Motorsport's Forgotten Heroes: #1 Markus Höttinger
I want to use this part of my blog to bring to attention those who didn't quite but should have or would have made it to the top of the motorsports ladder. The history books will always mention the likes of Ratzenburger, De Angelis, Villeneuve, Paletti and those associated with F1 who succumbed at the wheel of a race car but, what of those who were still on the way up?
Unless you were a fan in the day or follow the series involved a lot of these drivers become just another statistic. Yes, Clarke, Bellof, Winklehock, Pironi and Alboreto lost their lives in non F1 machinery but, due to their own F1 involvement were more publicised. Young Austrian, Markus Höttinger was one of those drivers, he should have been more of a name in the world of Motosports in the 80's, maybe if things were different we would have seen both him and Bellof fighting for Group C or F1 victories. Unfortunately we will never know.
Markus Höttinger made an early name for himself in sports and touring cars, coming to the eye of BMW while competing in his national Renault 5 championship in the 70s and, was selected to drive in a few ETCC and World Championship of Makes rounds for the squad alongside some touring car royalty in the likes of Stuck, Quester and even Ronnie Peterson.
This was followed by a switch to the F3 championship and a stint in the short lived BMW Pro Car series that supported the European rounds of the F1 season in the late 70s early 80s.scoring a handful of podium along the way.
Höttinger progressed with BMW to Formula two following a few fairly un competitive Formula 3 outings with sights set on Formula 1, the 1979 season spread between Bob Salisbury and the Jagermeister squads yielded several 7th place finshes but no points in less than competitive machinery, however the Maurer team beckoned for 1980.
A miserable Thuxton event that saw engine failure on the first lap ended Höttinger's race but the next round at Hockenheim would claim his life.
Starting in the middle of the pack Höttinger was looking to kick start his season and career after the disappointment at Thruxton but, 3 laps in a freak accident that he was no where near claimed his life.
Andrea De Ceseris and Manfred Winklehock collided on the second lap coating the surface of the tarmac with sand and begining the chain of events that would lead to tragedy.
On the next tour Derek Warwick, defending from the fast New Zealander Mike Thackwell spun on the sand lying on the circuit, Warwick crashed heavily into the guard rail, his rear wheel being torn off by the impact. A few seconds later, Höttinger arrived and, by sheer bad luck was hit square on the helmet by the errant wheel of Warwick's Toleman, an impact so hard it bent the roll hoop of the Maurer.
Höttinger died almost instantly but his car continued and was collected by Bernard Devaney before his car came to rest several hundred yards from the initial incident.
The race was halted early to enable a medical helicopter to land and take Höttinger to hospital but it was too late. Another promising youngster had been lost before they had had a chance to show the world what might have been.
The story has one final cruel twist, Höttinger was due to appear on an Austrian sports television show on the Monday following the Hockenheim race to announce that he would be racing an ATS at the Austrian Grand Prix later that year. Who knows what that would have led to?
Unless you were a fan in the day or follow the series involved a lot of these drivers become just another statistic. Yes, Clarke, Bellof, Winklehock, Pironi and Alboreto lost their lives in non F1 machinery but, due to their own F1 involvement were more publicised. Young Austrian, Markus Höttinger was one of those drivers, he should have been more of a name in the world of Motosports in the 80's, maybe if things were different we would have seen both him and Bellof fighting for Group C or F1 victories. Unfortunately we will never know.
Markus Höttinger made an early name for himself in sports and touring cars, coming to the eye of BMW while competing in his national Renault 5 championship in the 70s and, was selected to drive in a few ETCC and World Championship of Makes rounds for the squad alongside some touring car royalty in the likes of Stuck, Quester and even Ronnie Peterson.
This was followed by a switch to the F3 championship and a stint in the short lived BMW Pro Car series that supported the European rounds of the F1 season in the late 70s early 80s.scoring a handful of podium along the way.
Höttinger progressed with BMW to Formula two following a few fairly un competitive Formula 3 outings with sights set on Formula 1, the 1979 season spread between Bob Salisbury and the Jagermeister squads yielded several 7th place finshes but no points in less than competitive machinery, however the Maurer team beckoned for 1980.
A miserable Thuxton event that saw engine failure on the first lap ended Höttinger's race but the next round at Hockenheim would claim his life.
Starting in the middle of the pack Höttinger was looking to kick start his season and career after the disappointment at Thruxton but, 3 laps in a freak accident that he was no where near claimed his life.
Andrea De Ceseris and Manfred Winklehock collided on the second lap coating the surface of the tarmac with sand and begining the chain of events that would lead to tragedy.
On the next tour Derek Warwick, defending from the fast New Zealander Mike Thackwell spun on the sand lying on the circuit, Warwick crashed heavily into the guard rail, his rear wheel being torn off by the impact. A few seconds later, Höttinger arrived and, by sheer bad luck was hit square on the helmet by the errant wheel of Warwick's Toleman, an impact so hard it bent the roll hoop of the Maurer.
Höttinger died almost instantly but his car continued and was collected by Bernard Devaney before his car came to rest several hundred yards from the initial incident.
The race was halted early to enable a medical helicopter to land and take Höttinger to hospital but it was too late. Another promising youngster had been lost before they had had a chance to show the world what might have been.
The story has one final cruel twist, Höttinger was due to appear on an Austrian sports television show on the Monday following the Hockenheim race to announce that he would be racing an ATS at the Austrian Grand Prix later that year. Who knows what that would have led to?
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