Hans Herrmann

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Hans Herrmann (explanation of terms ) .

Hans Herrmann

Nation:	Germany
Automobile world championship
First start:	1953 German Grand Prix
Last start:	1966 German Grand Prix
Constructors
1953  Hans Herrmann 1954 and 1955 Daimler-Benz AG 1957 Maserati - Scuderia Centro Sud 1958 Scuderia Centro Sud - Joakim Bonnier Racing 1959 Scuderia Centro Sud - British Racing Partnership 1960 Porsche System Engineering 1961 Porsche System Engineering - Ecurie Maarsbergen 1966 Roy Winkelmann Racing
statistics
World Cup balance:	Seventh World Cup ( 1954 )
Starts Victories Poles SR 18th - - 1
World Cup points :	10
Podiums :	1
Leadership laps :	-

Hans Herrmann in the 718 W-RS Spyder at the 1962 1000 km race on the Nürburgring

Hans Herrmann before the start of the 1000 km race in 1965

Herrmann in 1965 in a Fiat Abarth

Hans Herrmann in 1970 in the Porsche 908/03

Hans Herrmann in 1986 at the wheel of a Benz from 1908

Hans Herrmann (born February 23, 1928 in Stuttgart ) is a former German automobile racing driver .

The trained confectioner was one of the most versatile German pilots who competed in a wide variety of races on a wide variety of brands. His career ranges from working with pre-war players such as Mercedes racing director Alfred Neubauer to the beginning of Porsche dominance in the Le Mans 24-hour race . He started successfully in legendary long-distance races such as the Mille Miglia , Targa Florio and Carrera Panamericana and is one of the last contemporary witnesses from this era. In addition, Hans was involved in some spectacular, but minor accidents or actions.

The road to becoming a racing driver

As a 17-year-old Herrmann was drafted into labor service in 1945 and a short time later he was assigned to the Waffen SS. On the transport to the scene of the incident, he and four comrades managed to escape and to go to Stuttgart in civilian clothes. After the war he completed his apprenticeship as a pastry chef, but later did not practice the profession, although he was supposed to take over his mother's café.

After completing his apprenticeship, he bought a small BMW 3/20 (built from 1932 to 1934) with the help of his mother and used it to chauffeur a doctor to the patient. In 1947 Herrmann registered a license as a haulier, now with a 1.5-liter BMW, which he bought for 40,000 Reichsmarks and which he used as a kind of taxi company to transport people. His next cars were a 2-liter BMW and in 1951 a Porsche 356 1300. In February 1952 he took part in the 1st Hessian Winter Drive with the Porsche.

Career in motorsport

The beginning with Porsche

In 1952 Herrmann started a circuit race for the first time at the Nürburgring with his private Porsche (now with a 1500 cm³ engine) and won. As early as 1953 he was part of the Porsche works team and successfully participated a. a. in the Mille Miglia, which he finished with a class win. During this race across Italy in 1954 , he drew attention to himself with a spectacular action: When the rail barriers for the approaching express train to Rome were closed at the last moment, Herrmann could no longer brake. He and his co-driver Herbert Linge ducked into the cockpit of the flat Porsche 550 Spyder, and the car drove under the barriers just before the train. The result was another class win and sixth place in the overall classification.

Factory driver at Mercedes

For the 1954 Formula 1 season , the Mercedes works team, which had hired the best driver of the era in Juan Manuel Fangio , was looking for a young driver to supplement. Herrmann was invited to take a driver test at the Nürburgring in autumn 1953, where he achieved the best times out of five candidates. As the “third man”, however, he was overshadowed by the Argentine as well as by his older German colleague Karl Kling. New developments such as the undisguised Mercedes-Benz W 196 , which is advantageous for normal racetracks , were only made available to him later. His best performances include the fastest race lap at the French Grand Prix , where he was eliminated, while his teammates achieved a double victory in their debut race, as well as third place at the Swiss Grand Prix in 1954. Since Mercedes had not yet competed in sports car races at the factory in 1954 , he could also compete for Porsche and achieved a highly regarded third place in the Carrera Panamericana with the small-displacement car.

