Synopses & Reviews
This is the compelling story of how one of Japan's biggest motorcycle manufacturers stole a Nazi rocket scientist's engine secrets from behind the Iron Curtain to conquer the world. In 1961, with the Cold War at its height, East German motorcycle manufacturer MZ was using World War II rocket technology to win Grands Prix, only for rider Ernst Degner to defect and sell the secrets to Suzuki, while his wife and children were drugged and smuggled through the Berlin Wall. The following year Suzuki and Degner made history by winning the world title. Branded a traitor by the communists, Degner suffered horrific injuries in a fiery racing accident and died in mysterious circumstances.
Synopsis
This is the compelling story of how one of Japan's biggest motorcycle manufacturers stole a Nazi rocket scientist's engine secrets from behind the Iron Curtain to conquer the world.
About the Author
Mat Oxley is an Isle of Man TT winner and lap record holder. He has been writing about motorcycle racing for magazines and newspapers since the late 1980s, and his books include acclaimed biographies of Valentino Rossi and Mick Doohan, plus the Cold War motorsport spy story Stealing Speed. His contribution to the Official MotoGP Season Review is a typically insightful summary of the season as a whole.