Heinz Brendel

Mercedes-Benz W 25 from 1934

Mercedes-Benz W 154 , here driven by Hermann Lang

Heinz Brendel (born January 16, 1915 in Frankfurt am Main , † December 1, 1989 ) was a German racing driver .

Life

Brendel started his career in 1932. His father had already been a racing driver. In his first big race, the Eifel race in 1935 at the Nürburgring , he finished second with his Fiat in the sports car class up to 1100 cc. In 1935 and 1936 he won the field hill climb in the Fiat sports car class up to 1100 cm³ (1936: 1100 cm³ without compressor).

In 1936, Brendel was invited to the Mercedes-Benz driver's school by racing manager Alfred Neubauer and had an accident at the Nürburgring. Brendel suffered only a few wounds, but his W 25 went up in flames. In 1937, Neubauer appointed Heinz Brendel as a substitute driver for the Grand Prix team. He tested the W 125 during the training runs for the 1937 German Grand Prix .

In 1939 , Heinz Brendel took part in the German Grand Prix alongside Rudolf Caracciola , Manfred von Brauchitsch and Hermann Lang as the fourth driver in the Mercedes team in a W 154 and qualified for fifth place on the grid. During the race he was asked by Neubauer to give his car to Lang - which was allowed and quite common at the time - because he had technical problems. However, Brendel did not follow this instruction, instead drove on and retired after an accident. When he called his race director shortly afterwards and asked that he be picked up from the scene of the accident, Neubauer made it unmistakably clear to him that he could run back.

A little later, during a training drive on the Nürburgring, the saddle tank of his car caught fire on the Döttinger Höhe . Brendel just had time to steer off the track and got away without injury. Brendel was registered as a substitute driver for the 1939 Swiss Grand Prix, the last Grand Prix before the outbreak of the Second World War , but was not used.

After the war Brendel continued his career and in 1952 he became German sports car champion in the 1100 class in a Glöckler Porsche 1100 . He ended his racing career in 1953 after a serious accident.

statistics

Pre-war Grand Prix results

season	team	dare	1	2	3	4th	5	Points	position
1937	Mercedes Benz	Mercedes-Benz W 125						-
				DNS
1938	Mercedes Benz	Mercedes-Benz W 154						-
				DNS
1939	Mercedes Benz	Mercedes-Benz W 154						31	30th
					DNF	DNF

Legend
colour	meaning		EM points
gold	victory		1
silver	2nd place		2
bronze	3rd place		3
green	Classified, covered more than 75% of the race distance		4th
blue	not entitled to points, covered between 50% and 75% of the race distance		5
violet	not eligible for points, covered between 25% and 50% of the race distance		6th
red	not eligible for points, covered less than 25% of the race distance		7th
colour	abbreviation	meaning	EM points
black	DSQ	disqualified	8th
White	DNS	did not start
	DNA	did not arrive
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)

Web links

• Leif Snellman: Heinz Brendel (D). kolumbus.fi, September 5, 2014, accessed on September 13, 2014 . 
• Heinz Brendel. mercedesamgf1.com, accessed June 1, 2014 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Cameroonian motorsport idols. Heinz Brendel. (PDF) Frankfurter Sportstätten on motorbloeckchen.com, accessed on May 30, 2014 . 
2. ↑ Hansjörg Meister: Feldberg-Bergpreis 1935. feldbergrennen.de, accessed on May 30, 2014 . 
3. ↑ Hansjörg Meister: Feldberg-Bergpreis 1936. feldbergrennen.de, accessed on May 30, 2014 . 
4. ^ Leif Snellman: Heinz Brendel (D). kolumbus.fi, May 8, 2014, accessed May 30, 2014 . 
5. ↑ Leif Snellman, Felix Muelas: XII GREAT PRICE OF GERMANY. kolumbus.fi, May 4, 2014, accessed May 30, 2014 . 
6. ↑ Leif Snellman, Felix Muelas: VI GREAT PRICE OF SWITZERLAND. kolumbus.fi, May 4, 2014, accessed June 1, 2014 .