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| MYSPACE |
MARKO, HELMUT
4/27/1943, Graz, Austria
Starts:9
Points: 0
Wins:0
Poles:0
Fastest Laps:0
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Marko seemed to have what it takes to be a successful Grand Prix driver, but fate destroyed the young attorney’s career when he seemed to be making real progress. Helmut drove in the lower single seater categories in the 60’s, and then he was hired to drive Porsches in the World Championship of Makes, in 1970. He did well enough to finish third at Le Mans, and became a man to watch in 1971. He went even better at Le Mans that year, winning the race with Van Lennep, and also did extremely well in the European 2 liter championship. He raced in Formula 2 was well, without too much progress, but that was enough to entice BRM to give the Austrian a try in Formula 1. Marko had driven a single lap in Jo Bonnier’s ancient McLaren at Germany, but that was not a serious effort. For Austria, he was given a BRM P153 to drive, and qualified well, in 17th. In Italy he did even better: Marko qualified 12th, but it should be noted that BRM won both races, with Siffert and Gethin, so maybe Marko’s efforts appeared so-so to the team’s management. He continued in the team during the rest of the year, finishing both the Canadian and US Grand Prix, in 12th and 13th, respectively. For 1972, Marko continued at BRM, which had had a successful 1971 season. Then with Marlboro money, team boss Louis Stanley got the strange notion of fielding an armada of 5 cars, including a main 3-car team, and secondary, Marlboro-“country” teams. Among the Marlboro-country teams was team-Austria, and Marko was the slated driver. However, Marko was always given the oldest team car to drive, but showed a lot of sympathy, finishing all races he started with the P153, including an 8th under treacherous conditions at Monaco. After a very heroic drive in the Targa Florio, with Alfa, and a great outing with Ferrari in the Austrian 1000 KM’s, Mark was finally given a P160. He responded really well, qualifying the car 6th and running towards the front in the early stages of the race. However, the stony Clermont Ferrand track claimed a few victims that day, including race leader Chris Amon’s tire, and Helmut Marko’s eye. A stone pierced through Helmut’s visor, thus finishing Marko’s race career. He continued involved in the sport, in management and team ownership. I reckoned he could have been a regular points scorer, although not championship material.