Harald Ertl (31 August 1948 – 7 April 1982) was an Austrian racing driver and motorsport journalist. He was born in Zell am See and attended the same school as Grand Prix drivers Jochen Rindt, Helmut Marko and Niki Lauda.
Ertl sported an 'Imperial'-style moustache and full beard. He worked his way through the German Formula Vee and Super Vee, and then on to Formula Three, before a successful switch to Touring Cars. During this period, he gained sufficient sponsorship to enter Formula One, where he drove with various outfits between 1975 and 1980. Ertl was one of the four drivers who helped to get Niki Lauda out of his burning Ferrari in the 1976 German Grand Prix.
Ertl was killed in an aeroplane crash in 1982, when the small plane he was travelling in suffered from engine failure.
Early racing career
In 1969, Ertl bought a Formula V car (Austro Vau), won six races, but also rolled it at the Nürburgring. He was second in the European Cup with a Kaimann chassis in 1970, and started also in a round of the Championnat de France with a March-Ford 703, at Aéroport Dijon-Longvic circuit. He continued with F3 the following season, undertaking a selection of races in England, best result being ninth at Brands Hatch.
In 1971, Ertl also moved to the European Touring Car Championship, driving an Alfa Romeo, gaining a third place at Monza in the Monza 4 hours. For 1972, he switched to the BMW-Alpina team in the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft. The best result of the season, with a fourth place in the first race, Internationale ADAC-Eifelrennen, held on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
1973 saw Ertl continue to mix Formula Three and Touring Cars, with little success, until the September, when at the side of Derek Bell, they would win the RAC Tourist Trophy, with both drivers each winning their respective heat, to take an aggregate victory.
For 1974, Ertl's main target was the Deutsche Formel 3 Polifac Trophy. Once again, his best result came at the Nürburgring, where finished fourth. Meanwhile, he also raced in the Formal Super Vee Gold Pokal, taking 19th in the final standings. During this season, Ertl made his F2 debut, racing at both the European Championship for F2 Drivers events at Hockenheim.
In 1975, Ertl signed for Fred Opert Racing to continue racing in F2. By the third race for the team he was on the podium. A third place in the Internationales ADAC-Eifelrennen, held on the Nürburgring Nordschleife enabled him gather enough money together, including sponsorship from Warsteiner to start racing in F1.
Formula One career
In 1975, sponsorship obtained from Warsteiner had allowed Ertl to drive a Hesketh 308 in Formula One, prepared by Hesketh Racing in Warsteiner's golden livery. In his debut at the German Grand Prix, he finished 8th. He went on to retire in his home GP, then finished ninth at Monza.
Encouraged by these results, a full season with Hesketh was planned for 1976. In the South African Grand Prix, Ertl qualified in the last row and finished 15th. The next races saw him either not qualify at all, or at the back of the grid, with early retirements due to mechanical failures. Despite not being satisfied with the value the team gave him for the money, he almost scored a point when coming in seventh at the 1976 British Grand Prix, albeit three laps down.
Two weeks later at the 1976 German Grand Prix, Ertl was one of the four drivers who helped pull Niki Lauda from his burning Ferrari after Lauda's infamous crash during the second lap of the race. The rest of the season saw two more eighth places finishes as highlights, at home and at the wet Japanese Grand Prix.
Based on experience with their BMW, Schnitzer Motorsport developed a Toyota Celica LB Turbo for Ertl in 1977. Schnitzer switched back to BMW for the 1978 season, retaining the services for Ertl. This move made him one of the main contenders for the title. With the Kremer Racing Porsche of Bob Wollek being bit off the pace, while the Ford entrant, Zakspeed’s Escort being outdated, and their Ford Capri Turbo was unreliable. Ertl would win five of the 11 races during the season, with a second place at the season finale, a Super Sprint event at the Nürburgring, he would win the championship.
Despite taking the title with Schnitzer, Ertl switched to Zakspeed for the next two seasons. 1979 started off promising with a win in the opening round at Zolder, then followed it up with a third in Hockenheim in the next race. Although he would win once more at Mainz-Finthen, the season turned miserable with six non-finishes or non-starts out of 11 races, in Zakspeed’s Ford Capri Turbo. Meanwhile, Zakspeed also developed a mid-engined Lotus Europa for the 1000km Nürburgring. That also did not finish the race. The following season was like the previous one, when Ertl continued to be unlucky: 8 poles, 4 wins and 6 retirements.
