Walfried Winkler

Walfried Winkler 1949

Winkler in 1949 on a 250 cc DKW

Winkler in 1949 on a 250 cc DKW

Walfried Winkler (born March 17, 1904 in Chemnitz , † January 14, 1982 in Heßdorf near Erlangen ) was a German motorcycle racer .

Winkler was one of the most successful German motorcycle racers before the Second World War . In 1934 he became European champion in the class up to 250  cm³ , won four German road championships , the international six-day race , was twice German cement railway and once German mountain champion.

During his entire career he started for DKW and was often able to outclass the four-stroke competition with their two-stroke racing motorcycles.

Career

Walfried Winkler was encouraged at a young age by an influential fatherly friend who gave him a DKW racing machine and opportunities to start. In 1925 he got his first DKW factory machine thanks to good performance . In the following years, Winkler developed into a top driver and contributed to the fact that the DKW brand, which was based in Zschopau a few kilometers from his home town of Chemnitz , became known worldwide. In 1927 Winkler won his first German championship in the 250 cm³ class on a DKW ORe 250 and successfully defended this title the following year.

The 1934 season was the most successful in Winkler's active career. With the victory at the Dutch TT , which was held in Assen , the Netherlands , he secured the European title in the class up to 250 cm³. In addition, he was again German champion in this displacement class.

In 1935, Winkler won the silver vase at the 17th International Six-Day Tour in Oberstdorf im Allgäu together with his long-time DKW stable companions Ewald Kluge and Arthur Geiss . In 1938 he was German champion for the fourth time on a 350 DKW. In the same year he also took part in the young driver test of the Auto Union racing department at the Nürburgring , but was not considered capable of completing a whole race distance in one of the heavy Grand Prix cars because of his lean stature .

Winkler set numerous world records, especially with the 175 cm³ DKW. In total, he achieved more than 200 race victories in his career.

Even after the Second World War and several years of internment in the special camp No. 1 Mühlberg , Winkler competed in numerous races in East and West Germany on a former 250cc machine . In the fall of 1950 he left his Saxon homeland and went to West Germany, where he worked for Victoria in Nuremberg and in 1952 took over the management of the off-road sports department.

In 1957, after the off-road sports department at Victoria had been dissolved, Winkler went to Porsche and worked there in the test department, where he also worked on the development of the first Porsche 911 . Despite his advanced age, he still took part in a few racing events and in 1958 contested the 1000-kilometer race on the Nürburgring with Herbert Linge in a Porsche 550 Spyder . In the following years Winkler competed several times in the Tour d'Europe , which spanned over 1000 kilometers .

He retired in 1969, but remained involved in racing until his death in 1982.

statistics

title

• 1927 - German 250 cm³ champion on DKW
• 1928 - German 250 cm³ champion on DKW
• 1934 - 250 cm³ European champion on DKW
• 1934 - German 250 cm³ champion on DKW
• 1935 - Winning the silver vase on the international six-day trip on DKW
• 1938 - German 350 cm³ champion on DKW

Individual results in the sports car world championship

season	team	race car	1	2	3	4th	5	6th
1958	Herbert Linge	Porsche 356	BUA	SEB	TAR	ONLY	LEM	RTT
						13

literature

• Walfried Winkler: Racing experiences - racing secrets . On the racing machine for two decades. Belser-Verlag , Stuttgart 1944.
• Steffen Ottinger: DKW motorcycle sport 1920–1939 . From the first victories of the Zschopau two-stroke model at track races to the European championship successes. 1st edition. HB-Werbung und Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Chemnitz 2009, ISBN 978-3-00-028611-7 , p. 21-123 .
• Steffen Ottinger: Around Zschopau. The story of an off-road motorcycle ride . tape 1 . Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft Marienberg, Marienberg 2004, ISBN 3-931770-49-4 , p. 8, 11 .
• Steffen Ottinger: Around Zschopau. The story of an off-road motorcycle ride . tape 2 . HB-Werbung und Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Chemnitz 2011, ISBN 978-3-00-036705-2 , p. 13, 17 .
• Steffen Ottinger: International Six Day Trip 2012. The story since 1913 . HB-Werbung und Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Chemnitz 2012, ISBN 978-3-00-039566-6 , p. 24-28 .

Web links

Commons : Walfried Winkler  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Günter Geyler: ... one of the old guard from DKW ... www.eggersdorfer.info, accessed on July 23, 2014 . 
• Walfried Winkler at Racing Sports Cars

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Reiner Scharfenberg: Motorcycle Profile No. 2 Victoria , published by Flugzeug Publikations GmbH, Illertissen. Page 34