1956 1000km of Nürburgring

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The 2. Internationales ADAC 1000 Kilometer Rennen auf dem Nürburgring took place on 27 May, on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, (West Germany). It was also the fourth round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. This was the first time the event had taken place, since it was dropped from the championship following its inaugural event in 1953. It was also round two of the German Sportscar Championship.[1]

Nürburgring Nordschleife

Report[]

Entry[]

A grand total 71 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 61 arrived for practice and qualifying. Fresh from their domination on the Mille Miglia, came two work teams of Scuderia Ferrari, and Officine Alfieri Maserati. The team from Maranello arrived with four cars, two 860 Monzas and two 290 MMs. The pairing to beat was that of Juan Manuel Fangio and Eugenio Castellotti driving the more powerful 860 Monza. This car was powered by a 3.4 litre 4-cylinder engine, producing 280 bhp. Their Modenese rivals, who were 12 points going into the meeting need a victory to reopened the Constructors’ Championship. Do to this, their arrived with four cars, two 300Ss, plus a 350s and a 150S. Their stars drivers, headed by the young Englishman, Stirling Moss, were in the 300Ss with a smaller 3.0 litre 6-cylinder engine, but it still produced 245 bhp.[2][3]

Qualifying[]

Qualifying was held over three sessions for a total of 1,590 minutes over the three prior to the race. The Ferrari 860 Monza of Fangio took pole position, averaging a speed of 84.534 mph around the 14.173 mile circuit. This was an incredible lap time, especially when compared to the time set by team-mate Luigi Musso, into the slower 290 MM – which was a full three seconds slower. The ’53 pole winner was on pole yet again, having given everyone a lesson on how to drive the 174 corner of the ‘Ring. When the finish session had finished, Ferrari had secured the first three places, the 300S driver by Moss and Jean Behra was fourth. The first non-Italian car was fifth, the Jaguar D-Type of Mike Hawthorn and Desmond Titterington.[2][3][4][5]

Race[]

The day of the race would be warm and dry, with a crowd of approximately 70,000 in attendance to witness for is regarded one of Maserati’s finest ever race victory.[3][4]

The start of the 1,000 kilometer race did not bode well for the Modenese marque, despite Moss taking the lead. On lap 11, after Behra had replaced Moss after the first pit stop, the rear transverse leaf spring of their 300S broke, forcing the Frenchman to the wheel of the second 300S. This was being driven by Harry Schell and Piero Taruffi, which was laying in third place at the time. Behra immediately embarked on charge back through the field to catch the leading Ferrari of Fangio and Castellotti. It was then decided by the team to put Moss into the car. At this point of the race, Moss was lying 66 seconds behind Fangio.[3][4][5]

As soon as Moss got into the car, he began to lap the 22km circuit at a pace that no-one would match. He was lapping 4/5 seconds faster than the ‘Maestro’ Fangio. At this pace, the seemingly safe win in the hands of the Ferrari duo, suddenly was in doubt. On lap 26 of the 44 scheduled, Fangio was unhappy with his car’s handling, so he got his mechanics to check its suspension while refueling, losing about a minute in the process. Sensing the threat to his victory, Fangio delayed handed the car over to Castellotti, as long as possible, in an attempt to stave off Moss’s assault. However, the fate of the race was sealed, when the lap 40, the “Maestro” re-entered to pits for fuel, the 300S of Moss charged on towards an astounding victory.[3][4][5]

The winning partnership of Moss/Behra/Taruffi/Schell, won in a time of 7hr 43:54.5mins., averaging a speed of 80.658 mph. The margin of triumph over the Ferrari of Fangio/Castelloti was 26 seconds, and led another Ferrari driven by Hill/De Portago/Gendebien by 10 min 01.4s. Porsche snatched fourth place with Wolfgang von Trips/Umberto Maglioli, but their 550 RS finished almost 20 minutes adrift of the Maserati. Moss’s pace was so quick that he lapped event he fifth placed Aston Martin DB3S of Peter Collins and Tony Brooks. Race did not end when Moss cross the finishing line, but continued for another hour to allow the other classes/division to try and complete the full 1000 km.[4][5][6]

To add to Fangio’s woes, Ferrari mechanics checked his after the race and found his 860 Monza did not actually problem with its suspension, as the quirky handling had simply been caused by the wrong tyre pressures.[3]

Official Classification[]

Class Winners are in Bold text.

