Christian Bakkerud
NationalityDanish
Born(1984-11-03)3 November 1984
Copenhagen
Died11 September 2011(2011-09-11) (aged 26)
Tooting, London
Retired2010
Years active2002–2010
Previous series
2009
2008
200708
200506
2004
200203
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
GP2 Asia Series
GP2 Series
British F3 Championship
Formula BMW UK
Formula BMW ADAC
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years20092010
TeamsKolles
Best finish9th (2009)
Class wins0

Christian Bakkerud (3 November 1984 – 11 September 2011) was a Danish racing driver, who competed in the 2007 and 2008 GP2 Series seasons, albeit hindered by a recurrent back injury. Prior to GP2 he competed in British Formula 3 and Formula BMW.

He was not related to rallycross driver Andreas Bakkerud.

Career

Formula BMW

Bakkerud competed in Formula BMW from 2002 to 2004, joining the British version of the series in the latter year after two seasons in Germany.

Formula Three

Bakkerud competed in British Formula 3 in 2005 and 2006. Having finished seventh in the championship in 2005, he improved to sixth place in 2006, and also scored his first series win for Carlin at Mugello in 2006 - arguably his career highlight. During this time he also competed in the Macau Grand Prix and the Ultimate Masters of Formula Three race.

GP2 Series

Bakkerud driving for Super Nova in the 2008 GP2 Asia Series season.

Bakkerud took part in the 2007 GP2 Series season for the DPR team,[1] paired with Spaniard Andy Soucek. The season was disappointing, as Bakkerud failed to score any points. He also suffered back injuries, trapping nerves whilst racing on two separate occasions.[2]

He moved to the Super Nova team for the 2008 GP2 Asia Series, reinforcing his unlucky reputation by retiring from all but three of the races.[3] He remained for the 2008 GP2 Series proper, he suffered a recurrence of his back injury after a collision with Ben Hanley in the first race.[4] He was replaced by Soucek whilst he recovered,[5] and made his return to the cockpit at Monaco, after missing the championship round at Istanbul. He crashed at the start of the sprint race at Monaco, briefly going airborne after hitting Kamui Kobayashi. He did not suffer a recurrence of his back injury despite a heavy landing.[6] However, the injury flared up once more following a testing session, and he withdrew from the rest of the season on medical grounds. He was replaced by Soucek.[7]

DTM

Christian Bakkerud on the Hockenheimring 2009

In 2009, Bakkerud raced in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters in a two-year-old Audi A4 for Futurecom-TME.

Le Mans

Bakkerud also made his Le Mans début in 2009, driving an Audi R10 TDI privately entered by Colin Kolles's team. Paired with Christijan Albers and Giorgio Mondini, he finished ninth overall and in class. He returned to the event in 2010 with the same team and car, but on this occasion he, Albers and Oliver Jarvis failed to finish.

Retirement

Bakkerud retired from driving following the 2010 Le Mans race. In the year prior to his death, he worked as an import manager at a shipping company.[8]

Death

On 10 September 2011, Bakkerud was involved in a car crash at the Tibbet's Corner roundabout at Putney Heath, near Wimbledon Common. He died a day later, in St George's Hospital, from his injuries. He was driving an Audi RS6 at the time of the accident; a police investigation followed.[8][9] Travelling south on the A219 on Tibbet's Ride from Putney Hill, the car appeared to fail to negotiate a left turn into the large roundabout itself and instead travelled onwards and hit a thick, 1.5-metre (4.9 ft) high concrete barrier on the inside of the dual lane roundabout. The car then flipped over the barrier, fell down a steep 3-metre (9.8 ft) grass incline before smashing through the steel fence separating the bridleway and pedestrian/cyclist underpass routes. Crash investigators used yellow spray paint to mark skid and impact points on the road and where the car flipped over the barrier. The straight skid marks showed his car crossed from nearside to inside lane, as the road veered left at the roundabout entry, before it made a glancing blow on a heavy steel crash barrier prior to the barrier impact some six metres later.

