Walt Hansgen

Walt Hansgen (Westfield

Westfield, New Jersey

Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 30,316. The old village area, now the downtown district, was settled in 1720 as part of the Elizabethtown Tract....

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, October 28, 1919 - Orléans

Orléans

-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, April 7, 1966) was a racecar driver from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. His racing career began as a road racing

Road racing

Road racing is a general term for most forms of motor racing held on paved, purpose-built race tracks , as opposed to oval tracks and off-road racing...

 driver. He was aged forty-one at the time of his Grand Prix debut and forty-six when he was killed during a raceway crash.

Racing career

A four-time SCCA Road Racing Champ, Hansgen participated in two Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 Grands Prix, debuting on October 8, 1961, at Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation...

, New York. He scored a total of two championship points. In 1964 he raced the MG Liquid Suspension Special, an Offenhauser

Offenhauser

Offenhauser was an American racing engine manufacturer that operated from 1933 to 1983.The Offenhauser engine, familiarly known as the "Offy", was developed by Fred Offenhauser and his employer Harry Arminius Miller, after maintaining and repairing a 1913 Peugeot Grand Prix car of the type which...

-powered car, for Kjell Qvale

Kjell Qvale

Kjell Qvale is a Norwegian-American business executive. Qvale is one of the key figures in the creation of the Jensen-Healey. Qvale became the first distributor for Jaguar on the Pacific West Coast. Qvale is one of the founders of the San Francisco Auto Show.-Early life:Kjell Qvale was born in...

, at the Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

. He finished 13th in that race. He raced there again in 1965, in the MG-Huffaker-Offenhauser, when he finished 14th.

In addition to Formula One, Walt Hansgen was a dominant road racer from the early 1950s and 1960s, winning numerous races at VIR (Virginia International Raceway), the famed course at Bridgehampton

Bridgehampton, New York

Bridgehampton is a hamlet in the South Fork of Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 1,381 at the 2000 census....

, and Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation...

 through to his death at Le Mans

24 Hours of Le Mans

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...

 in France in 1966.

He drove for Briggs Cunningham

Briggs Cunningham

Briggs Swift Cunningham II was an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. Born into a wealthy family, he became a racing car constructor, driver, and team owner as well as a sports car manufacturer and automobile collector.He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia...

 and John Mecom

Mecom Racing Team

The Mecom Racing Team was led by John Mecom, Jr. and was active between 1960-1967 in the World Sportscar Championship racing, Formula One, and American Championship Car Racing scenes. The Mecom Racing Team and later the Mecom Group led by John Mecom, Jr., John Mecom III and Stephen Charsley worked...

. Hansgen won the Formula Junior race at the inaugural United States Grand Prix

United States Grand Prix

The United States Grand Prix is a motor race which has been run on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The race later became part of the Formula One World Championship. Over 41 editions, the race has been held at nine locations, most recently in 2007 at the...

 meeting at Sebring, Florida

Sebring, Florida

Sebring is a city in Highlands County, Florida, United States, nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring Downtown Historic District...

, on December 12, 1959, driving a Stanguellini

Automobili Stanguellini

Automobili Stanguellini was a maker of small sports cars in Modena, Italy, founded by Vittorio Stanguellini and most active between 1946 and 1960. They continued to produce the odd competition car until 1966.-History:...

. Hansgen won the Monterey Grand Prix

Monterey Grand Prix

The Monterey Grand Prix was an auto race held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The race was first held as a USAC Road Racing Championship event, following the success of the SCCA's Pebble Beach Road Races. After USAC's road racing series disbanded in 1962, the race became a non-championship race for...

, at Laguna Seca, on October 17, 1965, driving John Mecom's

Mecom Racing Team

The Mecom Racing Team was led by John Mecom, Jr. and was active between 1960-1967 in the World Sportscar Championship racing, Formula One, and American Championship Car Racing scenes. The Mecom Racing Team and later the Mecom Group led by John Mecom, Jr., John Mecom III and Stephen Charsley worked...

 Lola T70

Lola T70

The Lola T70 was built for sports car racing, popular in the mid to late 1960s. Developed by Lola Cars in 1965 in Great Britain, the T70 was made for endurance racing...

-Ford. He participated in several races of the 24 hours of Daytona

24 Hours of Daytona

The 24 Hours of Daytona, currently known as the Rolex 24 Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on a combined road course, utilizing portions of the NASCAR tri-oval and an infield...

 and Le Mans as well as the 12 hours of Sebring

12 Hours of Sebring

The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, a former Army Air Force base in Sebring, Florida...

 endurance races. He also was notable for introducing Mark Donohue

Mark Donohue

Mark Neary Donohue, Jr. , nicknamed "Captain Nice", was an American racecar driver known for his ability to set up his own race car as well as driving it to victories. Donohue is probably best known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp “Can-Am Killer” Porsche 917-30 and as the winner of the 1972...

 to professional road racing.

