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Harald Ertl

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Harald Ertl
Ertl in 1977
Born(1948-08-31)31 August 1948
Zell am See, Salzburg, Austria
Died7 April 1982(1982-04-07) (aged 33)
Hohenahr, Hesse, West Germany
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityAustria Austrian
Active years1975–1978, 1980
TeamsHesketh, Ensign, ATS
Entries28 (19 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1975 German Grand Prix
Last entry1980 German Grand Prix

Harald Ertl (31 August 1948 – 7 April 1982) was an Austrian racing driver and motorsport journalist. He was born in Zell am See and attended the same school as Grand Prix drivers Jochen Rindt, Helmut Marko and Niki Lauda.

Ertl sported an 'Imperial'-style moustache and full beard. He worked his way through the German Formula Vee and Super Vee, and then on to Formula Three, before a successful switch to Touring Cars. During this period, he gained sufficient sponsorship to enter Formula One, where he drove with various outfits between 1975 and 1980. Ertl was one of the four drivers who helped to get Niki Lauda out of his burning Ferrari in the 1976 German Grand Prix.[1][2]

Ertl was killed in an aeroplane crash in 1982, when the small plane he was travelling in suffered from engine failure.

Early racing career

In 1969, he bought a Formula V car (Austro Vau), won six races, but also rolled it at the Nürburgring. He was second in the European Cup with a Kaimann chassis in 1970, and started also in a round of the Championnat de France with a March-Ford 703, at Aéroport Dijon-Longvic circuit. He continued with F3 the following season, undertaking a selection of races in England, best result being ninth at Brands Hatch.[3][4]

In 1971, he also moved to the European Touring Car Championship, driving an Alfa Romeo, gaining a third place at Monza in the Monza 4 hours. For 1972, he switched to the BMW-Alpina team in the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft. The best result of the season, with a fourth place in the first race, Internationale ADAC-Eifelrennen, held on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.[5][6]

1973 saw Ertl continue to mix Formula Three and Touring Cars, with little success, until the September, when at the side of Derek Bell, they would win the RAC Tourist Trophy, with both drivers each winning their respective heat, to take an aggregate victory.[7][8]

For 1974, his main target was the Deutsche Formel 3 Polifac Trophy. Once again, his best result came at the Nürburgring, where finished fourth. Meanwhile, he also raced in the Formal Super Vee Gold Pokal, taking 19th in the final standings. During this season, Ertl made his F2 debut, racing at both the European Championship for F2 Drivers events at Hockenheim.[9][10]

In 1975 Ertl signed for Fred Opert Racing to continue racing in F2. By the third race for the team he was on the podium. A third place in the Internationales ADAC-Eifelrennen, held on the Nürburgring Nordschleife enabled him gather enough money together, including sponsorship from Warsteiner to start racing in F1.[8][11]

F1 career

In 1975, sponsorship obtained from Warsteiner had allowed him to drive a Hesketh 308 in Formula One, prepared by Hesketh Racing in Warsteiner's golden livery. In his debut at the German Grand Prix, he finished 8th. He went on to retire in his home GP, then finished ninth at Monza.[12]

Encouraged by these results, a full season with Hesketh was planned for 1976. In the South African Grand Prix he qualified in the last row and finished 15th. The next races saw him either not qualify at all, or at the back of the grid, with early retirements due to mechanical failures. Despite not being satisfied with the value the team gave him for the money, he almost scored a point when coming in seventh at the 1976 British Grand Prix, albeit three laps down.[13]

Two weeks later at the 1976 German Grand Prix, Ertl was one of the four drivers who helped pull Niki Lauda from his burning Ferrari after Lauda's infamous crash during the second lap of the race. The rest of the season saw two more eighth places finishes as highlights, at home and at the wet Japanese Grand Prix.[13]

Ertl continued with Hesketh for a third season, taking in some European races, finishing 9th at the 1977 Belgian Grand Prix. He left Hesketh after the 1977 French Grand Prix where he again failed to qualify for the race.

For a few races in 1978, Ertl entered with Ensign, but things were even worse there, with the cars failing to finish or even worst, when he did not survive prequalifying at Monza. At the same event, he got another chance with the spare car of German-language ATS team, as regular driver Jochen Mass injured himself in the pre-Monza test a few days prior. He still failed to make the cut.[8]

Two years later, Ertl tried once again with ATS in the 1980 German Grand Prix with the same result. The last Formula One Grand Prix he took part in was the 1978 Austrian Grand Prix, in his home country.

