1965 – Anscheidt’s last year as a Kreidler works driver
Overpowering competition for Kreidler
The Japanese plants Suzuki and Honda had already made a huge effort last year. At the 1994 season finale, no fewer than 12 factory drivers would have competed. Only because of the withdrawal of all Suzuki drivers before the race, the run was not counted as part of the World Championship afterwards. Honda already had a 50cc four-stroke two-cylinder factory machine in the 1964 season, with which Ralph Bryans had won three times. Once again, the Northern Irishman was second on the Isle of Man ahead of H. G. Anscheidt.
The new weapons of Honda and Suzuki
For 1965 Suzuki presented a new 50cc twin and a 125cc bike with a 4-cylinder engine, both with water cooling. The Spanish Derbi team also got stronger every year and equipped 5 pilots with their material, three of them as factory drivers. The Honda RC 115 should prove to be the most powerful weapon, with a peak output of 14 hp at 21,500 rpm, an astronomical number of revolutions. The top speed was around 175 km/h (108.7 mph), the tiny thing had a 9-speed gearbox and weighed only 50 kilograms.
The 1965 season without a Grand Prix win for Anscheidt and Kreidler
It became clear even before the start of the season that Kreidler would be lost with the now outdated 50-series engine. With Luigi Taveri, Honda provided a second works driver alongside Ralph Bryan from Northern Ireland. For Suzuki, Ernst Degner returned to the 50cc class full of self-confidence after his 125cc victory in the final race in Suzuka last year. The first 50cc world champion from 1962 strengthened the Suzuki works team with Hugh Anderson and the Japanese Mitsuo Itoh.
Suzuki riders dominating – but only in the 125cc class
In 1965 there was no match against the 50cc Honda riders on most of the tracks. Nevertheless, Anderson fought for one victory in Barcelona and got it, and Degner even two (in Daytona and Spa-Francorchamps). But the world title went to Ralph Bryan and the Swiss Taveri was runner-up. Hans Georg Anscheidt made it into the points with the Kreidler only twice and the plant from Kornwestheim near Stuttgart withdrew from the GP sport at the end of the season. The German drove the Japanese GP in the last race on a Suzuki and with 4th place got as many points as in all 7 races before.
Final score 50cc World Championship 1965
From the 8 races in 1965 only the 5 best results were counted, which is why the first 3 in the table below had cancellation points. The result after subtracting the worst 3 results is shown in red font.
1966 the breakthrough for Anscheidt with Suzuki
The first round of the World Cup in Barcelona
In the 1966 season, H. G. Anscheidt, from Königsberg in Prussia, competed for Suzuki. The main focus was on the 50cc class, and as in the previous year, he also took part in 125s races. However, there were no points to win for the German in Spain. But in the 50cc class, the combination of Anscheidt and Suzuki should prove to be extremely powerful.
Swiss 50cc win on Honda
At the season opener in Spain, Luigi Taveri (Switzerland) was ahead of the game and won the Barcelona GP by a clear margin from H. G. Anscheid, Ralph Bryans and Hugh Anderson. Honda works driver Taveri had obviously been very lucky with his victory, because shortly before the end of the race, a good chunk of his lead over the pursuers shrank. As he stated after the race, his Honda would probably not have survived another lap.
Revenge at the home race at the Hockenheimring
The second race at the home Grand Prix in Hockenheim was the first highlight of the season for the young and small German. In front of around 100,000 spectators, the 15 drivers started at 9:40 a.m. with a slight delay over 15 laps to the 50cc GP of Germany. As so often, local hero Anscheidt had an excellent start and took the lead in front of his Suzuki team-mate Hugh Anderson. While Taveri had engine problems with his Honda again and falled behind due to misfires, a three-man leading group forms with Anderson, Anscheidt and Bryans.
