Hansi Bächtold (born 21 August 1956),[1] is a retired Swisssidecarcross rider and four times Sidecarcross World Champion, having won the competition from 1984 to 1987, together with his passenger Fritz Fuß.[2] The duo became the first-ever combination to win the competition four times in a row, a feat later repeated by the Swiss team of Andreas Fuhrer and Adrian Käser and surpassed by Dutch rider Daniël Willemsen with six consecutive titles.[3]
Hansi Bächtold made his sidecarcross debut in the Swiss championship in 1977 with passenger Wolf Kieser, coming sixth overall. They also raced in one event in the European Championship, the predecessor of the World Championship and scored a ninth place in the second race of the German Grand Prix.[2][4]
The following season was not very successful for Bächtold, only finishing 15th in the Swiss championship and 14th in Europe and using three different passengers during the season. A highlight however was a second place at the second race of the Swiss GP.[2][4]
From 1979 he used Hugo Jung as his passenger, a partnership that would last for three seasons. The new combination was instantly successful in the Swiss championship, taking out the title in 1979 and 1981 and finishing runners-up in between. The two titles were achieved against the strong competition of Robert Grogg and Emil Bollhalder, two of Europe's best riders at the time.[4] In Europe the pair came tenth in 1979. The following season, in a competition now renamed World Championship, the pair finished runners-up to the first World Champions, Germans Reinhard Böhler and Siegfried Müller. The 1981 season was not as successful with the team only finishing seventh.[2]
The 1982 season saw Bächtold use three different passengers again, eventually settling on Fritz Fuß. Success during that season was limited with a fourth place overall in Switzerland and a seventh in the World Championship. The 1983 season, now with Fritz Fuß as permanent passenger, saw improvement with a runners-up finish in the national and a sixth place in the World Championship.[2][4]
From 1984 to 1987 the combination of Bächtold and Fuß dominated the World Championship and, almost equally, the Swiss championship. In 1984 they beat the 1981 World Champions Ton van Heugten and Frits Kiggen from the Netherlands by 58 points. The following three years August Muller and Henk van Heek, also from the Netherlands, came second each year. The closest the Dutch combination came to the Swiss World champions was in 1987 when they lost by 36 points.[2]
In Switzerland, at the same time, the pair won the national title three times in four seasons. Only in 1985 did they miss out, finishing runners-up to Thomas Graf and Markus von Rotz by six points. It was the only time between 1982 and 1988 that the Swiss champions were not also the World Champions.[3][4]
At the end of the 1987 season Hansi Bächtold retired from national and international sidecarcross racing, as did Fritz Fuß who had spent his entire career with Bächtold.[5] The main reason behind Bächtold's retirement was financial. He had to give up his job as a car mechanic to be able to race while not receiving any financial reward for racing.[1]
Racing recordedit
Sidecarcross World Championshipedit
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. Hansi Bächtold's results in these competitions were:[2]
hansi, bächtold, born, august, 1956, retired, swiss, sidecarcross, rider, four, times, sidecarcross, world, champion, having, competition, from, 1984, 1987, together, with, passenger, fritz, fuß, became, first, ever, combination, competition, four, times, feat. Hansi Bachtold born 21 August 1956 1 is a retired Swiss sidecarcross rider and four times Sidecarcross World Champion having won the competition from 1984 to 1987 together with his passenger Fritz Fuss 2 The duo became the first ever combination to win the competition four times in a row a feat later repeated by the Swiss team of Andreas Fuhrer and Adrian Kaser and surpassed by Dutch rider Daniel Willemsen with six consecutive titles 3 Hansi BachtoldNationalitySwitzerlandBorn 1956 08 21 August 21 1956 age 67 Motorcycle racing career statisticsSidecarcross World ChampionshipActive years1977 1987ManufacturersYamaha Wasp 1977 Yamaha EML 1978 82 Jumbo EML 1983 87 Championships 4 1984 19871987 championship position1stStarts Wins Podiums Poles F laps Points167 42 74 1 656 Apart from his four World Championship triumphs he has also won the Swiss national sidecarcross championship on five occasions in 1979 1981 1984 1986 and 1987 4 Contents 1 Biography 2 Racing record 2 1 Sidecarcross World Championship 3 Honours 3 1 World Championship 3 2 National Championships 4 References 5 External linksBiography editHansi Bachtold made his