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decisions quickly. “You have a problem; you have to find a solution immediately. For life, it teaches you tremendous values.” W hen you can make such decisions quickly and correctly at the racetrack as Alwin could, word gets around and you will always be in demand.
Heimrath switched to open-wheeled cars after the 1968 season and Alwin
supported other racers, including Bartling again. By now, he was hooked on the racing scene.
While supporting Bartling and his fellow driver’s Porsche 906 at the 1969 Daytona 24-Hours, Alwin met a fellow Porsche racing mechanic, Peter Wetzel. With an eye for talent, Wetzel recruited Alwin to come to California and join him at the Vasek Polak operation.
Vasek Polak
The Vasek Polak story is another inspirational journey and a rise to success from humble beginnings. He was born in Prague in 1914 and was wounded in World War II. After the war, he left Prague and walked(!) into West Germany where he worked for the U.S. Army as a motor pool mechanic. He moved to New York City in 1951 and
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Alwin Springer (farthest left) working on the Porsche 917/10 of Vasek Polak (driver Milt Minter) at the 1972 Edmonton Can-Am, Canada; at the right in the red jacket is Ozzie Lyons’ wife, Gerry (mother of Pete Lyons); just past her is bearded Canadian journalist F. David Stone. Pushing the car is team mechanic, Dieter Inzenhofer. (Photo by Ozzie Lyons/© 2023 www.petelyons.com)
Alwin Springer ONE LAST TURN
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