Death
Ertl did not race internationally at all in 1981, but planned a return for the 1982 Renault 5 Turbo Cup. However before these plans came through, he was killed in an aircraft accident at the age of 33. He was travelling in a Beechcraft Bonanza flown by his brother-in-law Jörg Becker-Hohensee from Mannheim to their holiday home in Sylt in Northern Germany for an Easter vacation. Less than a quarter of the way through the intended flight distance engine failure caused the plane to crash at Hohenahr near Giessen. Ertl's wife Vera and son Sebastian were injured but Becker-Hohensee, Ertl and his niece were killed.
Racing record
Career highlights
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! Season
! Series
! Position
! Team
! Car
|-
| 1971
| European Touring Car Championship
| 31st
| Alfa Romeo Hähn<br>Autodelta SpA
| Alfa Romeo GTAm
|-
| 1972
| Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
| 27th
| BMW-Alpina
| BMW 2002
|-
|rowspan=3| 1973
| Formula Super Vee Europe
| 12th
|
| Maco-Volkswagen
|-
| Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
| 40th
| Auto-Fox-Racing Team
| nowrap| Alfa Romeo 2000 GTAm
|-
| British Saloon Car Championship
| 20th
| BMW-Alpina
| BMW 3.0 CSL
|-
|rowspan=3| 1974
| Polifac Formel 3 Trophy
| 13th
| nowrap| Caravanbau Günther Hennerici<br>Hannen Alt Racing Team
| Rheinland-Toyota 374
|-
| Formal Super Vau Gold Pokal
| 19th
|
| Horag-Volkswagen
|-
| Formula Super Vee Europe
| 21st
|
| Horag-Volkswagen
|-
|rowspan=2| 1975
| nowrap| European Championship for Formula 2 Drivers
| 19th
| Fred Opert Racing
| Chevron-BMW B27
|-
| Interserie
| 25th
| Rex-Auto-Racing-Team
| Rex-Cosworth SP1
|-
| 1976
| European Championship for Formula 2 Drivers
| 15th
| Motor Racing Company<br>Fred Opert Racing
| March-BMW 752<br>Chevron-BMW B35
|-
| 1977
| Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
| 25th
| Optische Werke Rodenstock<br>Toyota Deutschland
| BMW 2002 Turbo<br> Toyota Celica LB Turbo
|-
| 1978
| Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
|style="background:#ffffbf;"| 1st
| Sachs-Sporting
| BMW 320 Turbo
|-
|rowspan=2| 1979
| Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
| 10th
| Sachs-Sporting
| Ford Capri Turbo
|-
| Interserie – Div. 2
| 18th
| Minolta Camera Team
| Lotus Europa Turbo
|-
| 1980
| Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft
| 7th
| Sachs-Sporting
| Ford Capri Turbo
|}
Complete British Saloon Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
! Year
! Team
! Car
! Class
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! DC
! Pts
! Class
|-
| 1973
! nowrap| BMW-Alpina
! nowrap| BMW 3.0 CSL
! <span style="padding:1px 4px; color:black; background-color:#00ff00;"></span>
| BRH
| SIL
| THR
| THR
| SIL
| ING
| BRH
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| SIL<br><small>ovr:1<br>cls:1</small>
| BRH
! 20th
! 9
! 4th
|-
!colspan="16"|
|}
Complete European Formula Two Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
|-
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
!
