Kinigadner was raised in Uderns in the Tyrolean Alps, where his family owned a third-generation bakery. He trained as a master baker and confectioner by trade. His father Johann had competed in hillclimbs and ice races — earning a silver medal in the 1953 Tyrolean Alpine Tour — and all three Kinigadner brothers, Hans (born 1956), Heinz, and Klaus, pursued motocross professionally. The siblings made a pact in their youth to become world champions, reflecting the family's intense focus on the sport during Austria's motocross boom of the 1970s.
Kinigadner entered his first competitive race in 1974 at age fourteen, and turned professional in 1980. He won multiple Austrian national championships across the 125cc, 250cc, and 500cc classes from 1978 onward, riding Puch machinery in his early years. His first major international Grand Prix victory came at the 1982 Italian 250cc round, riding a Yamaha.
Switching to the KTM factory team, Kinigadner won the FIM 250cc Motocross World Championship in 1984, becoming the first Austrian to take an FIM motocross title. He defended the title in 1985. The back-to-back championships were achieved on KTM machinery and made Kinigadner a national sporting figure — an Austrian champion on an Austrian-made motorcycle. The victories helped establish KTM's competitive reputation on the world stage.
Beginning in 1989, Kinigadner turned to rally raid competition. He contested the Paris-Dakar Rally seven times and won stages on multiple occasions, but was unable to complete any of his seven Dakar attempts due to mechanical failures or injuries. His most costly setback came at the 2000 Dakar when a crash at approximately 180 km/h caused a severe thigh fracture, which ended his active racing career.
Away from the Dakar, Kinigadner was considerably more successful. He won the Rallye des Pharaons in 1994, the Paris-Moscow-Peking Rally in 1995, the Dubai Desert Challenge in 1995, 1996, and 1998, and the Brazil Rally in 1998.
Kinigadner joined KTM as a sports manager in 1992, maintaining that position even during his active rally raid career. After retiring from racing he advanced to the position of Sporting Director at KTM, overseeing the manufacturer's rally raid and motocross programmes through a period that included multiple consecutive Dakar Rally victories for the Austrian brand. In 2002, together with his children Isabell and Hannes, he founded KINI Sport-Management GmbH, which produces and retails motocross sports and streetwear under the Kini Red Bull brand.
Two serious accidents shaped Kinigadner's philanthropic focus. His older brother Hans was paralysed in a motocross accident, and his son Hannes suffered paralysis in a 2003 racing accident. Both events underlined the scarcity of dedicated research funding for spinal cord injuries. In 2004, together with Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, he co-founded the Wings for Life Foundation, a nonprofit that directs all public donations exclusively to spinal cord injury research projects worldwide. The foundation has supported research projects across many countries and runs the Wings for Life World Run as an annual global fundraising event.
Kinigadner was inducted as an FIM Legend in 2016, recognising his role as the pioneer of Austrian success in international motocross. He resides between Uderns in Tyrol and Ibiza, Spain, remaining active in motorsport consultancy and philanthropy. His son Hannes, despite his accident, has also remained involved in the Kini business and in the Wings for Life mission.
Gallery · 3 related images
