Today we are close to the 50th anniversary of the German championship of Hans Otto Butenuth in the 500 solo class in 1971.
At that time, HOB was already 41 years old. His racing career began quite late anyway, at the age of 27. By 1971 he had already been on the road for 14 years in the racing circuit, first in the 250 and 350 class, then in the 500 and later also near-series classes with their larger displacement, superbike, battle of the twins and classic series.
1971 was also a time of upheaval. His motorcycle type, a BMW RS, including the test stadiums, was already 20 years old at the time. The two-stroke engines also appeared more and more in the premier class, but were not yet reliable enough. A 10th place in the Eifelrennen, a 7th place in Hockenheim (at the same time World Championship round), a 4th place on the Avus in Berlin (which celebrated its 50th birthday at the time), then a 4th place again in Hockenheim place was enough for HOB and finally a 6th place on the Suedschleife (south loop) of the Nuerburgring on October 17th, 1971, with which his championship was established.
If you want to go by such titles, it was probably the high point of his 40-year racing career, which only ended shortly before his illness-related death in the summer of 1997. Daehne-Butenuth's class win in the production class at the TT on the Isle of Man in 1976 on a BMW is legendary. HOB not only had the TT bacillus, but also the BMW bacillus. He completed more than half of all of his 380 or so races on a BMW. He is said to have once said that he would keep racing as long as no one told him he was too slow. He was rarely among the fastest, mostly in the front midfield behind the points earning ranks. He is also said to have said “I have chased them all”. This refers to the big names of the time such as Agostini, Hailwood, Read etc. He rode his fastest TT in 1988 on a 750cc Honda. At that time he was already 58 years old. In 1996, now at the age of 66, he burned another TT race into the tarmac with an average speed of over 100 miles, this time a 750 Yamaha.
It wasn't the rostrums that made his career stand out. It was the numerous racing courses, classes and brands in and on which he rode, and above all it was the numerous races and years that he had been stricken with racing fever, preferably road races; few hill climbs. He received support mainly from his wife. Then there were a few friends and helpers, but almost no official sponsors. His way of running the race is best comparable with that of Heinz Luthringshauser. As far as the length of the career is concerned, there are also similarities with Karl Hoppe, Ernst Hiller and Helmut Dähne.
HOB has left little traces. Many details can no longer be clearly clarified today.
