Reinhard Böhler
Encyclopedia
Reinhard Böhler was a German
sidecarcross
rider and the first-ever World Champion
in the sport, together with his passenger Siegfried Müller
.
He has also won the German national sidecarcross championship seven times, from 1975 to 1977, 1979, 1980, 1983 and 1984, which, as of 2009, still stands as the record.
region of Germany, started racing motocross in 1963, originally in the solo class. He soon moved across to sidecarcross, where he initially had to race mostly in neighbouring Switzerland because the sport was not yet very well established in Germany at the time. He started for the motocross club in Schopfheim
.
Böhler became the most successful German sidecarcross racer, being the only German to have won the world championship and also the record holder in national German sidecarcross championships. He retired from the sport in the mid-1980s, when he was diagnosed with stomach cancer
. He supported his son Achim in his, less successful, sidecarcross career and died on 19 January 1995, a few weeks before his 50th birthday.
. In the four years the FIM Cup was held, he only competed in one or two races of it per season.
With the re-branding of the competition as FIM European Championship, he continued to make only occasional appearances. Böhler concentrated on the German championship at the time, winning national titles in 1975, 1976 and 1977. The year 1977 saw him also for the first time competing in every race of the European championship. With Hans Georg Peppinghausen as his passenger, he came second in the championship and won his first race, finishing on top in both races of the Austrian GP at Feldkirch
.
The following two seasons proofed less successful, coming only sixth and ninth in the competition and losing the German title to Josef Brockhausen.
From 1980 onwards, the European championship was renamed the FIM World Championship and Reinhard Böhler, together with passenger Siegfried Müller, became the first world champion and the only ones from Germany so far. They took out the title with an 88 point gap to the second placed team and also won the German championship again.
Böhler was unable to defend his title in 1981, missing a number of races and having to swap passengers during the season. The following season, he only took part in very few events and came 19th overall.
Reinhard Böhler returned to old form in 1983 and 1984, winning the German title for a sixth and seventh time and coming third in both world championship seasons. The 1985 season was his last in the championship, taking out his last race win in the first GP of the season in Warching
and then taking part in only the occasional GP during the season.
Source:
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
sidecarcross
Sidecarcross
Sidecar-cross racing, also known as sidecar motocross, is very similar to regular, solo motocross but with a different type of motorcycle chassis, and with a team of two people riding together instead of one, a driver and a passenger. While not confirmed most articles seem to show Sidecarcross...
rider and the first-ever World Champion
Sidecarcross world championship
The Sidecar Motocross World Championship is an annual event, organised by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme , held since 1980. Previous to that, a European competition was held from 1971 onwards....
in the sport, together with his passenger Siegfried Müller
Siegfried Müller (sidecarcrosser)
Siegfried Müller is a retired German sidecarcross passenger and, together with his driver Reinhard Böhler, the first-ever World Champion in the sport.He has also won the German national sidecarcross championship in 1980....
.
He has also won the German national sidecarcross championship seven times, from 1975 to 1977, 1979, 1980, 1983 and 1984, which, as of 2009, still stands as the record.
Biography
Reinhard Böhler, a native of the South BadenSouth Baden
South Baden , formed in December 1945 from the southern half of the former Republic of Baden, was a subdivision of the French occupation zone of post-WWII Germany. The state was later renamed to Baden and became a founding state of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949...
region of Germany, started racing motocross in 1963, originally in the solo class. He soon moved across to sidecarcross, where he initially had to race mostly in neighbouring Switzerland because the sport was not yet very well established in Germany at the time. He started for the motocross club in Schopfheim
Schopfheim
Schopfheim is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Wiese, 10 km north of Rheinfelden, and 13 km east of Lörrach.The town is the birthplace of Gisela Oeri....
.
Böhler became the most successful German sidecarcross racer, being the only German to have won the world championship and also the record holder in national German sidecarcross championships. He retired from the sport in the mid-1980s, when he was diagnosed with stomach cancer
Stomach cancer
Gastric cancer, commonly referred to as stomach cancer, can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus, lungs, lymph nodes, and the liver...
. He supported his son Achim in his, less successful, sidecarcross career and died on 19 January 1995, a few weeks before his 50th birthday.