! Pts
|-
|rowspan=2| 1974
! nowrap| Team Obermoser
! nowrap| March 742
!rowspan=2| BMW
| BAR
|style="background:#efcfff;"| HOC<br />
| PAU
| SAL
| HOC
| MUG
| KAR
| PER
|colspan=6|
!rowspan=2| NC
!rowspan=2| 0
|-
! nowrap| Chevron Racing Team
! nowrap| Chevron B27
|colspan=8|
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| HOC<br />
| VLL
|colspan=4|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1975
!rowspan=2 nowrap| Fred Opert Racing
! nowrap| Chevron B27
!rowspan=2| BMW
| EST
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| THR<br />
|style="background:#efcfff;"| HOC<br />
|style="background:#ffdf9f;"| NÜR<br />
|style="background:#efcfff;"| PAU<br />
|colspan=9|
!rowspan=2| 19th
!rowspan=2| 4
|-
! nowrap| Chevron B29
|colspan=5|
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| HOC<br />
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| SAL<br />
|style="background:#efcfff;"| ROU<br />
|style="background:#efcfff;"| MUG<br />
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| PER<br />
|style="background:#efcfff;"| SIL<br />
| ZOL
| NOG
| VLL
|-
|rowspan=4| 1976
!rowspan=2 nowrap| Motor Racing Co
! nowrap| March 752
!rowspan=4| BMW
|style="background:#dfffdf;"| HOC<br/><small></small>
|colspan=13|
!rowspan=4| 15th
!rowspan=4| 2
|-
!rowspan=3 nowrap| Chevron B35
|
|style="background:#efcfff;"| THR<br />
|colspan=12|
|-
! nowrap| Fred Opert Racing
|colspan=2|
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| VLL<br />
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| SAL<br />
| PAU
|style="background:#efcfff;"| HOC<br />
| ROU
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| MUG<br />
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| PER<br />
|colspan=2|
|style="background:#efcfff;"| HOC<br />
|colspan=2|
|-
! nowrap| Chevron Racing Team
|colspan=9|
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| EST<br />
| NOG
|colspan=3|
|-
| 1977
! nowrap| Team Obermoser Eurorace
! nowrap| Chevron B35
! BMW
| SIL
| THR
|style="background:#efcfff;"| HOC<br />
|style="background:#efcfff;"| NÜR<br />
| VLL
| PAU
| MUG
| ROU
| NOG
| PER
| MIS
| EST
| DON
|
! NC
! 0
|-
|rowspan=2| 1978
! nowrap| Harald Ertl Racing
! nowrap| March 782
!rowspan=2| BMW
| THR
|style="background:#efcfff;"| HOC<br />
| NÜR
| PAU
| MUG
| VLL
| ROU
| DON
| NOG
| PER
| MIS
|colspan=3|
!rowspan=2| NC
!rowspan=2| 0
|-
! nowrap| ICI Chevron Cars
! nowrap| Chevron B42
|colspan=11|
|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| HOC<br />
|colspan=2|
|}
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
|-
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! 17
!
! Pts
|-
| 1975
! nowrap| Warsteiner Brewery
! nowrap| Hesketh 308
! nowrap| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
| ARG
| BRA
| RSA
| ESP
| MON
| BEL
| SWE
| NED
| FRA
| GBR
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| GER<br />
|style="background:#efcfff;"| AUT<br />
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| ITA<br />
| USA
|colspan=3|
! NC
! 0
|-
| 1976
! nowrap| Hesketh Racing
! nowrap| Hesketh 308D
! nowrap| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
| BRA
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| RSA<br />
|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| USW<br />
|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| ESP<br />
|style="background:#efcfff;"| BEL<br />
|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| MON<br />
|style="background:#efcfff;"| SWE<br />
|style="background:#efcfff;"| FRA<br />
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| GBR<br />
|style="background:#efcfff;"| GER<br />
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| AUT<br />
|style="background:#efcfff;"| NED<br />
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| ITA<br />
|style="background:white;"| CAN<br />
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| USA<br />
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| JPN<br />
|
! NC
! 0
|-
| 1977
! nowrap| Hesketh Racing
! nowrap| Hesketh 308E
! nowrap| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
| ARG
| BRA
| RSA
| USW
|style="background:#efcfff;"| ESP<br />
|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| MON<br />
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| BEL<br />
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| SWE<br />
|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| FRA<br />
| GBR
| GER
| AUT
| NED
| ITA
| USA
| CAN
| JPN
! NC
! 0
|-
|rowspan=2| 1978
! nowrap| Sachs Racing
! nowrap| Ensign N177
!rowspan=2 nowrap| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
| ARG
| BRA
| RSA
| USW
| MON
| BEL
| ESP
| SWE
| FRA
| GBR
|style="background:#cfcfff;"| GER<br />
|style="background:#efcfff;"| AUT<br />
|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| NED<br />
|colspan=4|
!rowspan=2| NC
!rowspan=2| 0
|-
! nowrap| ATS Engineering
! nowrap| ATS HS1
|colspan=13|
|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| ITA<br /><small>DNQ*</small>
| USA
| CAN
|
|-
| 1980
! nowrap| Team ATS
! nowrap| ATS D4
! nowrap| Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
| ARG
| BRA
| RSA
| USW
| BEL
| MON
| FRA
| GBR
|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| GER<br />
| AUT
| NED
| ITA
| CAN
| USA
|colspan=3|
! NC
! 0
|}
:<nowiki>*</nowiki> Ertl had failed to pre-qualify for this race in his Ensign, then took part in qualifying sessions in the ATS, and again failed to qualify.
External links
- Webpage with many photos (archived)
- F1 results (archived)
- Ertl's first Formula V race car