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 Arrows, ATS, Brabham and RAM Racing, with a best finish of fifth at the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix.
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, 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.
His son, Markus Winkelhock, is also a racing driver.
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 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.