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| Last updated: 27-May-2002 | |
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1979-86
Becomes top touring car pilot, erasing memories of time in F1 |
In the 1990s, Joachim Winkelhock from Waiblingen in Germany became one of the world's premier touring car drivers. In so doing, he stepped out from behind the shadow of his brother Manfred, who drove in F1 for ATS, Brabham and RAM in the 1980s, and who was a sports car star before crashing fatally in a Porsche at Mosport in 1985. And in the process, 'Jockel' also erased the memory of a horror stint in F1 in 1989 with AGS, which saw him fail to pre-qualify in all seven events he entered.
Joachim began his own racing career in 1979 when he took to competing in the Renault 5 championship, and in 1981 he participated in the European Renault 5 series. He first raced in single-seaters in 1982 in Formula Ford 1600 in Germany, but in the mid-80s he seemed to abandon his open-wheeler aspirations. From 1983 to 1985 he found himself competing sporadically in touring cars, especially in a BMW 323i, and in 1986 he took out the relatively minor Porsche 944 Turbo Cup in his homeland. |
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1987-88
Runner up then Champion in German F3, while dabbling in ETC |
In 1987 he returned to single-seaters, joining the WTS team in German F3 run by Willy Weber, now better known, of course, as Michael Schumacher's agent. In a Reynard 873 VW, he clocked up 98 points and came 2nd overall behind young hot-shot Bernd Schneider who scored 140 points. A year later, for the same team but in a new Reynard 883 VW, Joachim took the title for himself, but it was a close-run thing, scoring 164 points to Otto Rensing's 157.
Proving that he wasn't just one-eyed and focussing on open wheelers, in 1987 he had also done a few rounds of the European Touring Car Championship in a Wolf Ford Sierra RS500. Although he and Jörg van Ommen failed to qualify at Zolder, they took pole at the Österreichring and crossed the line 2nd, only to be disqualified for a valve irregularity. In the last race of the season at Nogaro, where he shared the car with Armin Hahne, again the Wolf Sierra was on pole, but this time the car failed to finish. |
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1989 AGS Joins team trying to expand, thanks to sponsor's ultimatum |
Just like Schneider, who had gone from German F3 champion in 1987 straight into F1 in 1988 with Zakspeed, so Winkelhock leapt into F1 in 1989. The jump from F3 to F1 has always been a difficult one to make, but apparently it was not his choice. Joachim himself wanted to race in F3000 instead, which would have made more sense. However his sponsor, Camel Germany, intervened, saying that he could only have their money if he raced in the top flight.
And so Joachim found a drive with the AGS team, but things were never to go his way. The small French team were expanding to a two-car operation for the first time, and found out immediately how hard this was. Winkelhock was always going to be their number two driver anyway, but once the magnitude of the task facing the team became obvious, Joachim bore the brunt of inferior treatment even more. Worse still, he was hounded by recurring sciatica (back problems), and perhaps he was simply out of his depth. |
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1989
Tragedy for AGS early in the season; brilliant Tarquini later in the season |
Things became even more desperate at AGS on the eve of the season opener in Brazil. Philippe Streiff was putting the new and very promising AGS JH23 Cosworth through its paces in testing when he suffered a horrific accident, leaving him a paraplegic. Streiff had been a long-time friend of the AGS team, and his crash not only drained resources but sapped the team of much of its morale. Joachim was AGS' only driver in Brazil, but with only the 10th fastest pre-qualifying time wasn't even close to getting through.
From the next round at Imola onwards AGS found an able replacement for Streiff in the form of Gabriele Tarquini, and the Italian would prove a stunning revelation, running in and around the points in San Marino, Monaco and Phoenix, and actually scoring a point for 6th in Mexico. With such a clear number one driver on whom they could pin their hopes, if AGS had not effectively been a one-car team right from the outset, they certainly were now. |
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1988
Joachim sick of his treatment by the team, makes way for Dalmas |
Joachim was there just to make up the numbers, so much so that his team made him try to pre-qualify on full tanks, or so it is widely claimed. His times may well back that up: with only the top four cars going through from pre-qualifying at each race, Winkelhock was never higher than 9th quickest at Imola and Phoenix. He never got closer than about 2.3 seconds from the 4th-placed car, but usually he was more like 3 or 4 seconds back, and even further adrift of the best times set in the Friday morning session.