Pos No Class Driver Entrant Chassis Laps Reason Out
1st 6 S+2.0 Italy Piero Taruffi
France Jean Behra
United States Harry Schell
United Kingdom Stirling Moss
Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 300S 7hr 43:54.5, 44
2nd 1 S+2.0 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Italy Eugenio Castellotti Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 860 Monza 7hr 44:20.7, 44
3rd 4 S+2.0 United States Phil Hill
Belgium Olivier Gendebien
Spain Alfonso de Portago Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 290 MM 7hr 53:55.9, 44
4th 21 S1.5 West Germany Wolfgang von Trips Italy Umberto Maglioli Porsche Porsche 550 RS 8hr 01:45.9, 44
5th 9 S+2.0 United Kingdom Peter Collins United Kingdom Tony Brooks David Brown Aston Martin DB3S 43
6th 20 S1.5 West Germany Richard von Frankenberg West Germany Hans Herrmann Porsche Porsche 550 RS 44
7th 26 S1.5 East Germany Edgar Barth East Germany VEB AWE R3/55 43
DNF 31 S+2.0 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn United Kingdom Desmond Titterington Jaguar Cars Ltd. Jaguar D-Type 43 Driveshaft
DNF 10 S+2.0 United Kingdom Peter Walker United Kingdom Roy Salvadori David Brown Aston Martin DB3S 41 De Dion tube
8th 56 GT/T+2.0 Sweden West Germany Bengit O. Martenson Mercedes-Benz 300 SL 44
9th 61 GT/T2.0 West Germany Sweden Max Nathan Porsche 356 Carrera 44
10th 65 GT/T2.0 West Germany Portugal Helmut Schülze Porsche 356 Carrera 44
11th 81 GT/T1.3 Sweden Jo Bonnier United States Herbert MacKay-Fraser Jo Bonnier Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce 43
12th 83 GT/T1.3 Switzerland Switzerland Heini Walter Walter Ringgenberg Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce 43
13th 43 ser.S1.5 West Germany West Germany Friedrich Kretschmann Porsche 550 43
14th 87 GT/T2.0 Italy Piero Carini Italy Franco Bordoni Piero Carini Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce 42
15th 63 GT/T2.0 West Germany West Germany Hans Gerog Plaut Porsche 356 Carrera 42
16th 88 GT/T1.3 Belgium Italy Gilberte Thirion Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce 42
17th 53 GT/T+2.0 West Germany West Germany Rainer Günzler Mercedes Bens 220S 42
18th 86 GT/T1.3 West Germany West Germany Kurt Kuhnke Adolf-Werner Lang Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce 41
19th 64 GT/T1.3 West Germany West Germany Kurt Zeller Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce 40
20th 64 GT/T2.0 West Germany West Germany W. H. Wittmann Porsche 356 Super 1600 40
21st 76 GT/T1.3 West Germany West Germany Helmut Busch Porsche 356 Super 1300 40
22nd 77 GT/T1.3 West Germany West Germany Sepp Greger Porsche 356A Super 1300 40
23rd 78 GT/T1.3 West Germany West Germany Hartmuth Oesterle Porsche 356 Super 1300 40
24th 45 ser.S1.5 Netherlands Mathieu Hezemans Netherlands Carel Godin de Beaufort Gotfrid Köchert Porsche 550 38
25th 72 GT/T1.3 West Germany West Germany Helmut Deutenberg Porsche 356 Super 1300 39
26th 74 GT/T1.3 West Germany West Germany Karl Falk Porsche 356 Super 1300 39
DNF 27 S1.5 East Germany East Germany VEB AWE R3/55 29 Engine
DNF 31 S1.5 Monaco Louis Chiron Italy Luigi Villoresi Monte Carlo Sport Osca MT4 1500 26 Engine
DNF 38 S1.5 Argentina Carlo Tomasi Argentina Alejandro de Tomaso Isabel Haskell Maserati 150S 25 Engine
DISQ 33 S1.5 Netherlands Netherlands Beels Racing Maserati 150S 22 Assistance
DNF 5 S+2.0 United Kingdom Stirling Moss France Jean Behra Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 300S 19 Suspension
DNF 12 S+2.0 Italy France Robert Manzon Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 350S 12 Axle
DISQ 2 S+2.0 Spain Alfonso de Portago Belgium Olivier Gendebien Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 860 Monza 9 Assistance
DNF 8T S+2.0 Belgium Paul Frère United Kingdom Duncan Hamilton Jaguar Cars Ltd. Jaguar D-Type 7 Gearbox
DNF 29 S1.5 Italy Belgium André Pilette Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 150S 7 Fuel system
DNF 3 S+2.0 Italy Luigi Musso France Maurice Trintignant Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 290 MM 4 Accident
DNF 34 S1.5 Switzerland Michael May Switzerland Michael May Porsche 550 DNF
DNF 36 S1.5 West Germany West Germany Karl Busch Porsche 550 Accident
DNF 40 ser.S1.5 West Germany Theo Helfrich West Germany Theo Helfrich Porsche 550 DNF
DNF 41 ser.S1.5 West Germany Wolfgang Seidel West Germany Helm Glöcker Wolfgang Seidel Porsche 550 Wheel
DISQ 46 ser.S1.5 United Kingdom United Kingdom Robin Carnegie Richard W. Fitzwilliam MG A Assistance
DNF 47 ser.S1.5 United States Austria Gotfrid Köchert William C. Buff Porsche 550 DNF
DNF 50 GT/T+2.0 West Germany Fritz Riess West Germany Fritz Riess Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gearbox
DNF 52 GT/T+2.0 West Germany Erwin Bauer West Germany Willi Heeks Erwin Bauer Mercedes Bens 220S Split fuel tank
DNF 57 GT/T+2.0 West Germany West Germany Günther Isenbügel Ford Thunderbird Engine
DNF 62 GT/T2.0 West Germany West Germany Ludwig Blendl Porsche 356 Carrera Wheel
DNF 67 GT/T2.0 Switzerland Switzerland Franz Hammernick Meute Porsche 356 Super 1500 Gearbox
DNF 70 GT/T1.3 West Germany Richard Trenkel West Germany Helmut Niedermayr Richard Trenkel Porsche 356 DNF
DNF 71 GT/T1.3 West Germany West Germany Erich Hofmann Porsche 356 DNF
DNF 73 GT/T1.3 West Germany West Germany Josef Jeser Porsche 356 1300 DNF
DNF 75 GT/T1.3 West Germany West Germany Alfred Kling Porsche 356 Engine
DNF 80 GT/T1.3 West Germany West Germany Helmut Felder Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce DNF
DNF 82 GT/T1.3 Switzerland Switzerland Louis Noverraz Meute Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce Engine
DNF 84 GT/T1.3 Italy Italy Mediolanum Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce Windscreen broken
DNF 37 S1.5 Italy United States Isabel Haskell Maserati 150S Withdrawn
DNS 44 ser.S1.5 Belgium Christian Goethals Belgium Ecurie Francorchamps Porsche 550
DNS 8 S+2.0 Belgium Paul Frère United Kingdom Duncan Hamilton Jaguar Cars Ltd. Jaguar D-Type Accident in practice

