Heinz Kinigadner

Heinz Kinigadner (born 28 January 1960) is an Austrian former professional motocross racer and current Sports Manager and Motorsport Consultant for KTM Motorsports. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1980 to 1988, most prominently as a member of the KTM factory racing team where he became the first Austrian competitor to win an FIM Motocross World Championship. After winning two consecutive 250cc Motocross World Championships in 1984 and 1985, he became a successful Rally Raid competitor.

Together with Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz, Kinigadner established the Wings for Life foundation in 2004, dedicated to finding a cure for spinal cord injuries. In 2016, Kinigadner was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.

Biography Early life Kinigadner was born in Uderns, Tyrol, on 28 January 1960. His family owned a third-generation bakery and he trained as a baker and confectioner before pursuing a professional motorcycle racing career. His father was an avid motorcyclist, competing in Hillclimbing and ice racing. At the age of 20, he competed in his first Motocross World Championship event at the 1980 250cc West German Grand Prix as a privateer aboard a KTM motorcycle.

Kinigadner joined the KTM factory racing team in 1983. In the 1984 250cc Motocross World Championship, he won the season-opening 250cc French Grand Prix, then won in Czechoslovakia and Italy to take the championship points lead. He then withstood a late season challenge from Jacky Vimond (Yamaha) to clinch the world championship. His victory marked the first time that an Austrian competitor had won a Motocross World Championship since its inception in 1957.

500 class Kinigadner chose to compete in the premier 500cc Motocross World Championship for the 1986 season. The 500cc championship in the mid-1980s was extremely competitive with a talented field of riders including the powerful Honda factory team of David Thorpe, André Malherbe and Eric Geboers as well as Håkan Carlqvist riding for the Yamaha team and Georges Jobé for the Kawasaki team. Against the increased level of competition, Kinigadner finished the season 13th overall. He improved to a seventh place in 1987, with a victory in the first heat race at his home Grand Prix in Austria where he placed third overall behind David Thorpe and Georges Jobé.

Kinigadner won the final world championship event of his career at the 1987 500cc Belgian Grand Prix. Despite this success, the relatively small KTM factory struggled to compete with the technical resources available to the much larger Japanese manufacturers. Kinigadner competed in his final World Championship race at the 1988 250cc British Grand Prix at the age of 28.

He retired in 2000 after suffering a thigh fracture.

After Kinigadner's older brother and son were paralyzed in motorcycle accidents, he helped start the Wings for Life foundation together with Dietrich Mateschitz, which is dedicated to finding a cure for spinal cord injuries. Being the first Austrian motocross world champion racing on an Austrian-made KTM motorcycle coupled with his rally racing exploits boosted his popularity in his native Austria.