Hans Winkler (racing driver)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hans Winkler (with the legendary start number 75) - carved in wood - is the signpost to the Teterower Bergring .

Hans Winkler (born May 17, 1898 in Bamberg ; † July 19, 1936 ) was a German motorcycle racer .

Career

Winkler came from Bamberg and later lived in Munich - Untermenzing . As early as the first half of the 1920s, he started alongside Hermann Weber , Hans Sprung , Kurt Friedrich and Richard Blau in the works team of the Zschopau manufacturer DKW . For the first time he really attracted attention at the Eibsee race in 1928. In the first half of the 1930s, Winkler was successful in national and international road races, mountain races , off-road and also on the ice speedway . For example, in 1930 he won the 500 cc race for the Hungarian TT in Budapest on a DKW and in 1932 at the Eilenriederennen in Hanover on a 350 Rudge .

Winkler had his most successful season in 1935. He won the Barcelona Grand Prix on the quarter-liter DKW , the Montjuïc and the Marienberg triangle race . He was also right at the front on the grass track at the Teterower Bergringrennen and a week later at the Eifelrennen on the Nürburgring . With third place in the Schleizer triangle race , he finally secured the runner-up title in the 250cc class of the German road championship behind Arthur Geiss .

On May 3, 1936, at the Swiss Grand Prix (motorcycle) , Hans Winkler was overtaken by Walfried Winkler (both on Auto Union DKW 250 cc) on the circuit in Bremgarten (1935 season) just before the finish . In Barcelona Hans Winkler also in 1936 went back to the start, but had to defer this time Geiss. This was followed by third place at the Nürburgring. At the Dutch TT at the Circuit van Drenthe in Assen , Holland , he drove an excellent race, helped his team-mate Geiss to victory and relegated the Irish European Champion HG Tyrell-Smith to third place.

A week later, on July 19, 1936, Hans Winkler and his DKW had a fatal accident in the first half of the 250 cm³ race at the German championship race around Schotten on the Schottenring . He was only 38 years old. Winkler's successes made a decisive contribution to making motorcycle racing popular in Germany.

References

literature

  • 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. 122 .

Web links

  • Hans Winkler. www.motorsportmemorial.org, accessed on February 10, 2014 (English).
  • Hans Winkler. www.technischesmuseum.at, accessed on February 10, 2014 .