1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1956

Maserati 300S

Porsche 550 RS

The second 1000 km race on the Nürburgring , also the 2nd International ADAC 1000 km race, world championship run for sports cars on the Nürburgring , took place on May 27, 1956 on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring and was the fourth round of the sports car world championship of that year .

Before the race

The World Sportscar Championship 1956 started in January this year with the 1000 km Buenos Aires that with a victory by Stirling Moss and Carlos Menditeguy on a plant - Maserati 300S ended. There were two other world championship events up to race day at the Nürburgring. The Sebring 12-hour race in March was won by Juan Manuel Fangio and Eugenio Castellotti in the 860 Monza registered by Scuderia Ferrari . The third round was the Mille Miglia , which, unlike the Le Mans 24-hour race, was also part of the 1956 world championship. The 1000 mile race across Italy brought Ferrari a five-fold victory, led by Castellotti in the Ferrari 290MM .

In the world championship, Ferrari led with 22 points ahead of Maserati with 10.

The race

On the day of the race, 70,000 spectators came to watch the race. It was warm and dry May weather. There were three training units in advance. The times achieved there all counted towards qualifying for the race. Juan Manuel Fangio achieved the best time in a Ferrari 860 Monza with 10: 03.600 minutes and started from pole position . Fangio's team-mate was again Castellotti. Behind the duo were team mates Luigi Musso / Maurice Trintignant and Phil Hill / Ken Wharton (Ferrari 290MM). At the fourth training point was the best Maserati , the 300S from Stirling Moss and Jean Behra . Behind it followed the work - Jaguar D-Type of Mike Hawthorn and Desmond Titterington .

The first half of the 44-lap race was led by Stirling Moss and Jean Behra in the Maserati. The Ferrari of Fangio and Castellotti followed closely behind. After 19 laps, Behra pitted with a broken rear axle and the race seemed over for him and Stirling Moss. However, Maserati race director Nello Ugolini brought the second works 300S, which was driven by Piero Taruffi and Harry Schell in third place in the overall standings, via a signal to the pits and handed the car over to Moss and Behra, who continued to drive it. After the 37th lap, with seven laps to go, Fangio was in the lead with a lead of 54 seconds over Moss. In the following laps, Moss was able to gradually reduce the gap. When Fangio came to the pits on lap 40 to refuel, Moss took the lead again and took the win for Maserati with a margin of 26 seconds over Fangio and Castellotti.

After the arrival of the winner, the race was not over for some of the drivers. Because in order to win the respective racing classes, a team had to have completed the 44-lap distance according to the regulations at the time. In addition, the drivers and their vehicles were allowed to stay on the track a maximum of one hour longer than the winning team.

It may seem incomprehensible that the Hawthorn / Titterington Jaguar was not rated after it had stopped in the 44th or last lap with a broken drive shaft, but had covered the same distance as the fifth-placed. However, the rules stipulated that only vehicles that had reached the finish after the winner and were flagged were considered. Had it not been for the retirement, Hawthorn, who triggered the 1955 Le Mans disaster , would probably have been disqualified. Because he had overtaken illegally several times and had even run into a private Porsche 356 during such a maneuver, which was still able to continue its race and won the GT class up to 2 liters displacement.

Porsche was the most strongly represented brand. In addition to two Porsche 550 RSs used by the Porsche factory, 22 private teams with six Porsche 550 Spyder and 16 Porsche 356 and 356 Carrera were at the start. The works car with Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips and Umberto Maglioli finished fourth in the overall classification with 44 laps in 8: 01: 46.00 hours and won the sports car class up to 1.5-liter displacement; the works drivers Richard von Frankenberg and Hans Herrmann took sixth place overall.

