Georg "Schorsch" Meier (German pronunciation:[ˈɡeːɔʁkʃɔʁʃˈmaɪɐ]ⓘ; 9 November 1910 – 19 February 1999) was a German motorcycle racer famous for being the first foreign winner of the prestigious Senior TT, the Blue Riband race of the Isle of Man TT Races, in 1939 riding for the factory BMW team and the first motorcycle racer to lap a Grand Prix course at over 100mph.[1]
Meier was born in Mühldorf am Inn, Bavaria, and after leaving school at the age of 14 years, he became an apprentice at a local motorcycle repair shop in Mühldorf am Inn, Bavaria, and became known as "Schorsch" (the Bavarian diminutive for Georg). After hearing that the Bavarian State Police were creating a motorcycle section, at the age of 19 years Meier applied to join and was accepted in 1929. A trainee period of three years had to be completed before Meier was able to transfer to the motorcycle police section in 1932.[2][3]
Racing career
After becoming a member of the Bavarian Police Team, Meier competed in 1000km endurance trials that were popular at the time, considered as good training for motorcycle dispatch riders. In 1934, Meier attracted attention from the German Army motorcycle team after finishing a 1000km enduro an hour ahead of schedule, riding an unpopular 400cc single-cylinder BMW R4 with pressed-steel frame and out-moded trailing-link front forks.[4] With fellow competitors Fritz Linhardt and Joseph Forstner in the German Army team, they won so many enduro events that Meier became known as "Der Gusseiserne Schorsch" (Ironman Georg).[1]
1937 International Six Day Trial
After many success at the 1000km enduro events, Meier was selected for the German Trophy Team for the 1937 International Six Day Trial to be held in Wales. Along with teammates Joseph Stelzer and Ludwig Wiggerl Kraus who competed with a 600cc BMW sidecar outfit, the German Trophy team then used 500cc flat-twin BMW motor-cycles. At the end of the six day trial the British and German Trophy teams where level on points. The event was to be decided on a speed-test at the new Castle Donington race circuit. The British Trophy team used 350cc machines and due to the handicap system, the 500cc BMW motorcycles had to complete an extra-lap to win the 1937 ISDT. Two of the British riders had extensive road-racing experience with Vic Brittain riding a Norton and George Rowley riding an AJS. Despite having no road racing experience, Meier won the Donington speed-trial, but the German Trophy Team lost the event to Great Britain Team by 10 seconds on the handicap system. The German Team officials were so impressed by Meier's performance that they suggested to BMW that he should be given a trial for their race-team.[2]
Racing for BMW Works Team 1937-1939
The works BMW motorcycle team were looking for a replacement for Otto Ley who was about to retire from racing. At a race in Schleiz during 1937, Meier had the opportunity to try one of the new supercharged BMWs during practice. After a few laps, Meier entered the pits and reputedly told the BMW racing manager that "Road Racing is far too dangerous for me."[5] The BMW team persuaded Meier to continue and he finished the practice session with fourth fastest time, but did not start the race as he was not officially entered by the BMW works team. After replacing Otto Ley in the BMW team for the 1938 season, Meier began 1938 by winning the Eilenriede Race at Hanover, setting race and lap records after a poor start which had left him in last place".[1]
During the 1938 racing season Meier, rode a BMW RS 255 Kompressor in both European and German Championships.[6] For the 1938 Isle of Man TT, Meier was entered by the BMW team along with Jock West and Karl Gall. The BMW team suffered setbacks when Karl Gall was injured in a crash during an unofficial practice, was found in a ditch above the Gooseneck, and was unable to race. On the startline for the 1938 Senior TT Race, one of the BMW mechanics stripped a cylinder-head thread during a spark plug change on the engine of Meier's Type 255 machine.[7] Trying to start the 1938 Senior race on one cylinder, Meier soon retired on lap one at the bottom of Bray Hill.[8] The race was won Harold Daniell riding for Norton at an average race speed of 89.11mph and Jock West riding the works supercharged BMW finished in 5th place at an average race speed of 85.92mph. In 1938, Meier went on to win the 500cc Belgium Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, the 500cc Dutch TT, the German Grand Prix at the Hohenstein-Ernstthal (or Sachsenring) road course and the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. The 500cc 1938 Ulster Grand Prix was won by BMW teammate Jock West and Meier became the 1938 500cc European Motor-Cycle Champion.[9]
For the 1939 racing season, despite being a Sergeant-Instructor with the Military Police, Meier continued racing for the factory BMW team during his periods of leave. During the 1939 season, Meier along with fellow motorcycle racer Hermann Paul Müller were reserve drivers for the German Auto-Union Racing Team. During practice for the 1939 Isle of Man TT Race, Meier's BMW teammate Kall Gall crashed at Ballaugh Bridge and later died of injuries combined with the effects of pneumonia in hospital.[10] After considering withdrawing from the TT races, BMW management decided that Meier and Jock West would compete in the 1939 Senior TT race which Meier led from start to finish, winning at an average race speed of 89.38mph. Jock West finished in second place.[11]
1939 Senior Isle of Man TT (500cc)
16 June 1939 - 7 laps (264.11 miles) Mountain Course
Two weeks after becoming the first foreign winner of the prestigious Senior TT race,[6] Meier won the 500cc 1939 Dutch TT at Assen. This was followed by a win at 500cc 1939 Belgium Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps and becoming the first motorcycle racer to lap a Grand Prix course at over 100mph.[1] Despite missing the French Grand Prix, Meier competed instead for Auto Union driving to second place in Grand Prix De L'Automobile Club de France at Reims-Gueux. Returning to ride for a BMW motorcycle for the Swedish Grand Prix, Meier fell twice after chasing Dorino Serafini riding for Gilera and suffered a back-injury which prevented racing for the rest of the 1939 season. With further wins at the 500cc German, Ulster and Italian GP races, Dorino Sefafini won the 500cc class for the 1939 European Championship.