The situation came to a head after the French GP at Paul Ricard. There Winkelhock had been slowest of all, a second behind the next slowest driver. After this, his sciatica got the better of him, and besides, he was fed up with the treatment he was getting from his team. There had even been a test session before the French race that he only found about from journalists because his team never told him. It came as no surprise that Yannick Dalmas took his seat, leaving Joachim's F1 career at 7 entries, and 7 DNPQs. |
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1990-91
Two wins in his first two seasons of DTM, at Diepholz and Wunsdorf |
With his single-seater career screeching to a halt, in 1990 he found a more comfortable home in the world of touring cars, where he has pretty much remained for the rest of his career. In the 1990 DTM, driving a BMW M3 Sport Evolution, he was immediately on the pace, taking fastest laps at Hockenheim, Diepholz (twice) and the Nurburgring, and taking a win in one of the Diepholz races. Consistency saw him score 119 points and claim 6th overall, a fine achievement in his first full season of touring cars.
In addition, in 1990 he won the Nurburgring 24hrs event in his BMW M3, repeating the dose in 1991 in another M3 with Hahne and Kris Nissen. But all in all, 1991 was not as successful as 1990 had been. In the DTM he only scored 101 points and dropped to 7th, with only a win plus fastest lap at Wunstorf and another fastest lap at the Nurburgring to show. However, he did round off the year by participating in the NZ Series endurance races, winning the Wellington 500 in an M3 shared with Emanuele Pirro. |
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1992-93
Winkelhock blitzes BTCC field to become Champ at first attempt |
In 1992, as the BMW M3 became increasingly outdated, Winkelhock slipped to 8th in the DTM with 110 points, but did take a win at the Norisring, and he also came 2nd at the Spa 24hrs with Altfrid Heger and Eric van de Poele. But for 1993, BMW withdrew from the DTM, concentrating on the British Touring Car Championship instead with their new Super Touring BMW 318i, and they brought Winkelhock with them. Joachim responded by sweeping all before him to take out the BTCC crown at this first attempt.
His tremendous form throughout 1993 caught the attention of the BMW squad in Australia, which was preparing a four-car BMW M3 assault on the prestigious Bathurst 1000. Winkelhock was brought in to share a car with Paul Morris, and set the track alight in qualifying, starting an incredible 11th against the much more powerful V8s. But after an off-road excursion on the first corner and engine electronic problems that beset all four cars, Winkelhock and Morris came home a lowly 15th, 15 laps down. |
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1994
Busy year sees more BTCC wins plus success in Germany and the Pacific |
Joachim didn't have it his own way in the 1994 BTCC, though, as ex-AGS teammate Tarquini in his Alfa Romeo romped away with the crown. Winkelhock fell to 6th with 147 points despite 4 wins, but was ahead of team-mate Steve Soper. He also competed in a few rounds of the German Super Touring Cup, and took out the poorly-publicised Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship, scoring enough points in the process to claim 10th in the Japanese Touring Car Championship as well.
He ended the year by coming 3rd at the FIA Touring Car World Cup at Donington, winning the Guia race at the Macau GP. For 1995, though, BMW sent Winkelhock back to Germany to race in the German Super Touring Cup, and he obliged by taking wins at Spa, Salzburgring and Avus en route to 418 points in his 318i, and victory in the series. This was not without some controversy, since in the last round at the Nurburgring he had allegedly pushed championship rival Frank Biela's Audi off the road. |
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1995-96
Jets around the world displaying his talent, but no series win this time |
1995 was a busy year for Winkelhock, though, as his attentions were not solely on the German championship. He competed in several rounds in Japan, taking a win at Sendai and coming 9th overall with 41 points, but he only finished 13th in the World Cup at Paul Ricard. He did, however, win the Spa 24hrs in a BMW 320i with Soper and Peter Kox. Then in 1996 he returned to Britain and the BTCC, but although he took 3 wins in his 320i, Biela got his revenge by winning the title, leaving Joachim in 5th with 158 points.
