Ernst Degner

He was the '62 world champion in 50cc class. He sure was a huge figure in Suzuki, not only he brought Suzuki a first world championship as a rider, but also he was an excellent engineer; the champion machine would not have been made without his knowledge developed at East German manufacturer MZ which used two-stroke engines.

His boss at MZ, Walter Kaaden worked under Nazi V-series rocket engineer Werner von Braun during WWII and is known to discover principles regarding how sound waves and expansion chambers affect engine tuning. He made 2stroke motors semi-reliable, efficient and faster.
Degner was a successful rider at MZ team of East Germany and in 1961 he was very close to be 125cc wold champion. Right after the Swedish Grand Prix at Kristianstad when he was able to drive out of the circuit, Ernst Degner defected by driving his Wartburg car to West Germany via Denmark. Needless to say, that made East Germany and MZ team he was with very angry. They managed to have Ernst's racing license revoked, preventing him from being a 125 cc champ for the season. November of 61, Suzuki hired him. He moved to Hamamatsu Japan and designed 50cc and 125 cc 2 stroke machines passing Kaaden's knowledge to Suzuki engineers; how to get more power from the same displacement.

In November 1963, Degner crashed his Suzuki 250cc racer at the Japanese Grand Prix held at the Suzuka Circuit. The fuel tank burst into flames and Degner suffered horrific burns which required over fifty skin grafts. As a mark of respect, the double-apex right-hand curves past the esses where Degner had crashed so badly were named Degner Curve.

Degner had little success after that and decided to retire from motorcycle racing. After dabbling with single seater car racing, he worked for a spell as Technical Manager at Suzuki's German importer in Munich. He then moved to Tenerife where he ran a car hire business. In '83, he had a heart attack and passed. He was 52 years old.