Karl Braun (racing driver)
Karl Braun (born August 28, 1902 in Achern ; † August 22, 1937 ) was a German motorcycle racer .
Life
Karl Braun came from Achern, where his parents owned a coach shop. After finishing school he learned the trade of a businessman and moved to Karlsruhe , where he met his future wife Lydia. Together they later built a house in Weiherfeld .
His son Karl Braun junior, who was born almost seven weeks after his father's death, later took over his estate, which his mother had kept in a sack under the coal in the cellar during the Second World War ; Among them were over 200 letters and telegrams of condolence as well as the leather gloves and his helmet .
Career
During his professional training, Karl Braun saved up for his own motorcycle . He drove his first race as an ID driver at the age of 22 on a 600 cc - Imperia . In 1926 he became a licensed driver; after a fall he had to pause for a long time because of a fractured skull. In 1929 Braun bought a Bugatti sports car to compete in car races . A little later, however, he sold this car again and switched back to the motorcycle.
In the early 1930s, Karl Braun began to take part in team races. His first major success came in 1933 when he won the Hockenheim motorcycle race on the Hockenheimer Dreieck with a Tornax team with a JAP engine. In the following year he and his co-driver Erwin Badsching won both team races for the Feldberg Mountain Prize on the Großer Feldberg im Taunus . In 1935 the two started on a Horex team that was serviced by the Karlsruhe mechanic Georg Kaiser. This year, the duo achieved seven first and eight second places with the privately used machine in 18 national and international races. In addition, Braun / Badsching won the German championship in the 1000 class ahead of the NSU factory duo Hans Schumann / Hermann Böhm and came second in the German mountain championship.
Due to these successes, the Saxon manufacturer DKW , which at the time was one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world, became aware of the two and signed them from the 1936 season. Braun / Badsching won the championship races on the Schottenring and the Schleizer Dreieck and won again the German championship, this time in the 600 cm³ class.
They continued to compete for DKW in the 1937 season, winning the Eilenriederennen in Hanover , the International Solitude Race in Stuttgart and the Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring , thus defending their championship title in the 600-class sidecar class ahead of time. At the Swiss Grand Prix in Bremgarten , during which the titles of the 1937 European motorcycle championship were awarded on July 3rd and 4th, Braun / Badsching competed against the local drivers Ferdinand Aubert and Max Hunziker (both Norton ) and thus also won the European title in this class.
Deadly accident
On August 22, 1937, Karl Braun had a fatal accident in the penultimate run of the German motorcycle championship on the Schleizer Dreieck . His DKW team skid in the first corner of the track on a wet road and overturned. While co-driver Erwin Badsching was almost uninjured, Braun suffered serious injuries, which he succumbed to in hospital on the same day.
At the last championship run, which took place on September 19, 1937 on the Schottenring, the NSU works team Hermann Böhm / Karl Fuchs won the 600 race. The two ended the season tied with Braun / Badsching. The title was awarded posthumously to Karl Braun and his co-driver Erwin Badsching.
The increasing number of serious sidecar accidents in 1936 and 1937 - in addition to Karl Braun, for example, DKW team mate Toni Babl , Albert Schneider , Hans Schneider and Josef Lohner fatally - prompted the National Socialist Motor Corps, as the highest motor sports authority in Germany, to ban all trailer races for 1938. On some racetracks like the Solitude, the Schleizer Dreieck and on the Feldberg, racing was even completely stopped. Sidecar races were only allowed again after the Second World War .
His grave is in the main cemetery in Karlsruhe .
statistics
title
- 1935 - German 1000 cm³ team master on Horex with Erwin Badsching as co-driver
- 1936 - German 600 cm³ team master in a DKW with Erwin Badsching as co-driver
- 1937 - 600 cc European team champion in a DKW with Erwin Badsching as co-driver
- 1937 - German 600 cc team master in a DKW with Erwin Badsching as co-driver
Race wins
(colored background = European championship run )
| year | class | machine | Co-driver | run | route |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Carriages (1000 cm³) | Tornax - JAP | unknown | Hockenheim motorcycle races | Hockenheimer triangle |
| 1934 | Carriages (600 cm³) | Horex | Erwin Badsching | Feldberg Mountain Prize | Feldbergring |
| Carriages (over 1000 cm³) | Tornax-Horex | Erwin Badsching | Feldberg Mountain Prize | Feldbergring | |
| 1935 | Carriages (1200 cm³) | Horex | Erwin Badsching | International Solitude Race | Solitude |
| Carriages (1000 cm³) | Horex | Erwin Badsching | Marienberg triangle race | Marienberg triangle | |
| Carriages (1000 cm³) | Horex | Erwin Badsching | Hockenheim motorcycle races | Hockenheimer triangle | |
| Carriages (1000 cm³) | Horex | Erwin Badsching | Schleizer triangle race | Schleizer triangle | |
| Carriages (1000 cm³) | Horex | Erwin Badsching | Feldberg Mountain Prize | Feldbergring | |
| 1936 | Carriages (600 cm³) | DKW | Erwin Badsching | All about bulkheads | Schottenring |
| Carriages (600 cm³) | DKW | Erwin Badsching | Schauinsland Mountain Prize | Schauinsland near Freiburg | |
| 1936 | Carriages (600 cm³) | DKW | Erwin Badsching | Schleizer triangle race | Schleizer triangle |
| 1937 | Carriages (600 cm³) | DKW | Erwin Badsching | Eilenriederennen | Eilenriede |
| Carriages (600 cm³) | DKW | Erwin Badsching | International Solitude Race | Solitude | |
| Carriages (600 cm³) | DKW | Erwin Badsching | Schauinsland Mountain Prize | Schauinsland near Freiburg | |
| Carriages (600 cm³) | DKW | Erwin Badsching | Eifel race | Nürburgring | |
| 1937 | Carriages (600 cm³) | DKW | Erwin Badsching | Swiss Grand Prix | Bremgarten |
References
literature
- Patricia Kaluzny: The son never met the famous father . Motor sportsman Karl Braun had an accident during the race. Ed .: Badische Latest News . August 21, 2009, p. 15 .
- 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. 58, 72, 75, 81-96, 114-115, 120 .
Web links
- Karl Braun. www.motorsportmemorial.org, accessed April 12, 2012 (English).
- Photo: 600 cm³ DKW team at www.classic-motorrad.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Vincent Glon: Les courses à Hockenheim (Germany). racingmemo.free.fr, accessed April 12, 2012 (French).
- ^ Hansjoerg Meister: Feldberg - Bergpreis 1934. www.feldbergrennen.de, accessed on April 12, 2012 .
- ↑ Vincent Glon: Around Scots - Scots (Allemagne). racingmemo.free.fr, accessed April 12, 2012 (French).
- ↑ Vincent Glon: Schleizer-Dreieck-Rennen -Schleiz (Allemagne). racingmemo.free.fr, accessed April 12, 2012 (French).
- ^ Vincent Glon: Eilenriede race - Hanovre (Allemagne). racingmemo.free.fr, accessed April 12, 2012 (French).
- ↑ Vincent Glon: Les courses de la Solitude - Stuttgart (Germany). racingmemo.free.fr, accessed April 12, 2012 (French).
- ↑ Vincent Glon: Eifel Tour & Eifel Race - Nürburgring (Allemagne). racingmemo.free.fr, accessed April 12, 2012 (French).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Braun, Karl |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German motorcycle racer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 28, 1902 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Achern |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 22, 1937 |