Ernst Degner (born Ernst Eugen Wotzlawek on 22 September 1931 in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany - died 10 September 1983 in Arona, Teneriffe, Spain) was a German Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.

After getting expelled after World War II, his family wound up in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Degner raced successfully for the competitive East German manufacturer MZ which used two-stroke engines, for which MZ's engineer Walter Kaaden discovered principles regarding how sound waves and expansion chambers affect engine tuning.

After the Berlin Wall had been built in August 1961, Degner arranged the escape (Republikflucht) of his family from the GDR in the boot (trunk) of a car on the weekend he himself was racing in the Swedish Grand Prix at Kristianstad. In that race he could have secured the 125cc World Championship for himself and for MZ, but his engine failed early in the race. Ironically, his main rival for the 125cc World Title, Tom Phillis (Honda), also failed to finish the Swedish race.

It was after the race, when he was able to drive out of the circuit, that Ernst Degner defected by driving his Wartburg car to West Germany via Denmark.

After the MZ team had discovered his defection, the East Germans falsely accused Degner of deliberately destroying his engine in the Swedish race. This was a crazy accusation since having started the race, Degner surely wanted to win it - and the 125cc World Title - as much as MZ. However, the East Germans' accusations resulted in Degner's racing licence being revoked. This prevented him from racing a borrowed EMC 125cc racer in the final 125cc World Championship round in Argentina. Had he won that race, he could still have been crowned 125cc World Champion.

In November, the Japanese company Suzuki hired him and he moved to Hamamatsu, Japan to work in the Suzuki race-shop over the winter. Using the specialist two-stroke knowledge he had gained at MZ, Degner designed Suzuki's new 50cc and 125cc racers.

The following year, in 1962 Degner won Suzuki's first World Championship in the 50 cc class.

In November 1963, Degner crashed his Suzuki 250cc racer at the Japanese Grand Prix held at the Suzuka Circuit. The fuel tank burst into flames and Degner suffered horrific burns which required over fifty skin grafts. As a mark of respect, the double-apex right-hand curves past the esses where Degner had crashed so badly were named Degner Curve.

Although he returned to the Suzuki team to race in September 1964, he had little success and he retired from motorcycle racing at the end of 1966. After dabbling with single seater car racing, he worked for a spell as Technical Manager at Suzuki's German importer in Munich. He then moved to Tenerife where he ran a car hire business. It was there, in the Canary Islands that, in 1983, he died from an overdose of the medication by which he overcame the effects of his severe burns.

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6
Points	8	6	4	3	2	1

() (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Points	Rank	Wins
1957	125cc	MZ	GER 6	IOM -	NED -	BEL -	ULS -	NAT -								1	13th	0
1958	125cc	MZ	IOM 5	NED 6	BEL -	GER 3	SWE 5	ULS -	NAT -							9	7th	0
	250cc	MZ	IOM -	NED -		GER -	SWE -	ULS 4	NAT -							3	14th	0
1959	125cc	MZ	IOM -	GER 6	NED -	BEL -	SWE -	ULS 3	NAT 1							13	5th	1
	250cc	MZ	IOM -	GER -	NED 6	BEL -	SWE 4	ULS 3	NAT 2							14	4th	0
1960	125cc	MZ	IOM -	NED 5	BEL 1		ULS 3	NAT 3								16	3rd	1
	250cc	MZ	IOM -	NED 6	BEL -	GER -	ULS -	NAT 3								5	8th	0
1961	125cc	MZ	ESP 2	GER 1	FRA 2	IOM -	NED -	BEL 4	DDR 1	ULS 2	NAT 1	SWE -	ARG -			42	2nd	3
	250cc	MZ	ESP -	GER 4	FRA -	IOM -	NED -	BEL -	DDR -	ULS -	NAT -	SWE -	ARG -			3	13th	0
1962	50cc	Suzuki	ESP -	FRA -	IOM 1	NED 1	BEL 1	GER 1		DDR -	NAT -	FIN 4	ARG 2			47	1st	4
	125 cc	Suzuki	ESP -	FRA 5	IOM -	NED 4	BEL -	GER -	ULS -	DDR -	NAT -	FIN -	ARG -			5	11th	0
1963	50cc	Suzuki	ESP -	GER 3	FRA 2	IOM -	NED 1	BEL 2			FIN 2		ARG 2	JPN -		30	3rd	1
	125cc	Suzuki	ESP -	GER 1	FRA 6	IOM 3	NED -	BEL -	ULS -	DDR -	FIN -	NAT -	ARG -	JPN 3		17	6th	1
1964	125cc	Suzuki	USA -	ESP -	FRA -	IOM -	NED -	GER -	DDR -	ULS -	FIN -	NAT 3	JPN 1			12	6th	1
1965	50cc	Suzuki	USA 1	GER -	ESP -	FRA 3	IOM 3	NED 5	BEL 1						JPN -	26	4th	2
	125cc	Suzuki	USA 2	GER 4	ESP -	FRA 2	IOM -	NED -		DDR -	CZE -	ULS 1	FIN -	NAT -	JPN -	23	4th	1
1966	50cc	Suzuki	ESP -	GER -	NED -	IOM 4	NAT -	JPN -								3	6th	0

References