Motorsport Memorial -

Viktor Kunitch

Complete name: Viktor Vsevolodovich Kunitch

Birth date: 30.Nov.1963

Birth Place: Khimki, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia)

Death date: 28.Oct.2001

Death Place: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Nationality: Russia

Gender: male

Age at death: 37

Event date: 19.Oct.2001

Series: Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) Powerboat World Championship - Formula 1

Race: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Event type: race

Country: United Arab Emirates

Venue: Abu Dhabi

Variant: powerboat circuit

Role: driver (boat)

Vehicle type: boat

Vehicle sub-type: powerboat

Vehicle brand/model: unknown

Vehicle number: ??

Notes:
Russian-Latvian powerboat racer Viktor Kunitch suffered serious injuries in a first lap pile-up during the last round of the 2001 Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) Formula 1 World Championship at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on Friday, 19 October 2001.

Kunitch crashed at the first corner, he was initally hit and then helplessly had his boat spun around facing the oncoming traffic as the rest of the field came around turn one. He was hit again in the cockpit and was seriously injured with head and upper body wounds.

Kunitch was immediately taken to hospital by helicopter and died there nine days later, on Sunday, 28 October 2001, without regaining consciousness. That same day, another Latvian sportsman, skeleton racer - skeleton is a small, brakeless sled on which riders lay down with their heads at the front - Ģirts Ostenieks, 33, was killed during training at the Sigulda Bobsled Track, northeast of the capital city, Riga. It was a black week in Latvian sports, because the following Sunday rally driver Ervīns Jonass, 26, crashed fatally during the Rallijs Latvija.

In 2002 another fatal accident marred the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) Formula 1 race in Abu Dhabi, when the Italian racer Vincenzo Polli lost his life during the race. Previously, in 1993, Britain's John Hill had met the same fate.

Born in Moscow, Russia, Viktor Kunitch raced in 2001 under the Latvian flag. Albeit not yet confirmed, it is most likely that his nationality was Russian when he passed away. Viktor Kunitch had had a very good 2001 season, culminating with a storybook first time winning performance in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy, and two podium finishes in Wien, Austria - second place - and in his hometown race at Riga, Latvia - third place.

Memorial plaque remembering the twin brothers Vsevolod and Viktor Kunitch, located on their hometown Khimki, Russia, in Gogol Street, 12
Picture courtesy of Andrei Sidorov. Reproduced under kind permission, all rights reserved

Viktor Kunitch was buried at Mashkovskoe Cemetery in Khimki, near Moscow, Russia. A memorial plaque dedicated to him and his twin brother, Vsevolod Kunitch, also a boat racer, who was killed in a traffic accident in 1993, was erected in that same town, in Gogol Street (Ulitsa Gogolya), 12, nearby the Khimki train station. Viktor Kunitch's portrait in on the right, and his brother Vsevolod on the left. The plaque reads:
"In this house lived the brothers Vsevolod and Viktor Kunitch, outstanding sportsmen, international class masters of sports,
who made great contribution to the development of powerboat racing in USSR and Russia.

Sources:

Website F1 H2O - U.I.M. World Championship, page https://www.f1h2o.com/drivers/1997/viktor-kunitch .
Website f1boat, article "CAPPELLINI COMES FROM BEHIND TO TAKE 6TH TITLE! KUNITCH'S FATAL ACCIDENT MARS EXCITING MULTI-DRIVER WINNING SEASON!", page http://www.f1boat.com/01/press_steve/lausanne_nov5.htm .
Website f1boat, article "VICTOR KUNITCH CONTINUES FIGHT IN HOSPITAL! ALL F1 FAMILY PRAYS FOR LATVIAN DRIVERS RECOVERY!", page http://www.f1boat.com/01/press_steve/abudhabi_20oct.htm .
Website f1boat, article "Season 2001", page http://www.f1boat.com/history/season_01.htm .
Website f1boat, article "Viktor KUNITCH", page http://www.f1boat.com/99/teams/europe/kunitch.htm .
Newsgroup rec.boats.racing.power, thread "victor kunitch", page http://groups.google.it/group/rec.boats.racing.power/browse_frm/thread/43a55ea3bd7d3a97/2a53c50194708d0c .
Website CBC Sports, page https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympic-skeleton-rider-killed-in-freak-training-accident-1.260875 .
Website Delfi.lv, article "Auto racer Ervīns Jonass died in hospital after severe injuries", page http://www.delfi.lv/sports/news/other_kinds/other/pec-smagas-avarijas-slimnica-miris-autosportists-ervins-jonass.d?id=2093145 .
Website Sport-Strana, page http://sport-strana.ru/kunich-viktor-vsevolodovich/ .
E-mail by Andrei Sidorov, dated 21 July 2018.