Franz Wittmann Sr. Explained

Franz Wittmann
Birth Date:7 April 1950
Birth Place:Ramsau
Nationality: Austrian
Years:1973  - 1989
Co-Driver: Hans Siebert
Helmut Deimel
Traude Schatzl
Hans Fennes
John Morgan
Kurt Nestinger
Rudolf Stohl
Peter Diekmann
Ferdinand Hinterleitner
Max Ogrisek
Matthias Feltz
Jörg Pattermann
Teams:Audi, Volkswagen
Races:33
Championships:0
Wins:1
Podiums:3
Stagewins:27
Points:66
First Race:1973 Austrian Alpine Rally
First Win:1987 Rally New Zealand
Last Race:1989 Rally Australia

Franz Wittmann (born 7 April 1950 in Ramsau) is an Austrian rally driver, who won the 1987 Rally New Zealand, a round of the World Rally Championship (WRC).

Career

Wittmann began rallying in 1970. He competed mainly on a national level during his career, winning the Austrian championship 12 times between 1976 and 2001.[1] He also won 32 rounds of the European Rally Championship, finishing second in the standings in 1978.[1] As a test driver for Audi, he debuted the revolutionary Audi Quattro in 1981. He also competed as a factory Volkswagen driver in 1985 and 1986. In 1987 he won Rally New Zealand in a privately entered Lancia Delta HF 4WD. He competed on his final WRC event at the 1989 Rally Australia.

Wittmann was involved in a severe accident at the 1981 Rally Finland. He failed to spot the finish sign at the end of the Ehikki stage and crashed into race officials. One of those hit was Raul Falin, the president of AKK-Motorsport and the Finnish delegate at FISA, who died in the crash.[2] Wittmann was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but acquitted by Finnish courts.[3]

Wittmann's son Franz Jr. also competes in rallying.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: RallyBase. 2021-05-17. www.rallybase.nl.
  2. News: . Suru avasi Suurajot . 12 . 29 August 1981 . 28 November 2011 . fi . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150909024233/http://media.ksml.fi/escenic/ksmlRalliSivut/1981/29_8_1981_sivu12.pdf . 9 September 2015 .
  3. https://www.iltalehti.fi/ralli/a/512a6fc0-8067-45d3-9f06-5c5f68a6714d