The Reluctant Racer Helmut Fath
THE RELUCTANT RACER HELMUT FATH
The Man Who Once Hung Up His Leathers Became World Champion — On a Home-Built Machine.
VOLKER RAUCH
STORIES OF champions are seldom more than extended litanies of praise. Sometimes they are ill-disguised advertisements for a sponsor. They might even be (Heaven forbid) authored by the sponsor’s PR man. So we are left wondering who wins the race, the product or the man?
Helmut Fath, king of the sidecar world, one-man Swiss Family Robinson, ingenious creator of complex racing engines, has no need for self advertisement. He is the privat’s privat.
He builds his machines, he races them...and he wins.
Fath was born on May 24, 1929, at Ursenbach, a small town near Heidelberg, Germany. Young Helmut’s interest in motorcycles was nurtured by his father, who was a great enthusiast. As a young man he learned precision mechanics at the famed Max Planck Institute. In the postwar years, he worked at a large BMW motorcycle agency in Mannheim, Germany. This position would supply valuable experience to an already extremely talented man.
The year 1949 saw him at the Lorsch racing circuit in his first motorcycle competition. His mount was a solo 250-cc disc-valve TWN. This initial outing ended abruptly when he spilled during the race. Chagrined and discouraged, he used the machine afterward as a touring bike.
Fath’s first sidecar experience occurred when he borrowed an old R 12 touring outfit for an errand. The machine at first seemed cumbersome on the city streets, but he quickly learned its nuances.
Shortly afterward, he bought a sidecar rig of his own, a casualty of the Mannheim city traffic. He repaired it, and from then on Fath was a “sidecar man.”
Throughout 1952, he maintained a 500-cc BMW racing engine for a friend. It was a memorable year. The engine’s owner encouraged him to campaign the powerplant in competition. Although Fath had won his first sidecar race the previous year, the modest engineer wanted to race only as a hobby. Fate was to have its way, however, because a short time later a customer appeared with a racing sidecar and frame. Needless to say, Fath, the engine, and chassis were soon to go racing...together.
Their initial tryout was again at Lorsch. It seemed that Fath-the-Mechanic had little faith in Fath-the-Racer, for he insisted he would compete only if his practice lap times exceeded those of the last year’s winner. They did.
Now there was no reason for the reluctant Fath not to race. That same customer, the owner of the chassis, was to be his sidecar passenger. Truly, this was to be a portentous outing.
It was a good team—Fath, the customer-passenger, and the hybrid machine. In this, their first, race they finished 3rd, ahead of many larger machines.
There was no stopping Helmut Fath now!
In 1953, at the Nurburgring, while competing in a National race, he set a sidecar record that was to be broken only by Max Deubel years later in a factory outfit.
In 1954, Fath acquired his Expert National license. Now he would race against the very quick BMW factory machines. These motorcycles had highly developed overhead cam RS engines. They also sported an impressive record of speed and consistency.
So with his last pfenning he bought a solo RS bike from the late Florian Camathias. During the following winter he designed and built a completely streamlined sidecar to complement the machine. This outfit, with its radically small 16-in. wheels, was the forerunner of modern “kneelers.” The machine was raced for the first time at Hockenheim in a National event and proved to be very competitive.
In 1956, he was awarded the title of “Best Private Rider” in his native Germany, an honor coincidental with his rapidly growing reputation. At this time also, he began work on a fuel injection system for the BMW engine. His competition experience indicated some serious shortcomings of conventional racing carburetion. By 1959 the system finally was de-bugged.
At this time, however, the engine he was using was showing signs of old age. Little benefit would be derived from the new injection system were it used on this debilitated engine; only a new powerplant would ensure complete success. And so, Helmut Fath again was to totally deplete his savings to buy the necessary components. He also was to face another winter of intense work.
Fath was repaid for his many sacrifices in 1960. With the new BMW engine and fuel injection, he and his passenger, Alfred Wohlgemuth, attained the World Championship. This was no small feat, an independent rider defeating the fearful Munich factory racers! And, as a result, Fath was promised BMW factory support for the 1961 season.
Now it was time for quiet respite from the frantic world of racing; Helmut’s wife was expecting a baby. Because his racing efforts, however successful, had sorely depleted his funds, he was unable to buy a larger home for his growing family. Fortunately several of his close friends volunteered their aid; within a few months they constructed a wonderful home. Today, Helmut Fath’s young daughter romps in the garden with a mini-sidecar her father built.
The championship was the culmination of the masterful efforts of the Fath-Wohlgemuth team. Their success would not have been possible were it not for their close friendship. A good sidecar team is an organic thing; the two members must become almost as one.
Since the early days of their friendship, the circuit they loved best was the Nurburgring. That track was to deal them the worst blow.
They were battling for position with Fath’s mentor, Camathias, one fateful day, when they entered a turn too rapidly. The streamlining shroud inhibited front wheel steering, and the motorcycle slid across the track into a ditch. Then it was over. Alfred Wohlgemuth was killed instantly; Fath was seriously injured and later was to lose a foot as a result of the accident. His injuries were not entirely physical, however. The loss of his dear friend caused suffering only time could heal.
One year later, Fath was learning to walk again. Soon he could be found in his workshop, absorbed by his powerful racing engines.
By 1962, Fath was planning a new powerplant. It would be a twin-cam, four-cylinder configuration, similar to the MV and Güera, although designed specifically for his sidecar. The drawings were completed by autumn of that year with the assistance of his co-designer, Dr. Peter Kuhn, and the first model of the engine was assembled in the winter.
In the spring of 1964, the engine ran for the first time. Operating with carburetors, it developed 70 bhp at 12,500 rpm. Fath soon adapted his fuel injection system to the engine. The results were encouraging, but there was still much work to be done. The champion spent many sleepless nights in his workshop. Fath was determined to end BMW’s reign in the sidecar class with his home-built machine.
By May, the engine was completed and installed in a new sidecar. Its first race was on May 22, 1966. The engine overheated, however, and was withdrawn from the race.
Fath’s first success with the machine was at a hillclimb in Switzerland shortly afterward. By 1967, he had made many improvements in the engine and sidecar. Of 14 starts that year he garnered seven wins and seven DNFs.
But in 1968 the greatest success came. He and passenger Wolfgang Kalauch ended BMW’s domination of 14 years. He became world champion on his URS, a machine which has cost him and his associates four years and more than $50,000 to develop!
That final and deciding round of sidecar racing took place at Hockenheim, West Germany. Prior to the race, Fath and Georg Auerbacher (BMW) were tied for the championship with 21 points each.
During practice, Fath was dissatisfied with his engine. He took the desperate gamble of installing an untried shortstroke version of the URS. The gamble paid off. On a wet and slippery track, Fath scored a start-to-finish win.
World Champion Helmut Fath now is building a special 720-cc version of the URS. The new engine is scheduled for completion by Easter, and power output is expected to exceed 100 bhp. It will be used to compete in British International class races, where the larger bore is allowed.
