In memory of Charly Csermak

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Created on Sunday, 01 July 2012 21:08

Last Updated on Saturday, 03 November 2012 19:37

Published on Sunday, 01 July 2012 21:56

Written by Dale

Charly, riding his big 1400 like a 600 a few days before his accident.

Big guy, bigger smiles. He was one of those people who always found the time to come over and say 'Hi'. Even if you were in a different country. He had the Nürburgring in his blood and motorcycles in his heart. He'll be missed by more people than I can count. I'm missing Charly already and he's only been gone a couple of days.

Charly passed away after an accident on the 'Ring last Saturday lunchtime. Like many motorcyclists before him he was the victim of a fluid spill.

He's not the first guy to meet his maker after a lap of the 'ring, and he certainly won't be the last. I'm not a masochist, the inherent danger of riding the 'Ring doesn't excite me.

It didn't excite Charly either, we spoke about it only a week before his tragic death. But what did excite him was the sheer thrill of riding his bike around the world's most beautiful and challenging racetrack. It's a feeling that even the fighter pilots envy as they fly through the heavens and look down on the little insect figures cascading around the racetrack below.

Nobody held a gun to Charly's head. Nobody forced him to ride his bike that day. And for that reason alone, I'm telling myself not to cry as I type this. But it's not working.

Charly loved his bikes, he loved travel and he loved making new friends. For him the whole of Europe was just outside his backdoor, with trips to the Stelvio and Lake Garda under the ZZR's back tyre already, and plenty more adventures planned for this summer.

I think he was a bit of a secret anglo-phile, to be honest. He was always bringing me his old copies of MCN, and pretty much refused to speak German with me. Though that could be because his English was excellent, and my German is pathetic...

His good friends at TAS in the UK recently became a second family, as he bought a ZX6R to keep over there. Just to enjoy some UK trackdays. The photo above was taken on his first visit to Cadwell, jumping the mountain like a pro. Though a quick scan through some of his older photos shows that Charly's ability to make motorcycles fly is something he's been working on for a while >>

I'm not going to go into the whys and wherefores of how Charly crashed, or how preventable his death was. Not yet. You can read the typically dry newspaper report here, if you want to.

I'd rather end this piece with a smile, which is exactly how I want to remember my friend Charly. With a smile.

Charley and me, with our winter jackets on.

CHARLY CSERMAK
1960-2012

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