# Helmut Polensky > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Helmut_Polensky > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Helmut_Polensky.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Polensky > Source revision: 1209348578 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|German racing driver}} [[File:Monopoletta BMW, Bj 1949, Foto 1978.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|BMW-powered [Formula 3](/source/Formula_3) ''Monopoletta'' of Helmut Polensky, at a nostalgia ''Grand Prix'' event at the [Nürburgring](/source/N%C3%BCrburgring) in 1978]] '''Helmut Polensky''' (10 October 1915, [Berlin](/source/Berlin) – 6 November 2011, [Saint-Tropez](/source/Saint-Tropez)) was a [German](/source/German_people) [moto racer](/source/Motorcycle_racing), [racing driver](/source/Auto_racing) and racing car constructor. == Life outside racing == Polensky was the youngest of four sons. His father was an architect. After leaving school and finishing military service, he began a career as a professional motorcycle and auto racer. After the [Second World War](/source/World_War_II), he married. He spent the last decades of his life in [Saint-Tropez](/source/Saint-Tropez). == The 1930s and the Second World War == Polensky began racing [motorcycle](/source/motorcycle)s as a [club racer](/source/Club_racing) in the mid-1930s. In 1939, he switched to [sports car racing](/source/sports_car_racing), piloting a used [BMW 328](/source/BMW_328). The same year, he signed as an engineer apprentice with [Auto Union](/source/Auto_Union), and also joined the [National Socialist Motor Corps](/source/National_Socialist_Motor_Corps). Polensky spent the [Second World War](/source/World_War_II) as a [logistics](/source/logistics) specialist in Berlin. In 1945 he escaped from a Soviet [prisoner of war](/source/prisoner_of_war) camp, fleeing to Hamburg. He worked there in 1946 as managing director of a small motor company. == Racer and designer == [[File:Polensky-Monopoletta-01.jpg|thumb|Polensky's ''Monopoletta'' in [Prototype Museum (Hamburg)](/source/Prototype_Museum_(Hamburg))]] thumb|upright|Front view In 1947, Polensky returned to Berlin and in the ruins opened one of the first [Vespa](/source/Vespa) dealerships in Germany. He also began racing again, designing and in his own workshop constructing a [Formula Three](/source/Formula_Three) racer with a {{convert|500|cc|abbr=on}} motorcycle engine, akin to the [Cooper 500](/source/Cooper_Car_Company). Polensky's first model was the ''Kurpfalz''. This was followed by the ''[Monopoletta](/source/Monopoletta)'', a [BMW](/source/BMW)-powered [''monoposto''](/source/Open-wheel_car). Polensky raced his ''[Monopoletta](/source/Monopoletta)'' throughout the late 1940s across [West Germany](/source/West_Germany). In 1950, he was fifth overall in the [West German Formula Three Championship](/source/German_Formula_Three_Championship). In the early the 1950s, Polensky began to concentrate increasingly on sports car races. He entered the ''[Mille Miglia](/source/Mille_Miglia)'' in [1952](/source/1952_Mille_Miglia). His wife served as co-driver several times in the [''Tour de France''](/source/Tour_de_France_Automobile). Around the same time, he moved his family to [Karlsruhe](/source/Karlsruhe), where he opened a [Volkswagen](/source/Volkswagen) dealership. Driving a [Porsche](/source/Porsche), he won the 1953 [''Coupe des Alpes''](/source/Alpine_Rally) and [European Rally Championship](/source/European_Rally_Championship), coming first overall in the championship. He was also eighth overall at the [12 Hours of Reims](/source/12_Hours_of_Reims) in [1954](/source/1954_12_Hours_of_Reims).[http://www.racingsportscars.com/race/Reims-1954-07-04.html 12 Hours of Reims 1954] Polensky entered the [24 Hours of Le Mans](/source/24_Hours_of_Le_Mans) three times. In [1955](/source/1955_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans), he was shared a [Porsche 550](/source/Porsche_550) with journalist [Richard von Frankenberg](/source/Richard_von_Frankenberg), coming fourth overall and earning a class win. He also took the 21st Biennial Cup. In 1956, Polensky quit racing to become a successful [automobile dealer](/source/automobile_dealer). == Le Mans results == {| class = "wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;" |- Bgcolor = "#ABBBDD" ! Year ! Team ! Vehicle ! Teammate ! Placement ! Failure reason |- | [1954](/source/1954_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans) | {{flagicon|GER}} [Porsche](/source/Porsche) | [Porsche 550/4 RS Coupé 1500](/source/Porsche_550) | {{flagicon|GER}} [Hans Herrmann](/source/Hans_Herrmann) | Failure | Engine failure |- | [1955](/source/1955_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans) | {{flagicon|GER}} Porsche KG | Porsche 550/4 RS Spyder 1500 | {{flagicon|GER}} [Richard von Frankenberg](/source/Richard_von_Frankenberg) | Fourth overall, and class win | |- | [1956](/source/1956_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans) | {{flagicon|FRA}} [Olivier Gonzague](/source/Olivier_Gonzague) | Porsche 550/4 Spyder | {{flagicon|FRA}} [Claude Storez](/source/Claude_Storez) | Failure | Distributor |} == Books == * Christian Moity, Jean-Marc Teissèdre, Alain Bienvenu. ''24 Heures du Mans, 1923-1992''. Éditions d'Art, Besancon, 1992 {{ISBN|2-909-413-06-3}}. == External links == * [https://web.archive.org/web/20141006151433/http://www.500race.org/Men/Polensky.htm Biography of Helmut Polensky] * [http://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/results/Helmut-Polensky-D.html Race results] == References == {{reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Polensky, Helmut}} Category:1915 births Category:2011 deaths Category:German racing drivers Category:World Sportscar Championship drivers Category:German automobile designers Category:German motorsport people Category:National Socialist Motor Corps members Category:German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Category:German escapees Category:Escapees from Soviet detention Category:Porsche Motorsports drivers Category:Racing drivers from Berlin Category:German expatriate sportspeople in France --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Helmut Polensky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Polensky) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Polensky?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.