Terrible Speedway Accident - Zbigniew Raniszewski

[iris123]

Fritz Dirtl was born on 09.01.1928 in Vienna.He made his racing debut on a Moto-Guzzi in Baden in 1946.In the Oberhausen meeting Josef Kampers front wheel hit Dirtl and both fell.The Polish rider Polukard then rode over Dirtls head

[Custom House Kid]

Look at: http://www.sportowefakty.pl/zuzel/2010/01/...ewskiego-video/

 

It is terrible !!!!

 

***Mod Note: Please be clear that this link is NOT for the faint hearted and should only be viewed after taking this into account***

 

I think the other rider involved may have been Phil Bishop! But my translation on a piece i read may be incorrect.

 

[Bobby Garrad]

I am afraid ther are tracks still being used today that are very dangerous and before long we will have another fatality. Remove the staircase from this clip and replace it with a concrete wall and you have the possibility of another tragedy.

 

Throttle jamming open from the start is poosible.

 

Ask Stuart Robson.

[Bavarian]

From the In Memorium site:

 

RANISZEWSKI, Zbigniew (Bydgoszcz & Poland).........................April 21, 1956.............Vienna, Austria

 

DIRTL, Fritz (Austria)......................................................................J

une 10, 1956............Oberhausen, Germany (L-T)

 

That's correct, except that the Oberhausen track was not a long track (L-T), but a proper 400m speedway oval. The meeting at Oberhausen was in fact the Continental Final of the 1956 FIM World Individual Speedway Championship.

 

 

Let me add a little more about the stadium / speedway track seen in the video of that bizzare fatal crash of the Polish rider Raniszewski. This was the Praterstadion in Vienna (also known as the 'Wiener Stadion'), which was and still is Austria' biggest sports stadium. It was the Austrian equivalent of what Wembley was in England. It hosted the International football matches and major speedway events in the 1950's and 1960's. Severall FIM world championship speedway event were held at this track, beginning with an individual Contionental semi-final in 1952 until the 1963 world team cup final.

 

The stadium today, in a modernized shape, is no longer use for speedway, but football and athletics, and bears a new name (Ernst-Happel-Stadion). It hosted the (soccer) Euro 2008 final between Spain and Germany.

[Deano]

I think the other rider involved may have been Phil Bishop! But my translation on a piece i read may be incorrect.

 

According to a previous link:

 

14: Kamper, Kaiser, Sidlo, Krzeszinski F 4-2 45-38

 

So ironically Kamper was in the same fatal races of both Krzeszinski and Dirtl.

 

 

It seems pretty obvious to us these days that it was an accident waiting to happen, but perhaps they thought "what are the chances of that happening". They understood the risks before riding, but it seems so tragic that even crudely roping off the area would have stopped man and machines careering under. Lets just hope the poor guy didn't suffer because if you were the nearest, would you have unhesitatingly rushed to help him?

 

[Grachan]

Let me add a little more about the stadium / speedway track seen in the video of that bizzare fatal crash of the Polish rider Raniszewski. This was the Praterstadion in Vienna (also known as the 'Wiener Stadion'),

 

 

It seems pretty obvious to us these days that it was an accident waiting to happen, but perhaps they thought "what are the chances of that happening". They understood the risks before riding, but it seems so tragic that even crudely roping off the area would have stopped man and machines careering under. Lets just hope the poor guy didn't suffer because if you were the nearest, would you have unhesitatingly rushed to help him?

 

There's a picture of the Praterstadion here: http://sport.ard.de/euro2008/teams_spieler...968_dpa_600.jpg

 

It's quite pixelly when you try and zoom in, but it looks to me like there are three sets of those stairs in quite close proximity coming out of the bend at the far end (ironically boarded over in this picture for a football match).

 

At the very end of the clip you can just catch a glimpse of someone in white overalls running onto the track.

[Custom House Kid]

This link mentions Phil Bisop but the translation is poor See here

Edited January 23, 2010 by Custom House Kid

[Bavarian]

According to a previous link:

 

14: Kamper, Kaiser, Sidlo, Krzeszinski F 4-2 45-38

 

So ironically Kamper was in the same fatal races of both Krzeszinski and Dirtl.

