Mourning Hansi Kinigadner: Two-time national champion has passed away

Born on 17 July 1956, the Tyrolean celebrated his greatest sporting successes with the Austrian national championship titles in 1978 on a Montesa and in 1980 on a Kramer-Rotax, both in the 250cc class. Hansi belonged to a family whose name is closely linked to motocross and KTM – and whose history is marked not only by great successes but also by tragic setbacks.

A serious accident ended his career

On 14 October 1984, Hansi Kinigadner was involved in an accident at the Austrian Championship round in Höhnhart. From then on, he was paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair. The accident occurred, of all years, in the very year that his younger brother Heinz won the world championship title in the 250cc class for the first time.

It was not to be the last major blow for the family: in 2003, Hannes, Heinz’s son, was also involved in an accident during a motocross race. He too has been paraplegic ever since.

Donations to ‘Wings for Life’

Instead of wreaths and flowers, the family is asking for donations to the ‘Wings for Life’ foundation, whose aim is to find a cure for paraplegia. Please quote ‘Hansi Kinigadner’ as the reference.

‘The fight of his life is over,’ his relatives write in the obituary. Hansi is survived by his wife Katy, his daughter Kathrin and her family. His siblings, along with other relatives and friends, are mourning with them.

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Funeral service on 10 October in Uderns

The funeral service will take place on Saturday, 10 October, in Uderns in the Zillertal. At 9.30 am, the mourners will accompany Hansi from the funeral home at Kiniweg 21 to the parish church. The funeral service will begin there at 10 am. He will then be laid to rest in the local cemetery.