Bert Poensgen

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Bert Poensgen (* 31 July 1947 in Dusseldorf , † 27. May 2017 in Balderschwang ) was a German motorcycle - sport manager .

Live and act

Bert Poensgen came from the well-known Düsseldorf industrialist family Poensgen , which originated in the Schleiden area in the Eifel. He was the eldest of seven children of motorsport journalist Robert Poensgen (* 1920) and Maria Anne (Marianne) Boden (* 1926). After leaving school, he completed a commercial apprenticeship and trained as a car mechanic. Due to the consequences of a serious motorcycle accident, he then retrained as an industrial clerk and began his professional career in 1979 as a sales representative at Suzuki in Munich . A few years later he was appointed Head of Motorcycle Sales and was also given responsibility for the divisionMarketing .

As Marketing and Sales Director, Poensgen was responsible for the move of the motorcycle department from Suzuki to Heppenheim in 1984 and the subsequent economic successes of the Suzuki brand, which led to steady sales increases and culminated in market leadership from 1992 to 1996.

However, his main interest was motorcycle sport with all its facets. For many years he trained and looked after his daughter Katja Poensgen , who was the only woman in the 250 cm³ class to score points in a motorcycle world championship . He also discovered and promoted many talents such as Max Neukirchner and Ken Roczen and led them to numerous successes.

In addition, Bert Poensgen was elected President of the Motorcycle Industry Association (IVM) in 2003. From 2008 he finally took over the management of the operating company EuroSpeedway Verwaltungs GmbH , which took over the management of the Lausitzring from January 1st, 2009 . Under his responsibility events such as were Red Bull Air Race , the Shell Eco-marathon or the Motocross World Championship in the Lausitz are fetched. In 2013 he gave up the management, but remained with the company as a consultant.

A few months earlier, together with Josef Meier and Josef Hofmann, he had founded MotorEvents GmbH , which from 2013 replaced the German Motor Sport Association (DMSB) as the promoter of the international German motorcycle road championship . With MotorEvents GmbH , he also won those responsible for hosting the 2016 Superbike World Championship at the Lausitzring.

At the end of 2016, after quarrels with the DMSB and the ADAC, he ended his work with MotorEvents GmbH and gradually planned to retire. Poensgen had already leased the Bodenseehütte with the attached guesthouse at Balderschwang since retiring from working life at Suzuki. As a hut keeper, he was able to relax here with his family and employees from his various obligations in Lusatia and other racing locations. On May 27, 2017, he died of a heart attack, leaving behind his wife and three children.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ life data according to obituary notice , in the Allgäuer announcement sheet from June 1st, 2017
  2. ↑ Lausitzring managing director Bert Poensgen: Farewell to the Lausitzring with a positive result , press release on lausitzring.de from January 30, 2014
  3. ↑ MotorEvents becomes the new IDM promoter , press release on msc-schleizer-dreieck.de from October 2012
  4. ↑ Esther Babel: IDM promoter gives flaming farewell speech , press release on speedway.com from September 27, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Poensgen, Bert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German motorcycle sports manager
DATE OF BIRTH July 31, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Dusseldorf
DATE OF DEATH May 27, 2017
Place of death Balderschwang