Paul Friedrichs

Paul Friedrichs (21 March 1940 – 30 August 2012) was an East German motocross and enduro racer. He competed in the FIM Motocross World Championships from 1961 to 1972. Despite not being able to compete in nations like West Germany due to political tensions at the height of the Cold War, Friedrichs was still able to win three consecutive Motocross World Championships between 1966 to 1968.

Biography Early life Friedrichs was born in Buchholz and grew up in Mecklenburg where he joined the motor sports clubs MC tractor Franzburg, MC Dynamo Rostock and Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo. With the training offered by the clubs, he developed into one of the most accomplished motocross and enduro racers of his era. During the 1950s, motocross competitors used motorcycles with heavy, pre-war, four-stroke engines, however by the mid 1960s the heavier four-stroke motorcycles were being rendered obsolete by advances in two-stroke engine technology which made apparent the importance of lightness and agility in motocross racing.

A significant moment in motocross history occurred in 1963 when ČZ factory rider Vlastimil Válek rode a 263cc two-stroke ČZ motorcycle to win the first heat race of the 500cc Czechoslovak Grand Prix. The victory marked a turning point in motocross history, as it was the first win by a two-stroke powered motorcycle in the premier division of the Motocross World Championships. As the ČZ factory continued to develop and improve their two-stroke technology, Friedrichs won the first overall victory of his career at the 1965 500cc East German Grand Prix where he finished ahead of Vic Eastwood (BSA) and Sten Lundin (Matchless). By the 1968 season, the BSA factory was the last remaining manufacturer to compete with four-stroke engines in the face of the rapid development of two-stroke engine technology.

Friedrichs failed to score any points in the first three rounds due to mechanical issues before taking his first victory of the year at the 1968 Finnish Grand Prix. The East German Grand Prix was not attended by the majority of western European riders due to the difficulty in procuring visas and traveling behind the Iron Curtain. Banks would claim the championship points lead with a second place finish in Belgium with Friedrichs in third place while Jonsson encountered mechanical issues. Friedrichs was the top individual points scorer at the 1968 Motocross des Nations team event held in Chișinău, Russia, helping the East German team finish second to the Russian team.

Later career Friedrichs was caught in the middle of the political tensions of the time when the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia occurred in August 1968 just after the conclusion of the World Championship. Friedrichs won the Austrian and Finnish Grand Prix events but finished the season in fourth place for the second consecutive year. The BSA factory announced that they were ceasing operations in the middle of the 1971 season, leaving Banks unemployed. He would complete the remainder of the season riding as a privateer on a Husqvarna motorcycle.

In the final season of his career, Friedrichs finished second to De Coster in the 1972 500cc world championship with victories in the French and East German Grand Prix races.