 

Not so, heat 14 wasn't the fatal race, but only the last race that was completed. That rider Krzeszinski who fell in heat 14 was taken to hospital with lighter injuries (concussion etc).

 

Then came heat 15, the fatal race, which was of course never completed. In that race the Polish pair met Phil Bishop and Josef Seidl (actually a German), who both rode for the Austrian team.

Judging from this piece of information it is highly likely that the other rider involved in the accident is indeed Phil Bishop (or possibly Seidl, but I doubt that). I think it is Bishop behind the unfortunate Raniszewski, and himself lucky to slide off and narrowly miss that concrete stairway.

From the video it is impossible to say how the accident happened or whose fault it was. Not that it matters anyway now after all those years.

[speedyguy]

Not so, heat 14 wasn't the fatal race, but only the last race that was completed. That rider Krzeszinski who fell in heat 14 was taken to hospital with lighter injuries (concussion etc).

 

Then came heat 15, the fatal race, which was of course never completed. In that race the Polish pair met Phil Bishop and Josef Seidl (actually a German), who both rode for the Austrian team.

Judging from this piece of information it is highly likely that the other rider involved in the accident is indeed Phil Bishop (or possibly Seidl, but I doubt that). I think it is Bishop behind the unfortunate Raniszewski, and himself lucky to slide off and narrowly miss that concrete stairway.

From the video it is impossible to say how the accident happened or whose fault it was. Not that it matters anyway now after all those years.

 

 

On form, it's likely that Josef Seidl would have been leading the race. He was a top international performer.

Edited January 24, 2010 by speedyguy

[frigbo]

The Speedway Star of the time(19th May 1956) has a report which states that Sidlo was involved in the crash. Bishop and Kapala were out front when Sidlo fell in front of Raniszewski.

 

Initially the Poles had refused to ride owing to the safety and surface of the track, but eventually agreed primarily because a World Championship Round was scheduled for the same track later in the year.

 

The following week has a two page article on the first Polish Tourist team to the UK and describes how Raniszewski was due to have been part of the squad.

Edited January 25, 2010 by frigbo

[Bavarian]

The Speedway Star of the time(19th May 1956) has a report which states that Sidlo was involved in the crash. Bishop and Kapala were out front when Sidlo fell in front of Raniszewski.

 

This only shows the inaccuracy of the contemporary report in the Speedway Star. The reporter mixed the happenings of two accidents of heats 14 and 15 into one.

 

The truth is that in Heat 14, another Polish rider, Krzesinski, had a heavy crash and was taken to hospital. In this race (Heat 14) were Kamper and Sidlo for Austria, and Kaiser and Krzesinski for Poland. Kamper and Kaiser were out in front when Sidlo fell in front of Krzesinski. This race was later re-run without Krzesinski.

 

In the next race, heat 15, the fatal accident of Raniszewski happened, and that race of course was never re-run, the match being abandoned. Riding in heat 15 for the Austrian team was Josef Seidl and Phil Bishop, and for the Poles it was Kapala and Raniszewski.

 

It is obvious form seeing the video sequenece, that the two rides invovled in this tragic accident locked up and not that anyone had fallen in front of the other, as described in the Speedway Star report. Clearly that refers to the previous incident of Sidlo and Krzesinski in heat 14.

[speedyguy]

This only shows the inaccuracy of the contemporary report in the Speedway Star. The reporter mixed the happenings of two accidents of heats 14 and 15 into one.

 

The truth is that in Heat 14, another Polish rider, Krzesinski, had a heavy crash and was taken to hospital. In this race (Heat 14) were Kamper and Sidlo for Austria, and Kaiser and Krzesinski for Poland. Kamper and Kaiser were out in front when Sidlo fell in front of Krzesinski. This race was later re-run without Krzesinski.

 

In the next race, heat 15, the fatal accident of Raniszewski happened, and that race of course was never re-run, the match being abandoned. Riding in heat 15 for the Austrian team was Josef Seidl and Phil Bishop, and for the Poles it was Kapala and Raniszewski.