For the 1955 season, Mercedes also signed up Stirling Moss , who was also to compete in the new Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR sports car . At the first Formula 1 race of the year, under extreme heat in Argentina, Herrmann was still the second best Mercedes driver behind Fangio. At the Mille Miglia he was faster at times than the much-acclaimed winner Moss and was second for a while. But when refueling, the gas station attendant forgot to screw on the tank cap, which sprayed fuel into the cockpit. The special fuel threatened to eat away at clothing and skin, so that Herrmann and his co-driver Hermann Eger had to give up on the Futapass .

In an accident during training for the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix , he suffered serious injuries and could no longer compete for Mercedes before the factory withdrew from racing at the end of the season.

Great success as a long-distance driver

Herrmann initially remained a Porsche long-distance driver, but was determined to return to Formula 1. During training for the Targa Florio, he had an accident in a Ferrari . Nevertheless, he was invited to test drives, together with u. a. Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips . The race director instructed him to drive carefully, which Herrmann adhered to. The other drivers gave full throttle and posted better times. In retrospect, Herrmann is not at all unhappy about not having become a factory driver for the Italians, as several of them had fatal accidents and others like John Surtees suffered from intrigues within the team.

In the Formula 1 seasons 1957 to 1959 Herrmann was seen with moderate success on Maserati , Cooper and BRM. On the Berlin AVUS 1959, the BRM suffered brake failure at approx. 280 km / h in front of the south bend. Herrmann steered the BRM into the rain-soaked and therefore very heavy straw bales. The car rolled over in a high arc and Herrmann was thrown out. The photo, with the perplexed Herrmann sliding on the floor, the car whirling through the air, earned him the nickname “Hans im Glück” in view of the mild outcome.

In 1957 and 1958, Hans Herrmann also competed in the European Hill Climbing Championship with a Borgward 1500 RS and in 1957 he was runner-up.

He also achieved respectable results in endurance races (third place in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1958) and in Formula 2 , each with models of the Porsche 718 . In view of the upcoming rule changes, according to which Formula 2 was to become Formula 1 from 1961 , Porsche took part in the 1960 Italian Grand Prix on a test basis with the F2 . With the inferior car, Herrmann did not get beyond sixth place on the high-speed track of Monza with the steep curves that were still used at the time, although the technically leading British teams boycotted the race.

Also in the Formula 1 season in 1961 , he was part of the Porsche teams. However, the somewhat clumsy four-cylinder Porsche 718 , which had been successful in the previous Formula 2, proved inferior to the new, slim designs of the Formula 1 teams. Porsche reduced the number of stakes, Herrmann was less involved, although last year he had overall victories at the Sebring 12-hour race (with Olivier Gendebien ) and at the Targa Florio (with Joakim Bonnier and Graham Hill ). Behind Dan Gurney and Bonnier, who had each won a Grand Prix in 1959, Herrmann saw themselves classified as third with no prospects. He left Porsche during the 1962 season. The Zuffenhausen-based company was able to achieve two Formula 1 victories this year with the new, slim eight-cylinder model Porsche 804 through Gurney (in the world championship round in Rouen-les-Essarts and on the domestic Solitude without world championship status), but it came to an end 1962 back from Formula 1.

From 1962 to 1965 Herrmann competed in long distance and hill climbs on the little Abarth without having any chance of overall victories in important races. With the small cars (GT and sports cars, 1000 to 2000 cm³) overall victories could only be achieved in less important circuit races such as the AVUS. Since his car was poorly prepared for the Schauinsland hill climb in August 1965, he did not start; that meant the break with Carlo Abarth .

In 1966, when he returned to the Porsche sports car team, the most successful phase of his career began; In addition to numerous podium finishes in the World Sportscar Championship he won in 1968 , the 24 Hours of Daytona . Overall victory in a 1000 km race on the Nürburgring , in which he had participated every time since the beginning of 1953, was still denied him. After winning the Le Mans 24-hour race by just 100 meters in the Porsche 908 in 1969, he crowned his long-distance career there in 1970 with his first overall victory for Porsche. In the pouring rain, he and Richard Attwood were able to prevail with the Porsche 917 K; only seven vehicles were rated in the end.

The time after the races

After this success, the 42-year-old retired from active racing, as previously promised to his wife. The year before, he wanted to compete in a Formula 2 car at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring , but did not start after the fatal training accident of his teammate and Stuttgart neighbor Gerhard Mitter .

Hans Herrmann remained connected to motorsport and promoted the youngsters in Formula Vee . He is a welcome guest at classic car meetings, especially at the wheel of historic racing cars.

