Alfonso de Vinuesa
Encyclopedia
Alfonso García de Vinuesa (born December 13, 1958; died May 24, 1997) was a Spanish
racing driver from Madrid
.
for a single race. In 1985 he made four German Formula Three Championship
starts for Josef Kaufmann Racing and finished 24th in points. In 1986 he made seven German F3 starts for Malte Bongers Motorsport and won once and finished seventh in points. He also made his International Formula 3000 debut for Peter Gethin Racing. In 1987 he returned to International F3000 full-time for BS Automotive but was injured in the third race of the season at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
. He returned later in the season for two races but failed to make the field in both of them. The single point he scored in the first race was good enough for 19th in points. In 1988 he returned to F3000 for Onyx Racing but failed to qualify for the first three races of the season and left the team. He returned for three races with Tamchester Racing but failed to qualify for two of them and failed to finish the one he made. He was entered in the final two races of the season for Madgwick International but failed to qualify for both of those as well. These would be de Vinuesa's final professional racing appearances.
but his largest client went bankrupt in 1994 and the company shut down. His brother committed suicide in 1993. His first marriage ended in divorce and when he was engaged again in April 1997, his fiancée was killed in a traffic accident. Alfonso Garcia de Vinuesa was killed little more than a month later when he was hit by a truck on a highway in Madrid when he was checking his car for a mechanical problem.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
racing driver from Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
.
Racing career
De Vinuesa made his professional racing debut in 1984 in the European Formula Three Championship driving for Eddie Jordan RacingJordan Grand Prix
Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team is named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan...
for a single race. In 1985 he made four German Formula Three Championship
German Formula Three Championship
The German Formula Three Championship – currently titled the ATS Formel 3 Cup – is Germany's national Formula Three series. In the hierarchy of motor racing formulae, Formula Three is placed between national Formula Renault and championships such as GP2...
starts for Josef Kaufmann Racing and finished 24th in points. In 1986 he made seven German F3 starts for Malte Bongers Motorsport and won once and finished seventh in points. He also made his International Formula 3000 debut for Peter Gethin Racing. In 1987 he returned to International F3000 full-time for BS Automotive but was injured in the third race of the season at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix and the Spa 24 Hours endurance race. It is also home to the all Volkswagen club event, 25 Hours of Spa, run by the Uniroyal Fun Cup. It is one of the most challenging race tracks in the world, mainly due to its...
. He returned later in the season for two races but failed to make the field in both of them. The single point he scored in the first race was good enough for 19th in points. In 1988 he returned to F3000 for Onyx Racing but failed to qualify for the first three races of the season and left the team. He returned for three races with Tamchester Racing but failed to qualify for two of them and failed to finish the one he made. He was entered in the final two races of the season for Madgwick International but failed to qualify for both of those as well. These would be de Vinuesa's final professional racing appearances.
Personal life and death
De Vinuesa had a tragic life outside of racing. His first love died in a skiing accident. After his racing career ended he founded an advertising agencyAdvertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
but his largest client went bankrupt in 1994 and the company shut down. His brother committed suicide in 1993. His first marriage ended in divorce and when he was engaged again in April 1997, his fiancée was killed in a traffic accident. Alfonso Garcia de Vinuesa was killed little more than a month later when he was hit by a truck on a highway in Madrid when he was checking his car for a mechanical problem.