 

It is obvious form seeing the video sequenece, that the two rides invovled in this tragic accident locked up and not that anyone had fallen in front of the other, as described in the Speedway Star report. Clearly that refers to the previous incident of Sidlo and Krzesinski in heat 14.

 

 

Or could the report have become 'garbled' either because of translation from German into English, or because the report was written by a German who had a poor grasp of English and the report in question was confusing for the person putting it into basic English? Glad to see the matter has been cleared up after all the years - sadly though it looks as though yet another of speedway's many myths has now been created? That Star report will always be accepted because it is the first reference to the fatal accident.

[ladyluck]

Or could the report have become 'garbled' either because of translation from German into English, or because the report was written by a German who had a poor grasp of English and the report in question was confusing for the person putting it into basic English?

Shouldn't have been. Anyone with a basic grasp of speedway would have known which riders were due out in which heats. It would have been easy enough to check and get it right.

[Grachan]

Just been reading through translations and links from the Raniszewski website. One person has made a quite interesting observation in the comments, saying that if you freeze the frame at the start of the video, the rider on the outside looks like he is reaching across with his right arm and pulling on Raniszewski's race jacket.

Edited January 26, 2010 by Grachan

[tigerowl]

Phil Bishop serialised his life story in the Speedway Post in 1965 and he mentions the crash but I think he might have got some of the incidents confused. The story says:

 

"I rode in an International team in Vienna against the first Polish team to leave their native country - a team that was told: ride to win, even if you kill yourself. It was the Poles' first International. They had spent thousands on machines and training and reckoned they were going to beat the world. They expected to meet a weak team of Austrians in Vienna...instead they met a composite side that included Josef Hofmeister, Albert Siedl, Josef Kamper, Fritz Dirtl and myself.

By the halfway stage the Poles were behind by 12 points. They held an emergency meeting and told their riders: go faster, at any cost. In the first race after the interval one of the riders crashed, received severe facial injuries and died in hospital. I was in the next race.

Both the Poles tried to chop me up going into the first turn. I kept going, one rammed my back wheel, lost control, knocked his partner off, climbed back on the careering machine, opened the throttle wide.

There was no safety fence. Just 30 metres of grass then stairs leading up to the stands. The Pole crashed at full tilt into these stairs. The impact ripped his head right off. They've put up a safety fence in Vienna now"

 

Speedway Post - August 1965.

[Deano]

I've just realised Phil Bishop was a victim in the minibus accident at Lokeren!

[speedyguy]

Phil Bishop serialised his life story in the Speedway Post in 1965 and he mentions the crash but I think he might have got some of the incidents confused. The story says:

 

"I rode in an International team in Vienna against the first Polish team to leave their native country - a team that was told: ride to win, even if you kill yourself. It was the Poles' first International. They had spent thousands on machines and training and reckoned they were going to beat the world. They expected to meet a weak team of Austrians in Vienna...instead they met a composite side that included Josef Hofmeister, Albert Siedl, Josef Kamper, Fritz Dirtl and myself.

By the halfway stage the Poles were behind by 12 points. They held an emergency meeting and told their riders: go faster, at any cost. In the first race after the interval one of the riders crashed, received severe facial injuries and died in hospital. I was in the next race.

Both the Poles tried to chop me up going into the first turn. I kept going, one rammed my back wheel, lost control, knocked his partner off, climbed back on the careering machine, opened the throttle wide.

There was no safety fence. Just 30 metres of grass then stairs leading up to the stands. The Pole crashed at full tilt into these stairs. The impact ripped his head right off. They've put up a safety fence in Vienna now"

 

Speedway Post - August 1965.

 

I wonder if his research led him to the previous Speedway Star report? Such is how myths are created in speedway.

[speedyguy]

Shouldn't have been. Anyone with a basic grasp of speedway would have known which riders were due out in which heats. It would have been easy enough to check and get it right.

 

 

 

Only if they had a programme...?

[ladyluck]

Only if they had a programme...?

Not necessarily, with rider numbers and the standard heat format.

[speedyguy]

Not necessarily, with rider numbers and the standard heat format.

 

 

Most likely this match report was just a write-up by somebody at the match, probably a supporter. Is there any by-line to the report?

I doubt very much if a programme of the meeting was sent to the Speedway Star.