On December 13, 1991, Hans Herrmann was kidnapped. He was released for a ransom. The case was reconstructed on film in the series Aktenzeichen XY… unsolved in September 1992, but remained unresolved.

The successful automotive accessories businessman Herrmann has also been a member of the “ Das Goldene Lenkrad ” jury for 30 years .

statistics

Statistics in the automobile world championship

general overview

season	team	chassis	engine	run	Victories	Second	Third	Poles	nice Race laps	Points	WM-Pos.
1953	Hans Herrmann	Veritas Meteor	Veritas 2.0 L6	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	NC
1954	Daimler-Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz W196	Mercedes 2.5 L8	5	-	-	1	-	1	8th	7th
1955	Daimler-Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz W196	Mercedes 2.5 L8	1	-	-	-	-	-	1	22nd
1957	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati 250F	Maserati 2.5 L6	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	NC
1958	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati 250F	Maserati 2.5 L6	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	NC
	Jo Bonnier	Maserati 250F	Maserati 2.5 L6	2	-	-	-	-	-
1959	Scuderia Centro Sud	Cooper T51	Maserati 2.5 L4	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	NC
	British Racing Partnership	BRM P25	BRM 2.5 L4	1	-	-	-	-	-
1960	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 718	Porsche 1.5 F4	1	-	-	-	-	-	1	28.
1961	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 718	Porsche 1.5 F4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	NC
	Ecurie Maarsbergen	Porsche 718	Porsche 1.5 F4	1	-	-	-	-	-
1966	Roy Winkelmann Racing	Brabham BT18	Ford 1.0 L4	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	NC
total				18th	-	-	1	-	1	10

Single results

season	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11
1953
							9
1954
				DNF		DNF	3	4th	DNF
1955
	4th	DNQ
1957
		DNQ				DNF
1958
								DNF		DNF	9
1959
					DNF	DNF
1960
									6th
1961
	9	15th		WD		13
1966
						11
1969
							DNS

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1953	Porsche KG	Porsche 550 Coupe	Glöckler helmet	Rank 16
1954	Porsche KG	Porsche 550/4 RS 1500 Coupé	Helmut Polensky	failure	Engine failure
1956	Porsche KG	Porsche 550A / 4	Umberto Maglioli	failure	Engine failure
1957	Porsche KG	Porsche 550A RS	Richard von Frankenberg	failure	ignition
1958	Porsche KG	Porsche 718 RSK Spyder	Jean Behra	3rd place and class win
1959	Porsche KG	Porsche 718 RSK	Umberto Maglioli	failure	ignition
1960	Porsche KG	Porsche 718/4	Maurice Trintignant	failure	ignition
1961	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 718/4 RS Spyder	Edgar Barth	Rank 7
1962	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 356B Abarth	Edgar Barth	Rank 7 and class win
1966	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 906 / 6L Carrera 6	Herbert Linge	Rank 5
1967	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 907 / 6L	Joseph Siffert	5th place and class win
1968	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 908	Joseph Siffert	failure	Clutch damage
1969	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 908L	Gérard Larrousse	Rank 2 and class win
1970	Porsche Austria	Porsche 917K	Richard Attwood	Overall victory

Sebring results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1956	Porsche KG	Porsche 550 Spyder	Wolfgang von Trips		Rank 6 and class win
1957	Porsche Company	Porsche 550 RS	Jack McAfee		failure	Gearbox damage
1960	Joakim Bonnier	Porsche 718 RS	Olivier Gendebien		Overall victory
1961	Porsche car	Porsche 718 RS 61	Edgar Barth		failure	Engine failure
1963	Abarth Corse	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero	Mauro Bianchi		failure	Engine failure
1966	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 906	Joe Buzzetta		4th place and class win
1967	Porsche car	Porsche 910	Joseph Siffert		Rank 4
1968	Porsche Automobile Co.	Porsche 907 2.2	Joseph Siffert		Overall victory
1969	Porsche System Engineering Ltd.	Porsche 908/02	Kurt Ahrens	Rolf Stommelen	failure	Chassis broken
1970	Porsche Audi	Porsche 917K	Rudi Lins		failure	accident

