KONl Racing - how it all started
KONI was founded in 1857 by A. de Koning. Of course not with making shock absorbers, but with making leather equipment for horses. Just before the Second World War the company started to work on shock absorbers. These were friction type shock absorbers at the time. After the Second World War production started of the telescopic shock absorbers. In the early fifties KONI decided to play a more prominent role in motor sport in order to enlarge the company’s reputation. Of course motor sport was an excellent way of proving to the world that the shock absorbers manufactured in Oud-Beijerland were of very high quality. The first event that KONI participated in was the Tulpenrally in 1955, a Dutch organised rally with international status in those days. As a reward for using KONI stickers on their cars, the drivers could have their KONI dampers for next to nothing. The KONI dampers proved to be ideal for rally purposes. What’s more, they stood out head and shoulders above their competitors.
After starting with rally KONI switched to the racing scene. In 1956 KONI entered the Formula 1. On the famous Nordschleife it assisted the Ferrari team in solving their suspension problems. Till that time F1 still used the leverarm type shock absorbers. The KONI shock absorbers offered better damping characteristics and the possibility to mount the spring around the damper, which made it more compact. Officially the first Grand Prix that KONI participated in was in 1958 with Ferrari. The Belgian driver Gendebien made his appearance on the Monza track with KONI and took sixth place. After the start with Ferrari the business went fast and already in 1971 KONI reached it’s first World Championship win as Tyrrell Ford won the driver’s (Jackie Stewart) and constructor’s championship.
