Obituaries

Karl Heinz Kalbfell

The architect of BMW’s 1999 Le Mans victory and the German firm’s return to Fl in 2000 has died following a crash in a classic motorcycle event at Brands Hatch. He was 63.

Head of BMW Motorsport from 1988, the German oversaw its successful M3 touring car projects, then took BMW to more success in Super Touring. Kalbfell, who joined BMW in 1977, moved it into sports car racing with McLaren’s Fl GTR, then prototypes created by Williams and later into Fl.

After leaving BMW he worked for RollsRoyce, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Lotus.

John Coombs
We regret to record the passing of famous team boss John Coombs, whose cars were once a staple feature of mainstream race meetings. For a full appreciation of the man and his methods, turn to Doug Nye’s column on page 133.

Terry Sanger
Terry Sanger, who raced internationally in sports cars, touring cars and singleseaters (notably in the European F5000 Championship), died recently. Sanger contested five world championship sports car races in the1960s, and the Spa 24 Hours, but is best known for racing his V8 Ford Cortina Special Saloon.