Robert Friedrich – The Racer in the wheelchair

At this year’s Motorradwelt Bodensee I met Robert Friedrich. I watched in fascination as he rode his Supermoto around the track – leaning, fast and with a big smile on his face. Unbelievable: a few minutes earlier Robert had been sitting in his wheelchair. I couldn’t help myself: I asked Robert for his story – it is both depressing and inspiring.
This is a guest article.

My name is Robert Friedrich, I am 41 years old and was born in Rosenheim, Germany. In October 2002, through no fault of my own, I had a serious motorcycle accident and have been a paraplegic ever since.

My passion for motorcycling began when I was a little boy. When I was 15, I borrowed a mate’s motocross bike and I knew I had to have one. A Honda cross bike was on the doorstep soon after, but unfortunately it didn’t last as long as I would have liked. At 16 I got my 125cc licence and bought a Yamaha DT. Since then I have never been off the road. At 18 I got my full motorcycle licence and bought an Aprilia RS.

On 10 October 2002 I was out with my horse. While mucking out, I remembered that I needed some two-stroke oil for the Aprilia. It was still quite warm for October, so I took advantage of the weather. Besides, the tyres still had good grip. On the way back from the petrol station I had to stop at a level crossing with another motorcyclist. After the gates were opened, we staggered off. On a bend, a car came out of nowhere and overtook two trucks …

The
accident

The rider in front of me swerved to the right and fell. I braked hard to avoid running him over. I fell too and the oncoming car ran over me and dragged me along for a few metres. I tried to hold on to the exhaust pipe to avoid being run over by the rear tyres, but I immediately burnt my fingers and lost my grip. I got caught in the wheel arch and my head was under the wheel. My pelvis turned 180 degrees, my vertebrae broke and I suffered serious injuries to my kidneys and lungs.

After about 50 metres, the driver finally stopped. It turned out that he did not have a driving licence and that the car did not belong to him. So he tried to get away.

When the first helpers arrived at the scene and stood around the car in confusion, I politely asked for help. They were very surprised that I was alive. I told them I needed a helicopter because I had already noticed that my back was broken and I couldn’t breathe. Then my lights went out.

Robert won’t
be defeated

I spent ten days in intensive care in Murnau, four of them in an artificial coma. I could only remember fragments of the accident; the news of my paraplegia was not easy to come to terms with. While I was still in intensive care, I was assigned a psychologist. With the best of intentions, he wanted to prepare me for a life without motorcycling. He was not to succeed.

I spent a total of 10 weeks at the clinic in Murnau. As soon as I was discharged, I went out on a dirt track with a friend who was sitting behind me on my motocross. From that moment on, I knew I could ride a motorcycle again. To get fit, I spent a lot of time on karts and quads, training hard. My passion for motorcycling never waned, on the contrary, it drove me on.

In 2004 I bought a Yamaha R1 and had it converted to air suspension by Willi Költgen. From 2005 I went to the track and learnt how to ride a bike again. I soon realised that the supporting stabilisers were too heavy and useless on the track. So I built a second R1: without stabilisers, but with electromagnetic gears. This bike was much easier to ride – and faster.

Later I took my bikes, the Yamaha R1 and the KTM Supermoto, to a Spanish circuit. The track owner showed me a newspaper article about a paralysed American who rode motocross. Being a cross rider at heart, I tried it the next day on my KTM. Even though the chassis wasn’t suitable and I couldn’t get a grip on the seat, which was too hard, I knew I wanted to ride motocross again.

At home I bought a KTM SXF and, after the necessary adjustments, made my first attempts on a motocross track. It worked surprisingly well – now I had three hobbies at once: ring riding, supermoto and motocross. Every now and then I would get out my old Yamaha R1 with the props for a Sunday ride on the road. On the other hand, I managed to do a few races, such as the G-Cup (Supermoto), the Kini Alpencup (Motocross) and the Metzeler Cup (Track).

Robert's great passion: motocross — Robert’s great passion: Motocross

The next
challenge

In 2015 I took a short break – I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Unfortunately, it was very late, the cancer had spread throughout my body and the doctors’ diagnosis was devastating. But I thought to myself: “I’m already in the bonus round …”

Chemotherapy started immediately. I was admitted as an in-patient and spent my time researching motorcycle news. That’s when I first came across the European Handy Bridgestone Cup. After my fourth round of chemotherapy I was down to 50kg, but I still wanted to ride my Supermoto again. I only managed one lap, but I did it! From then on I felt better and better and my body recovered quite quickly. It wasn’t long before I was actively riding again.

Racing

I have always enjoyed racing. Unfortunately, I can’t keep up with the “healthy” ones – so I thought about the European Handy Bridgestone Cup again. In 2021 I contacted the organisers. After a long odyssey to get the necessary racing licence, I started my first racing year in 2022 in the European Championship at Le Mans and Spa as part of the EWC.

Motorcycling is my passion. I spent 90 per cent of my youth on a motorbike, spending every free minute on the road or tinkering with my machines. It was, and still is, my way of coping with misfortune – if I knew I’d still be able to ride afterwards, it wouldn’t be so bad.

Of course I’m nervous before the start, I have a thousand thoughts. I go through the braking, turning and acceleration points, concentrating on the perfect lap. The adrenaline is pumping – but as soon as the lights go out, the elbows touch, I am riding with others so close together, then I am lying behind my windscreen and enjoying that race week feeling. All thoughts are gone.

Robert in the curves of the Salzburgring

I can’t put into words what it is about racing that fascinates me so much. It is my world, my life. It belongs to me just like my wheelchair belongs to me now.