Auto Union Team 1939
1938 Auto-Union V12 type D saved from being cut up for scrap metal
The 1939 Eifelrennen was the first race of the season for the Auto Union team. Along with fellow motorcycle racer Hermann Paul Müller, they acted as reserve drivers for the Auto Union team. After qualifying for the 1939 Eifelrennen, Hans Stuck injured his foot playing skittle and the place was taken by Meier, who failed to start the race after a technical failure of his Auto Union Type D. The 1939 Eifelrennen was won by Hermann Lang driving the Mercedes-Benz W154 after Tazio Nuvolari driving for Auto Union tried to run the race non-stop. For the 1939 Belgium Grand Prix, Meier again deputised for Hans Stuck in the Auto Union team. The race, held in heavy rain and poor visibility, was dominated by the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows of Dick Seaman and Hermann Lang. On lap 14, Meier's Auto Union Type D was forced into a ditch by privateer Adolphe Mandirola driving a Maserati 6CM at Blanchemont on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit and then retired. The 1939 Belgium Grand Prix was again won by Hermann Lang, but was domininated by the death of Dick Seaman in a crash at La Source hairpin. The 1939 French Grand Prix at Reims-Gueux was dominated by Auto Union after the retirement of the Mercedes-Benz drivers, after Rudolf Caracciola crashed on lap 1, a lap-17 engine failure for von Brauchitsch and Hermann Lang on lap 36. The race was won by Hermann Paul Müller for Auto Union and Meier finished in 2nd place after a pit-fire burnt his arm.[12]
After the crash at the Swedish Grand Prix in August 1939, Meier spent two months recovering from a serious back-injury. This led to Meier being declared unfit for military service and spend the war as a motorcycle instructor for the German Military Police and as a driver to Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944.[1]
Post War Racing
Georg Meier demonstrating the 1939 BMW Type 255 Kompressor during the 1989 Isle of Man TT race week
After the war Germany was excluded from motor sport competition, including the world championships until 1951.[13] Between 1947 and 1953, Meier won the German 500cc championship on a modified pre-war supercharged BMW motorcycle for six years out of seven. In 1952 he narrowly missed out to young teammate Walter Zeller and became German Sportsman of the Year in 1949, the first time a motorcycle racer had won the prize.[14] Meier formed the BMW Veritas Team and won the German sports car championship in 1948.
After regaining the German Championship from Walter Zeller in 1953, Meier retired from racing to concentrate on his BMW motorcycle business. In 1983 Meier appeared in a BMW campaign to celebrate 60 years of motorcycle production and the 50th anniversary of the 1939 Senior TT Race win, Meier demonstrated the BMW Type 255 Kompressor in the Lap of Honour during the 1989 Isle of Man TT race events.
↑ The Classic Motor Cycle July 1999 pp8 Mortons Motor Cycle Media Group plc
↑ Keig, Stanley Robertson (1975). The Keig Collection: six hundred photographs from the Manx House of Keig of T.T. riders and their machines from 1911 to 1939, vol 1. Bruce Main-Smith & Co.pp.50 ISBN0-904365-05-0
↑ pp151 Guinness Motorcycle Sport Fact Book by Ian Morrison - Guinness Press Ltd ISBN0-85112-953-6
Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood was a British racing driver and motorcycle road racer, who competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1958 to 1967, and Formula One between 1963 and 1974. Nicknamed "The Bike", Hailwood was a nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, with four titles in the premier 500cc class with MV Agusta, and won 76 motorcycle Grands Prix across 10 seasons.
