Friedrich "Fritz" Dirtl (9 January 1928 – 19 June 1956) was an international
motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...
rider from Austria.
Career
Dirtl was a two times champion of Austria after winning the
Austrian Individual Speedway Championship in 1949 and 1951. He was also a six times Longtrack champion of Austria.
[
He was signed by ]Birmingham Brummies
Birmingham Brummies are a British Motorcycle speedway, speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League (1929–31), Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of Britis ...
in 1952 but was subsequently named in the Norwich Stars
Norwich Stars were a motorcycle speedway team based in Norwich, England, which operated from 1930 until their closure in 1964.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''.
History Origins and 1930s
Speedway came to Norwich ...
team before work licence issues resulted in him not racing in Britain.
Death
Dirtl was killed competing in the 1956 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1956 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 11th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.
The World final was sponsored by the Sunday Dispatch and was televised live. Despite being televised ...
, at the Continental final stage. He was involved in a crash with fellow Austrian rider Josef Kamper
Josef Kamper (3 April 1925 – 2 February 1984) was an international motorcycle speedway rider from Austria. He was a member of the Austria national speedway team.
Speedway career
He rode for the first time during the Spring of 1940 but then b ...
and then fell into the path of Mieczysław Połukard
Mieczysław Połukard (1930 in Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland ...
.
See also
* Rider deaths in motorcycle speedway
This article lists riders who have died competing at motorcycle speedway events. During the mid-2000s air fences were installed at most oval cinder/shale tracks, which consequently and significantly reduced deaths and serious injury.
List
...
References
1928 births
1956 deaths
Austrian speedway riders
Sportspeople from Vienna
Motorcycle racers who died while racing
Sport deaths in Germany
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