Hansgen was killed when he crashed a 7-liter Holman & Moody Ford GT 40 Mk2 sports car while driving in the rain during the Le Mans tests on April 3, 1966. "A Ford spokesman said Hansgen's car appeared to have been aquaplaning on the wet track leaving no way for the driver to control it." Ford crew members later said that Hansgen had continued to push hard in the damp weather, although he had been warned by team manager Carrol Smith to take it easy.

Complete World Championship Formula One results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	WDC	Points
1961 1961 Formula One season The 1961 Formula One season was the 12th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1961 World Championship of Drivers and the 1961 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, which were contested concurrently from May 14 to October 8 over an eight race series...	Momo Corporation	Cooper Cooper Car Company The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...  T53	Climax Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...  L4 Straight-4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....	MON 1961 Monaco Grand Prix The 1961 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 14, 1961 on the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It was the first round of the 1961 World Championship of Drivers, and the first World Championship race under the new 1.5 litre engine regulations.- Qualifying :The erratic...	NED 1961 Dutch Grand Prix The 1961 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 22 May 1961 at Zandvoort.Taking place one week after the Monaco GP there was not time for Innes Ireland to heal from his injury in the previous race so he was replaced by Trevor Taylor. The front row was taken up by three Ferraris. Von Trips...	BEL 1961 Belgian Grand Prix The 1961 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 18 June 1961 at Spa-Francorchamps.The organizers of the race invited 25 entries, but were only going to pay starting money to 19: sixteen pre-selected cars plus the 3 fastest of the remaining 9. Three of the cars without starting money...	FRA 1961 French Grand Prix The 1961 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 2 July 1961 at Reims-Gueux.By winning the race, Giancarlo Baghetti became only the third driver to win his first World Championship race, the other two being Nino Farina, who won the first World Championship race and Johnnie Parsons, who...	GBR 1961 British Grand Prix The 1961 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on 15 July 1961 at the Aintree Circuit, near Liverpool. It was the fifth race of eight in the 1961 World Championship season...	GER 1961 German Grand Prix The 1961 German Grand Prix was the 23rd time the German Grand Prix motor race was held. The race also held the honorary designation of the 21st European Grand Prix. It was run to Formula One regulations as the sixth round of the 1961 World Drivers' Championship on 6 August 1961...	ITA 1961 Italian Grand Prix The 1961 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 10 September 1961 at Monza.The race was marked by one of the most terrible accidents in the history of Formula One, when on the end of lap 2 at the approach to the Parabolica the German driver Wolfgang von Trips lost control of his Ferrari...	USA 1961 United States Grand Prix The 1961 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 8, 1961 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.... Ret			NC	0
1964 1964 Formula One season The 1964 Formula One season was the 15th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It included the 1964 World Championship of Drivers and the 1964 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, which were contested concurrently over a series which commenced on May 10 and ended on October 25 after ten races...	Team Lotus Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...	Lotus Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...  33 Lotus 33 The Lotus 33 designed by Colin Chapman, was a Formula One car built by Team Lotus. Its development was based on the earlier Lotus 25 model, taking the monocoque chassis design to new development heights. The 33 was again powered by the 1500 cc Climax engine. The 33 was almost identical to the 25,...	Climax Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...  V8	MON 1964 Monaco Grand Prix The 1964 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on May 10, 1964. Peter Arundell scored his first podium finish, and Mike Hailwood his first point.-Classification:-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...	NED 1964 Dutch Grand Prix The 1964 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on May 24, 1964.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...	BEL 1964 Belgian Grand Prix The 1964 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 14, 1964.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...	FRA 1964 French Grand Prix The 1964 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 28, 1964 at the Rouen-Les-Essarts circuit, Rouen, France. It was the 4th race of the 1964 Formula One season. The race, contested over 57 laps, was won by Dan Gurney for the Brabham team after starting from second...	GBR 1964 British Grand Prix The 1964 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on July 11, 1964. The event was also designated as the European Grand Prix...	GER 1964 German Grand Prix The 1964 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Nürburgring on 2 August 1964.- Classification :- Notes :*Fatal accident of Carel Godin de Beaufort in practice. He went off at the sweeping Bergwerk corner at the northernmost part of the track, went into the trees and suffered severe...	AUT 1964 Austrian Grand Prix The 1964 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One World Championship race held at Zeltweg Airfield on August 23, 1964.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Graham Hill - 1:09.84*Fastest Lap: Dan Gurney 1:10.56...	ITA 1964 Italian Grand Prix The 1964 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 6, 1964.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: John Surtees - 1:37.4*Fastest Lap: John Surtees - 1:38.8*Last race of F1 Pilot Maurice Trintignant...	USA 1964 United States Grand Prix The 1964 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 4, 1964 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... 5	MEX 1964 Mexican Grand Prix The 1964 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mexico City on October 25, 1964.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jim Clark - 1:57.24*Fastest Lap: Jim Clark 1:58.37...	16th	2

Books

• Michael Argetsinger, Walt Hansgen, His Life and the History of Post-War American Road Racing, David Bull Publishing, 2006, ISBN: 1-893618-54-4