Helmut Kassner

This article is about the former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. For the German Wehrmacht officer, see Helmut Kassner (military officer).

Helmut Kassner
Helmut Kassner on a Yamaha TZ350 at the largely boycotted 1974 Eifel race. He won the race ahead of Wolfgang Stephan and Franz Weidacher.
Nationality	German
Born	(1946-12-26) December 26, 1946 Dachau, Bavaria, Germany
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1973–1977 First race 1973 250cc Isle of Man TT Last race 1977 500cc British Grand Prix First win 1974 250cc West German Grand Prix Last win 1974 350cc West German Grand Prix Team(s) Suzuki, Yamaha Championships 0 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 12 2 3 0 0 62

Helmut Kassner (born 26 December 1946, in Dachau) is a German former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best season was in 1974 when he won the German motorcycle Grand Prix in both 350cc and 250cc categories. He is the younger brother of Horst Kassner.

On April 28, 1974, Kassner had a historic day. At the German Grand Prix, the race was boycotted by many riders due to safety concerns of the Nordschleife. In the 250cc class only eight German riders and Hungarian János Reisz started, and in the 350cc class only nine German riders participated: Kassner won both races, a feat only matched by Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini earlier. In additiom to this, the 500cc class saw only seven riders start the race, and with three further riders forced to retire during the race, the four that crossed the line set the record for the least finishers in Grand Prix racing's premier class history. Kassner finished 2nd behind Edmund Czihak, just missing out on a historic record held by Hailwood, who won all three class races in Brno in 1966.