Joachim Winkelhock

Joachim Winkelhock
Winkelhock in 2010
Born	(1960-10-24) 24 October 1960 (age 64) Waiblingen, West Germany
Nationality	German
Relatives	Manfred Winkelhock (brother) Thomas Winkelhock (brother) Markus Winkelhock (nephew)

Formula One World Championship career
Active years	1989
Teams	AGS
Entries	7 (0 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1989 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last entry	1989 French Grand Prix

Winkelhock started in the one-make Renault 5 Cup in 1979 but it would be almost a decade before he found his first major success, by winning the 1988 German Formula Three Championship as well as that year's F3 European Cup (at the unusually late age of 28). He progressed the following year to Formula One with the small French AGS team, who paired him with his future touring car rival Gabriele Tarquini; Winklehock's brief time in F1 was unsuccessful, failing to pre-qualify the car on 7 occasions. His reputation however remained strong enough that he was subsequently hired by BMW Motorsport for German's premier touring car racing series the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, first for the Bigazzi and then Schnitzer teams. He finished 6th, 7th and 8th in the final standings and scored three wins in total during his three years in the series, as well as winning the 1990 and 1991 24 Hours of Nürburgring races for BMW and Schnitzer.

When BMW exited the DTM at the end of 1992 Winkelhock moved with the manufacturer and Schnitzer to the British Touring Car Championship, where he and teammate Steve Soper dominated the first half of the 1993 season. The pair took 7 wins from the first 8 rounds (Winklehock four, Soper three). Although the second half of the year was more challenging for Winkelhock, seeing him earn only one more win, he was still eventually crowned champion. During his time in Britain, he was also commonly known as Smokin' Jo for his cigarette smoking habit. Winkelhock's next win was the 1994 Asia Pacific Touring Car Championship, and in 1995 he won the German Supertouring Championship (STW). He also triumphed in the 1995 Spa 24 Hours, and the 1994 and 1998 Macau Grand Prix's Guia touring car races. His last success for BMW came at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, which he won driving the BMW V12 LMR prototype run by Schnitzer Motorsport.^[1]

In 2000, Winkelhock joined Opel in the new Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (a revived version of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, which had been defunct since 1995). In his first season in the new DTM Winkelhock was competitive, winning at the Norisring and finishing 5th in the final standings. However, the collapse in Opel's fortunes in DTM after 2000 saw a consequent decline in Winkelhock's fortunes and after a 2003 season in which he only scored a single point, he announced his retirement from motor racing at the age of 43.^[2]

He runs his family's Waiblingen-based truck-crane and towing business, occasionally getting personally involved in recovering crashed trucks.^[3]

A special edition of the BMW M5 has been made in honor of Joachim Winkelhock.

A 2005 poll run by Motor Sport magazine voted Winkelhock the 16th greatest touring car driver ever.^[4] Winkelhock is nicknamed "Smokin' Jo".^[5]^[6]^[7]

Complete German Formula Three results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

More information Year, Entrant ...

Year	Entrant	Engine	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	DC	Pts
1987	WTS Racing Team	VW	A	NÜR 9	AVU 10	ZOL 2	HOC 2	ÖST	SIE 2	NÜR 2	NÜR 2	ZOL 1				2nd	98
1988	WTS Liqui Moly Equipe	VW	A	ZOL 1	HOC 1	NÜR 1	BRN 3	HOC Ret	MAI 2	NOR C	WUN 1	SAL 5	NÜR 2	HUN 2	HOC Ret	1st	164

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

More information Year, Entrant ...

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Pts
1989	Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives	AGS JH23B	Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8	BRA DNPQ	SMR DNPQ	MON DNPQ	MEX DNPQ	USA DNPQ	CAN DNPQ	FRA DNPQ	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS	NC	0