New lap record and a historical triumph
In the eighth lap, the German sat a new lap record and lapped the first drivers. In the end he won his first race for Suzuki to the frenetic cheers of the audience with almost 35 seconds ahead of Ralph Bryans. The Northern Irishman was able to leave Anderson behind and Taveri crossed the finish line in 4th place. Anscheidt went a bit better in the 125cc race than in barcelona and took a 5th place, thus scored the first and only World Championship points of the season.
World Championship round 3 in Assen
The 50cc class was not announced at the French GP in Charade, Clermont-Ferrand. In general, the 1966 season was the first for the 50s with only 6 races since the “schnapps glass class” was held in the premiere year 1962. For this reason, only the best 4 results of the season counted for the world championship this time. At the “Dutch TT” in Assen there was a double victory for Honda. After Taveri won ahead of Bryans, Anderson and Anscheidt, the suspicion arose that the Northern Irishman had let the Swiss by because of a stable order. For H. G. Anscheidt, 4th place was later a deletion result.
TT Race on the Isle of Man 1966 – no luck for Anscheidt
After a two-month break for the smallest class, the Isle of Man continued with the Tourist Trophy, which was part of the World Cup until the mid-1970s. But this time Hans Georg had no luck after winning the German Championship run at the Norisring in his home country during the break before the TT. At the foot of Bray Hill by Quarter Bridge, he stopped with his Suzuki. The engine had simply given up the ghost, with which it had to post the first zero of the season.
Difficult situation for the German to earn the 50cc title
Now it was of course tight in the World Championship because Bryans had won ahead of Taveri and Anscheidt’s team-mate Anderson. The Northern Irishman Bryans had allegedly disregarded the team order at the TT and wanted to beat Taveri in his home race. Incidentally, Ralph Bryans drove faster on the first lap than 19 years earlier in the 500 class of the pre-war hero Harold Daniell on his factory Norton on his record lap. This is proof of how well the 50 cm³ machines ran even on such courses in the mid-1960s.
World Cup Round 5 – Monza Grand Prix of Nations
For once, H. G. Anscheidt did not have a really good start this time and had to line up behind the two Hondas from Bryans and Taveri, as well as Anderson’s Suzuki. After the first lap, Hans Georg crossed the finish line 10 seconds behind the leader and initially it looked like a clear start-finish victory for the two Hondas. But within three laps, Anscheidt made up a full six seconds. One lap later, the German fighter was already in the lead ahead of his two toughest rivals.
Sensational win for the new Suzuki rider
In the end he won his second GP of the season with an average of 152.175 km/h (94.55 mph) on his 50cc Suzuki with over 10 seconds ahead of the second. After Ralph Bryans crossed the finish line again in front of his Swiss team-mate, Taveri lost important points in the World Championship intermediate ranking. Before the season finale in Japan, H. G. Anscheidt suddenly had the chance to win the first world title again.
The season finale in Fuji
At the Japanese GP the decision had to be made. Whether Honda could secure the title with Bryans or Taveri, or with Anscheidt, after Ernst Degner, a German could again put the crown on for Suzuki.
The questionable boycott of Honda
Honda had already secured the title in the Manufacturers’ World Championship before the final. But incomprehensibly, Honda boycotted this Grand Prix, citing alleged safety concerns. In fact, the Japanese company protested the Fuji event for only one reason. The only thing Honda was upset about was the fact that the FIM didn’t select to drive on Honda’s own track in Suzuka. Relocating their national GP to another circuit for 1966 did not suit the Japanese factory.
The result of this nonsense
The boycott of Honda took revenge immediately, because Hans Georg Anscheidt came in second behind team mate and Suzuki works driver Yoshimi Katayama. This was enough to secure his first world title with just one point ahead of Bryans and Taveri.
Final result of the 1966 World Championship in the 50cc class
World Championship in the 125cc class
No arrival in the top six – this is and was indeed not as shame
One should hear more often from drivers like Ginger Molloy, Cel Carruthers (with him later also as supervisor of drivers like “King Kenny” Roberts), Heinz Rosner and Cees van Dongen. Not making it into the top six is anything but not worth mentioning today.
>>Coming soon with part 4..
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