While not racing F1, Ertl was still racing in F2 albeit with very little success. In these three seasons, he finished just once in the top six.

DRM years

Away from single-seaters, Ertl returned to Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM) in 1977, now that the series had switched to Group 5.[14]

Based on experience with their BMW, Schnitzer Motorsport developed a Toyota Celica LB Turbo for Ertl in 1977. Schnitzer switched back to BMW for the 1978 season, retaining the services for Ertl. This move made him one of the main contenders for the title. With the Kremer Racing Porsche of Bob Wollek being bit off the pace, while the Ford entrant, Zakspeed’s Escort being outdated, and their Ford Capri Turbo was unreliable. Ertl would win five of the 11 races during the season, with a second place at the season finale, a Super Sprint event at the Nürburgring, he would win the championship.[15]

Despite taking the title with Schnitzer, Ertl switched to Zakspeed for the next two seasons. 1979 started off promising with a win in the opening round at Zolder, then followed it up with a third in Hockenheim in the next race. Although he would win once more at Mainz-Finthen, the season turned miserable with six non-finishes or non-starts out of 11 races, in Zakspeed’s Ford Capri Turbo. Meanwhile, Zakspeed also developed a mid-engined Lotus Europa for the 1000km Nürburgring. That also did not finish the race. The following season was like the previous one, when Ertl continued to be unlucky: 8 poles, 4 wins and 6 retirements.[16][17][18]

Death

Ertl did not race internationally at all in 1981, but planned a return for the 1982 Renault 5 Turbo Cup. However, before these plans came through, he was killed in an aircraft accident at the age of 33. He was travelling in a Beechcraft Bonanza flown by his brother-in-law Jörg Becker-Hohensee from Mannheim to their holiday home in Sylt in Northern Germany for an Easter vacation. Less than a quarter of the way through the intended flight distance engine failure caused the plane to crash at Hohenahr near Giessen. Ertl's wife Vera and son Sebastian were injured but Becker-Hohensee, Ertl and his niece were killed.

Racing record

Career highlights

Season Series Position Team Car
1971 European Touring Car Championship [19] 31st Alfa Romeo Hähn
Autodelta SpA 		Alfa Romeo GTAm
1972 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft [20] 27th BMW-Alpina BMW 2002
1973 Formula Super Vee Europe [21] 12th Maco-Volkswagen
Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft [22][23] 40th Auto-Fox-Racing Team Alfa Romeo 2000 GTAm
1974 Polifac Formel 3 Trophy [24][25] 13th Caravanbau Günther Hennerici
Hannen Alt Racing Team 		Rheinland-Toyota 374
Formal Super Vau Gold Pokal [26] 19th Horag-Volkswagen
Formula Super Vee Europe [27] 21st Horag-Volkswagen
1975 European Championship for Formula 2 Drivers [28][29] 19th Fred Opert Racing Chevron-BMW B27
Interserie[23][30] 25th Rex-Auto-Racing-Team Rex-Cosworth SP1
1976 European Championship for Formula 2 Drivers [31][32] 15th Motor Racing Company
Fred Opert Racing 		March-BMW 752
Chevron-BMW B35
1977 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft [23][33] 25th Optische Werke Rodenstock
Toyota Deutschland 		BMW 2002 Turbo
Toyota Celica LB Turbo
1978 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft [23][34][35] 1st Sachs-Sporting BMW 320 Turbo
1979 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft [23][36] 10th Sachs-Sporting Ford Capri Turbo
Interserie – Div. 2[23][37] 18th Minolta Camera Team Lotus Europa Turbo
1980 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft [23][38] 7th Sachs-Sporting Ford Capri Turbo

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Pts
1975 Warsteiner Brewery Hesketh 308 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP MON BEL SWE NED FRA GBR GER
8 		AUT
Ret 		ITA
9 		USA NC 0
1976 Hesketh Racing Hesketh 308D Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 BRA RSA
15 		USW
DNQ 		ESP
DNQ 		BEL
Ret 		MON
DNQ 		SWE
Ret 		FRA
Ret 		GBR
7 		GER
Ret 		AUT
8 		NED
Ret 		ITA
16 		CAN
DNS 		USA
13 		JPN
8 		NC 0
1977 Hesketh Racing Hesketh 308E Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA USW ESP
Ret 		MON
DNQ 		BEL
9 		SWE
16 		FRA
DNQ 		GBR GER AUT NED ITA USA CAN JPN NC 0
1978 Sachs Racing Ensign N177 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA USW MON BEL ESP SWE FRA GBR GER
11 		AUT
Ret 		NED
DNPQ 		NC 0
ATS Engineering ATS HS1 ITA
DNQ* 		USA CAN
1980 Team ATS ATS D4 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA USW BEL MON FRA GBR GER
DNQ 		AUT NED ITA CAN USA NC 0
* Ertl had failed to pre-qualify for this race in his Ensign, then took part in qualifying sessions in the ATS, and again failed to qualify.

