Helmuth Koinigg (3 November 1948 – 6 October 1974) was an Austrian racing driver who died in a crash in the 1974 United States Grand Prix, in his second Grand Prix start.[1]
Koinigg was born in Vienna. Like several other Formula One drivers, Koinigg's first racing car was a Mini Cooper, which he had purchased from Niki Lauda. He raced in touring cars, Formula Vee and Formula Ford before a period in sports car racing. He subsequently found the finance to buy a seat with Scuderia Finotto driving their Brabham at his home Grand Prix in 1974, and although he failed to qualify, this led to a contract with Surtees for the last two races of the season.
After a good showing at the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix, Koinigg was beginning to establish himself as a good prospect for 1975. But running near the back in the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Koinigg's car suffered a suspension failure at turn 7, pitching it head-on into the Armco barrier. The speed at which Koinigg crashed was relatively low, and he ought to have escaped the accident uninjured. However, as with a number of other circuits at that time, the Armco was insecurely installed and the bottom portion of it buckled as the vehicle struck it. The car passed underneath the top portion, which remained intact, decapitating Koinigg and killing him instantly. Koinigg's accident was reminiscent of the death of Formula One driver François Cevert on the other side of the circuit in turns 2-4 the previous year.[2]
helmuth, koinigg, november, 1948, october, 1974, austrian, racing, driver, died, crash, 1974, united, states, grand, prix, second, grand, prix, start, born, 1948, november, 1948vienna, austriadied6, october, 1974, 1974, aged, watkins, glen, york, formula, worl. Helmuth Koinigg 3 November 1948 6 October 1974 was an Austrian racing driver who died in a crash in the 1974 United States Grand Prix in his second Grand Prix start 1 Helmuth KoiniggBorn 1948 11 03 3 November 1948Vienna AustriaDied6 October 1974 1974 10 06 aged 25 Watkins Glen New York U S Formula One World Championship careerNationalityAustrianActive years1974TeamsSurtees non works BrabhamEntries3 2 starts Championships0Wins0Podiums0Career points0Pole positions0Fastest laps0First entry1974 Austrian Grand PrixLast entry1974 United States Grand Prix Contents 1 Racing career 2 Complete Formula One results 3 24 Hours of Le Mans results 4 References 5 External linksRacing career editKoinigg was born in Vienna Like several other Formula One drivers Koinigg s first racing car was a Mini Cooper which he had purchased from Niki Lauda He raced in touring cars Formula Vee and Formula Ford before a period in sports car racing He subsequently found the finance to buy a seat with Scuderia Finotto driving their Brabham at his home Grand Prix in 1974 and although he failed to qualify this led to a contract with Surtees for the last two races of the season After a good showing at the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix Koinigg was beginning to establish himself as a good prospect for 1975 But running near the back in the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen Koinigg s car suffered a suspension failure at turn 7 pitching it head on into the Armco barrier The speed at which Koinigg crashed was relatively low and he ought to have escaped the accident uninjured However as with a number of other circuits at that time the Armco was insecurely installed and the bottom portion of it buckled as the vehicle struck it The car passed underneath the top portion which remained intact decapitating Koinigg and killing him instantly Koinigg s accident was reminiscent of the death of Formula One driver Francois Cevert on the other side of the circuit in turns 2 4 the previous year 2 Complete Formula One results edit key Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 WDC Points1974 Scuderia Finotto Brabham BT42 Cosworth V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUTDNQ ITA NC 0Team Surtees Surtees TS16 CAN10 USARetSource 3 24 Hours of Le Mans results editYear Team Co drivers Car Class Laps Pos Classpos 1973 nbsp Ford Motorenwerke Deutschland nbsp Gerry Birrell nbsp Jean Vinatier Ford Capri LV TS 3 0 152 DNF DNF1974 nbsp Martini Racing Porsche System nbsp Manfred Schurti Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo S 3 0 87 DNF DNFReferences edit Katz Michael 1974 10 07 Driver Is Killed as Fittipaldi Wins Title at Watkins Glen New York Times p 45 Saward Joe 2020 10 08 How the 1976 German Grand Prix Forever Changed the Fate of the Nurburgring Nordschleife Autoweek Retrieved 2021 06 17 Small Steve 1994 The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who s Who Guinness p 213 ISBN 0851127029 External links editKoinigg s profile at www grandprix com Preceded byPeter Revson Formula One fatal accidents6 October 1974 Succeeded byMark Donohue nbsp This biographical article relating to an Austrian sportsperson is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This biographical article related to European auto racing is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This Formula One biographical article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Helmuth Koinigg amp oldid 1216074433, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
