Podcast with Klaus Klaffenböck: A taster of “Sterben tun die anderen”

Alongside the young Lower Austrian Rupert Hollaus, who took the motor racing world by storm in less than two years and won the 1954 World Championship in the 1/8-litre class, before paying the ultimate price during practice for the Grand Prix des Nations, Austria had another shining light in motorbike racing in the form of Klaus Klaffenböck.

In 2001, the ‘sunny boy’ from Upper Austria claimed the World Championship title in sidecar racing alongside his now-deceased compatriot Christian Parzer. But the daring blond-haired rider was not yet satisfied with that. He set the bar so high that many thought him mad, as he wanted to take on the specialists at the Tourist Trophy and show them that he was capable of winning even in the world’s deadliest race.

It took six years, but this chapter was also brought to a successful close. After three TT victories with local hero Daniel Sayle as his pillion rider, he decided he’d had enough of tempting fate and, the exceptional talent on three wheels that he was, chose to hang up his helmet and take on other exciting challenges.

When you’ve stared death in the face your whole life, there’s plenty to tell. Ideally, these experiences can then be read about in print. Much to the delight of motorsport fans, Klaffenböck had the same idea. Over the past few months, he has worked with ‘master wordsmith’ Kurt Molzer to produce his autobiography, *Sterben tun die anderen – Story eines Champions* (Others Die – The Story of a Champion).

The book, which runs to around 280 pages and also sheds light on his time as team principal in the Superbike World Championship, is due to be published in October. As a taster, Klaffi will be revealing one or two amusing anecdotes from his life on 29 July from 6.00 pm at the Bauernwirt in Graz (Harter Straße 142) during the live podcast “Nix gschenkt – Der Podcast”.