Grand Prix of Germany 1931
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The 5th German Grand Prix took place on July 19, 1931 on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring . The 1930 German Grand Prix was canceled due to the global economic crisis. Originally entered in the international racing calendar as Grande Épreuve , the 1931 Grand Prix was not intended as a run for the 1931 European Grand Prix Championship , which is why it was not necessary to use the minimum duration of 10 hours prescribed for this.
Instead of organizing lay Automobile Club of Germany (AvD) its own rules firmly and let the race into two groups fought, Group I for vehicles over 1100 cc displacement and Group II for vehicles 500 to 1100 cc. In Group I, the race led over 22 laps of 22.809 km, which corresponded to a total distance of 508.77 km. Group II completed 18 laps of 22.809 km each with a race distance of 410.58 km. The race was one of the last Grands Prix in which a co-driver as a mechanic was allowed on board the racing car.
The winner of the Grand Prix was Rudolf Caracciola in a Mercedes-Benz SSKL . The race of small cars ( Voiturettes ) was by Dudley Froy on Riley won.
run
The tender for the race did not contain any technical regulations for the cars, so that for the first time pure racing cars were also allowed at a German Grand Prix . This promptly led to a first-class international cast, unlike any previous edition. Bugatti in particular stepped up as reinforcement with four copies of its previously dominant Grand Prix model Bugatti Type 51 with the two top drivers Louis Chiron and Achille Varzi as well as Guy Bouriat and William Grover-Williams (as always under the pseudonym "W. Williams") . Maserati also launched a Tipo 26 M enlarged to 2.8 liters for Luigi Fagioli and a slightly older 2.5-liter model for René Dreyfus , while the only Alfa Romeo type "Monza" from works driver Tazio Nuvolari in this one Opportunity was nominally used once again by Scuderia Ferrari .
The German side came Rudolf Caracciola , Hans Stuck and Otto Merz with three heavy Mercedes-Benz SSKL - racing cars with 7.1-liter displacement, which - by the - albeit unofficially Mercedes-Benz were cared -Werksmannschaft. To another SSKL for came Manfred von Brauchitsch , a somewhat "tamer" SSK for Otto Spandel and a modern Bugatti Type 51 and a somewhat older Type 35 B of the German Bugatti teams , by Heinrich Joachim von morning and Ernst Günthersburgpark Galler down were.
In order to offer the audience more entertainment in view of the length of the course, a race for cars up to 1.1 liter displacement was also held over a shorter distance, which the Briton Dudley Froy won on a Riley .
Although, in view of the prevailing global economic crisis , the final decision about the event had only been made a few days in advance, more than 100,000 spectators gathered in typically rainy Eifel weather to watch the race along the route. For the first time, a Grand Prix race was also broadcast live on the radio. When visibility was poor and the track was slippery, Caracciola lived up to his reputation as “rain champion” right from the start, and thanks to his excellent track knowledge, he was able to clearly set himself apart from the rest of the field. Aware of the fact that he had to change tires once during the race in his Mercedes - unlike the light cars of the competitors - which only had to stop to refuel - he increased his lead in the following laps, while behind him in an exciting three-way battle one after the other, first Fagioli in a Maserati, then Nuvolari in an Alfa Romeo and finally Chiron in a Bugatti took over the chase.
By the time the rain stopped on lap eight, Caracciola had already gained enough time to make his stop on lap twelve without losing the lead. His mechanics were able to change both rear tires in a record time of only 69 seconds, only about 10 seconds slower than Chiron's pure refueling stop. However, under the constantly improving conditions, Chiron was able to make use of the better driving characteristics of his Bugatti on the demanding course and make up time on Caracciola, who is his close friend. In the end, however, the lead was too big and, to the delight of the public, the Mercedes driver achieved a highly regarded victory, the first for a German driver and a German make at an official International Grand Prix since 1914 .
Caracciola won the race in 4:38:10 hours with an average speed of 108.2 km / h. Achille Varzi drove the fastest lap on a Bugatti in 11:48 minutes or 115.98 km / h.
Radio broadcast
With the Grand Prix of Germany, coverage of a Grand Prix race was broadcast live and in full on the radio for the first time. Broadcasters were Westdeutsche and Südwestdeutscher Rundfunk, which had set up four posts around the route where reporters connected by telephone were positioned. So Dr. Laven at the start and finish, Dr. Wenzel at Wehrseifen, Dr. Ernst am Karussell and August Christ on Döttinger Höhe handed the report to each other when the cars drove past their station, which made it possible to continuously describe the events. In this way, an audience of millions in Germany and neighboring countries was able to follow the race because, in addition to all German radio stations, stations in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden were also switched to the broadcast.
