Although he came from a relatively affluent background, Helmuth found his lack of sufficient funds a great hindrance in his attempts to break through to the sport's higher echelons.

    Koinigg started competing in the ex-Lauda Mini Cooper S, and soon attracted the attention of Helmut Marko, becoming involved in his McNamara project in Formula Vee. He was to spend the bulk of his short career trapped, albeit tremendously successfully, in Formula Vee and Super Vee, with only occasional outings in Formula Ford offering a glimpse of his natural talent on a wider stage.

    Without the backing to race in Formula 2, Koinigg nonetheless found himself in demand by the Ford Cologne team, and he also handled Martini Racing's G5 Porsche before raising the finance to hire a private Brabham for the 1974 Austrian GP.

    Although he failed to qualify the car, Helmuth did well enough to interest Surtees, who signed him up, but in only his second race for the team, at Watkins Glen, the young Austrian inexplicably failed to brake for a corner, crashing at huge speed through three layers of catch fencing and the steel barriers. He was killed instantly.

(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000