JOCHEN RINDT 1942-1970 (Lotus 49B Ford V8 2495 cc)
Jochen Rindt skates through the Esses at Warwick Farm, February 9, 1969, to win the International 100, Round 6 of the Tasman Series. (Photograph by Nigel Foote)
Although born in Germany, Jochen was orphaned as a baby when his parents where killed in a bombing raid in the war, and he was brought up in Austria by his maternal grandparents. By all accounts he had a forceful nature which he displayed in his recklessly brilliant driving, resulting in numerous crashes and trips to hospital.
In 1967, Rindt married Nina Lincoln, a Finnish model. After the birth of their baby girl and the deaths of his two close friends, Bruce McLaren and Piers Courage, he contemplated retiring from the sport, perhaps sensing that his days were numbered. But he was a driver to the end, and continued to hurl his machines around the great circuits of Europe, amazing all who saw him until, inevitably, the fateful day arrived. He was killed during practice at Monza on September 5, 1970 ... nineteen months after this picture was taken. He was 28.
This site is dedicated to the drivers who lost their lives to a sport which ironically, through the development of disc brakes, suspension and tyres, led to the saving of countless other lives ... an often forgotten fact that sets motor-racing apart from all other sports.