E.R.A. VICTORY IN THE EIFELRENNEN
E.R.A. VICTORY IN THE EIFELRENNEN FOUR E. R. A. ‘S IN THE FIRST FIVE FINISHERS. BIG RACE WON BY CARACCIOLA (MERCEDES-BENZ) AFTER A GREAT TUSSLE WITH ROSEMEYER ( AUTO-UNION). M. G. AND ASTON-MARTIN ALSO WIN RACES.
THE E.R.A. has taken the Continent by by storm! Last month four t,soo c.c. models took part in the Eifelrennen on the difficult Nurburg Ring, Germany, and at the end of the race were in first, third, fourth and fifth positions. The Continental drivers and experts in attendance at the Ring were full of praise for the British cars, and it was a great experience for the British contingent to be greeted with the playing of the National Anthem, the hoisting of the Union Jack, and generous applause. Well done, E.R.A.s!
In spite of threatening weather, tens of Thousands of people camped out round the long circuit, so that they should not miss a single moment of the racing on the next day, which went on from early in the morning till late at night. On Sunday, June 16th, the crowd was estimated at the stupendous figure of 300,000.
Practising was begun on Thursday, and the fine weather encouraged many drivers to complete their five compulsory laps without further delay. Varzi had been taken ill on the previous evening, and was unable to drive his Mercedes-Benz. Seaman’s E.R.A. was in action, having come straight from Chimay. He was watched with great interest, and clocked lap speeds of 114, 105, 107 and 112 k.p.h. Goodson (Austin), got round at to8 k.p.h. Of the big cars von Brauchitsch’s Mere was the fastest in to m. 45 secs. 127.300 k.p.h., followed by Caracciola (MercedesBenz) to min. 59 secs., Stuck (AutoUnion) ii min. 4 secs., Chiron (AlfaRomeo) 11 min. ii secs., Dreyfus (AlfaRomeo), ii min. 58 secs., Hartmann (Bugatti) ii min. 43 secs. The sports cars were also on the track that day, the fastest being Schweder’s Adler, in :3 min. ii secs.
Saturday’s practising was spoiled by -rain. A sensation was caused by the announcement that the 2-litre Adlers had been withdrawn, owing to their not complying with the regulations as to the number of production models turned out. No high speeds were put up by the racing ‘Cars.
In order to condense the long programme, the sports car race took place concurrently with the voittirette race, but was started separately. The result of the 1,500 c.c. sports event was a fine victory for an Aston-Martin driven by a German named Hillegaart. who beat three 1,5oo -c.c. B.M.W.s and averaged 91.7 k.p.h.
A Balilla Fiat won the ‘,too c.c. class. a B.M.W. the 2-litre, and Stolze’s Bugatti the unlimited.
The field in the Soo c.c. racing class was entirely composed of British M.G.s and Austins. Bobby Kohlrausch led from start to finish on his record-breaking Midget, being 4 minutes ahead of P. Wren, driving Manby-Colegrave’s single-seater Q-type Midget, which scrapped for some time with Brudes (M.G.) .
The E.R.A. victory.
The 1,5oo c.c. racing cars had to rover 8 laps of 22 km. 81. The E.R.A.s made their usual phenomenal getaways, and jumped ahead of the other cars. Seaman
led to begin with, followed by RoseRichards and Mays. His second lap was accomplished at 114.5, k.p.h.
Meanwhile a British competitor, T. P. Cholmondeley-Tapper (Bugatti) was in trouble at the pits with carburetter trouble. He restarted, but had to withdraw soon afterwards. Another unfortunate was Wirnmer, on the Zoller Special, which spent a lot of time at the pits. A fierce struggle was going on between the E.R.A.s and the Maseratis. Mays was now in the lead, with Seaman second and Ghersi (Maserati) third. The Italian
finishing line, and then there was a twominute pause until Sojka’s Bugatti flashed by, having beaten Kessler’s Maserati after a long struggle. Castelbarco (Maserati) was last. Steinweg, the Frontieres victor had to retire with a split petrol tank.
The Big Race.
Von Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) made a meteoric start, and was some distance ahead of Caracciola’s similar car when they rounded the corner. Stuck was an equal distance behind. Some,ii minutes later they were round again, and
was driving like the wind to uphold Continental prestige, but he had the bad luck to receive a nasty wound in the eye when a stone smashed his windscreen and goggles. He was too badly injured to continue.
