Master Oil Racing Team
11-26-2010, 02:07 PM
Karl Bartel, Berlin. (thirty eight years old at the time of the interview)
This is from an interview I did with Karl at the Berlin Boat Show February 25, 1975. Some parts were hard to hear clearly, and in a couple of my questions he referred to Kurt Mischke for clarification, and turned from the mic it wasn't clearly picked up. This is the basic's though, and I will refer to Mike Wards book on his major championships. Karl says he raced 15 years in class OE (pronounced Ohh AY in German although his first boat was a small Sid Craft which suggests his pronunciation is corrects English pronunciation for class OA rather than the German pronunciation which is Ohh-Ahh.) I will correct whatever I find wrong.
Karl started out racing go karts and raced them from 1958 through 1962 when he met Kurt Mischke, also from Berlin. Kurt and some other boat racers had gone to watch some go kart races. After watching the races, Kurt began talking to Karl and told him in Karl's words that go kart racing "....was a dirty sport. We have all times good fun on the water and it's a good sport." I am getting from the way Kurt told it was that boat racers were more friendly and did not drive dirty, although I think Kurt may have been referencing it in both terms of having fun on the water, and boat racers drove more cleanly and not dirty tricks.
Karl bought an old Sid Craft and an older model Konig. Later he told me he started in a national (German) class of 350 (unintelligible) and I didn't pursue it, but he did say that all the motors he ever ran were Konig. The Sid Craft was a very short boat, being only 3 meters 20. The motor was not competitive and for five or six years he ran finished 10th or 11th place. Then he got a new boat and motor, and it went so fast he wrecked it. Another new boat, and he raced for two more years then got tied in with Dieter Konig.
Dieter asked Karl "You want to test boat from fiberglass?" This would have been class OE. The first year he finished second in the championship (he doesn't say which). The second year of racing with Dieter he got a new Konig which was very powerful and fast but the fiberglass boat was too heavy and he could not drive it well. He got a lightweight wooden boat then. It was 1971. With it, Karl won 4 championships and became German Champion. Then Karl went on "The next year in 1972 I win World Championship in Berlin. It was very hard, very rough water and fourteen days later had an accident with the boat in European Championship OF. And the big accident I am laying in the hospital for one year". Karl didn't tell me in this interview, but at some point in our friendship over the next several years I had learned he stuffed the hydro. I think he lost his spleen, broke ribs, and I'm not sure what else, but it almost killed him.
After his long period of recuperation Karl got back in the cockpit and it took him some time to get back up to speed, part of which was getting his setup and motor right again. He said "I think I need one year to come at least some races for power enough for winning the race. And I think I am now the same driver as before. This year I win the World Championship OA and the European Championship in OE.
This is from an interview I did with Karl at the Berlin Boat Show February 25, 1975. Some parts were hard to hear clearly, and in a couple of my questions he referred to Kurt Mischke for clarification, and turned from the mic it wasn't clearly picked up. This is the basic's though, and I will refer to Mike Wards book on his major championships. Karl says he raced 15 years in class OE (pronounced Ohh AY in German although his first boat was a small Sid Craft which suggests his pronunciation is corrects English pronunciation for class OA rather than the German pronunciation which is Ohh-Ahh.) I will correct whatever I find wrong.
Karl started out racing go karts and raced them from 1958 through 1962 when he met Kurt Mischke, also from Berlin. Kurt and some other boat racers had gone to watch some go kart races. After watching the races, Kurt began talking to Karl and told him in Karl's words that go kart racing "....was a dirty sport. We have all times good fun on the water and it's a good sport." I am getting from the way Kurt told it was that boat racers were more friendly and did not drive dirty, although I think Kurt may have been referencing it in both terms of having fun on the water, and boat racers drove more cleanly and not dirty tricks.
Karl bought an old Sid Craft and an older model Konig. Later he told me he started in a national (German) class of 350 (unintelligible) and I didn't pursue it, but he did say that all the motors he ever ran were Konig. The Sid Craft was a very short boat, being only 3 meters 20. The motor was not competitive and for five or six years he ran finished 10th or 11th place. Then he got a new boat and motor, and it went so fast he wrecked it. Another new boat, and he raced for two more years then got tied in with Dieter Konig.
Dieter asked Karl "You want to test boat from fiberglass?" This would have been class OE. The first year he finished second in the championship (he doesn't say which). The second year of racing with Dieter he got a new Konig which was very powerful and fast but the fiberglass boat was too heavy and he could not drive it well. He got a lightweight wooden boat then. It was 1971. With it, Karl won 4 championships and became German Champion. Then Karl went on "The next year in 1972 I win World Championship in Berlin. It was very hard, very rough water and fourteen days later had an accident with the boat in European Championship OF. And the big accident I am laying in the hospital for one year". Karl didn't tell me in this interview, but at some point in our friendship over the next several years I had learned he stuffed the hydro. I think he lost his spleen, broke ribs, and I'm not sure what else, but it almost killed him.
After his long period of recuperation Karl got back in the cockpit and it took him some time to get back up to speed, part of which was getting his setup and motor right again. He said "I think I need one year to come at least some races for power enough for winning the race. And I think I am now the same driver as before. This year I win the World Championship OA and the European Championship in OE.