Results
Registration list
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Race result
| Item | driver | constructor | Round | Stops | time | begin | Fastest lap | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
.svg){kind=small} Rudolf Caracciola
|
Mercedes
|
22nd | 1 | 4: 38: 10,000 | 4th | ||
| 2 |
 Louis Chiron
|
 Bugatti
|
22nd | 1 | +1: 18,000 | 11 | ||
| 3 |
 Achille Varzi
|
Bugatti
|
22nd | 1 | + 4: 00,000 | 12 | 11: 48,000 | |
| 4th |
Tazio Nuvolari
|
Alfa Romeo
|
22nd | 1 | + 5: 44,000 | 18th | ||
| 5 |
Otto Merz
|
Mercedes
|
22nd | 1 | + 5: 44.800 | 6th | ||
| 6th |
Hans Stuck
|
Mercedes
|
22nd | 1 | + 9: 24,000 | 5 | ||
| 7th |
Guy Bouriat
|
Bugatti
|
22nd | 1 | + 11: 54,000 | 14th | ||
| 8th |
Jean-Pierre Wimille
|
Bugatti
|
22nd | 1 | + 13: 58,000 | 19th | ||
| 9 |
Otto Spandel
|
Mercedes
|
22nd | 1 | + 16: 35,000 | 9 | ||
| 10 |
 Henry Birkin
|
Maserati
|
22nd | 1 | + 22: 53,000 | 10 | ||
| 11 |
Earl Howe
|
Bugatti
|
22nd | 1 | + 30: 09,000 | 17th | ||
| - |
Heinrich-Joachim of tomorrow
|
Bugatti
|
21st | 1 | DNF | 3 | no more oil pressure | |
| - |
René Dreyfus
|
Maserati
|
16 | 1 | DNF | 8th | Gearbox damage | |
| - |
Marcel Lehoux
|
Bugatti
|
14th | 1 | DNF | 15th | accident | |
| - |
Luigi Fagioli
|
Maserati
|
13 | 1 | DNF | 7th | Gearbox damage | |
| - |
Manfred von Brauchitsch
|
Mercedes
|
12 | 1 | DNF | 1 | Differential damage | |
| - |
 Phil Shafer
|
Shafer
|
12 | 1 | DNF | 16 | Suspension break | |
| - |
Ernst Günther Burggaller
|
Bugatti
|
3 | DNF | 2 | Engine failure | ||
| - |
William Grover-Williams
|
Bugatti
|
2 | DNF | 13 | Engine failure |
Race result Voiturette
| Item | driver | constructor | Round | Stops | time | begin | Fastest lap | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Dudley Froy
|
Riley
|
18th | 4: 23: 56,600 | ||||
| 2 |
Engelbert von Arco-Zinneberg
|
Amilcar
|
17th | + 1 lap | ||||
| 3 |
José Scaron
|
Amilcar
|
17th | + 1 lap | 13: 42,000 | |||
| 4th |
 Marcel Rouleau
|
Amilcar
|
16 | + 2 rounds | ||||
| 5 |
Francis Samuelson
|
MG
|
16 | + 2 rounds | ||||
| 6th |
Gerhard Macher
|
DKW
|
16 | + 2 rounds | ||||
| 7th |
Fritz Theissen
|
DKW
|
15th | + 3 rounds | ||||
| - |
Toni Bauhofer
|
DKW
|
4th | DNF | Clutch damage | |||
| - |
Hans Simons
|
DKW
|
3 | DNF | Clutch damage | |||
| - |
Luigi Premoli
|
Salmson
|
3 | DNF | Axle break | |||
| - |
Rudolf Steinweg
|
Amilcar
|
1 | DNF | accident | |||
| - |
 Hugo Urban-Emmerich
|
MG
|
1 | DNF | accident |
Web links
- V Grand Prix of Germany. www.teamdan.com, accessed July 30, 2014 (English).
- Leif Snellman, Felix Muelas: V GRAND PRIZE OF GERMANY. www.kolumbus.fi, June 4, 2014, accessed July 30, 2014 (English).