The Maserati breach was filled by the Swiss driver, Ruesch. On the last lap but one Seaman had to pull in for some more oil, and the Maserati became second, only 13 seconds behind Mays. It was alleged after the race that the E.R.A. driver baulked Ruesch, hemming him in to the left and nearly sending him into the bank on one occasion. No official complaint was made, however, and it was significant that the E.R.A. finished a comfortable 30 seconds ahead of the Maserati. Three more F.R.A.s came past the
it was seen that von Brauchitsch was determined to 3COM his first victory this season, for he was no less than 22 seconds ahead of Caracciola. Varzi (Auto-Union) was third, 24 secs. behind the leader, and
one second in front of Stuck (Auto-Union). The rest of the field was already becoming outdistanced. Brauchitsch was 24 seconds ahead on the second lap, but Stuck had taken third place from his team-mate, Varzi. The latter pulled up at the pits for plugs, and was obviously in personal distress. He had been too ill to turn up at the Thursday practice, but dragged himself to the track on the Saturday. He was troubled by his appendix, and the race was proving too much for him. Prince Leiningen was standing by in readiness to take over, but
Varzi insisted in carrying on. Another caller at the pits was Dudley Froy (4.9 Bugatti), who retired with plug trouble after two laps. There was no holding Brauchitsch. On the third lap he was 55 seconds ahead of Caracciola, and Herr Neubauer hung out
signals to tell him to moderate his speed and be content with his comfortable lead.
So far it was not an Auto-Union day, for Stuck had been making signs to his pit on every lap, and finally came in for plugs. This allowed Fagioli to take third place, and complete the Mercedes-Benz 1, 2, 3 formation. On the fourth lap Brauchitsch sent his lead over Caracciola up to I min. 6 secs., with Fagioli third at an interval of
minute zo secs. Varzi had been lying fourth, but he stopped once more for plugs. Chiron now became fourth, driving beautifully. Yet another victim of plug trouble was Zehender (Maserati).
This widespread plug trouble was caused by the difficult atmospheric conditions, which were constantly changing. At one moment the sun would be shining with great power, and at the next a heavy shower would descend. Stuck came in for the third time, but the 16-cyl. engine was still misfiring when he accelerated away.
Brauchitsch had at last noticed his pitsignals, but on the sixth lap he still led by the wide margin of i min. 9 secs. Fagioli was the next to be smitten by plug trouble, and he took the opportunity to refuel.
All this while an anxious consultation was going on in the Auto-Union H.Q., and the result was a signal to young Rosemeyer, an ex-motor-cyclist recruit and the youngest member of the Auto-Union team, to put on speed. He responded nobly, and defeated Chiron after a brief tussle. With Fagioli at the pits, Rosemeyer became third. He was Dr. Porsche’s only hope, for Stuck stopped once more, and kept going only by dint of the most admirable perseverance. Of the remaining AutoUnions Varzi’s was far behind and Pietsch could not be depended on to tackle the Mercs. At the end of the 6th lap Brauchitsch had a lead of i min. 2 secs. over Caracciola, who had Rosemeyer (Auto-Union) right on his tail. The latter had had a series of misfortunes, but carried on quite unperturbed. First of all his windscreen was smashed by a stone; then his goggles were similarly treated ; this was followed by the loss of his helmet; and finally two plugs died. Finding that he could still hold Caracciola, he wisely decided to keep going on 14 cylinders rather than risk a pit-stop
At this point Varzi had to give in, and his place was taken by Prince Leiningen, who was given instructions to go as hard as he knew how. As he shot off, Stuck made his usual stop for plugs.
The distance between Brauchitsch and Caracciola was steadily being reduced, and on the 7th lap it was only 43 secs. Rosemeyer was less than a second behind Caracciola, but was imin. 22 secs. ahead of Chiron.
The 8th lap saw a complete change in the aspect of the race. Von Brauchitsch came up with Balestrero, at the tail of the field. In passing the Alfa-Romeo he over-revved his engine, with the usual result. Meanwhile Rosemeyer, in a moment of inspiration, had passed Caracciola, and was thus leading the race at the end of the 8th lap. Von Brauchitsch managed to reach his pit, but the Merc.
was definitely ” burst.” The eventful 8th lap saw the disappearance of Taruffi from 5th place. He overturned his 3.litre Bugatti on a corner, without serious injury to himself.