Sidecarcross world championship results
Reinhard Böhler made his debut in the FIM Cup, a predecessor of the world championship, in 1971, in the first year of the competition. With his passenger Walter Frech he competed in only one race, the Swiss GP in WohlenWohlen, Aargau
Wohlen is a municipality in the district of Bremgarten in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:The earliest known settlements in Wohlen date from the late Hallstatt era . This settlement left two clusters of burial mounds in Hohbühl and Häslerhau...
. In the four years the FIM Cup was held, he only competed in one or two races of it per season.
With the re-branding of the competition as FIM European Championship, he continued to make only occasional appearances. Böhler concentrated on the German championship at the time, winning national titles in 1975, 1976 and 1977. The year 1977 saw him also for the first time competing in every race of the European championship. With Hans Georg Peppinghausen as his passenger, he came second in the championship and won his first race, finishing on top in both races of the Austrian GP at Feldkirch
Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
- Schools :* Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Feldkirch * Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Feldkirch* Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Schillerstrasse...
.
The following two seasons proofed less successful, coming only sixth and ninth in the competition and losing the German title to Josef Brockhausen.
From 1980 onwards, the European championship was renamed the FIM World Championship and Reinhard Böhler, together with passenger Siegfried Müller, became the first world champion and the only ones from Germany so far. They took out the title with an 88 point gap to the second placed team and also won the German championship again.
Böhler was unable to defend his title in 1981, missing a number of races and having to swap passengers during the season. The following season, he only took part in very few events and came 19th overall.
Reinhard Böhler returned to old form in 1983 and 1984, winning the German title for a sixth and seventh time and coming third in both world championship seasons. The 1985 season was his last in the championship, taking out his last race win in the first GP of the season in Warching
Monheim, Bavaria
Monheim is a municipality in the Donau-Ries district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 15 km northeast of Donauwörth, and 27 km east of Nördlingen. It lies in the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben.-History:...
and then taking part in only the occasional GP during the season.
Season by season
The competition which was to become the sidecarcross world championship in 1980 originated as the FIM Cup in 1971 and was renamed to European championship in 1975. Böhler's results in these three competitions were:| Season | Passenger | Equipment | Position | Points | Races | Wins | Second | Third |
| 1971 | Walter Frech | Suzuki Suzuki is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Hamamatsu, Japan that specializes in manufacturing compact automobiles and 4x4 vehicles, a full range of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles , outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines... |
28 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 1972 | Walter Frech | Suzuki-Kawasaki | 20 | 7 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 1973 | Walter Frech | Yamaha-Wasp | 32 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 1974 | Egon Wuchner | Yamaha-Wasp | 14 | 22 | 2 | — | 1 | 1 |
| 1975 | Egon Wuchner | Yamaha-Wasp | 16 | 21 | 6 | — | — | — |
| 1976 | Walter Frech | Yamaha-Wasp | 21 | 13 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 1977 | Hans Georg Peppinghausen | Yamaha-Wasp | 2 | 148 | 16 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| 1978 | Hans Georg Peppinghausen | Yamaha-Wasp | 6 | 77 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1979 | Siegfried Müller Siegfried Müller (sidecarcrosser) Siegfried Müller is a retired German sidecarcross passenger and, together with his driver Reinhard Böhler, the first-ever World Champion in the sport.He has also won the German national sidecarcross championship in 1980.... |
Yamaha-Wasp | 9 | 50 | 10 | — | 1 | 1 |
 Karl Busser |
10 | 2 | — | — | 1 | |||
| 1980 | Siegfried Müller | Yamaha-Wasp | 1 | 236 | 22 | 6 | 7 | 2 |
| 1981 | Siegfried Müller | Yamaha-Wasp | 5 | 47 | 6 | — | 1 | 2 |
| Eric Mies | 45 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 1982 | Franz Burkhard | Yamaha-Wasp | 19 | 9 | 4 | — | — | — |
| 1983 | Franz Burkhard | Zabel-Wasp | 3 | 139 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 1984 | Ekhard Bauer | Wasp | 3 | 215 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| 1985 | Jürgen Hassold | Wasp | 8 | 106 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Overall 1971 - 1985 | 1154 | 137 | 19 | 26 | 18 |
Source:
- All passengers are German nationals unless otherwise shown.
Germany
- Champions: (7) 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984