Quick Facts
Biography
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 ATS Racing Team, Arrows, and RAM Racing.
Racing career
Born in Waiblingen on 6 October 1951, Manfred Winkelhock was the brother of Joachim Winkelhock. 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'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.
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 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.
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.
His son, Markus Winkelhock, is also a racing driver.
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 |