Helmut Koinigg – Unlearnt lessons at the ‘Glen
Those were the days when motorsport was really dangerous – it still is, of course – and the probability of death in competition (F1 or not) was one in three or four, counting all men that started an F1 season. Indeed, Jackie Stewart and Jo Bonnier (who fell victim to his passion) had already begun their safety crusade, and the circuits were vastly improved compared to the mid-to-late sixties. However, when the first measures were deployed, they could occasionally be worse than their total absence… such was the fate of Helmut Koinigg. Helmut Koinigg (Motorsport Images) Helmut Koinigg was born in Vienna on the 3 rd of November 1948 but spent his childhood in the southeastern state of Styria. Growing up in such a mountainous region, it wasn’t surprising that, like so many of his fellow citizens, he practised winter sports since his teens, excelling at skiing. And it was to the latter sport that he dedicated himself first, even being selected for the Austrian national junior B tea
