{{Short description|Austrian racing driver (born 1941)}} {{Infobox F1 driver | name = Karl Oppitzhauser | nationality = {{flagicon|AUT}} Austrian | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1941|10|04|df=y}} | birth_place = Bruck an der Leitha, Lower Austria, Austria | years = {{F1|1976}} | teams = non-works March | races = 1 (0 starts) | championships = 0 | wins = 0 | podiums = 0 | points = 0 | poles = 0 | fastest_laps = 0 | first_race = 1976 Austrian Grand Prix }} '''Karl Oppitzhauser''' (born 4 October 1941) is a former racing driver from Austria. He is chiefly known for his optimistic attempt to enter the 1976 Formula One Austrian Grand Prix.
==Career== Oppitzhauser began his career in Formula Vee in the 1960s, and also raced a Lotus Europa. By 1968 he had progressed to a Ferrari Dino, and later a Lamborghini Miura, before competing in the Alfasud Cup in the mid-1970s.<ref name="historic">[http://www.historicracing.com/top100.cfm?fulltext=3219&today=on&fromrow=2575 Oppitzhauser at historicracing.com]{{dead link|date=January 2016}}</ref>
In 1976, Oppitzhauser attempted to enter the Austrian Grand Prix with the local ÖASC Racing Team, driving a March 761, despite having little experience in single seater racing cars. Due to this lack of experience, both Oppitzhauser and his teammate Otto Stuppacher were refused entry to the event.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.f1rejects.com/drivers/stuppacher/biography.html |title=Otto Stuppacher - Full Biography |publisher=F1 Rejects |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014175339/http://www.f1rejects.com/drivers/stuppacher/biography.html |archivedate=14 October 2007 |accessdate=15 January 2016}}</ref> Unlike Stuppacher, Oppitzhauser did not make any further attempts at Formula One.
After his Formula One attempt, Oppitzhauser entered a Brands Hatch round of the Shellsport G8 Formula 5000 Championship, but did not start the race. He switched to touring car racing, and competed with a BMW 635CSi in Group 5.<ref name="historic" />
During the early 1980s, Oppitzhauser changed sports, trying his hand at harness racing, before returning to touring cars in 1984, where he stayed until 1992. From 1995 to 1999, he participated in the Ferrari 355 Challenge, then switched to a Ferrari 360 Modena, winning the European Group 2 Ferrari Challenge in 2001. He subsequently moved up to the Group 1 Ferrari Challenge.<ref name="historic" /> His last Ferrari Challenge entry came at Imola in 2017, finishing 22nd in the amateur class.
Oppitzhauser now runs a Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Hyundai dealership in his home town of Bruck.<ref>[http://www.oppitzhauser.at/ Autohaus Oppitzhauser]</ref> {{Clear}}
==Racing record==
===Complete World Sportscar Championship results=== (key) (Races in '''bold''' indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%" ! Year ! Entrant ! Class ! Chassis ! Engine ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! {{Tooltip|Pos.|Championship position}} ! Pts |- | 1976 ! Egon Evertz KG ! GT ! Porsche 934 ! Porsche 930/71 3.0 F6t | MUG | VAL | SIL | NÜR |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| ÖST<br>{{small|11}} | GLN | DIJ !colspan=2|<ref group="N">In 1976 and 1977 the World Championship was divided into two series that ran simultaneously but separately: The World Sportscar Championship and the World Championship for Makes.</ref> |} ;Footnotes {{Reflist|group=N}}
===Complete Formula One World Championship results=== (key) {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%" ! Year ! Entrant ! Chassis ! Engine ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! 10 ! 11 ! 12 ! 13 ! 14 ! 15 ! 16 ! {{Tooltip|WDC|World Drivers' Championship}} ! Pts |- | 1976 ! Sports Cars of Austria ! March 761 ! Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP | BEL | MON | SWE | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT<br/>{{small|DNP}} | NED | ITA | CAN | USA | JPN ! NC ! 0 |}
===Complete Shellsport International Series results=== (key) (Races in '''bold''' indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.) {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%" |- ! Year ! Entrant ! Chassis ! Engine ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! 10 ! 11 ! 12 ! 13 ! {{Tooltip|Pos.|Championship position}} ! Pts |- | 1976 ! Sports Cars of Austria ! March 761 ! Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | MAL | SNE | OUL | BRH | THR | BRH | MAL | SNE |style="background:#FFCFCF;"| BRH<br/>{{small|DNQ}} | THR | OUL | BRH | BRH ! NC ! 0 |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.oppitzhauser-racing.com/ Official website] (German)
{{Formula One drivers from Austria}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oppitzhauser, Karl}} Category:Austrian racing drivers Category:Austrian Formula One drivers Category:Austrian people of German descent Category:1941 births Category:Living people Category:People from Bruck an der Leitha Category:Sportspeople from Lower Austria
{{Austria-sport-bio-stub}} {{Europe-autoracing-bio-stub}} {{F1-bio-stub}} Category:Ferrari Challenge drivers