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View Full Version : Audi at Nürburgring in 1937 - stunning picture!



krabu
January 24th, 2003, 17:24
Found this picture of Hans Stuck (left) and an Auto Union Type C from Nürburgring. Picture is taken 1937. :D

http://www.rs6.com/gfx/media/gallery/other/029l.jpg

Uploaded an uncompressed picture of the braking system also - stunning! :bow:

http://www.cirena.com/bmwm5/brake.jpg

johneroberts
January 24th, 2003, 23:42
Nice Pictures Peter:)
Where we the stands situated at thr Nordschliefe?
on the straight?
Cheers
jr

krabu
January 29th, 2003, 01:25
I guess the picture is taken in the pit.
But i think they've rebuilt that part of the track now...
I'm going to try find a map over the track from 1937. :D

krabu
January 29th, 2003, 13:56
The picture is taken at the German Grand Prix, here's a breif of the race:

At the pre-race briefing Korpsführer Hühnlein explained to the drivers that public displaying of affection, i.e. kissing your wife or girlfriend on the pitlane was to be considered as non-Aryan behavior, and had to be stopped. After hearing brass bands and seeing endless motorcycle parades the spectators finally saw the cars lining up on the grid for the 11 AM start. Just before the start all the drivers led by Rosemeyer climbed out their cars and run to the pits to give their wives and girlfriends a long kiss to the delight of the spectators.
The Mercedes-Benz strategy was that Lang should do a one-stop race, the others two stops. As usual the Mercedes cars had the edge in the start, Lang leading from Caracciola. Once away Rosemeyer was soon up at speed, passing the two Mercedes cars to take the lead, but on the long straight Lang re-passed to lead after one lap followed by Rosemeyer, Caracciola and von Brauchitsch. Then there was a 10 second gap to the next group with Müller, von Delius, Hasse, Nuvolari and Seaman.
On the second lap Rosemeyer was back at the front, having done the fastest lap of the race, Lang following 9 seconds behind. Now Caracciola passed Lang and took up the chase on Rosemeyer. Rosemeyer passed the line for the third time with a 11 seconds lead but in the Südkehre the hub cap of the right rear wheel disintegrated. The pit crew had an anxious time before Rosemeyer reappeared in fourth place with his tyres in shreds, half a minute behind the Mercedes trio led by Caracciola. Rosemeyer's pitstop took 3:33 as the rests of the hub cap had to be removed with chisel and hammer. Rosemeyer returned to the track in tenth place.
It was a catastrophic race for Auto Union as Stuck was far back with engine problems and as Müller went off the track while trying to avoid crashing into von Delius. Müller was unhurt but the car was destroyed. Seaman passed von Delius and the Mercedes cars were now in positions 1-2-3-4. Stuck retired and von Delius, who was the only Auto Union driver left to challenge the Mercedes team, was given orders from the pit to go faster.
On lap 6 when von Delius tried to pass Seaman on the long straight the Auto Union touched the hedge and then hit the Mercedes at 250 km/h. The Mercedes crashed into a kilometer post, Seaman getting several wounds in his face and braking his nose. Von Delius' Auto Union went through the left side hedge and over a field before ending up as a wreck on the main road outside the race track, von Delius breaking a leg and receiving several other injuries.
Order: Caracciola, von Brauchitsch, Lang (trying to save his tyres), Kautz, Hasse and Nuvolari. On lap 7 Caracciola and von Brauchitsch made their pitstops. Caracciola's stop took 36 seconds and he came out 8 seconds behind leading Lang. Kautz, who was in shock after having been behind von Delius and seen the crash, went off the track but was able to return in 7th place. Rosemeyer, who had risked everything on the last laps throwing the Auto Union sideways through the turns, went also off the track but he was able to rejoin the race in 8th place with hay hanging out behind the car .
Lang's one stop strategy failed. He entered the pits on lap 9 with a puncture and as he had been coasting he had destroyed the plugs so the pitstop became a long one. Rosemeyer, still trying hard, had advanced to fifth, in front of Hasse, Kautz and Farina. He fell back to sixth for a while after a pitstop on lap 13 but was soon back up to fourth place, 30 seconds behind Nuvolari. On lap 14 Caracciola made his second pitstop. Von Brauchitsch led for one lap but then it was his turn to enter the pit. Rosemeyer had closed the gap to Nuvolari to 7 seconds and on the next lap he had passed the Alfa. Order: Caracciola, von Brauchitsch, Rosemeyer, Nuvolari, Farina and Lang. Lang was back to the pits on lap 17, again with a puncture and destroyed plugs. Rosemeyer and Nuvolari made their second stops and Caracciola was in for the third time on lap 19 to change a rear wheel but was able to retain his lead.
Rosemeyer, who was 80 seconds behind von Brauchitsch, was doing the race of his life, every second being close to disaster, closing the gap down to 15 seconds during the last laps. Rosemeyer's slowest lap during the race (except for pitstops) had been 10:03! Caracciola took the flag to give Mercedes-Benz their first victory at the German GP since 1931.
After the race there were worrying news about von Delius condition with thrombosis and complications. Still it came as a shock to the racing world when they woke up the next morning to hear that von Delius had died in a similar case to Ronnie Peterson 41 years later.

Those guys was maniacs! :hihi: