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| Born | (1919-10-28)October 28, 1919 Westfield, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Died | April 7, 1966(1966-04-07) (aged 46) Orléans,France | ||||||
| Formula One World Championship career | |||||||
| Nationality |  American | ||||||
| Active years | 1961,1964 | ||||||
| Teams | Lotus,Cooper | ||||||
| Entries | 2 | ||||||
| Championships | 0 | ||||||
| Wins | 0 | ||||||
| Podiums | 0 | ||||||
| Career points | 2 | ||||||
| Pole positions | 0 | ||||||
| Fastest laps | 0 | ||||||
| First entry | 1961 United States Grand Prix | ||||||
| Last entry | 1964 United States Grand Prix | ||||||
NASCAR driver | |||||||
| NASCARCup Series career | |||||||
| 3 races run over 2 years | |||||||
| First race | 1964 Race 38 (Bridgehampton) | ||||||
| Last race | 1965The Glen 151.8 (Watkins Glen) | ||||||
| |||||||
Walter Edwin Hansgen (October 28, 1919 – April 7, 1966) was an Americanracecar driver. His motorsport career began as aroad racing driver, he made his Grand Prix debut at 41 and he died aged 46, several days after crashing during testing for the1966 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A four-timeSCCA Road Racing Champ, Hansgen participated in twoFormula One Grands Prix, debuting on October 8, 1961, atWatkins Glen, New York. He scored a total of two championship points. In 1964 he raced theMG Liquid Suspension Special, anOffenhauser-powered car, forKjell Qvale, at theIndianapolis 500. Hefinished 13th in that race. He raced there again in 1965, in the MG-Huffaker-Offenhauser, when hefinished 14th.
In addition to Formula One, Walt Hansgen was a dominant road racer from the early 1950s and 1960s, winning numerous races atVIR, the famed course atBridgehampton, andWatkins Glen through to his death atLe Mans in France in 1966.
He drove forBriggs Cunningham andJohn Mecom. Hansgen won theFormula Junior race at the inauguralUnited States Grand Prix meeting atSebring, Florida, on December 12, 1959, driving aStanguellini.[1] Hansgen won theMonterey Grand Prix, atLaguna Seca Raceway, on October 17, 1965, drivingJohn Mecom'sLola T70-Ford.[2] He participated in several races of the24 Hours of Daytona andLe Mans as well as the12 Hours of Sebring endurance races. He also was notable for introducingMark Donohue to professional road racing.
Hansgen was killed when he crashed a 7-literHolman & Moody Ford GT 40 Mk2 sports car while driving in the rain during the Le Mans tests on April 3, 1966.[3] "A Ford spokesman said Hansgen's car appeared to have beenaquaplaning on the wet track leaving no way for the driver to control it."[4] Ford crew members later said that Hansgen had continued to push hard in the damp weather, although he had been warned by team managerCarroll Smith to take it easy.[5] InMark 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.[6]
| Year | Class | Car | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | C Modified | Jaguar D-Type | 1st |
| 1957 | C Modified | Jaguar D-Type | 1st |
| 1958 | C Modified | Jaguar D-Type | 1st |
| 1959 | C Modified | Lister Jaguar | 1st |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 |  Brian Lister Engineering | Peter Blond | Lister Sport | S3.0 | 52 | DNF | DNF |
| 1960 | B.S. Cunningham | Dan Gurney | Jaguar E2A | S3.0 | 89 | DNF | DNF |
| 1961 | B.S. Cunningham |  Bruce McLaren | Maserati Tipo 63 | S3.0 | 31 | DNF | DNF |
| 1962 | Briggs Cunningham | Bruce McLaren | Maserati Tipo 151 Coupé | E +3.0 | 177 | DNF | DNF |
| 1963 | Briggs Cunningham | Augie Pabst | Jaguar E-Type Lightweight | GT +3.0 | 8 | DNF | DNF |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Momo Corporation | CooperT53 | ClimaxL4 | MON | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | USA Ret | NC | 0 | ||
| 1964 | Team Lotus | Lotus33 | ClimaxV8 | MON | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | ITA | USA 5 | MEX | 16th | 2 |
Source:[7] | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Huffaker | Offy | 10 | 13 | Kjell Qvale |
| 1965 | Huffaker | Offy | 21 | 14 | Kjell Qvale |
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| NASCAR Grand National Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | NGNC | Pts | Ref |
| 1964 | LOH Ford | 46 | Ford | CON | AUG | JSP | SVH | RSD | DAY | DAY | DAY | RCH | BRI | GPS | BGS | ATL | AWS | HBO | PIF | CLB | NWS | MAR | SVH | DAR | LGY | HCY | SBO | CLT | GPS | ASH | ATL | CON | NSV | CHT | BIR | VAL | PIF | DAY | ODS | OBS | BRR 3 | ISP | GLN 3 | LIN | BRI | NSV | MBS | AWS | DTS | ONA | CLB | BGS | STR | DAR | HCY | RCH | ODS | HBO | MAR | SVH | NWS | CLT | HAR | AUG | JAC | NA | - | [8] |
| 1965 | RSD | DAY | DAY | DAY | PIF | AWS | RCH | HBO | ATL | GPS | NWS | MAR | CLB | BRI | DAR | LGY | BGS | HCY | CLT | CCF | ASH | HAR | NSV | BIR | ATL | GPS | MBS | VAL | DAY | ODS | OBS | ISP | GLN 6 | BRI | NSV | CCF | AWS | SMR | PIF | AUG | CLB | DTS | BLV | BGS | DAR | HCY | LIN | ODS | RCH | MAR | NWS | CLT | HBO | CAR | DTS | NA | - | [9] | ||||||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