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

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

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos. Pts
1974 Team Obermoser March 742 BMW BAR HOC
Ret 		PAU SAL HOC MUG KAR PER NC 0
Chevron Racing Team Chevron B27 HOC
NC 		VAL
1975 Fred Opert Racing Chevron B27 BMW EST THR
NC 		HOC
Ret 		NÜR
3 		PAU
Ret 		19th 4
Chevron B29 HOC
7 		SAL
11 		ROU
Ret 		MUG
Ret 		PER
12 		SIL
Ret 		ZOL NOG VAL
1976 Motor Racing Co March 752 BMW HOC
6 		15th 2
Chevron B35 THR
Ret
Fred Opert Racing VAL
12 		SAL
17 		PAU HOC
Ret 		ROU MUG
15 		PER
7 		HOC
Ret
Chevron Racing Team EST
10 		NOG
1977 Team Obermoser Eurorace Chevron B35 BMW SIL THR HOC
Ret 		NÜR
Ret 		VAL PAU MUG ROU NOG PER MIS EST DON NC 0
1978 Harald Ertl Racing March 782 BMW THR HOC
Ret 		NÜR PAU MUG VAL ROU DON NOG PER MIS NC 0
ICI Chevron Cars Chevron B42 HOC
DNQ

References

  1. ^ "Harald Ertl | | F1 Driver Profile". ESPN.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  2. ^ "Harald Ertl Profile - Drivers - GP Encyclopedia - F1 History on Grandprix.com". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  3. ^ "Formula 3 1970 – Europe – Dijon, 07.06". Formula2.net. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  4. ^ "Formula 3 1971 – Brands Hatch 02.05". Formula2.net. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  5. ^ "1971 ETCC – round 1 / CI di Turismo – round 1". Touringcarracing.net. 1971-03-14. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  6. ^ "1972 DRM – round 1". Touringcarracing.net. 1972-04-30. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  7. ^ "1973 ETCC – round 8 / Spanish TCC – round 7". Touringcarracing.net. 1973-09-23. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  8. ^ a b c "F1's answer to ZZ Top". 8w.forix.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  9. ^ "Formula 3 1974 – Nürburgring, 08.09". Formula2.net. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  10. ^ Darren Galpin. "1974 Formel Super Vau Gold Pokal". Teamdan.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  11. ^ "Formula 2 1975 – Eifelrennen". Formula2.net. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  12. ^ "Niki Lauda dominates but year is marred by Hill's death". ESPN.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  13. ^ a b "Hunt takes title despite Lauda's bravery". ESPN.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  14. ^ "DRM Part 2: 1977–1981". Touringcarracing.net. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  15. ^ "Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft – 1978". Touringcarracing.net. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  16. ^ "Harald Ertl, Austria". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  17. ^ "Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft – 1979". Touringcarracing.net. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  18. ^ "Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft – 1980". Touringcarracing.net. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  19. ^ "European Touring Car Championship 1971 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  20. ^ "DRM (German Racing Championship) 1972 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  21. ^ "Formula Super Vee Europe 1973 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  22. ^ "DRM (German Racing Championship) 1973 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g Harald Ertl (A) – All Results – Racing Sports Cars
  24. ^ "Deutsche Formel 3 Polifac Trophy 1974 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  25. ^ Formula 3 1974 – Championship Tables
  26. ^ "1974 Formel Super Vau Gold Pokal". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  27. ^ "Formula Super Vee Europe 1974 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  28. ^ "Formula 2 1975 – Tables". www.formula2.net. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  29. ^ "Formula 2 Europe 1975 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  30. ^ "Interserie 1975 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  31. ^ "Formula 2 1976 – Championship Tables". www.formula2.net. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  32. ^ "Formula 2 Europe 1976 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  33. ^ "DRM (German Racing Championship) 1977 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  34. ^ "DRM (German Racing Championship) 1978 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  35. ^ "1978 DRM". touringcarracing.net. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  36. ^ "DRM (German Racing Championship) 1979 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  37. ^ "Interserie – Div. 2 1979 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  38. ^ "DRM (German Racing Championship) 1980 standings | Driver Database". Driverdb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
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