Making a name for himself throughout the world, in 1996 'Smokin' Jo' (as he had become known) also competed in the last two rounds of the Italian championship at Vallelunga but failed to score. He was 4th in the Tourist Trophy event at Donington, and won the first leg of the Macau Guia event. In addition, he took out the Rainbow Cup series of invitational races in South Africa with 36 points, despite only driving in selected rounds in his BMW 318iS, although he did win two races each at Kyalami and Killarney. |
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1997-98
Returns to German Super Touring, becoming runner to to Aiello |
With BMW pulling out of the BTCC once and for all in 1997, it was back to the German Super Touring Cup once again. In 18 races in his BMW 320i, Winkelhock finished 16 of them, 12 times on the podium. This included three wins, two at the Norisring, something of a favourite track of his, and one at Lahr. Even so, he only came 2nd overall in the title with 644 points behind Laurent Aiello's Peugeot 406, and was the bridesmaid again at the Spa 24hrs, where Winkelhock, Nelson Piquet and Johnny Cecotto also came 2nd.
Joachim continued in the same series in 1998, but it was to prove to be a rather disappointing year. There was nothing wrong with the BMW 320i, since Cecotto pipped Aiello's Peugeot to the crown, but Winkelhock failed to win a single race, despite a strong finishing record. He could only boast six podium finishes, including a 2nd at the Sachsenring and two 2nds at Zweibrücken. Indeed, his only win that year would come at the Macau Guia race late in the year, although the competition there was fairly weak. |
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1998-99
Only podiums in ALMS, but wins the Le Mans 24hrs with Dalmas and Martini! |
However in 1998 BMW had also ventured into sports car racing, entering the Le Mans 24hrs with their BMW V12 Le Mans machine. Naturally Winkelhock was part of the effort, although the car he shared with Cecotto and Pierluigi Martini retired with wheel bearing problems after 43 laps. And when BMW pulled out of German Super Touring to concentrate on the American Le Mans Series in 1999, once again they took Joachim with them across the Atlantic.
After retiring at the Sebring 12hrs in the car he drove with Yannick Dalmas (the man who replaced him at AGS in 1989) and Martini, Winkelhock spent the rest of the season driving mainly with Bill Auberlen, with his best results being 2nds at Road Atlanta (where Soper also drove with them) and at Las Vegas. Joachim ended up 14th in the ALMS points with 79, but his crowning glory came at Le Mans, where he, Dalmas and Martini took a convincing victory having completed 365 laps. |
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2000-02
Switches from BMW to Opel to race in DTM, taking a win at the Norisring |
But for 2000, BMW had just about pulled out of every category to concentrate on its F1 partnership with Williams, and Winkelhock was left in a lurch. Yet Opel was quick to snaffle him up for the new-look DTM to drive one of their works Astra V8 Coupes run by the Holzer team. So for the first time in a decade Joachim switched marques, but it proved a fruitful move. With two poles, a win at the Norisring, three 2nds and a 3rd, he finished the season in a respectable 5th place with 113 points.
2001 was a different story though, as the Holzer cars struggled badly against the Mercedes and ABT Audis. With a 6th and a 4th at the Norisring his only top 10 results, he plummeted to 16th with 12 points. A switch to the Phoenix Opel team in 2002 has not helped, and most recently he recorded a DNS at Donington after a bad start-line shunt in the qualifying race. On a personal note, Joachim currently lives in Korb, with his wife Sabine and daughters Sina and Nina. He lists as his hobbies squash and bike riding. |
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