Vasek Polak
Vasek Polak (born September 11, 1914 in Prague, † April 16, 1997 in Great Falls , Montana ) was a Czech - American car dealer , racing driver and racing team owner.
Life
Polak owned a bike shop and raced motorcycles . He had successes in the 250cc class in what is now the Czech Republic. In 1948 he fled from Prague to Bavaria , where he was taken to a refugee camp . Because of his knowledge, he was employed as a mechanic in the US Army in Munich .
In 1956 Polak emigrated to the USA and found a job at the car dealer Max Hoffman in New York as a mechanic for Porsche vehicles.
In 1958, Polak moved to the west coast and opened the first dealership in the USA in Hermosa Beach ( California ) that exclusively sold and repaired Porsche vehicles. In the following years, Polak successfully used Porsche and BMW vehicles in racing. In addition, Polak expanded its dealership with the brands Audi , Volkswagen , Saab , Volvo and Subaru .
Polak married Anna Maria Littlejohn in 1983. She died of breast cancer in 1993, prompting Polak to donate $ 1.7 million to the Torrance Memorial Breast Diagnostic Center .
On March 11, 1997, Polak had an accident on a German autobahn with a Porsche 911 Turbo S and was seriously injured. At his own request, he was released from the Regensburg Clinic in April 1997 to continue treatment in the USA. He died on April 16, 1997 during a stopover during a stopover of a heart attack in Great Falls , Montana, USA.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vasek & Anna Maria Polak | Torrance Memorial Hospital. In: www.torrancememorial.org. Retrieved September 29, 2016 .
- ↑ Anke Witt: Vasek Polak Porsche. In: www.vpracing.com. Retrieved September 29, 2016 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Polak, Vasek |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Czech and later American car dealer, racing driver and racing team owner |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 11, 1914 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Prague |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 16, 1997 |
| Place of death | Great Falls , Montana |