Heinz Rosner
Heinz Rosner ( born January 14, 1939 in Hundshübel ) is a former German motorcycle racer.
Rosner was 1964-1969 in the Motorcycle World Championship at the start and in 1968 World Cup bronze medalist in the 250 cc class.
Throughout his career, he started always at MZ, which is why he up to now as " Mr. MZ " is known.
- 2.1 Achievements
- 2.2 In the World Motorcycle Championship
- 3.1 Literature
- 3.2 External links
- 3.3 Notes and references
Career
Heinz Rosner began in 1953 as a 14 -year apprenticeship as a car mechanic in a EMW representative.
In 1958, Rosner made his first motorcycle race. He he stepped on a self -prepared MZ RT 125 with three-speed series motor on the Halle- Saale- loop in the race of the driver card and finished seventh. At the next race at the Leipzig city park race, he finished fifth. Then he could buy at MZ a four-speed rotary vane motor, with which he won so many races until the end of 1959, that you can not let him compete in the card class. His talent fell to the then MP race director Walter Kaaden, keeping him in the late fall of 1959 with an old 250cc mill -MZ.
1960 should compete for the MC bismuth Aue in the 125 cc license class, which was peppered with many former MZ factory machines of the Erzgebirge. His machine was not delivered in time for the April 24, taking place at the Halle- Saale- loop championship run, which is why Rosner works team replaced the injured Walter Brehme in the quarter-liter class at short notice. He was able to win the 250cc race, however, the then MP race director Bernhard Petruschke decided that Rosner should take second place, because he was not a regular factory driver. The axis was satisfied with this decision, but different in second position with a defect in the ignition of his machine. Walter Kaaden was so impressed by Rosner's performance that he let him compete with a 125 at the next Grand Prix of Finland. After another team orders Rosner was second behind Hans Fischer and commented positively on his return to the GDR on the beauty of the Finnish landscape.
When Walter Brehme was operational again, Heinz Rosner was no longer considered for the works team of the manufacturer Zschopauer what it initially was not surprising, since he was only been reserve driver. Rosner started again for the MC bismuth Aue and was allowed in addition to the DDR Championship contest only race in the Eastern Bloc. Only after Bernhard Petruschke no longer acted as the MP race director, Rosner learned the true reasons for his failure to take account in the factory team. Petruschke had informed the SED leadership of his statements about Finland. Since he was young and unmarried, was the party that was a flight risk, which is why Rosner has not been drawn for factory team into consideration.
MZ factory rider
Only Walter Kaaden took Heinz Rosner 1964 back to the factory team of Zschopauer manufacturer, which was at that time in transition. Having already fled to Germany in 1961, Ernst Degner could never be replaced equivalent, now the veterans Hans Fischer and Walter Brehme ended their careers, which left a big gap in the team. Kaaden called then three young drivers who should go to the start in the eighth liter class: Klaus Enderlein, Dieter Krumpholz and just Rosner, the Grand Prix of the GDR in 1964 at the Sachsenring with fourth place in the 125cc race his debut in the World Motorcycle Championship gave.
After the veteran Werner Musiol had also finished his career at the end of the season 1964, Rosner went as number 1 driver Zschopauer in the 1965 season. At the Grand Prix of Czechoslovakia on the Masaryk Circuit near Brno he took third place in the 125cc race behind the British Frank Perris ( Suzuki) and Derek Woodman (MZ ) the first World Cup podium of his career a. A little later occupied the axis in the 250cc races in Finland and the Nations Grand Prix in Monza each second place, which earned him fourth in the final rankings of the quarter-liter class. In 1965, Rosner had the opportunity to work with Suzuki rider to be. However, this would have been possible only with an escape from East Germany, which never came into question for the Saxons.
1966 denied Heinz Rosner five 250 - 350s and two World Cup races in which it respectively second and third place was achieved in each class. In the 1967 season Rosner took part in five 250 - 350s and five Grands Prix. The highlight here was the 350 cc race at the Grand Prix of Czechoslovakia, when he was behind the Honda factory rider Mike HailwoodZweiter. In the 350 - Appreciation Rosner finished with three podiums from five races to fourth place.
For season 1968, the previously dominant Japanese manufacturer Honda and Suzuki withdrew from the World Cup. Yamaha came with its superior V4 machines in classes to 125 and to 250 cm ³ but to continue. Heinz Rosner went this year for the first time as the sole MZ factory rider at the start, after he had always formed until 1967 with Briton Derek Woodman the factory team, and experienced the best season of his career. In the 125cc class, he took up with three runs and won the third place, respectively, which put him in the overall standings to fourth place. In the quarter-liter class Rosner drove in eight races on podium seven times and had to go first, which meant the best World Cup placing in his career in the final classification, only the Yamaha factory riders Phil Read and Bill Ivy. The 350ern the axis took part in two races. Both in the GDR and in Czechoslovakia, he was the time with his three cylinder MV Agusta Italian Giacomo Agostini far superior stand up and each take second place. On top of that won Rosner for the MC Motorcycle Zschopau the East German Championship in the 250 cc class.
When, after the 1968 season Yamaha also announced its factory withdrawal from the World Motorcycle Championship, Heinz Rosner enlarged opportunities to win the title in 1969 only apparent. Although Walter Kaaden had the performance of the two-stroke engine can greatly increase over the winter, but this was at the expense of the stability of the machine. The evolution of plant machinery for some time was already suffering from the low quality of the material derived exclusively from the GDR engine parts. Also the budget for Kaaden MZ racing department was less from year to year. Rosner drove in a world characterized by many technical default season with a total of nine Grands Prix in three different grades three podiums one. In the 350cc class, he finished the season in fourth place again. Only a clutch failure at the last race of the season, the Grand Prix of Yugoslavia in Opatija prevented the runner-up behind the vastly superior Agostini and his MV. His 250cc title in the GDR Championship successfully defended the Erzgebirge.
End of career
At the end of the season 1969 Heinz Rosner drew his own conclusions from the unsatisfactory to him development, announced his contract with MZ and finished disappointed his active racing career to get together in Hundshübel in the Ore Mountains on his private vehicle and taxi company with attached gas station, which he 1964 had taken with his wife Katja from his parents to focus. His passport was then confiscated immediately. Already in the years before, he was the only factory driver, who was not an employee of the plant, have been subjected to threats and branded as private capitalist. In 1971 when his friend Günter Bartusch, the Rosner had helped the MZ factory team, suffered a fatal accident at the Sachsenring, he turned away for a long time from racing.
A fresh start in motorcycle and racing veterans
Even before the turn Rosner 1989 he received permission to attend geared to a vehicle by the Veteran Association ( VFV ) in Hockenheim race veterans and occurred on one with the help of Walter Kaaden from parts rebuilt 251er MZ. In subsequent years, Heinz Rosner fell back fully to racing. Together with Kaaden, who accompanied him until his death in 1996, he provided the remaining available machines with high quality and reliable parts to which it had been lacking in GDR times, and thus went to in numerous veterans race. Heinz Rosner crashed in 2005 with a recently completed 7-speed 250cc after 1966 specification so hard that he broke his hip and the doctors were not sure if he could run again ever. Rosner then sold his taxi and truck and sat down to rest, but did not hear the motorcycle racing on. In July 2008, Rosner bone splinters had to be removed from the brain, which put pressure on important nerves, which had at times even led to a hemiplegia. Back in September, he played racing again. At the 23rd International Halle / Saale Loop Race 2010 Rosner took on a plant -MZ -RE Twin third place in the 500 cc class. To date, he is a regular guest on numerous veterans races in Germany and Europe.