Individual results in the sports car world championship

season	team	race car	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd
1953	Porsche Maserati	Porsche 356 Maserati A6GCS Porsche 550	SEB	MIM	LEM	SPA	ONLY	RTT	CAP
				30th	16		DNF		DNF
1954	Porsche Dist. VW. Central SA	Porsche 550	BUA	SEB	MIM	LEM	RTT	CAP
					6th	DNF		3
1955	Daimler-Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR	BUA	SEB	MIM	LEM	RTT	TAR
					DNF
1956	Porsche	Porsche 550	BUA	SEB	MIM	ONLY	KRI
				6th	DNF	6th	13
1957	Porsche Maserati	Porsche 550 Maserati 350S	BUA	SEB	MIM	ONLY	LEM	KRI	CAR
				DNF	DNF		DNF
1958	Borgward Porsche	Borgward RS Porsche 718 RSK	BUA	SEB	TAR	ONLY	LEM	RTT
						DNF	3
1959	Porsche	Porsche 718 RSK	SEB	TAR	ONLY	LEM	RTT
				DNF	4th	DNF	DNF
1960	Porsche	Porsche 718 RSK	BUA	SEB	TAR	ONLY	LEM
			7th	1	1	4th	DNF
1961	Porsche	Porsche 718 RSK	SEB	TAR	ONLY	LEM	PES
			DNF	3	DNF	7th
1962	Scuderia Serenissima Abarth Porsche	Porsche 356 Fiat-Abarth 1000 Porsche 718 WRS Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero	DAY	SEB	SEB	MAY	TAR	BER	ONLY	LEM	TAV	CCA	RTT	ONLY	BRI	BRI	PAR
							6th	12	3	7th	15th			DNF			9
1963	Abarth Scuderia Sant Ambroeus	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero Fiat-Abarth 1000 Fiat-Abarth 850	DAY	SEB	SEB	TAR	SPA	MAY	ONLY	CON	ROS	LEM	MON	WIS	TAV	FRE	CCE	RTT	OVI	ONLY	MON	MON	TDF	BRI
			9	1	DNF				DNF	4th	4th				27	2			2	1
1964	Abarth	Abarth-Simca 2000 Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero	DAY	SEB	TAR	MON	SPA	CON	ONLY	ROS	LEM	REI	FRE	CCE	RTT	SIM	ONLY	MON	TDF	BRI	BRI	PAR
					DNF	2	DNF		16				7th	1		6th	1
1965	Abarth	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero Abarth 1600 OT Abarth 1300 OT	DAY	SEB	BOL	MON	MON	RTT	TAR	SPA	ONLY	MUG	ROS	LEM	REI	BOZ	FRE	CCE	OVI	ONLY	BRI	BRI
						DNF			6th		DNF		4th						12	5
1966	Porsche	Porsche 906	DAY	SEB	MON	TAR	SPA	ONLY	LEM	MUG	CCE	HOK	SIM	ONLY	ZEL
			6th	4th	4th	DNF	DNF	DNF	5			3	3		1
1967	Porsche	Porsche 910 Porsche 907	DAY	SEB	MON	SPA	TAR	ONLY	LEM	HOK	MUG	BRH	CCE	ZEL	OVI	ONLY
			4th	4th	5	2	6th	DNF	5		DNF	4th		DNF
1968	Porsche	Porsche 907 Porsche 908	DAY	SEB	BRH	MON	TAR	ONLY	SPA	WAT	ZEL	LEM
			1	1	DNF	19th	4th	2	3	6th	2	DNF
1969	Porsche	Porsche 908	DAY	SEB	BRH	MON	TAR	SPA	ONLY	LEM	WAT	ZEL
			DNF	DNF	6th	2	3	4th	2	2
1970	Porsche Porsche Austria	Porsche 908 Porsche 917	DAY	SEB	BRH	MON	TAR	SPA	ONLY	LEM	WAT	ZEL
				DNF	3	DNF	DNF	6th	2	1

literature

• Frank Wiesner: Hans Herrmann story. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-613-02871-5 .
• Bernhard Völker, Tobias Aichele (Ed.): Hans Herrmann. A life for racing. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-613-01880-2 .
• Helmut Sohre, Hans Herrmann: Hans Herrmann - I survived. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1971.

Web links

Commons : Hans Herrmann  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official homepage of racing driver Hans Herrmann

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ( page no longer available , search in web archives: faszination-oldtimer.de )