sidecarcross debut in the Swiss championship in 1977 with passenger Wolf Kieser coming sixth overall They also raced in one event in the European Championship the predecessor of the World Championship and scored a ninth place in the second race of the German Grand Prix 2 4 The following season was not very successful for Bachtold only finishing 15th in the Swiss championship and 14th in Europe and using three different passengers during the season A highlight however was a second place at the second race of the Swiss GP 2 4 From 1979 he used Hugo Jung as his passenger a partnership that would last for three seasons The new combination was instantly successful in the Swiss championship taking out the title in 1979 and 1981 and finishing runners up in between The two titles were achieved against the strong competition of Robert Grogg and Emil Bollhalder two of Europe s best riders at the time 4 In Europe the pair came tenth in 1979 The following season in a competition now renamed World Championship the pair finished runners up to the first World Champions Germans Reinhard Bohler and Siegfried Muller The 1981 season was not as successful with the team only finishing seventh 2 The 1982 season saw Bachtold use three different passengers again eventually settling on Fritz Fuss Success during that season was limited with a fourth place overall in Switzerland and a seventh in the World Championship The 1983 season now with Fritz Fuss as permanent passenger saw improvement with a runners up finish in the national and a sixth place in the World Championship 2 4 From 1984 to 1987 the combination of Bachtold and Fuss dominated the World Championship and almost equally the Swiss championship In 1984 they beat the 1981 World Champions Ton van Heugten and Frits Kiggen from the Netherlands by 58 points The following three years August Muller and Henk van Heek also from the Netherlands came second each year The closest the Dutch combination came to the Swiss World champions was in 1987 when they lost by 36 points 2 In Switzerland at the same time the pair won the national title three times in four seasons Only in 1985 did they miss out finishing runners up to Thomas Graf and Markus von Rotz by six points It was the only time between 1982 and 1988 that the Swiss champions were not also the World Champions 3 4 At the end of the 1987 season Hansi Bachtold retired from national and international sidecarcross racing as did Fritz Fuss who had spent his entire career with Bachtold 5 The main reason behind Bachtold s retirement was financial He had to give up his job as a car mechanic to be able to race while not receiving any financial reward for racing 1 Racing record editSidecarcross World Championship edit 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 Hansi Bachtold s results in these competitions were 2 Season Passenger s Equipment Position Points Races Wins Second Third 1977 Wolf Kieser Yamaha Wasp 32 2 2 1978 Hugo Jung Johan Wenger Yamaha EML 14 14 4 1 1979 Hugo Jung Yamaha EML 10 56 18 1 1980 Hugo Jung Yamaha EML 2 148 16 4 2 2 1981 Hugo Jung Yamaha EML 7 57 12 2 1982 Fritz Meyer Sies Hurkmans Fritz Fuss Yamaha EML 7 56 12 4 1983 Fritz Fuss Jumbo EML 6 77 17 2 1984 Fritz Fuss Jumbo EML 1 290 22 5 6 3 1985 Fritz Fuss Jumbo EML 1 290 20 12 1 1986 Fritz Fuss Jumbo EML 1 389 24 14 1 2 1987 Fritz Fuss Jumbo EML 1 277 22 7 3 2 Overall 1977 1987 1 656 167 42 17 15Honours editWorld Championship edit Champions 4 1984 1985 1986 1987 Runners up 1 1980 National Championships edit Swiss national championship Champions 5 1979 1981 1984 1986 1987 Runners up 3 1980 1983 1985References edit a b Hansi Bachtold in German munzinger de accessed 20 October 2013 a b c d e f g Hansi Bachtold Sidecarcross World championship results The John Davey Pages accessed 20 October 2013 a b History World Champions sidecarcross com accessed 20 October 2013 a b c d e f Swiss national championship results 1970 2005 The John Davey Pages accessed 20 October 2013 Fritz Fuss Sidecarcross World championship results The John Davey Pages accessed 20 October 2013External links editThe World Championship on Sidecarcross com Sporting positions Preceded byEmil Bollhalder Sidecarcross World Champion1984 1987 Succeeded byChristoph Husser Preceded byRobert Grogg Swiss national sidecarcross champion1979 Succeeded byRobert Grogg Preceded byRobert Grogg Swiss national sidecarcross champion1981 Succeeded byEmil Bollhalder Preceded byEmil Bollhalder Swiss national sidecarcross champion1984 Succeeded byThomas Graf Preceded byThomas Graf Swiss national sidecarcross champion1986 1987 Succeeded byChristoph Husser Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hansi Bachtold amp oldid 1167039345, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