Geoffrey Ernest Duke, born in St. Helens, Lancashire, was a British multiple motorcycle Grand Prix road racing world champion. He raced several brands of motorcycle: Norton, Gilera, BMW, NSU and Benelli. After retirement from competition, he was a businessman based in the Isle of Man.
Frederick Lee Frith OBE was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion. A former stonemason and later a motor cycle retailer in Grimsby, he was a stylish rider and five times winner of the Isle of Man TT. Frith was one of the few to win TT races before and after the Second World War. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1950 Birthday Honours.
Robert Leslie Graham was a British motorcycle road racer who competed in the 1930s and 1940s. He won the inaugural Grand Prix motorcycle racing 500 cc World Championship in 1949.
James Guthrie was a Scottish motorcycle racer.
The 1939 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the last races until 1947 due to the interruption by World War II. It was also the last of ten Isle of Man TT victories for the 34-year-old Stanley Woods in which he won the Junior TT on a Velocette at 83.19 mph and also finished in 4th place in the Senior TT race. The 250cc Lightweight TT race was a first time winner for Ted Mellors and the Benelli marque. The Senior TT race was won by the German competitor Georg Meier on a supercharged 500cc BMW Type 255 motor-cycle.
Harold Daniell was a British professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and auto racing driver. He competed in the 1940s and 1950s. On retiring from racing he owned a Norton motorcycle dealership in Forest Hill, London.
Henry George Tyrell-Smith (1907–1982) was an Irish motorcycle road racer. He was born in Co Dublin and studied at Trinity College, Dublin for a B.A. And B.A.I.degree. He raced at the Isle of Man TT from 1927 to 1939, and between 1929 and 1936 competed in the German Grand Prix. He also raced in The Swedish Grand Prix in Saxtorp 1933–36.
Kelvin Carruthers is an Australian former professional Motorcycle racer and racing team manager. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1966 to 1970, and in AMA road racing competitions from 1971 to 1973. Carruthers is prominent for winning the 1969 250cc World Championship. After his motorcycle riding career, he became race team manager for world championship winning riders Kenny Roberts and Eddie Lawson.
The AJS V4 started out as a prototype air-cooled V4 road bike, but became a water-cooled and supercharged racing bike.
Fergus Kenrick Anderson was a British professional motorcycle racer who competed in world championship road racing competitions from 1932 to 1956. He was one of the first British competitors to make his living racing motorcycles on the European continent, most prominently as a member of the Moto Guzzi factory racing team where he was a two-time Grand Prix World Champion.
Dieter Braun is a German former professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1968 to 1976. He won the 1970 FIM 125cc World Championship for Suzuki. In 1973, he rode a Yamaha TZ 250 to the 250 cc FIM world championship.
William Raymond Amm was a Rhodesian professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1951 to 1954. Amm was a six-time Grand Prix race winner including three victories at the Isle of Man TT when, he died in 1955 after an accident during a race in Italy.
Thomas Edward Phillis was an Australian professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He won the 1961 125cc motorcycle road racing World Championship and was the first person to lap the Isle of Man TT mountain circuit at over 100 mph on a pushrod engined motorcycle. He was also the first person to win a World Championship motorcycle race on a Japanese machine.
The Oldtimer Grand Prix on the Salzburgring near Salzburg, Austria, had been brought into being by Prof. Dr. Helmut Krackowizer, the famous Austrian journalist and ex-motorcycle racer.
The Grossglockner Races were hillclimbs for automobiles and motorcycles held in 1935, 1938 and 1939 on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road crossing the Central Eastern Alps in Austria.
Peter Williams was a British former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle road racing from 1966 to 1973. He also competed at many levels on home short-circuit races. He raced many times on the Isle of Man TT course from 1966 to 1973. His father was Jack Williams who ran the Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) race department. Williams trained in mechanical engineering and introduced via racing alloy wheels, an innovation which is commonplace on today's road bikes, and was also an early pioneer of solo-motorcycle disc brakes.
Frank Perris was a Canadian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and TT rider from Toronto. Perris was noticed by the Suzuki team after his third-place in the 1961 500 cc World Championship, becoming a contracted-rider from 1962 until 1966. His best season was in 1965 when he won two 125cc Grand Prix races aboard a Suzuki two-stroke, and finished the year in second place in the 125cc world championship behind Hugh Anderson.
Karl Gall was an Austrian motorcycle racer with the works BMW motor-cycle team and a former German national motor-cycle champion.
John Milns West, was a Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Great Britain.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