The East German team Edgar Barth / Arthur Rosenhammer on AWE came in seventh . The AWE racing collective reduced the engine power of the two cars registered for the Nürburgring in order to increase reliability. Nevertheless, Thiel / Binner retired with engine failure.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	S + 2.0	6th	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Piero Taruffi Harry Schell Jean Behra Stirling Moss	Maserati 300S	44
2	S + 2.0	1	Scuderia Ferrari	Juan Manuel Fangio Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari 860 Monza	44
3	S + 2.0	4th	Scuderia Ferrari	Phil Hill Ken Wharton Alfonso de Portago Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari 290MM	44
4th	S 1.5	21st	Porsche	Wolfgang von Trips Umberto Maglioli	Porsche 550RS	44
5	S + 2.0	9	David Brown	Peter Collins Tony Brooks	Aston Martin DB3S	43
6th	S 1.5	20th	Porsche	Richard von Frankenberg Hans Herrmann	Porsche 550RS	44
7th	S 1.5	26th	VEB	Edgar Barth Arthur Rosenhammer	AWE R3 / 55	43
8th	GT / T + 2.0	56	Bengt Martenson	Bengt Martenson Wittigo von Einsiedel	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	44
9	GT / T 2.0	61	Max Nathan	Max Nathan Gert Kaiser	Porsche 356 Carrera	44
10	GT / T 2.0	65	Helmut Schulze	Helmut Schulze Joaquim Felipe Nogueira	Porsche 356 Carrera	44
11	GT / T 1.3	81	Joakim Bonnier	Joakim Bonnier Herbert MacKay-Fraser	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	43
12	GT / T 1.3	83	Walter Ringgenberg	Walter Ringgenberg Heini Walter	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	43
13	SerS 1.5	43	Friedrich Kretschmann	Friedrich Kretschmann Sepp Liebl	Porsche 550 Spyder	43
14th	GT / T 1.3	87	Piero Carini	Piero Carini Franco Bordoni-Bisleri	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	42
15th	GT / T 2.0	63	Hans-Georg Plaut	Helmut Zick Hans-Georg Plaut	Porsche 356 Carrera	42
16	GT / T 1.3	88	Gilberte Thirion	Gilberte Thirion Ada Pace	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	42
17th	GT / T + 2.0	53	Rainer Günzler	Rainer Günzler Helmut Retter	Mercedes-Benz 220 S.	42
18th	GT / T 1.3	86	Adolf-Werner Lang	Adolf-Werner Lang Kurt Kuhnke	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	41
19th	GT / T 1.3	85	Kurt Zeller	Kurt Zeller Wolfgang Bieling	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	40
20th	GT / T 2.0	64	Wilhelm Wittmann	Wilhelm Wittmann Walter Hampel	Porsche 356 1600S	40
21st	GT / T 1.3	76	Helmut Busch	Helmut Busch Horst Bös	Porsche 356	40
22nd	GT / T 1.3	77	Joseph Greger	Joseph Greger Harald von Saucken	Porsche 356	40
23	GT / T 1.3	78	Hartmuth Oesterle	Hartmuth Oesterle Siegfried Günther	Porsche 356	40
24	SerS 1.5	45	Gotfrid Köchert	Mathieu Hezemans Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche 550 Spyder	38
25th	GT / T 1.3	72	Helmut Deutenberg	Helmut Deutenberg Heinz-Gerd Jäger	Porsche 356	38
26th	GT / T 1.3	74	Karl Falk	Karl Falk Albert Joch	Porsche 356	38
Disqualified
27	S 1.5	33	Beels Racing	Hans Tak Henk van Zalinge	Maserati 150S	22nd
28	S + 2.0	2	Scuderia Ferrari	Alfonso de Portago Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari 860 Monza	9
29	SerS 1.5	46	Dick Fitzwilliam	Dick Fitzwilliam Robin Carnegie	MGA
Failed
30th	S + 2.0	7th	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Mike Hawthorn Desmond Titterington	Jaguar D-Type	43
31	S + 2.0	10	David Brown	Peter Walker Roy Salvadori	Aston Martin DB3S	41
32	S 1.5	37	VEB	Paul Thiel Egon Binner	AWE R3 / 55	29
33	S 1.5	31	Monte Carlo Sports	Louis Chiron Luigi Villoresi	Osca MT4 1500	26th
34	S 1.5	38	Isabelle Haskell	Carlo Tomasi Alejandro de Tomaso	Maserati 150S	25th
35	S + 2.0	5	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Stirling Moss Jean Behra	Maserati 300S	19th
36	S + 2.0	12	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Cesare Perdisa Robert Manzon	Maserati 350S	12
37	S + 2.0	8T	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Paul Brother Duncan Hamilton	Jaguar D-Type	7th
38	S 1.5	29	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Francesco Giardini André Pilette	Maserati 150S	7th
39	S + 2.0	3	Scuderia Ferrari	Luigi Musso Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari 290MM	4th
40	S 1.5	37	Isabelle Haskell	Giuseppe Musso Walter Monaco	Maserati 150S	3
41	S 1.5	34	Michael May	Michael May Pierre May	Porsche 550 Spyder
42	S 1.5	36	Karl Busch	Karl Busch Karl Schwaneberg	Porsche 550 Spyder
43	SerS 1.5	40	Theo Helfrich	Theo Helfrich Peter Nöcker	Porsche 550 Spyder
44	SerS 1.5	41	Wolfgang Seidel	Wolfgang Seidel Helm Glöckler	Porsche 550 Spyder
45	SerS 1.5	47	William Buff	William Buff Gotfrid Köchert	Porsche 550 Spyder
46	GT / T + 2.0	50	Fritz Riess	Fritz Riess Friedrich Victor Rolff	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
47	GT / T + 2.0	52	Erwin Bauer	Erwin Bauer Willi Heeks	Mercedes-Benz 220 S.
48	GT / T + 2.0	52	Günther Isenbügel	Günther Isenbügel Helmut Rathjen	Ford Thunderbird
49	GT / T 2.0	62	Ludwig Blendl	Ludwig Blendl Dieter Lissmann	Porsche 356 Carrera
50	GT / T 2.0	67	pack	Heini Buess Franz Hammernick	Porsche 356 1500 Super
51	GT / T 1.3	70	Richard Trenkel	Richard Trenkel Helmut Niedermayr	Porsche 356
52	GT / T 1.3	71	Erich Hofmann	Paul-Ernst Straehle Paul Denk	Porsche 356
53	GT / T 1.3	73	Josef Jeser	Josef Jeser Manfred Elmenhorst	Porsche 356
54	GT / T 1.3	75	Alfred Kling	Alfred Kling Edmund Graf	Porsche 356
55	GT / T 1.3	80	Helmut Felder	Helmut Felder Heinz Endemann	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV
56	GT / T 1.3	82	pack	Marcel Stern Louis Noverraz	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV
57	GT / T 1.3	84	Mediolanum	Alfranco Pagani Pietro Cagnana	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV
Not started
58	SerS 1.5	44	Ecurie Francorchamps	Christian Goethal's Freddy Rousselle	Porsche 550 Spyder	1
59	GT / T + 2.0	T	Scuderia Ferrari	Peter Collins Luigi Musso Mike Hawthorn Juan Manuel Fangio	Ferrari 250 GT	2
60	S + 2.0	T	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Piero Taruffi	Maserati 350S	3
61	S + 2.0	T	Scuderia Ferrari	Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari 860 Monza	4th
62	S + 2.0	8th	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Paul Brother Duncan Hamilton	Jaguar D-Type	5

