Stealing Speed by Mat Oxley

If you think that you have read about and know all there is to know about Ernst Degner’s defection to the west and how he stole MZ secrets and gave them to Suzuki, then think again. Stealing Speed by accomplished racing author Mat Oxley is totally new work on one of the biggest scandals ever to rock the motorcycle world.

Just a quick look a the references that Oxley has used in his research shows that this is one of the most carefully researched works on the subject and he has looked well outside the motorcycle world during his research. The Science museum, the CIA, books on politics have all been raided to bring the story to life.

As you read through the 238 pages you begin to realise that how the Second World War played a part in developing the two-stroke motorcycle from a utilitarian powerplant into a race winning rocket-ship (sic). The technology came from the Nazis’ notorious V-1flying bomb and was poised to give the MZ factory a world championship under the guidance of engineering genius Walter Kaaden.

However, as we all know his protégé and works rider Ernst Degner took the know-how to Suzuki who were struggling and gave them their first world championship. As Oxley quite rightly points out, the modern 500GP machines were still benefitting from that knowledge before the class moved onto four-stroke machines. So too were the roads bikes like the Yamaha LC range and the smaller GP classes continue to use that knowledge.

What makes this book so fascinating though is the interviews with people who were around at the time or who benefitted (or lost) as a result of the defection. Not to mention the information regarding the Cold War and how politics affected motorcycling in the Eastern Bloc.

Degner as most know met an untimely end and Oxley dispels some of the more outrageous theories such as the Stasi killing him for his defection. Interestingly, the company that helped him make the leap and directly benefitted, Suzuki, declined to assist in the research!

It is fascinating book, not only for the motorcycling content, but for an insight as to how unconnected worlds can directly or indirectly affect others. It is also a good example of how the grass is not always greener on the other side!
Written in Oxley’s own inimitable style, it is entertaining and not stodgy or a boring read, in fact the very opposite. This hardback book without a doubt is a must read and is remarkably cheap at £17.99!
ISBN 978 1 84425 689 1
Available form all good bookshops or direct from the publishers Haynes (www.haynes.co.uk)

  Review by Ian Kerr