Markus Höttinger

Left to right: GS Tuning team members in 1979 – Hans-Georg Bürger, Gerhard Schneider, Eckhard Schimpf, Markus Höttinger. Markus Höttinger (28 May 1956 – 13 April 1980) was an Austrian racing driver who died after an accident at Germany's Hockenheimring during the third lap of the second round of the 1980 European Formula Two Championship, on 13 April 1980. He was 23 years old at the time.

Career Höttinger started his motor sport career with an internship at Mercedes-Benz in 1975, while on a break from studying at university. He subsequently bought a Ford and entered local club races. He graduated to the Austrian Renault 5 Cup, winning in his second season in 1977. He met established Austrian racer Helmut Marko, who helped Höttinger on his way through the lower categories of the sport. Via Marko, Höttinger was given a drive by BMW team principal Jochen Neerpasch in the 1977 Kyalami 1000kms alongside Harald Grohs, and the pair finished third.

Neerpasch gave Höttinger a test and development role at BMW for 1978, and also a race seat with GS Tuning in the DRM series. Good performances led to appearances in the World Championship for Makes paired with Hans-Joachim Stuck, and the European Touring Car Championship. He also made his debut in single seaters, in Formula Three. His Formula Two rival and friend Hans-Georg Bürger was killed at the Dutch round of the championship, and Helmut Marko has stated his belief that both drivers would have reached Formula One and been competitive.