Adolf Weil (25 December 1938 – 12 May 2011) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

professional

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

racer. He competed in the

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

250cc and 500cc Motocross Grand Prix world championships as a rider for the

Maico Maicowerk A.G., known by its trading name Maico () is the name of a family company in the Swabian town of Pfäffingen near Tübingen. Founded in 1926 by Ulrich Maisch as Maisch & Co, the company originally manufactured 98 and 123 cc Ilo t ...

factory racing team between 1966 and 1978. __TOC__

Motocross career

Weil began competing in the motocross world championships in 1966. He finished second to Håkan Andersson in the

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

250cc World Championship, and finished in third place three times in the 500cc World Championship. While he was never able to capture an international title, he won 14 German motocross national championships. Weil won the 1973 Trans-AMA championship at the age of 34. He was known as the 'Iron Man' of motocross because he competed for over 20 years in a physically demanding sport that is dominated by younger riders. He raced his entire career on Maico motorcycles. In 1976, Weil was awarded the

Silver Laurel Leaf Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the German President Theodor Heuss. It is awarded to athletes and teams of exemplary character that have won medals at Olympic and ...

, the highest state award for athletic performance in Germany. After retiring from competition in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, he ran a motorcycle business with his two sons Frank and Jürgen in his hometown of

Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366, ...

, Germany.

Motocross Grand Prix Results

References

1938 births 2011 deaths People from Solingen Sportspeople from Düsseldorf (region) German motocross riders Recipients of the Silver Laurel Leaf {{Germany-motorcycle-racing-bio-stub