Ulrich Bigalke

An Auto Union Type D as driven by Bigalke in 1939.

Ulrich "Ulli" Bigalke (born July 1, 1910 in Essen ; † August 12, 1940 ) was a German engineer , automobile racing driver , filmmaker and fighter pilot .

Career

Ulrich Bigalke came from Essen and studied mechanical engineering in Berlin-Charlottenburg . In 1934 he attracted attention by winning a 2000 km race in a 1000 cc Fiat Balilla . In the summer of 1935 Bigalke became the assistant to race director Willy Walb at Auto Union , for which he also drove a 2-liter Audi in regional races . During this time he took care of the organization of the trips to the Grands Prix, the hotel reservations, he drove the race transporters, was the timekeeper and helped in the pits . He also worked as an engineer in chassis and brake development .

The amateur photographer and filmmaker Ulrich Bigalke also wrote the Auto Union's racing reports and, between 1936 and 1939, wrote Between the Sahara and the Nürburgring , German victories in three continents , the memory of our Bernd Rosemeyer and the battle of our racing cars, four films about the races in which he wrote the script, directed and directed the camera.

In 1937 Bigalke caused a stir at the Vanderbilt Cup when he achieved some very good lap times when braking the vehicles' drum brakes . He was then selected as reserve driver for the 1938 and 1939 seasons in one of the annual inspection courses . Bigalke came to his only race at the XII. ADAC Eifelrennen on May 21, 1939 at the Nürburgring , when he was sixth in an Auto Union Type D behind Hermann Lang , Tazio Nuvolari , Rudolf Caracciola , Manfred von Brauchitsch and Rudolf Hasse .

During the Second World War Ulrich Bigalke served in the Air Force . He died on August 12, 1940 at the age of 30 during the Battle of Britain near the English Channel and is buried at the German war cemetery in Champigny-Saint-André .

statistics

Pre-war grands prix results

season	team	dare	1	2	3	4th	Points	position
1938	Auto Union AG	Auto Union Type D					-
				DNS

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

• Ulli Bigalke. www.motorsportmemorial.org, accessed on February 22, 2013 (English). 
• Leif Snellman, Felix Muelas: Ulrich "Ulli" Bigalke (D). www.kolumbus.fi, October 15, 2012, accessed on February 22, 2013 (English). 
• First gravesites of war victims. www.kriegsopfer.org, accessed on February 22, 2013 . 
• War victims 1914-1918 / 1939-1945. www.kriegstote.org, accessed February 22, 2013 . 
• Ulrich Bigalke in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Leif Snellman, Felix Muelas: XII ADAC Eifel RACE. www.kolumbus.fi, February 13, 2015, accessed February 15, 2019 .