Paul Friedrichs (racing driver)

Paul Friedrichs at the Motocross des Nations 1967 in Markelo in the Dutch province of Overijssel .

Paul Friedrichs (born March 21, 1940 in Buchholz ; † August 30, 2012 in Erfurt ) was a German three-time motocross world champion and enduro athlete .

Paul Friedrichs was a trained tractor fitter, but in the mid-1970s he completed distance learning to become a master of forestry, specializing in hunting .

Friedrichs, who grew up in Mecklenburg , came to the MC Dynamo in Erfurt through the motorsport clubs MC Traktor Franzburg and MC Dynamo Rostock . With the training conditions found here, he developed into one of the best motocross and enduro athletes of his time. In 1966 he won with a two-stroke - ČZ first time the Motocross World Championship in the 500 cc class. He was then able to defend the title in the following two years, making him the first motocross rider after the Second World War to win an international title three times in a row. In 1969 he was third again in the world championship, three years later he was runner-up for the second time after 1965. He also won 23 GDR championship titles in his career, which began in 1958. After 1972 with the silver vases team at the International Six Day Trial had penalty points in third place, he ended his sports career.

Friedrichs then headed the MZ regional agency in Erfurt, where he lived until his death. Friedrichs was married and the father of two daughters and a son who also drives motocross.

The Paul Friedrichs Memorial Run has been held annually at MSC Tannengrund Apolda since 2015.

swell

• The man who broke the law of the series. In: Illustrated Motorsport. 9/1980. Sportverlag Berlin, p. 203
• Stefan Fischer: Congratulations, Mr. World Champion! In: Motorsport aktuell. 14/2010. Motor-Presse AG Volketswil, p. 36

literature

• Steffen Ottinger: Around Zschopau . The story of an off-road motorcycle ride. tape 1 . Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft Marienberg, Marienberg 2004, ISBN 3-931770-49-4 , p. 59 ff .
• Steffen Ottinger: International six-day race 2012 . The story since 1913. HB-Werbung und Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Chemnitz 2012, ISBN 978-3-00-039566-6 , p. 56 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Obituary ( Memento of the original from September 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.