Memories of Helmut Krackowizer from his son Peter

When my father had written a letter, e.g. to a friend in England, he drove about 15 kilometres crossing the Austrian - Germany border to post that letter from Germany as the postage had been cheaper than in Austria. Coming back he passed by my travel agency to send that letter by fax - and coming home, I was told by my mother - father made a telephone call to his friend to advise him about the letter, which should be already there by fax. Well, this was father.

And there are some other memories of "Mister Rudge"...

... like my first meetings with Luigi Taveri. He often joined to the Oldtimer Grand Prix with one of his former Honda-works-racing motorcycles. And He appeared always too late at he pre-start at the exit of the paddocks. And as I was my duty to refuse late-appeared-participants to go one to the start (due to safety reasons), I wanted to do even with Mr. Taveri so. But my father explained always that his racing motorcycle has to be started very shortly before start due to the peculiarity of that motor... So I let him gone...

Racing remained in the blood of my father is whole life. Not in the sense of the high-speed driving. My father always said, he drove not fast, but briskly! He hated it however to be located in a tailback and do not get further. I could detect this two experiences always recurring: First Loving gladly to pass by tailbacks on the motorways on the right lane, which is reserved for breakdowns - once, on the motorway between Rosenheim and Kufstein, he drove however in front of a police patrol on that lane!

Second: In order to escape traffic hold-up in the city, my father preferred numerous detours. That brought him a time gained rarely, but, as mentions above, he could not stand to be located senselessly in a tailback. From this time ago I know a quantity of secret roads crosswise the city. However many of them are meanwhile either closed for traffic or already so well-known that they do not bring "advantages" any more!

As far as it concerns the genuine "Racing", my father still sat in the saddle of motorcycles until the Nineties. Of course  always constantly speed competitions, but, then I learned from my father, "... the most constantly race you drive with full speed... ". And if I think back in such a way to the "Oldtimer Grand Prix" of the 1980's at the Salzburg Ring, then my father gave everything one’s got, which concerned the speed!

Crash helmet (see photo above, holding in his hand) I would like to mention a unique thing here: My father drove all his races in his active time until 1955 as well as later on his “Oldtimer Grand Prix" and constantly speed competitions always with the same crash helmet: one, like at that time usual, open helmet in the colors red-white-red - in such a way I detect him still today on photos. The helmet is with us at home. I remember, as a child, I put gladly this helmet and played "racing motor cyclist"!