August Hobl

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A DKW RM 350 , nicknamed the “ Singing Saw ” , as driven by Hobl in his 1955 German championship title.

August "Gustl" Hobl (born April 13, 1931 in Frankfurt am Main ) is a former German motorcycle racer .

Career

Hobl's parents came from Bavaria . After a long period of unemployment, the father had found a job with Adler in Frankfurt am Main. Only for a short time, because the young family moved back to Ingolstadt in July 1931 .

In 1949 Gustl Hobl passed his journeyman's examination as a motor vehicle mechanic and found a job as a driver at Auto Union, which is now based in Ingolstadt . In 1951 he took part in a race for the first time on a 125 cc DKW on the Donauring and in 1952 he competed in Munich - Riem for the first time as a licensed driver with a DKW. In 1953 he started as a young driver for DKW and was able to learn a lot from his much older and more experienced teammates Ewald Kluge and Siegfried Wünsche .

In the 1954 season Gustl Hobl became a full member of the DKW works team . He won the Feldberg race in Taunus ahead of the two Australian Norton drivers Maurie Quincey and Jack Ahearn . In 1955, Hobl became German champion in the class up to 350 cm³ on the DKW RM 350 , which has become legendary as the " Singing Saw " , ahead of his two team colleagues Siegfried Wünsche and Karl Hofmann . He won the 350 cc races at Rund um Schotten , the Eifelrennen and the Eilenriederennen in Hanover , also on the Sachsenring and in the Eilenriede in the 125cc class. In the 350cc class of the motorcycle world championship , Hobl finished third this year behind British Moto-Guzzi works drivers Bill Lomas and Dickie Dale . At the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps and Germany on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring , he was second behind Bill Lomas with the RM 350.

The year 1956 was even more successful for August Hobl. Together with Karl Hofmann, Hans Bartl and the Briton Cecil Sandford, he formed the DKW works team and was German champion in the classes up to 125 and 350 cm³ and also second in the 350 cm³ World Championship behind the Englishman Bill Lomas. At the Dutch TT in Assen , the Netherlands , he came third in the classes up to 125 and 350 cm³, at the German Grand Prix at the Solitude in Stuttgart and at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps, he came second behind Bill Lomas ( Moto Guzzi) and John Surtees ( MV Agusta ). There were victories for Gustl Hobl in 1956 at the Rhein-Pokal race at the Hockenheimring (125 and 350 cm³) as well as at the Sachsenring (before Hans Baltisberger / NSU - Sportmax ) and at the AVUS race in Berlin .

After the end of the 1956 season, the DKW racing department had to be dissolved due to the falling sales figures of Auto Union. August Hobl remained loyal to the company and worked in marketing and customer service , even though he had a contract offer from a motorcycle manufacturer from Italy . He passed his love for motorcycles on to his two sons. Today Hobl is a frequent guest at classic motorcycle events .

statistics

title

Race wins

year class machine run route
1953 250 cc DKW Dieburger triangle race Dieburger triangle
250 cc DKW Motorrace Tubbergen Circuit Tubbergen
1954 350 cc DKW Feldberg race Feldbergring
1955 350 cc DKW Eifel race Nürburgring - Nordschleife
350 cc DKW All about bulkheads Schottenring
125 cc DKW International Sachsenring race Sachsenring
125 cc DKW Eilenriederennen Eilenriede
350 cc DKW Eilenriederennen Eilenriede
1956 125 cc DKW Grand Prix of Austria Salzburg - Liefering
350 cc DKW Grand Prix of Austria Salzburg-Liefering
125 cc DKW Rhein-Pokal race Hockenheimring
350 cc DKW Rhein-Pokal race Hockenheimring
350 cc DKW International Sachsenring race Sachsenring
350 cc DKW AVUS race AVUS
350 cc DKW Skåneloppet Kristianstad

In the motorcycle world championship

season class motorcycle run Victories Second Third Points Result
1953 250 cc DKW 3 - - 1 6th 8th.
350 cc DKW 1 - - - 3 11.
1955 125 cc DKW 1 - - - 3 9.
350 cc DKW 4th - 2 - 17th 3.
1956 125 cc DKW 2 - - 1 6th 7th
350 cc DKW 4th - 2 1 17th 2.
total 15th 0 4th 3 52

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hobl, August
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hobl, Gustl (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German motorcycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH April 13, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt am Main