‘He fled with MZ’s tech know-how’
Ernst Degner was the star rider of the early 1960s East German MZ racing team, then world leaders in two-stroke technology, who defected to the West in 1961, taking his secrets to Suzuki with whom he won the 1962 50cc world championship. Tragedy, however, followed. He received horrific burns at the 1963 Japanese GP and, although winning three more GPs, retired through injury at the end of 1966. Born in 1931 in Upper Silesia (now Poland), Degner’s father died at the end of WWII then, with his sister and mother, he fled to Luckau, his mother dying shortly after.
A capable engineer, Degner began racing in 1952, then, after coming second in the 1955 East German championship, was signed by Walter Kaaden, manager of the state-sponsored MZ team.
In the late 1950s Kaaden significantly improved twostroke performance with expansion chambers and other developments. After dominating the 1957 125cc national series, MZ and Degner entered the world championship, winning their first GP in 1959 before coming third in the 1960 championship.
By 1961, however, having witnessed western riders’ lifestyles and suffering constant surveillance by the Stasi, Degner decided to defect, encouraged by Suzuki in return for MZ technical know-how. Degner fled that year’s Swedish GP while his family escaped into West Germany. Later, his racing over, Degner’s life spiralled. He became addicted to painkillers, his marriage collapsed and he moved to Tenerife to start a failed car hire business. His death in 1983 aged 51 is the stuff of conspiracy theories but is recorded as a heart attack.