Posts
28
Joined
7/31/2014
Location
DE
Edited Date/Time
7/11/2019 6:36pm
R.I.P Rolf Dieffenbach
A well-known motocross rider from Germany died in a motorcycle accident in Neustiftgraben (Steyr-Land district) tonight. A technical defect in the gearbox caused the tragic accident. The driver to his machine to the own oil from the shielding its companion yet had no chance. The 69-year-old crashed and bounced against the uprights a guardrail. He was killed dead on the spot. His companions had to be taken care of by the Red Cross Crisis Intervention Team.
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Rolf Dieffenbach was a German MXGP racer in the early 80s.
250MX champion in Germany in 1979, 1980 & 1982
Raced in the 250 Grand Prix Motocross championship and won 2 races.
1979: 6th in points
1980: 4th in points (1 overall win, Spain)
1981: 4th in points
1982: 5th in points (1 overall win, Czechoslovakia)
1983: 7th in points
Just trying to understand the translation, did He crash from the oil of another bike or did his bike have an issue and cause the crash?
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Met his cousin in Dayton in the 70s
But what a great guy he was!!
Met his nephew Marco Dorsch (also a former GP rider) a few times. He told great stories of his uncle and you could see the respect he had towards him and that he was pround to have such a guy in his family.
Ruhe in Frieden Rolf
I'd just caught up on a few mags I'd misplaced, one of which is the March 2019 issue of Dirt Bike Rider.
In it is one of Jack Burnicles reminiscences, on the 1980 Sabadell Spanish 250 GP. Rolf appears in 5 pictures in the article.
The outright was won by Rolf, his, and Hondas , 1st 250 World Championships GP overall. At the age of 29, having started racing at the late age of 20. Jack described him as "Mighty Rolf, an engaging and funny German Giant" - noting how Rolf teased him about how 'small' Jack was - compared to his man mountain size. Rolf was a Honda Germany Team rider, and he and his teammate, Fritz Kobele, went 1 -2, with a teenage George Jobe 3rd overall, ahead of CZ mounted Jaroslav Falta ( who won Moto2) and Vladimir Kavinov.
I've often read that Honda Germany tended to 'inherit ( or at least, lease), previous years Works Hondas, and that was what Rolf rode. A few of Rolf's ex rides have turned up over the years, in magazines and collections, having been sold on, somehow ( or 'forgotten' about) by Honda Germany, to 'others'.
Rolf won his and Hondas 1st GP after having his Mercedes blow up at Lyons, then the "battered Peugot" he hired, running out of fuel 10 kilometres from the track. Things were somewhat different to the current 18 wheeler era we are in. As a side not, Burnicle told that MXA had commissioned a report on the GP from him, and he took the some of the first colour pictures of his GP career, for the article, that was published in that years August MXA, with 6 black and white pictures, plus a big, full page colour picture of Rolf.
The loss of our sports greats, unfortunately / inevitably, is accelerating.
Vale, Rolf Dieffenbach!
I just went up in my attic to take this photo, the box has been up there for over 30 years.
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