Wilhelm Werner (automobile racing driver)

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Wilhelm Werner at the Coupe Roschild 1903 in Nice
Werner in 1903 in a race in Nice

Wilhelm Werner (born April 23, 1874 in Großgartach ; † March 9, 1947 there ) was a German automobile racing driver .

Career

Wilhelm Werner is one of the pioneers of motorsport in Germany and was considered one of the most accomplished drivers of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) cars at the turn of the century between the 19th and 20th centuries . In 1895 he joined the Cannstatt company as a fitter . Since the automobile, which was emerging at the time, required experience in operation, it was common at the time for fitters to deliver the vehicles to customers and sometimes also to act as chauffeurs for the vehicles.

At the end of the 1890s Werner went to Vienna , where he first worked in the DMG branch and then looked after Emil Jellineks' vehicle fleet - Jellinek owned a. a. a Daimler belt car, a two-cylinder - Daimler Phönix , a Benz , a Léon-Bollée - Voiturette and a Mors  - and later entered the service of Baron Alfred von Springer . During this time he was already successfully taking part in races as a works driver for DMG. In March 1899 he piloted one of “Dr. Pascal “ ( Henri de Rothschild ) registered 4.9-liter Phoenix in the race Nice - Magagnosc - Nice and came second behind Emil Jellinek.

1901 succeeded Wilhelm Werner at the weekend in the French Nice ( quinzaine de Nice ) on a 35 hp Mercedes , who also belonged to Henri de Rothschild, victories in over 392 km leading race Nice- Aix - Sénas - Salon -Nice and the mile race on the promenade des Anglais . A little later he celebrated an epoch-making victory in the Nice – La Turbie hill climb on the 35 hp . It reached a top speed of 86 km / h and an average speed of 51.4 km / h. Emil Jellinek came second.

In 1902 , the American millionaire and automobile enthusiast Clarence Gray Dinsmore hired him as a chauffeur and racing driver, and Werner started almost exclusively with cars registered by Dinsmore until the end of his active career. At the end of August he won the international race in Frankfurt am Main in a Mercedes-Simplex 40 hp and the Semmering race at the beginning of September . In addition, as in the following year, he achieved top positions at the Nice Race Week.

In 1903 , Dinsmore and two other privateers made their Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp available to DMG for the Gordon Bennett Cup in Athy, Ireland , after a major fire at the plant destroyed the 90 hp racing cars originally intended for this purpose . At the suggestion of Emil Jellinek, the DMG took Wilhelm Werner and Otto Hieronimus for the race . However, the responsible German Automobile Club refused both of them membership and thus the start of the race because, unlike the men's drivers , they were not considered appropriate due to their activities as mechanics, chauffeurs and professional racing drivers . Camille Jenatzy started in Dinsmore's car, which Werner looked after together with Hermann Braun . The Belgian won the race consisting of two races over a total of 530 km after 6 hours and 39 minutes driving time with a lead of more than ten minutes over the two Panhard & Levassor of René de Knyff and Henri Farman .

In 1904 Werner u. a. participated in the Gordon Bennett Cup in Homburg and the Vanderbilt Cup on Long Island in the United States on Mercedes-Simplex 90 PS . In 1905 he started again in the Gordon Bennett Cup in a 125 hp Mercedes, which this time was held in Auvergne in France.

After Dinsmore died in November 1905, Wilhelm Werner became chief chauffeur of the German Emperor Wilhelm II and was given the title "Oberwagenführer". After the end of the First World War he worked for the Mercedes dealership in Berlin .

Werner died in March 1947 at the age of 72 in his hometown.

Web links

Commons : Wilhelm Werner  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mercedes 35 hp racing and touring car, 1900/1901. In: mercedes-benz-publicarchive.com. Mercedes-Benz Archive, accessed on May 26, 2020 .
  2. ^ Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp Gordon Bennett racing car, 1903. In: mercedes-benz-publicarchive.com. Mercedes-Benz Archive, accessed on May 26, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Christoph Maria Merki: The bumpy triumph of the automobile 1895–1930 . for the motorization of road traffic in France, Germany and Switzerland. 1st edition. Böhlau, Vienna 2002, ISBN 978-3-205-99479-4 , pp. 273 .
personal data
SURNAME Werner, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German automobile racing driver
DATE OF BIRTH April 23, 1874
PLACE OF BIRTH Grossgartach
DATE OF DEATH March 9, 1947
Place of death Grossgartach