¹ not started ² training trolley ³ training trolley ⁴ training trolley ⁵ Accident during training

Only in the entry list

Here you will find teams, drivers and vehicles that were originally registered for the race but did not take part for a variety of reasons.

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis
63	GT / T 1.3		Hartmuth Oesterle	Siegfried Günther	Porsche 356
64	S + 2.0	11	John de Puy	Ken Wharton Emmanuel de Graffenried	Maserati 300S
65	S 1.5	30th	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Francesco Giardini André Pilette	Maserati 150S
66	S 1.5	35	Franco-Brittanique	Georges Trouis Harry Merkel	1100
67	SerS 1.5	42	Ernst Lautenschlager	Ernst Lautenschlager Heinz Fischer	Porsche 550 Spyder
68	GT / T + 2.0	54	Hans-Joachim Zimmer	Hans-Joachim Zimmer Heinz Jacobi	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
69	GT / T + 2.0	55	Armando Zampiero	Armando Zampiero	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
70	GT / T 2.0	60	Rolf-Friedrich Gotze	Rolf-Friedrich Gotze Heinrich Sauter	Porsche 356 Carrera
71	GT / T 2.0	66	Ernst Seiler	Ernst Seiler Hans Wirz	Porsche 356 Carrera
72	GT / T 2.0	68	Olof Persson	Olof Persson Harald Kronegard	Porsche 356 Carrera

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
S + 2.0	Piero Taruffi	Harry Schell	Jean Behra	Stirling Moss	Maserati 300S	Overall victory
S 1.5	Wolfgang von Trips	Umberto Maglioli			Porsche 550 RS	Rank 4
SerS 1.5	Friedrich Kretschmann	Sepp Liebl			Porsche 550 Spyder	Rank 13
GT / T + 2.0	Bengt Martenson	Wittigo of Einsiedel			Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	Rank 8
GT / T 2.0	Max Nathan	Gert Kaiser			Porsche 356 Carrera	Rank 9
GT / T 1.3	Joakim Bonnier	Herbert Mackay-Fraser			Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	Rank 11

Racing data

• Registered: 72
• Started: 57
• Rated: 29
• Race classes: 6
• Spectators: 70,000
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 22.810 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 7: 43: 54,500 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 44
• Total distance of the winning team: 1003.640 km
• Winner's average: 129.807 km / h
• Pole position: Juan Manuel Fangio - Ferrari 860 Monza (# 1) - 10: 03.600 = 136.044 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Juan Manuel Fangio - Ferrari 860 Monza (# 1) - 10: 05.300 = 135.662 km / h
• Racing series: 4th round of the 1956 World Sports Car Championship
• Racing series: 2nd round of the German Sports Car Championship in 1956

literature

• Michael Behrndt, Jörg-Thomas Födisch, Matthias Behrndt: ADAC 1000 km race. HEEL Verlag, Königswinter 2008, ISBN 978-3-89880-903-0 .

Web links

• Race results

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Michael Behrndt, Jörg-Thomas Födisch, Matthias Behrndt: ADAC 1000 km race . Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2008, ISBN 978-3-89880-903-0 .

Predecessor race Mille Miglia 1956

Sports car world championship

Successor 1000 km race in Kristianstad 1956