Revival stars

Racer and engine tuner Ing. Josef Michl (*1949) began his sports career in motocross, successfully drove automobile competitions (champion of Slovakia in 1975), drove single-seaters of the Easter formula, but gained the most success in touring car races. He started at the circuits for the first time at the end of the 1975 season with a Škoda 110 L and immediately won 2nd place ahead of the factory car of Karel Kapras. A year later he was already driving a Škoda 110 R and was just winning. During the next six years, he managed to win all circuit races in which he started. With Škoda and later Ford or BMW cars, he is also a multiple national champion in uphill races. He won 23 national championship titles on circuits, hill climbs and rallies. In 1981, he was a member of the winning Škoda team in the European Touring Car Championship. He was known for his absolutely precise passing of the track in the optimal track. He even wrote a thesis about it. Today, Josef Michl is primarily a constructor and owner of the Michl Motorsport team, but he hasn't even hung up his racing suit yet. He is a regular participant in historic vehicle races on circuits and car competitions, and eleven times he became the European champion in historic car uphill races.

A legendary racer Bretislav Enge (*1950) collected laurels at well-known circuits in the days of his greatest glory. He started in the mid-seventies in car competitions, but by the eighties he was one of Europe's top touring car drivers. In 1981, Enge was a member of the Škoda factory team, which won the title of European touring car champion for the brand. For a large part of his career, he had his colleague and friend Zdenek Vojtěch by his side, with whom he achieved many successes. For example, in 1983 second place in the European Touring Car Championship race in Mugello or third place in Silverstone, but already with a BMW 635 CSi car. The homologation of the famous Škoda 130 RS has ended and they didn't have another suitable car in Mladá Boleslav. Both racers then managed to switch to BMW and soon became the terror of the established stars of the European Touring Car Championship including F1 drivers. The engine of their BMW was modified by Ivan Smíšek in the carriage house of the Prague block of flats where he lived and he got 308 horses from it, i.e. 20 more than the famous Schnitzer tuner! They were an absolutely extraordinary phenomenon from behind the Iron Curtain in their time, and their popularity, especially at home, was dizzying. In 1986, Břetislav Enge became a member of the BMW factory team, where his colleague was Formula 1 pilot Christian Danner and Markus Oestreich. In the 1990s, he drove Ford cars and became the national champion several times on circuits and in uphill races. Břetislav Enge is the holder of three Golden Steering Wheel awards for the best Czech circuit racer. At present, he is once again involved in car competitions, but behind the wheel of historic Škoda cars.

Bohumil Staša (*1944) was introduced to motorcycle racing by his father Vincenc Staša, who belonged to the Czechoslovak elite at the turn of the forties and fifties. Bohumil started racing in 1961 and in 1964 became a factory driver for ČZ Strakonice. He undoubtedly belonged to the most talented racers on the Czech road and was able to drive excellently even in tough international competition. He started competing in World Championship races in 1967 in all volume classes. As the first rider in history, that year he became a three-time national champion in the 125, 250 and 350 cc classes. Between 1961 and 1988 he started in an incredible 827 races, of which he won 215 times, finished second 92 times and was third 32 times. In the 350 world championship, he was twice eighth in the overall classification (1968, 1969), in 1969 he was third in Brno in the pints, in 1971 he was second in the 350. If his comrades had allowed him to participate in more races abroad, his name would certainly be at the top of the leaderboards today. In the 1980s, Staša briefly returned to the Grand Prix series with a three-cylinder Honda, but as a 40-year-old he could hardly keep up with much younger riders. Today he lives in Strakonice and deals with historic motorcycles.

Ten titles of Czechoslovak champion, victories in international races and placement in the points points in the world championship series rank Peter Balaž (*1945) to the greatest personalities of our motorcycle history. He started racing in 1964 in Bánovce nad Bebravou, where he finished in seventh place. He climbed the podium for the first time in 1970 at the races in Hlohovec, where he won second place in the 250 and 350 cc classes. He did not celebrate his first victory until 1973, when he won the 250 and 350 cc classes in Kopčany. A year later, he became the national champion for the first time in the class up to 350 cc. Between 1975 and 1977 he was a factory rider for Jawa, which he later traded for a Yamaha. His best World Championship results are 10th with a 350 yamaha at the 1975 Yugoslavian Grand Prix and 8th at the 1979 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix with an MBA 125. He is the last Slovak rider to score points in the World Motorcycle Championship. He won the last title of champion of Czechoslovakia in 1982 in the category up to 125 cm with a Honda motorcycle. After many years, he returned to the race track as a vintage rider and added three European Vintage Championship titles to his achievements. At seventy-two, Peter Baláž is still a busy man. He is the president of the Hlohovec Classic Motorcycle Club and participates in the preparation of many motorcycle races, from the Slovakian Championship to the European Cup of Historic Motorcycles. In the nineties, he was the president of the Slovak Motorcycle Federation and is still a member of its sports commission for road motorcycle races. He is also a member of the commission of the vintage European motorcycle federation FIM Europe.

Mirek Krejsa (*1952) is today a well-known figure among fans of historic vehicles. He regularly participates in many events, has a very nice collection of vintage cars, which he carefully restores himself, and every year he devotes a lot of time to the preparation and organization of the famous Czechoslovak 1000 mile race. Years ago, it was possible to find his name in the programs of circuit races or uphill races, mostly with the Easter formula, but the list of his motoring escapades is much richer. For example, he drove the Paris-Dakar race four times, three times with a Liazka (1986, 1987, 1988) and in 1994 with a Land Rover. He reached the finish line in 42nd place and third in the "diesel" class. Since he has been dedicated to veterans, he has, for example, taken a long-distance drive with a Škoda Popular to the Sahara or with a Tudor to Transylvania. But Mirek Krejsa also started on the famous tracks in Le Mans, Spa or Monaco, where he surprised Mr. Jan Egidy with his Škoda 1100 Sport from 1949 during the historic vehicle races. Three years ago, he won the Grossglockner Grand Prix in the 1950 to 1965 sports car category with this car. In the competition of 75 cars, he finished in an excellent third place in the overall classification and still managed to set the fastest time, which also surpassed Jochen Masse with a Mercedes Benz 300 SL. In recent years, Mr. Krejsa has devoted himself with his own energy to car competitions of historic vehicles with the Opel Ascona A.

Racer and engine tuner Ing. Josef Michl (*1949) began his sports career in motocross, successfully drove automobile competitions (champion of Slovakia in 1975), drove single-seaters of the Easter formula, but gained the most success in touring car races. He started at the circuits for the first time at the end of the 1975 season with a Škoda 110 L and immediately won 2nd place ahead of the factory car of Karel Kapras. A year later he was already driving a Škoda 110 R and was just winning. During the next six years, he managed to win all circuit races in which he started. With Škoda and later Ford or BMW cars, he is also a multiple national champion in uphill races. In 1981, he was a member of the winning Škoda team in the European Touring Car Championship. He was known for his absolutely precise passing of the track in the optimal track. He even wrote a thesis about it. Today, Josef Michl is primarily a constructor and owner of the Michl Motorsport team, but he hasn't even hung up his racing suit yet. He is a regular participant in historic vehicle races on circuits and car competitions, and six times he became the European champion in historic car uphill races.