[6][7]

Class Winners[]

Class Winners
Sports +2000 6 Maserati 300S Taruffi / Schell / Behra / Moss
Sports 1500 21 Porsche 550 RS von Trips / Maglioli
Series Sports 1500 43 Porsche 550 Sypder Kretschmann / Liebl
Grand Touring & Special Touring +2000 56 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Martenson / Einsiedel
Grand Touring & Special Touring 2000 61 Porsche 356 Carrera Nathan / Kaiser
Grand Touring & Special Touring 1300 81 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce Bonnier / MacKay-Fraser

[4]

References[]

  1. ^ "Mainz-Finthen [SRP+1.6]". Racing Sports Cars.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b "Nürburgring 1000 Kilometres". Racing Sports Cars.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "1956 Nürburgring 1000 km". Maserati Corse. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Nürburgring 1000 Kilometres". Racing Sports Cars.
  5. ^ a b c d "Un tributo al chueco... 1000 Km. Nurburgring 1956". jmfangio.org.
  6. ^ a b c "1956 Nurburgring 1000 Km". teamdan.com.
  7. ^ "Nürburgring 1000 Kilometres". Racing Sports Cars.
  8. ^ "Goodwood National - Sports 1250 cc". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 21 July 2015.


World Sportscar Championship
Previous race:
Mille Miglia
1956 season Next race:
Swedish Grand Prix
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