Manfred Günther (racing driver)

Manfred Günther (born October 26, 1942 in Elterlein ; † presumably September 2005) was an automobile racing driver in the GDR .

Career

Günther, who, along with Ulli Melkus and Bernd Kasper, was one of the best GDR car racing drivers in the 1970s and 1980s, only started motor racing late. The driver, who started in the Formula Easter class, had been a member of the GDR national team since 1972 and won several cups within the Eastern Bloc. In 1987 he was runner-up behind Bernd Kasper. The car of the driver, who started for MC Scheibenberg and later MC Zwickau , was called the "washing machine" because of the advertising for the Schwarzenberg household appliance manufacturer Monsator . His greatest sporting success was winning the GDR championship in the Formula 3 / Class C9 / Class B8 ( Formula Easter ) racing car class in 1973. He ended his active sports career in 1990.

The master of the automotive trade ran a car repair shop in his home town of Markersbach and opened a car dealership in Raschau in 1997 . In 2004 he sustained an injury to his spine in an accident during the Veteran Cup at the Lausitzring .

Günther was married, his sons Jörg and Michael were at his side as fitters during his successes.

Günther has been missing in the Fish River Canyon in Namibia since September 9, 2005 . During a safari vacation, he descended into the gorge alone without food or water supplies, which was closed a few days later because of the extreme temperatures there. On September 20, 2005, the search for Günther in the canyon, which was over 40 ° C, was unsuccessful. Since September 22, 2005, the Federal Foreign Office has assumed that he is dead.

literature

• Günther, Manfred. In: Günter Weigel: A small chronicle of great athletes - Erzgebirge we are proud of. Rockstroh, Aue, 2004, p. 57.

Web links

• About Manfred Günther

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Search for tourist canceled - Allgemeine Zeitung about the search