1966 Hockenheim Grand Prix

Hockenheimring 1966

The 1966 Grand Prix of Hockenheim , also known as the AvD Grand Prix of Hockenheim , was a sports car race that took place on August 14, 1966 at the Hockenheimring . At the same time, the race was the tenth round of this year's sports car world championship .

The race

In 1966 , a sports car world championship race took place at the Hockenheimring for the first time, after the racetrack, which opened in 1932, had been significantly rebuilt in 1964 and 1965. The structural measures became necessary due to the extension of the federal motorway 6 between the Mannheim motorway junction and the Weinsberg motorway junction . Since the motorway now ran over the area of ​​the route, extensive adjustments were necessary. The Motodrom was created as a stark contrast to the high-speed sections that led through the forest. After the renovation, the rear of the grandstands were located in front of the start-and-finish straight on the motorway. The new route was opened with the Hockenheim Grand Prix.

The track was 6.789 km long, the race distance to be covered was 509.175 km. For the racing team of Porsche , the race was a welcome opportunity, the Porsche 906 in the Le Mans specification to present. For the 24-hour race in France , the body was lengthened by almost a meter in order to achieve more top speed on the long straights. Porsche brought three of these cars to the race, driven by Gerhard Mitter , Günter Klass and Hans Herrmann . The 906 was the dominant car of the race. Including the three works cars, twelve cars of this type were registered, eleven of which went to the start.

The participants had to contest two separate races, the respective times were added to an overall ranking. The three Porsche works drivers fought an exciting three-way battle for overall victory over the entire race distance. Mitter won the first run, ahead of Herrmann and Klass. In the second race, Mitter won again, this time ahead of Klass and Herrmann. After 75 total laps, Gerhard Mitter won with a lead of almost 24 seconds over teammate Klass. Another seven seconds behind, Hans Herrmann was classified as third.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	P 2.0	1	Porsche System Engineering	Gerhard Mitter	Porsche 906 LE	75
2	P 2.0	2	Porsche System Engineering	Günter Klass	Porsche 906 LE	75
3	P 2.0	3	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 906 LE	75
4th	S 2.0	25th	Scuderia Lufthansa	Udo Schütz	Porsche 906	74
5	S 2.0	26th	Scuderia Lufthansa	Gerhard Koch	Porsche 906	73
6th	S 2.0	28	Charles Vögele	André Wicky	Porsche 906	71
7th	P 2.0	4th	Anton Fischhaber	Anton Fischhaber	Lotus 23	67
8th	S 2.0	29	Mike De Udy Porsche Cars GB	Mike De Udy	Porsche 906	64
9	S 2.0	27	Charles Vögele	Charles Vögele	Porsche 906	64
10	P 2.0	11	Richard Groves	Peter de Klerk	Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite	61
11	P 2.0	10	Richard Groves	John Moore	Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite	61
12	S 1.3	45	Abarth Switzerland	Helmut Krause	Abarth 1300 OT	58
Not classified
13	S 2.0	23	Rolf Hurtig	Jo Bonnier Ulf Norinder	Porsche 906
Failed
14th	S 1.3	41	Abarth Germany	Siegfried Dau	Abarth 1300 OT
15th	S 2.0	22nd	Ben Pon Racing Team Holland	Gijs van Lennep	Porsche 906
16	S 2.0	24	Rolf Hurtig	Sten Axelsson	Porsche 906
17th	S 1.6	31	Elan Sweden	Per Brandström	Lotus Elan
18th	S 1.6	32	Squadra Tartaruga	Rico Steinemann	Lotus Elan
19th	S 1.6	33	Elan Sweden	Andreas Eichhorn	Lotus Elan
19th	S 1.6	36	Robert Eberhardt	Robert Eberhardt	Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ
20th	S 1.3	42	Scuderia Lufthansa	Hans-Dieter Dechent	Abarth 1300 OT
Not started
21st	P 2.0	7th	Radio London	Dieter Ebermayer	Elva Mk.7S	1
22nd	S 1.3	42	Scuderia Lufthansa	Reinhold Joest	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero	2

¹ Engine failure in training ² not started

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
23	P 2.0		Digby Martland	Digby Martland	Chevron B3
24	P 2.0	6th	Chevron	Derek Bennett	Chevron B4
25th	P 2.0	8th	Gustav Schlup	Gustav Schlup	Elva Mk.7
26th	S 2.0	12	Matra Sports	Jo Schlesser	Matra MS620
27	S 2.0	21st	Ben Pon	Ben Pon	Porsche 906
28	S 1.6	34	BB Racing	Hans Tschiemer	Lotus Elan
29	S 1.6	35	Bruno Frey	Bruno Frey	Lotus 23
30th	S 1.3	44	Abarth Switzerland	Peter Marron	Abarth 1300 OT

Class winner

class	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
P 2.0	Gerhard Mitter	Porsche 906 LE	Overall victory
S 2.0	Udo Schütz	Porsche 906	Rank 4
S 1.6	no participant in the finish
S 1.3	Helmut Krause	Abarth 1300 OT	Rank 12

Racing data

• Registered: 30
• Started: 20
• Valued: 12
• Race classes: 4
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: hot and dry
• Route length: 6.789 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 2: 39: 03.100 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 78
• Total distance of the winning team: 509.175 km
• Winner's average: 192.079 km / h
• Pole position: Gerhard Mitter - Porsche 906 LE (# 1) - 2: 07.180 = 192.172 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Günter Klass - Porsche 906 LE (# 54) - 2: 05.220 = 195.180 km / h
• Racing series: 10th round of the 1966 World Sports Car Championship
• Racing series: 10th round of the German Circuit Championship in 1966

literature

• Peter Higham: The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing. A complete Reference from Formula 1 to Touring Car. Guinness Publishing Ltd., London 1995, ISBN 0-85112-642-1 .

Web links

• Race results at WSPR Racing

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Information about the Porsche 906 and the rear end extended for Le Mans ( Memento of the original from September 12, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Porsche 906 long tail

Previous race Coppa Cittá di Enna 1966

Sports car world championship

Successor mountain climb Sierra-Montagna 1966