Herr Neubauer gave Caracciola the allout signal. Round the long, tortuous circuit the two rivals roared, Rosemeyer being slower on the uphill sections, but being just as fast on the rest of the lap. With two laps to go the Auto-Union was 9 seconds ahead. For some time ” Carratsch ” could not make much impression on his young opponent, and they were still 7 secs. apart when they started out on the last lap. The splendid system of loud-speakers kept the crowd informed of the progress of the race, and the announcers themselves nearly went crazy with excitement. From too metres it came down to zo metres . . . 12 metres . . . to metres. It was not until a bare kilometre or so from the finishing line that Caracciola could seize his opportunity to pass, and he screamed past the finishing post with arm raised in acknowledgment of the tumultuous cheering. When they pulled up at the pits, Caracciola was almost submerged by the crowd, and Rosemeyer received an equally fine ovation. This young driver has “arrived,” and the motor-cycle world has provided yet another first-class driver. Rosemeyer has raced motor-cycles at every meeting at the Nurburg Ring since it was opened in 1927, and his great knowledge of the circuit helped him considerably in his fight
to-day. He had the honour of making the fastest lap of the race in xx ruin. secs. (126.5 k.p.h.). No less sincere was the reception given to Louis Chiron, when he was flagged in third. His perfect technique is fully appreciated by the German spectators, and he is always one of the most popular drivers at the Ring. As he pulled up at the pits several Mercedes-Benz and Auto
Union people ran across to congratulate him on a line drive.
Sports 1,100 c.c.-1, Tenhoff (Fiat), 1h. lm. 19secs., 89.300 k.p.h.; 2, Brendel (N.S. U. Fiat), lh. lm. 39secs.; 3, Vianden (Adler), lh. 2m. 47sccs.
Sports 1,500 c.c.-1, Hillegaart (AstonMartin), 59m. 41secs., 91.7 k.p.h.; 2 Werneck (B.M.W.), Ih. Om. 27.3secs.; 3 Krings (B. M.W.), lh. 2m. 46secs.; 4, Rolse (B.M. W.), lh. 4m. 16.3secs.
Sports 2,000 c.c.-1, Delius (B.M.W.), lh. 7m. 29secs., 101.4 k.p.h.; 2, Von Guilleauxne (Adler-Triumpf), lh. 13m. 13secs.; 3, Sauerwein (Adler-Triumpf), lh. 13m. 14secs.
Over 2,000 c.c.-1, Stolze (Bugatti), lb. 9rn. 5Isecs., 98 k.p.h.
Racing 800 c.c.-1., Kolrauseh (M.G.), lh. 50m. 22secs., 99 k.p.h.; 2, Wren (M.G.), lb. 54m. 39.2secs.; 3, Brudes (M.G.), lb. 56m. 13secs.
Racing 1,500 c.c.-1, Mays (E.R.A.), lh. 38m. 33secs., 111 k.p.h.; 2, Ruesch (Maserati), lh. 39m. 2.1secs.; 3, RoseRichards (E.R.A.), lb. 40m. 15.1secs.; 4, Seaman (E.R.A.), lh. 40m. 18.3secs.; 5, Cook lh. 41m. 8.4secs.; 6, Sojka (Buga.tti), lh. 43m. 22.1secs.; 7, Kessler (Maserati), lb. 43m. 28.4secs.; 8, Castelbarco (Maserati).
UNLIMITED RACING. 250.800 Kilometres.
1. Caracciola (3/forc5as-Benz), 2h. 08m. 02.3secs., 117.1 k.p.h.
2. Rosemeyer (Auto-Union), 2h. 08m. 04.2 secs.
3. 8CCS.
4. secs.
5. H. 48.3secs.
6. P. Pietseh (Auto-Union), secs.
7. secs.
8. SCCB.
9. Varzi-Prince Leiningen (Auto-Union), 211. 19m. 59.2secs.
Fastest Lap: Rosemeyer (Auto-Union), 11m. 5secs., 126.5 k.p.h.
L. Chiron (Alfa-Romeo), 2h. 09m. 34.4 Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz), 2h. 12m. 44.2 Lang (Mercedes-Benz), 2h. 13m. 2h. 14m. 49 R. Dreyfus (Alfa-Romeo), 2h. 16m. SO Etancelin (Maserati), 2h. 19m. 11.4secs.