Florian Camathias

Florian Camathias
Camathias demonstrating the kneeling riding position on an unfinished race-replica, a road-version BMW pushrod-engined motorcycle and sidecar configuration, known as kneeler, which he was famously associated with in 500 cc Grand Prix racing using the BMW RS54 Rennsport overhead camshaft competition engine.
Nationality	Swiss
Born	(1924-03-23)23 March 1924 San Gallo
Died	10 October 1965(1965-10-10) (aged 41) Brands Hatch, Kent, England
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1953 - 1965 First win 1958 Dutch TT Isle of Man TT career TTs contested 9, 1957-1965 TT wins 1 First TT win 1963 Last TT win 1963 Podiums 4, 1957, third place 1958, second place 1959, second place

Florian Camathias (23 March 1924 – 10 October 1965) was a Swiss professional Grand Prix motorcycle and sidecar racer.

Born in Wittenbach, St. Gallen in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, Camathias owned a garage Veytaux, near Montreux.

He began his motorcycle racing career in 1945. Camathias placed fifth in the World Sidecar Championship in 1956. In 1957, he entered his first Isle of Man TT, finishing in ninth place in the Lightweight 250 event on an NSU solo motorcycle, and in third place in the Sidecar TT driving a BMW.

Camathias won his first Grand Prix victory in the 1958 Dutch TT at Assen. He also finished as runner-up position in the British Sidecar Championship. Repeating the achievements in 1959, he was Swiss and British Champion in 1960 and once again finished fifth in the World Championship.

Camathias crashed in the 1962 Sidecar TT, a race won by English racer Chris Vincent with a BSA-engined outfit. Camathias won his one and only TT at the 1963 races.