Manfred Winkelhock
Born(1951-10-06)6 October 1951
Waiblingen, Württemberg-Baden, West Germany
Died12 August 1985(1985-08-12) (aged 33)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada [1]
NationalityGermany German
RelativesJoachim Winkelhock (brother)
Thomas Winkelhock (brother)
Markus Winkelhock (son)
Formula One World Championship career
Active years1980, 1982–1985
TeamsArrows, ATS, Brabham, RAM
Entries56 (47 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points2
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1980 Italian Grand Prix
Last entry1985 German Grand Prix

Manfred Winkelhock (6 October 1951 – 12 August 1985)[2] 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 fifth at the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix. He is the older brother of Joachim and Thomas Winkelhock and father of Markus Winkelhock, who are all also racing drivers.

Racing career

Born in Waiblingen on 6 October 1951, Manfred Winkelhock was the older brother of Joachim Winkelhock. 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.[3] They came in 6th overall and 2nd in their class.[3]

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 1982. As BMW became the team's engine supplier in 1983, he qualified well on several occasions in 1983 and 1984, 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[4] while at the Sunnybrook Medical Center in Toronto.[1]

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 1985 season.

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
1978 Polifac BMW Junior Team March 782 BMW THR
5		 8th 11
March Racing Ltd HOC
12		 NÜR
Ret		 PAU
8		 MUG
9		 VAL
4		 ROU
12		 DON
5		 NOG
7		 PER
9		 MIS
Ret		 HOC
3
1979 Cassani Racing Ralt RT1 BMW SIL HOC THR NÜR
3		 VAL MUG PAU HOC ZAN PER MIS DON 16th 4
1980 ICI Racing Team March 802 BMW THR
Ret		 HOC
Ret		 NÜR
Ret		 VAL
10		 PAU
8		 SIL
9		 ZOL
7		 MUG
10		 ZAN
10		 PER
3		 MIS
9		 HOC
7		 13th 4
1981 Schäfer Racing Ralt RT2 BMW SIL HOC
2		 THR
Ret		 NÜR
DSQ		 VAL MUG PAU PER 9th 12
Maurer Motorsport Maurer MM81 SPA
5		 DON
3		 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
DNQ		 CAN USA NC 0
1982 Team ATS ATS D5 Cosworth DFV V8 RSA
10		 BRA
5		 USW
Ret		 SMR
DSQ		 BEL
Ret		 MON
Ret		 DET
Ret		 CAN
DNQ		 NED
12		 GBR
DNQ		 FRA
11		 GER
Ret		 AUT
Ret		 SUI
Ret		 ITA
DNQ		 CPL
NC		 24th 2
1983 Team ATS ATS D6 BMW M12 L4t BRA
16		 USW
Ret		 FRA
Ret		 SMR
11		 MON
Ret		 BEL
Ret		 DET
Ret		 CAN
9		 GBR
Ret		 GER
DNQ		 AUT
Ret		 NED
DSQ		 ITA
Ret		 EUR
8		 RSA
Ret		 NC 0
1984 Team ATS ATS D7 BMW M12 L4t BRA
EX		 RSA
Ret		 BEL
Ret		 SMR
Ret		 FRA
Ret		 MON
Ret		 CAN
8		 DET
Ret		 DAL
8		 GBR
Ret		 GER
Ret		 AUT
DNS		 NED
Ret		 ITA
DNS		 EUR NC 0
MRD International Brabham BT53 BMW M12 L4t POR
10
1985 Skoal Bandit F1 Team RAM 03 Hart 415T L4t BRA
13		 POR
NC		 SMR
Ret		 MON
DNQ		 CAN
Ret		 DET
Ret		 FRA
12		 GBR
Ret		 GER
Ret		 AUT NED ITA BEL EUR RSA AUS NC 0

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manfred Winkelhock.
  1. 1 2 "Controversy Erupts Over Death of Race Driver". Los Angeles Times. August 14, 1985. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Manfred_Winkelhock". www.oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  3. 1 2 Taylor, James (2001). Original BMW M-Series. MBI Publishing Company LLC. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-0-7603-0898-1.
  4. ↑ 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
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