Wilhelm Herz (racing driver)

Flying deck chair Baumm IV

Wilhelm Herz (born January 18, 1912 in Lampertheim , † January 5, 1998 ) was a German motorcycle racer and world record holder.

Career

Wilhelm Herz was the oldest child of eight siblings. After finishing school, he did an apprenticeship as a carpenter in order to later take over the family business. When he was 18 years old and had attended the 1930 German Grand Prix for racing cars at the Nürburgring, however, his professional interests changed and he wanted to become a racing driver. A racing car was too expensive, which is why he decided on the motorcycle.

His career began in 1932 on a 498 cm³ DKW with first place in the opening race of the Hockenheimring ID driver class . In 1936, Herz occasionally drove a factory DKW from Oskar Steinbach and in 1937 August Prüssing hired him for the DKW factory racing team. In 1938, DKW did not set up a 500 cc works team. That is why Herz acquired his two factory machines. He started as a private driver in 1938 and became German private driver champion in this class. In 1939 he moved to NSU and took part in national and international races, including the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man . In 1948 he was German road champion in the 350 cm³ class on NSU .

Wilhelm Herz achieved his international reputation through numerous world records on two and four wheels . The outstanding records were the absolute motorcycle world records from 1951 on the Munich – Ingolstadt motorway and from 1956 on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah , USA , both on NSU. Here he was the first motorcycle racer to reach speeds of more than 200 mph and 300 km / h with his vehicle . With the streamlined machine called Delphin III , he improved the existing world record to 339 km / h on August 9, 1956. The motorcycle had a two-cylinder engine with compressor, displacement 498.7 cm³, output 110 hp at 8500 rpm.

From 1954 to 1992 Wilhelm Herz was managing director of the Hockenheimring and led him to international importance through the Grand Prix status for motorcycles and Formula 1 . Herz was awarded the Silver Laurel Leaf by Federal President Theodor Heuss in 1952 for his services to motorsport ; In 1972 he received the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class from Federal President Gustav Heinemann . The city of Lampertheim granted him honorary citizenship in 1956, the city of Hockenheim honored Herz with the Golden Merit Medal in 1969 for his services to the Hockenheimring, and both cities named a street after him. In addition, the Supreme National Sports Commission for Automobile Sports (ONS) awarded Wilhelm Herz in 1972 with the gold pin of honor . In the same year the German Motorsport Association (DMV) awarded him honorary membership.

His son Heinz Herz celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1956 world record in 2006 with a replica of the Delphin III on the Bonneville Salt Flats during the BUB Speed Trials with demonstration drives.

On the occasion of Wilhelm Herz's 100th birthday on January 18, 2012, the Technik-Museum Speyer presented a special exhibition on the initiative of Heinz Herz with the title “WILHELM HERZ, the world record man. A life in motorsport ”.

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. HB-Werbung und Verlag, Chemnitz 2009, ISBN 978-3-00-028611-7 , p. 53, 77-104, 113, 117 .
Chasing world records for 20 years. In: Bergsträßer Anzeiger of January 29, 2011, p. 27.

Web links

Commons : Wilhelm Herz - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Wilhelm Herz, Stations in His Life . Retrieved June 9, 2020.
^ Peter Schneider: The NSU story . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-613-03397-9 .

personal data
SURNAME	Heart, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German motorcycle racer, motorcycle world record holder (1951)
DATE OF BIRTH	January 18, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH	Lampertheim
DATE OF DEATH	January 5, 1998

[1] Wilhelm Herz, Stations in His Life . Retrieved June 9, 2020.

[2] Peter Schneider: The NSU story . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-613-03397-9 .