Helmut Polensky (10 October 1915,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

– 6 November 2011,

Saint-Tropez Saint-Tropez ( , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var departments of France, department and the regions of France, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It is west of Nice and east of Marseille, o ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

moto racer,

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

and racing car constructor.

Life outside racing

Polensky was the youngest of four sons. His father was an architect. After leaving school and finishing military service, he began a career as a professional motorcycle and auto racer. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he married. He spent the last decades of his life in

The 1930s and the Second World War

Polensky began racing

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

s as a club racer in the mid-1930s. In 1939, he switched to

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

, piloting a used

BMW 328 The BMW 328 was a sports car produced by BMW from 1936 to 1940. Its body design is credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II (although technically the car was designed by Fritz Fiedler). Specifications Aw ...

. The same year, he signed as an engineer apprentice with

Auto Union Auto Union AG was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm for ...

, and also joined the

National Socialist Motor Corps The National Socialist Motor Corps (, NSKK) was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that officially existed from May 1931 to 1945. The group was a successor organisation to the older National Socialist Automobile Corps (, NS ...

. Polensky spent the

as a

logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

specialist in Berlin. In 1945 he escaped from a Soviet

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

camp, fleeing to Hamburg. He worked there in 1946 as managing director of a small motor company.

Racer and designer

In 1947, Polensky returned to Berlin and in the ruins opened one of the first

Vespa Vespa () is an Italian brand of scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy, to a ...

dealerships in Germany. He also began racing again, designing and in his own workshop constructing a

Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

racer with a motorcycle engine, akin to the Cooper 500. Polensky's first model was the ''Kurpfalz''. This was followed by the '' Monopoletta'', a

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

-powered ''monoposto''. Polensky raced his '' Monopoletta'' throughout the late 1940s across

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. In 1950, he was fifth overall in the West German Formula Three Championship. In the early the 1950s, Polensky began to concentrate increasingly on sports car races. He entered the ''

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts :it:Franco Mazzotti, Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi. It took place in Italy 24 times f ...

'' in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

. His wife served as co-driver several times in the ''Tour de France''. Around the same time, he moved his family to

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

, where he opened a

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

dealership. Driving a

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

, he won the 1953 ''Coupe des Alpes'' and

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champion ...

, coming first overall in the championship. He was also eighth overall at the 12 Hours of Reims in

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

.12 Hours of Reims 1954
/ref> Polensky entered the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

three times. In

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

, he was shared a Porsche 550 with journalist

Richard von Frankenberg Richard von Frankenberg (4 March 1922 in Darmstadt – 11 November 1973 in Beilstein) was a German journalist and race car driver. In 1952 he created and published the (later) official Porsche magazine Christophorus (magazine). The visuals of th ...

, coming fourth overall and earning a class win. He also took the 21st Biennial Cup. In 1956, Polensky quit racing to become a successful automobile dealer.

Le Mans results

Books

* Christian Moity, Jean-Marc Teissèdre, Alain Bienvenu. ''24 Heures du Mans, 1923-1992''. Éditions d'Art, Besancon, 1992 .

External links

Biography of Helmut Polensky

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polensky, Helmut 1915 births 2011 deaths German racing drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers German automobile designers German motorsport people National Socialist Motor Corps members German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union German escapees Escapees from Soviet detention Porsche Motorsports drivers Racing drivers from Berlin German expatriate sportspeople in France