Its that quiet time of the year,
When certainly my brain goes tick tick,

Which got me thinking,
When i was growing up in and around the TT Course in the late 60,s/70s and beyond,
There always seemed to be a big input of German riders both on 2 wheels as well as 3,
Quarter Bridge watching Helmut Dahne scrub the cases on the BMW was fun to watch,
Then watching the Sidecars, when you wondered what the hell was going on, when the passenger had his shoulder up and over the kerb ! Unlike 75% of the rest of the crews,

Over recent years, the numbers seem to have diminished ? I could be wrong ?
The French Guys and Ladys, seem to have picked up the mantle for competing at the TT,

Whilst we have time on our hands at this time of year,
Whos, your favourite all time German Rider, that has stood out to you for whatever reason,
I have mine already chosen,,, And if anybody can guess correctly, i will but that person a beer !!

Benjies Dad,,,

Hans-Otto Butenuth aus Dortmund.

30+ years at the TT.

German 500 Champion in 1971, works BMW rider, gentleman, lovely man and a very good friend of mine.

Helmut Dahne is the fastest rider I have ever seen around Signpost Corner, A big bloke on a big Beemer, every single lap, the same line, he looked like he would crash as soon as he came into view then bike right the way over, decked out and bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa .. every lap.

Klus Klein ( Excuse the spelling )
Could have been the next generation of top flight German Riders !
Very talented,
Was his start number in his first year 108 ?
Finished in the top 25 ?

Klaus was a very good rider and fine man with it, the 2-stroke workshop I worked in did his F2 350 motors, his Hein Gericke Team were very well presented in white, I think Gericke also sponsored the Germans Peter and Mario Rubatto.

Yes BenjiesDad, Over recent years, the numbers seem to have diminished mainly due to no two strokes being raced anymore, the Germans are 2T fanatics and many came to the TT just to watch them, to many Germans the present TT format 600-1000s can be seen racing in Germany so there may be little to draw them over, the Germans were staunch supporters and they did seem to outnumber any other country in going to the TT, they kept the TT alive for many years, maybe DED should start a fan "recruitment" in Germany?

I don't know of many German solo riders but one I do remember was Dieter Braun who won a TT (when they still carried world championship status) at his first attempt. He went on to win the world 125 championship in 1970, the same year as his TT win. Of course there were and probably still are a lot of top class German sidecar TT competitors.

The huge number of Germany visitors coming to the TT dropped was the year the FIM stopped keeping the dates free and the Germany WSB round was held at the same time. Although the Germany round was not held the same time as the TT again, the numbers never went back to what they use to be.

I think Peter Rubatto was my favourite rider. A thoroughly decent bloke, and he could ride.

Helmut Dahne for me closely followed by Siggi Schauzue (excuse spelling||||) and Heinz Luthringshauser (him of the wooden foot - or was that Siggi) no, I'm sure it was Heinz. Great years.

Redline,
Thats Heinz with the wooden leg,
But with a damm strong arm,,
When he slapped you on the back as a greeting, you knew about it !

I was a big fan of Karsten Schmidt. Full of enthusiasm for the TT. Always smiling.

(07-01-2015, 08:38 PM)BenjiesDad Wrote: Redline,
Thats Heinz with the wooden leg,
But with a damm strong arm,,
When he slapped you on the back as a greeting, you knew about it !

Here's the proof...

Now they just fly about on GS1200`s and try and go up the mountain the wrong way from the Creg.

Sidecars: Heinz Luthringshauser

Solos: Helmut Dahne

By the way - I was talking to a German guy at the Manx a few years back.  He spoke excellent English and told me that a lot of Germans had stopped coming because they were sick of getting blamed for every incident that happened.  My personal experiences of being carved up point the finger of blame squarely at a certain UK county, which at least for now can remain nameless!

(08-01-2015, 01:31 PM)sticky Wrote: Both Max Deubel and Klaus Enders were superb riders,and never looked hurried, always seemed relaxed and very smooth.

Remember seeing Max Deuble at Scarborough and thinking how smooth he was ,

(08-01-2015, 08:46 AM)Rennmax Wrote:

(07-01-2015, 08:38 PM)BenjiesDad Wrote: Redline,
Thats Heinz with the wooden leg,
But with a damm strong arm,,
When he slapped you on the back as a greeting, you knew about it !

Here's the proof...

Great picture Rennmax,

Max Deubel swore at me and shooed me off, when I was taking a close look at his outfit in the paddock at Scarborough. I was a fan of Florian Camathias at the time. Maybe he thought I was a spy!

(06-01-2015, 09:43 PM)BenjiesDad Wrote: Klus  Klein ( Excuse the spelling )
Could have been the next generation of top flight German Riders !
Very talented,
Was his start number in his first year 108 ?
Finished in the top 25 ?

Saw Klaus Klein at Rhencullen. He was very fast through their on the RG 500 and way to close to the wall. Immaculatley turned out rider and bike.

Kilbil