Freddy Kottulinsky

Freddy Kottulinsky (born 20 July 1932 in München; with full name "Winfried Philippe Adalbert Karl Graf Kottulinsky Freiherr von Kottulin") ("Winfred Philip Adalbert Charles, Count of Kottulinsky, Baron of Kottulin") is a German former race and rally driver who won the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1980.

A member of old Austrian-Silesian nobility, [http://www.links.org/links-cgi/readged?/home/ben/camilla-genealogy/current+c-kvk101602+2-2-0-1] in 1953 he went to Sweden, where he set up a repair shop. In the 1960s and mostly with a Swedish racing licence, Kottulinsky competed in Formula 3, Formula V and Formula 2. In F3 he became Swedish champion in 1966 on a Lotus 35 Cosworth. Together with Ronnie Peterson and Torsten Palm he in 1970 scored a Swedish win in the F3 European Cup for nations. In 1974 he won Formel Super V's European Gold Cup on a Lola T320.

He also entered rallys, as did his daughter Susanne Kottulinsky who had been born in 1960. In 1980 which he won the Paris-Dakar Rally together with Gerd Löffelmann in a 4WD VW Iltis prepared by Audi. When asked for the first time to drive one of three cars that were supposed to support Jean Ragnotti, Kottulinsky, who had neither experience nor desire to race in a desert, declined indirectly by asking for a high salary. [http://einestages.spiegel.de/static/authoralbumbackground/1167/_ein_riesenabenteuer.html] Shortly before the race began, the team hired him anyway, and Kottulinsky entered the race with hardly any preparation. He did not have tent nor sleeping bag, but enough spare parts to keep the car running without having to wait for support. The design of this four wheel drive system provided the basis for Audi's Quattro system, which debuted later in 1980 on the original Audi Quattro. In that time, Kottulinsky also trained the mechanics to drive the team's service vehicles quickly and safely. This developed into Audi Fahrsicherheitstraining (driving safety lessons), for which Kottulinsky worked 25 years until retirement.

He since lives in Görkwitz in Thüringen, promoting the local race track Schleizer Dreieck. [http://www.pro-schleizer-dreieck.de/freddys-vision-zum-dreieck.html] At over 70 years of age, he still enters motorsport events, e.g. on 11 August 2006 with a Datsun 240Z in the AvD-Historic-Marathon-400 on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring.

References

External links

* [http://www.pro-schleizer-dreieck.de/die-freddystory.html Freddy's story]
* [http://einestages.spiegel.de/static/authoralbumbackground/1167/_ein_riesenabenteuer.html Interview]
* [http://www.rallye-info.com/driverprofile.asp?driver=416 WRC Driver Profile - Freddy Kottulinsky]

Personendaten
NAME=Kottulinsky, Freddy
ALTERNATIVNAMEN=Graf Kottulinsky Freiherr von Kottulin, Winfried Philippe Adalbert Karl
KURZBESCHREIBUNG=Renn- und Rallyefahrer
GEBURTSDATUM=20. Juli 1932
GEBURTSORT=München
STERBEDATUM=
STERBEORT=