Switzerland, despite its absence of circuits, is a great motorsport nation. Since the beginning of the world motorcycling championship in 1949, Helvetians have distinguished themselves at the highest level, but especially in sidecar. This three-part saga aims to shine a light on deserving but forgotten pilots. Are you following us? Let's go !
Of course, completeness is not the goal, but a good number of heroes will be mentioned, don't worry. To avoid getting lost, we will try to follow a chronological order.
Florian Camathias (1924-1965)
Let's start with a sidecar driver. Indeed, a real tradition is cultivated in Switzerland for this discipline, and we will find some of them throughout these lines. Obviously, we won't be able to list them all. Florian Camathias, from St. Gallen, was one of the best in the 1950s.
Like many of his friends, he loved mechanics. This is a tradition in the sidecar world, and in fact, the best drivers in the world today always have a keen eye on their engines and chassis. Camathias has never been world champion, but has a very extensive record, marked by an important victory in the TT Assen 1958. Tragically disappeared Brands-Hatch, a cup bears his name, rewarding the winner of historic rounds.
Luigi Taveri (1929-2018)
Perhaps the best Swiss of all time, at least on two wheels. Taveri was a monster in small categories. We are dealing with a triple 125cc world champion (1962/1964/1966), with 30 career victories including at Tourist trophy. The Swiss, born in Horgen (not far from Zurich), was an official pilot for
Ducati,
Kreidler, MZ et
Honda. Extremely coveted, it is with the Japanese firm that he completes his list of achievements.
Regularity over the years characterizes Taveri. 11 years separate his first and last success, which, icing on the cake, sealed his ultimate world champion title. Luigi left us at the age of 88 a few years ago, and remains one of the references in 125cc.
Redman, Takahashi and Taveri at Assen 1963. Photo: Jack von Nijs ANEFO
Fritz Scheidegger (1930-1967)
Here is the first Swiss sidecar world champion. scheidegger was one of the specialists in the discipline in the 1960s. This began a few years earlier: In 1959, he won his first Grand Prix at Charade, followed by other notable victories in Germany and Tourist trophy. The native of Langenthal (canton of Bern) won the world championships two consecutive years, in 1965 and 1966.
The first title is important. Acquired from BMW, it puts an end to hegemony Max Deubel in the most beautiful way. 1966 is a different story. Indeed, the duo
Scheidegger/Robinson wins all the rounds but is accused of using non-compliant gasoline. The championship was awarded to Deubel, before returning to Scheidegger following an appeal, four months after the end of the season. Fritz dies in a sidecar accident during a race Mallory Park one year later.
Gyula Marzovszky (1936-2004)
Again, excellent pilot. Swiss of Hungarian origin,
Marsovszky had a very extensive career and scored big points in the most prestigious categories. We will have to wait for its association with Matchless, at the dawn of 1963, to see him perform. In 500cc, Gyula rushes to get on the podium without ever managing to win a single race.
In 1968, his consistency allowed him to finish third in the world, behind Agostini et Findlay. The following year, he confirmed on Things and takes second place, always preceded by the “ King Ago », untouchable. This constitutes the best ranking for a Swiss. It was necessary to wait for 250cc Nations Grand Prix in 1971 to see it prevail. The Swiss retired in 1975, 14 years after his debut. Even today, Marsovszky is in the top 10 of the best riders never to have won in 500cc.
The Swiss are generally proud of their countries, and rightly so. Flags flourish in the quadrilingual country. Photo: Norton Club Geneva.
Werner Geiger (1949-1974)
Geiger was an excellent pilot. Unfortunately, his premature death did not allow us to observe his full potential. Entered in the world for the first time in 1973, he impressed the small world of Grands Prix by finishing fourth in the 500cc championship behind Phil Read, Kim Newcombe
et Giacomo Agostini, sorry. This season was marked by two podiums, including a second place in Germany following the abandonment of the favorites.
His 1974 season was much more complicated, but was cut short due to the accident that ended his life during training in Finland.
That's all for today ! See you soon to (re)discover other legendary profiles!
Cover photo: Joop Van Bilsen ANEFO
