Leonhard von Gottorp

Leonhard Von Gottorp (born 9 January 1941 in Hanover, Lower Saxony, died 4 October 2014 in Shanghai, China) was a German racing driver who has raced in Formula One and in F1RWRS. At 73 years of age, he was the oldest driver in the history of the latter series and the oldest driver in any major open-wheel racing series.

Early Life

Being born into the remnants of German royality, the Gottorp family managed to save their wealth from the many changes at the end of WW2. With said wealth, Von Gottorp enjoyed a fine education and started to race in minor series after being invited by a friend of his. In the winter of 1966, Von Gottorp started planning entering a few Formula 1 races in the following year. For that purpose, he bought a used Cooper and prepared to enter F1.

Formula 1 Career

1976

For 1976, von Gottorp signed for Team Fittipaldi partnering the experienced Emerson Fittipaldi. Despite a lack of pace compared to his team-mate, von Gottorp drove carefully in the races to bring his car home, an approach which paid off in South Africa. A fine 6th was the German's reward after Emerson span whilst running further up the field, with the one point vaulting the team out of pre-qualifying. The next four races of the season proved to be less entertaining, although he continued to finish strongly. Two seventh places in the Soviet and British Grand Prix would be the best results from the middle part of the season, the team often frustratingly close to scoring points. A run of four straight retirements beginning in the Netherlands looked to end his season on a low note, but a determined drive to 5th place in the season finale at Fuji in appalling conditions netted von Gottorp, and Fittipaldi, a further two points. von Gottorp finished the season having outscored Emerson Fittipaldi by three points to none, a development no-one had predicted.

1977

Heading into 1977, it was expected that Fittipaldi would retain von Gottorp. In a surprising development, McLaren offered von Gottorp their #12 car, an offer he was glad to accept.

Unfortunately for von Gottorp, this offer was later withdrawn after the British team opted to continue with American driver Tom Sneva. As a result, von Gottorp was sidelined for the first two rounds of the season before an opening at Hesketh Racing appeared before the United States West Grand Prix, where he replaced Belgian driver Patrick Neve.

World Touring Car Masters

1989

In 1989, von Gottorp joined the factory Audiwerke Motorsports team on their WTCM debut alongside fellow debutants Derek Warwick and Altfrid Heger. He piloted the Audi V8 in the B Class division of the championship, taking a pre-qualifying win and a second place in the sprint race at Watkins Glen.

F1RWRS Career: 2014

Despite being de facto long-time retired from motor racing with a few unsuccessful appearances in the 2012 Lotus Racing League season as well as a moderately succesful career in F1RGP2C in the ninties, Von Gottorp approached Tropico Grand Prix when the team announced their intention to replace Darren Older Jr.. Using the last bit of his once impressive financial assets and a minor sponsorship deal with internet service provider 1&1, the old German bought the seat and was due to debut at the Belgian Grand Prix. Older left the team on his own terms before the Norisring weekend, joining Scuderia Alitalia. This propelled him in the car a week before his planned debut. He showed that he has not unlearnt driving fast, giving rookie Miko Fäkkinen a hard time in both pratice and pre-qualifying, forcing the Finn to bring up the rear. He followed his impressive debut by using the full extent of his experience in the wet Spa pre-qualifying, pushing the inferior Tropican car to 11th place in one of the best laps of the year, beating his team mate by almost 10 seconds. After that impressive performance, reality struck back and the German driver failed to leave the bottom half of the pre-qualifying grid.

Death

Von Gottorp died on October 4, 2014 in his hotel room, in Shanghai, China, after a maid found him not responding to her knocking. Paramedics suspected that Von Gottorp may have been died due to his old age. A memorial service have been scheduled for him after the race, and the 2014 Chinese Grand Prix was held with a one-minute silence before the start.

Complete Career results

Complete Formula 1 Results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	WDC
1976	Copersucar Team Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi FD04	Ford Cosworth DFV	BRA Ret	RSA 6	USW 9	ESP Ret	BEL 8	MON Ret	SOV 7	FRA 8	GBR 7	GER Ret	AUT 9	NED Ret	ITA Ret	CAN Ret	USA Ret	JPN 5	3	21st

Complete F1RWRS results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Points
2014	Tropico Grand Prix	Tropico TGP001	Yamaha OX88	TAS	AUS	BRA	MEX	USA	MON	FRA	GBR	GER DNPQ	BEL DNPQ	ITA DNPQ	MED DNPQ	NED DNPQ	MAC DNPQ	CHN DNPQ	JPN	=26th	0