Helga Heinrich-Steudel (née Steudel, born 4 May 1939 in Görschnitz) is a former

motorcyclist Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small-displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in the most populous co ...

and car racer of the DDR. She is the only female motorcyclist to have won (under her maiden name Steudel) at the

Sachsenring The Sachsenring () is a motorsport race track, racing circuit located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany. Among other events, it features the annual German motorcycle Grand Prix of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyc ...

. She ended her career in 1967 but made a comeback in 1970 with her

Melkus RS 1000 Melkus RS 1000 is a sports car produced by Melkus. It is powered by a tuned, mid-mounted 3-cylinder 2-stroke 992 cm3 engine, similar to the one in the Wartburg 353, and features gull-wing doors. 101 cars were made between 1969 and 1979 ...

at the Lückendorfer Bergrennen.Thorsten Horn: ''Helga Heinrich-Steudel - Die Rennamazone aus dem Vogtland'', HB-Werbung und Verlag GmbH, 2007,

Early life

Helga Steudel was born on 4 May 1939 in Görschnitz, today a district of

Elsterberg Elsterberg () is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, 6 km southwest of Greiz, and 13 km north of Plauen. Geography Location Elsterberg is situated in a deep valley, whic ...

Career

Helga Heinrich-Steudel competed in her first motorcycle race on the

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...

autobahn circuit in 1959 riding a 350cc Jawa. From 1960 she competed on a MZ RE 125 in the 125cc class. She won her first races on 25 August 1963 at the Geyer-Bergrennen and on 29 September 1963 at the

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

Autobahnspinne. On 17 July 1965, Heinrich-Steudel won the 125-cm³ ID race at the

, which was held as part of the

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

's Grand Prix for the Motorcycle World Championship, in very adverse weather conditions. She took further victories at the Schleizer Dreieck, Frohburger Dreieck and at the Lückendorfer Bergrennen on the MZ RE bike. Under FIM rules of the time, she did not receive a license to participate in the GDR championship or international motorcycle races, although she met the requirements every year from 1963. She ended her motorcycling career at the end of 1967. On August 2, 1970, Heinrich-Steudel returned to racing, but in cars, racing at the Lückendorf Hill Climb; she finished fourth in a

. Her first victory in automobiles came on 7 September 1974, at the Glasbach Hill Climb in the

Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the ...

Spider (B6), also built by Melkus with a modified Wartburg engine. 1979 was her most successful year in automobile racing, with an overall victory in the GDR Best of Class B6 (Spider) and fifth place overall in the GDR Best of Class B8 Performance Class (LK) II racing cars. At the end of 1983 Helga Heinrich-Steudel officially retired from automobile racing, but less than a decade later, she climbed back into a racing car in 1992. Since 2004 she has participated in Classic events in the Formula Easter; and in September 2007 once again raced on MZ RE 125 motorcycle. In 2011, she competed in as part of the GLPpro-Serie and the ADMV CLASSIC CUP, and in 2014 the then 75-year-old took part in several races.''Vogtländerin will auch mit 75 weiter Gas geben: Helga Heinrich-Steudel plant 14 Starts.'' In: ''Freie Presse.'' 3 May 2014, retrieved 7 December 2016.

References

External links

Website in German about Helga Steudel
1939 births Living people People from Elsterberg Racing drivers from Saxony German female racing drivers Female motorcycle racers German motorcycle racers German racing drivers 20th-century German sportswomen {{Germany-autoracing-bio-stub