August and he succumbed to injuries the next day<ref>Associated Press 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</ref> while at the Sunnybrook Medical Center in Toronto.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref>

At the time of Winkelhock's death, he was a driver for the Skoal Bandit sponsored RAM Racing team in Formula One, though it had been a frustrating season with a best finish of 12th in the 1985 French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard. His death saw him replaced by Northern Irish driver Kenny Acheson, though lack of money saw the team fold before the end of the Template:F1 season. Template:Clear

Racing record

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

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

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pos	Pts
Template:F2	Polifac BMW Junior Team	March 782	BMW	THR Template:Small												8th	11
	March Racing Ltd				HOC Template:Small	NÜR Template:Small	PAU Template:Small	MUG Template:Small	VAL Template:Small	ROU Template:Small	DON Template:Small	NOG Template:Small	PER Template:Small	MIS Template:Small	HOC Template:Small
Template:F2	Cassani Racing	Ralt RT1	BMW	SIL	HOC	THR	NÜR Template:Small	VAL	MUG	PAU	HOC	ZAN	PER	MIS	DON	16th	4
Template:F2	ICI Racing Team	March 802	BMW	THR Template:Small	HOC Template:Small	NÜR Template:Small	VAL Template:Small	PAU Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	ZOL Template:Small	MUG Template:Small	ZAN Template:Small	PER Template:Small	MIS Template:Small	HOC Template:Small	13th	4
Template:F2	Schäfer Racing	Ralt RT2	BMW	SIL	HOC Template:Small	THR Template:Small	NÜR Template:Small	VAL	MUG	PAU	PER					9th	12
	Maurer Motorsport	Maurer MM81										SPA Template:Small	DON Template:Small	MIS	MAN

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Points
1980	Warsteiner Arrows	Arrows A3	Cosworth DFV V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	BEL	MON	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA Template:Small	CAN	USA			NC	0
1982	Team ATS	ATS D5	Cosworth DFV V8	RSA Template:Small	BRA Template:Small	USW Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	MON Template:Small	DET Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	NED Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	SUI Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	CPL Template:Small	24th	2
1983	Team ATS	ATS D6	BMW M12 L4t	BRA Template:Small	USW Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	MON Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	DET Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	NED Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	EUR Template:Small	RSA Template:Small		NC	0
1984	Team ATS	ATS D7	BMW M12 L4t	BRA Template:Small	RSA Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	MON Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	DET Template:Small	DAL Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	NED Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	EUR		NC	0
	MRD International	Brabham BT53	BMW M12 L4t																POR Template:Small
1985	Skoal Bandit F1 Team	RAM 03	Hart 415T L4t	BRA Template:Small	POR Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	MON Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	DET Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT	NED	ITA	BEL	EUR	RSA	AUS	NC	0

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon H. Poulain	Template:Flagicon Hervé Poulain Template:Flagicon Marcel Mignot	BMW M1	IMSA	288	6th	2nd
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon Ford-Werke AG Template:Flagicon Zakspeed	Template:Flagicon Klaus Niedzwiedz	Ford C100	C	71	DNF	DNF