Within a week a large number of flower bouquets were left at the location where the car came to rest. Police had also erected a yellow sign appealing for witnesses, which stated the accident occurred at about 6am on 10 September.

Formula One team HRT, led by Colin Kolles, added a tribute to Bakkerud to the livery of their cars during the 2011 Singapore Grand Prix weekend.[10] McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton also paid tribute to Bakkerud by wearing a helmet featuring his initials.

Racing record

Complete GP2 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 DC Points
2007 DPR BHR
FEA

13
BHR
SPR

Ret
CAT
FEA

12
CAT
SPR

Ret
MON
FEA

Ret
MAG
FEA

Ret
MAG
SPR

12
SIL
FEA

Ret
SIL
SPR

21
NÜR
FEA

Ret
NÜR
SPR

18
HUN
FEA

Ret
HUN
SPR

DNS
IST
FEA

DNQ
IST
SPR

DNQ
MNZ
FEA
MNZ
SPR
SPA
FEA

12
SPA
SPR

Ret
VAL
FEA

Ret
VAL
SPR

Ret
32nd 0
2008 Super Nova Racing CAT
FEA

Ret
CAT
SPR

DNS
IST
FEA
IST
SPR
MON
FEA

10
MON
SPR

Ret
MAG
FEA
MAG
SPR
SIL
FEA
SIL
SPR
HOC
FEA
HOC
SPR
HUN
FEA
HUN
SPR
VAL
FEA
VAL
SPR
SPA
FEA
SPA
SPR
MNZ
FEA
MNZ
SPR
27th 0
Sources:[11][12]

Complete GP2 Asia Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
2008 Super Nova Racing DUB1
FEA

Ret
DUB1
SPR

11
SEN
FEA

Ret
SEN
SPR

14
SEP
FEA

Ret
SEP
SPR

Ret
BHR
FEA

Ret
BHR
SPR

Ret
DUB2
FEA

Ret
DUB2
SPR

9
27th 0
Source:[11]

Complete DTM results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos Points
2009 Kolles Futurecom HOC
14
LAU
14
NOR
15
LAU
DSQ
OSC NÜR
13
BRH
16
CAT
17
DIJ
Ret
HOC
12
19th 0
Sources:[11][12]

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2009 Germany Kolles Netherlands Christijan Albers
Switzerland Giorgio Mondini
Audi R10 TDI LMP1 360 9th 9th
2010 Germany Kolles United Kingdom Oliver Jarvis
Netherlands Christijan Albers
Audi R10 TDI LMP1 331 DNF DNF
Sources:[12][13]

References

  • "Career statistics". driverdb.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2007.
  1. "DPR sign Bakkerud for 2007". autosport.com. 17 January 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
  2. Bradley, Charles (August 2007). "GP2's new faces suffer on debuts". Autosport. Vol. 189, no. 6. p. 15.
  3. "'Bad luck' Bakkerud gets a break". crash.net. 14 April 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  4. "Mixed fortunes for Super Nova duo". autosport.com. 27 April 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  5. "Soucek replaces injured Bakkerud". autosport.com. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
  6. "Bakkerud fit after Monaco shunt". autosport.com. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
  7. "Confirmed: Soucek back for Bakk". crash.net. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
  8. 1 2 Oakes, Omar (12 September 2011). "Racing car champion Christian Bakkerud dies after A3 crash in Tibbets Corner, Wimbledon". yourlocalguardian.co.uk. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  9. Freeman, Glenn. "Christian Bakkerud killed in car crash". Autosport.com. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  10. "Hamilton leads shortened first session". Formula1.com. Formula One Administration. 23 September 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2011. The cars bore messages to the late Christian Bakkerud, the Danish GP2 and F3 driver who died of brain injuries recently following a car accident in the UK.
  11. 1 2 3 "Christian Bakkerud". Motor Sport. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 "Christian Bakkerud Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  13. "Christian Bakkerud". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
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