Schumi-Town Honors Hero

The German town of Kerpen to the west of the city of Cologne is much like any rural settlement on the periphery of a larger metropolis. And like many in Germany, it has seen the boom times come and go; in Kerpen’s case, the former mining community is now surrounded by commercial estates supporting the town’s logistics industry.

But one only has to walk through Kerpen and out into its outlying suburbs to notice that this town has one thing that sets it apart from the others. That one thing is Michael Schumacher.

In other towns, the mostly unattractive surroundings would blend anonymously into the gloom of a damp and dark October day but in Kerpen, many homes and shops glow like beacons. The heart of Italian motor sport may be based just over a thousand kilometers away in Maranello but one gets the feeling even the home town of Ferrari would be hard pressed to show more support. Even on non-race days, the colors of Schumacher’s team adorn the windows of homes and store fronts.

But while Sunday Oct. 22 will be a race day, it will be no ordinary race day. Kerpen’s record-breaking World Champion will race for the final time in Formula One and to mark Schumi’s retirement, the locals are literally going to paint the town red.

“Michael has put Kerpen on the world map,” says Eva Berger at the town’s information center. “Motor racing is usually a sport for the rich but the Schumacher’s were not affluent. The whole family worked hard to give Michael the chance to use his talents and got help from those with money who could see his special gift. We’re very proud of him.”

“He was such an unassuming young boy but very focused,” says Britta Heine, a storekeeper whose shopfront is already decked out with Ferrari's black stallion logo and portraits of Kerpen’s most famous son two days before Schumacher’s 250th and final race. “Some around here thought he was rude but I think his mind was just always occupied with winning.”

Arrogant and aloof?

The bricklayer’s son, born just down the road in Hürth-Hermülheim on January 3, 1969, has often been accused of arrogance and aloofness during his remarkable career. And while the majority of the townsfolk will attend the massive party at Kerpen’s Town Hall Sunday to celebrate the statistically greatest driver of all time, there are some who will not.

“I agree with Mayor (Marlies) Sieburg,” says taxi driver Bernd Kässler. “Schumacher has done little for this town. His brother (fellow driver Ralf) has given something back but Micha has just taken it all and hidden it away in his mansion in Switzerland,” he said, referring to a statement made earlier this week in which Kerpen’s mayor suggested some citizens would prefer Michael to follow Ralf’s example and show more of a social conscience.

There are those within motor sport who believe that Schumacher has gained greatness through his achievements but will ultimately fail in becoming a legend like Alain Prost or Ayrton Senna due to a lack of humility and humanity.

Some of his rivals and critics have accused him of being excessively ruthless and unsportsmanlike on the track; others describe him as cold and robotic, a man with a single vision who would forsake everything to achieve his goal.

The visitors and staff at the go-karting track -- at which Michael’s father Rolf worked as a mechanic before later becoming part of the executive management team -- would disagree.

Giving back

The renamed the Michael Schumacher Kart and Event Center, with its impressive outdoor and indoor tracks, corporate hospitality business and public museum, attracts thousands of tourists and motor racing fans every year and provides the potential Schumis of the future with the opportunity to hone their skills on karts much as Michael and Ralf did.

“Seven World Championships, the records for race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, and most races won in a single season? Is creating such a legacy not giving something back to Kerpen?” asked fan Karl Rüttger. “When people look back on the greatest racer of all time, do you think they will ignore where he came from in that story?”

“What is there not to be proud of?” asked Evelina Marini, a visiting Ferrari fanatic from the home of the Cavallino Rampante (the prancing horse on the car maker’s shield). “Schumacher has eclipsed all others in his sport and he is what the Germans call the Schwiegermutters Liebling (mother in law's favorite), a scandal-free family man. It is Kerpen which should be doing more for him.”

And the town seems willing to oblige. Schumacher already has a street named after him and in November, Kerpen will celebrate the inaugural Michael Schumacher Day, the first of what the town council hope will become an annual celebration of the man who put Kerpen on the map.