Harry Merkel (racing driver)
Harry Erich Merkel (born January 10, 1918 in Taucha , Saxony ; † February 11, 1995 in Killarney Vale , Australia ) was a German racing driver, motor vehicle dealer and designer.
Career
Among other things, he started with a self-built BMW by Willi Krakau on August 3, 1952 at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring .
In the late 1950s, Harry Merkel modified a Rometsch Spyder based on the Porsche 356 . The vehicle received a second door, was repainted and then sold. It was not until 2009 that Merkel's Spy version was rediscovered in a warehouse in Hockenheim and can now be seen restored in the Automobilmuseum Prototyp in Hamburg.
The former sports driver and car dealer Harry Merkel was also one of the front runners in Kadett tuning at the time. In 1962 he designed a Formula 3 racing car in his workshop in Hamburg in a one-year development period. The tubular space frame and the body were a complete in-house construction. He took over the axles, steering and the four-speed gearbox behind the rear engine from the BMW 700 Sport. The engine of Merkel's Formula 3 racing car was initially equipped with a Moto Pinelli engine in 1963. In 1964 the car received an Opel Kadett S engine, which produced 80 hp at 7200 rpm thanks to modified compression, a racing exhaust and a sharper camshaft. According to statements made at the time, the monoposto, weighing only 400 kg, should have reached a top speed of 200 km / h. The formula series became known as the Merkel Panther 3 and was seen on numerous racetracks in Europe.
statistics
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 | Adolf Vianden | Porsche 356 |
 SEB
|
 MIM
|
 LEM
|
 SPA
|
 ONLY
|
 RTT
|
 CAP
|
|||||||||||||||
| DNF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1954 | Harry Merkel | Porsche 550 |
 BUA
|
SEB
|
MIM
|
LEM
|
RTT
|
CAP
|
||||||||||||||||
| DNF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1955 | Porsche 356 |
BUA
|
SEB
|
MIM
|
LEM
|
RTT
|
TAR
|
|||||||||||||||||
| 64 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1957 | Harry Merkel | Porsche 356 |
BUA
|
SEB
|
MIM
|
ONLY
|
LEM
|
 KRI
|
 CAR
|
|||||||||||||||
| 42 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1962 | Harry Merkel | Porsche 356 |
DAY
|
SEB
|
SEB
|
MAY
|
TAR
|
BER
|
ONLY
|
LEM
|
TAV
|
CCA
|
RTT
|
ONLY
|
BRI
|
BRI
|
PAR
|
|||||||
| 20th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1963 | Harry Merkel | Porsche 356 |
DAY
|
SEB
|
SEB
|
TAR
|
SPA
|
MAY
|
ONLY
|
CON
|
ROS
|
LEM
|
MON
|
WIS
|
TAV
|
FRE
|
CCE
|
RTT
|
 OVI
|
ONLY
|
MON
|
MON
|
TDF
|
BRI
|
| 37 |
Web links
- Harry Merkel at ferrari-f1-info.de
- Opel Motorsport history
- Photo of a German Formula 3 car with a Kadett engine, the Merkel Panther 3 Opel (1964) Sources: Automobil-Illustrierte (1/1965)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Auto Course Grand Prix Archive ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ^ Prototype Hamburg ( Memento from April 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Photo frame of the Merkel Formula 3
- ^ Website history Opel Kadett
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Merkel, Harry |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Merkel, Harry Erich (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German racing driver, car dealer and designer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 10, 1918 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Taucha , Saxony |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 11, 1995 |
| Place of death | Killarney Vale , Australia |