Jo Gartner

Jo Gartner (24 January 1954 in Vienna – 1 June 1986) was a Formula One and sports car endurance driver from Austria. After a successful junior formula career, including wins in Formula Two, he participated in eight Formula One Grands Prix for Osella, debuting on 6 May 1984, scoring no points.

Despite finishing fifth at the 1984 Italian Grand Prix, Gartner was awarded no points because Osella had officially entered only one car for the season, and Gartner was driving a second car. He came fourth in the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche 962C along with teammates David Hobbs and Guy Edwards, finishing on three wheels. He caused quite a stir after winning the 1986 12 Hours of Sebring, along with teammates Bob Akin and Hans-Joachim Stuck.

Whilst contesting the 1986 24 Hours of Le Mans at 2:10 am on the Sunday, Gartner's car suffered a mechanical failure and turned hard left into the barriers on the Mulsanne Straight at 160 mph (260 km/h). The car somersaulted down the track and caught fire resting on the barriers on the opposite side of the track. Gartner was killed on impact.