Willi Henkelmann

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Willi Henkelmann (born February 25, 1899 in Münster , † July 2, 1928 in Schleiz ) was a German motorcycle racer .

Career

The pan-Eickeler Willi Henkelmann began his career in the first half of the 1920s in regional motorcycle racing, including mountain races and reliability runs in his Westphalian homeland.

Attention the first time he made himself as a private driver at the opening of the Nürburgring on 18 June 1927. Henkelmann took on a 175- cc - DKW behind the works drivers Hans jump and Arthur Geiss third. The following Monday he was ordered to Zschopau , where Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen signed him as a works driver for the following German Grand Prix , which also took place at the Nürburgring and was also a European Championship round this year .

On Saturday, July 2, 1927, the races of the three smaller displacement categories took place. On the ARe 175, Henkelmann unexpectedly won the 14 laps and a distance of 396.2 kilometers in the 175 cm³ class and thus crowned himself European champion in 1927 . Second, one and a half minutes behind, was Arthur Geiss from Pforzheim . Third place, 13 minutes behind, went to Arthur Müller , who made the DKW triple victory perfect. For the Saxon manufacturer, this was the first title win in the history of the European motorcycle championship.

At the following Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps , Henkelmann finished second behind Geiss in the 175 race, followed by podium finishes at the German TT in Kolberg and the Austrian Grand Prix . The successful 1927 season ended for Henkelmann with victories in the 175 cc runs of the Schleizer triangle race and the autumn race at the Solitude in Stuttgart .

Willi Henkelmann started the 1928 season with a victory in the 250 cm³ race on the Berlin AVUS , where he prevailed against his team mate Walfried Winkler from Chemnitz . On July 1st in Schleiz he had to let Winkler go first. A refueling stop too late had ruined his chances of victory.

Deadly accident

Willi Henkelmann died on Monday, July 2, 1928, the anniversary of his European Championship title, at the age of 29. There are various details about the circumstances of his death. The Wanne-Eickeler Zeitung reported that Henkelmann fell fatally after the race on the lap of honor. Shortly afterwards, she reported that the racing driver, who was still a spectator on the track after his race, was hit by another vehicle and killed. The newspaper later quoted a telegram according to which he was killed in a collision with a police vehicle.

However, several sources indicate other death circumstances. Namely that Willi Henkelmann had a fatal accident in a traffic accident on the way back from Schleiz. After the race, Henkelmann hit a telegraph pole on a connecting route near the Schleizer triangle with his racing machine, which he had started on his way home - as was quite common at the time . The impact was so severe that it was found about 15 meters from the mast in the ditch. Henkelmann had u. a. sustained a fractured skull and a thigh and was taken to the hospital in Schleiz, where, according to the death record of the Schleiz registry office, he died of serious injuries on July 2, 1928 at 7:30 a.m. Sebastian Profittlich, above whose café the European champion lived, noted on the back of a Henkelmann photo: "An accident while trying to overtake on the way back from Schleiz, double fractured skull, found in the field".

Willi Henkelmann was buried in the Münster Central Cemetery.

statistics

title

Race wins

(colored background = European championship run )

year class machine run route
1927 175 cc DKW Schleizer triangle race Schleizer triangle
175 cc DKW Grand Prix of Germany Nürburgring
1928 250 cc DKW AVUS race AVUS

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. 1st edition. HB-Werbung und Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Chemnitz 2009, ISBN 978-3-00-028611-7 , p. 31-37, 116-117 .
  • Woldemar Lange / Jörg Buschmann: The great days of DKW motorcycle racing . 1920 to 1941 (Zschopau). 1st edition. Bildverlag Böttger GbR, Witzschdorf 2009, ISBN 978-3-937496-29-0 , p. 189 .
  • Frank Rönicke: German motorcycle world and European champion . From Schorsch Meier to Stefan Bradl. 1st edition. Motorbuch Verlag , Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-613-03410-5 , p. 12-15 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Henkelmann, Willi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German motorcycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH February 25, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Muenster
DATE OF DEATH July 2, 1928
Place of death Schleiz