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He finished 13th in that race. He raced there again in 1965, in the MG-Huffaker-Offenhauser, when he finished 14th.
Formula One driver racecar driver
He finished 13th in that race. He raced there again in 1965, in the MG-Huffaker-Offenhauser, when he finished 14th.
His racing career began as a 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. A four-time SCCA Road Racing Champ, Hansgen participated in two Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on October 8, 1961, at Watkins Glen, New New York
He scored a total of two championship points.
In 1964 he raced the MG Liquid Suspension Special, an Offenhauser-powered car, for Kjell Qvale, at the Indianapolis 500. In addition to Formula One, Walt Hansgen was a dominant road racer from the early 1950s and 1960s, winning numerous races at VIR, the famed course at Bridgehampton, and Watkins Glen through to his death at Le Mans in France in 1966.
He drove for Briggs Cunningham and John Mecom. He participated in several races of the 24 Hours of Daytona and Le Mans as well as the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance races.
He also was notable for introducing Mark Donohue 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 lieutenant" Ford crew members later said that Hansgen had continued to push hard in the damp weather, although he had been warned by team manager Carroll Smith to take it easy. In Mark Donohue"s book, "The Unfair Advantage" it is said that Hansgen tried to drive onto an escape road only to find out too late that a barrier had been built across it for spectator safety.
SCCA National Championship Runoffs
Complete Formula One World Championship results
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