Bernd Rosemeyer

[Valve Bounce]

I first became aware of this great driver when I bought a MOTORSPORT magazine which had attached to it the tape "AUTO UNION YEARS". i It featured some of the most breathtaking footage of racing cars I have ever seen featuring the famous Bernd Rosemeyer.

However, I have never looked up this drivers history in Google until today, and found this most fascinating account: http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/rose_bio.htm
We've all read stories of eccentric personalities in Grand Prix racing, but this guy really takes the cake - he was a real kooky dude. From when he turned up for his first test drive in a suit instead of overalls, to his wild driving antics, his antics on the podium behind a ranking Nazi, to his incredible driving in the mist at the Nurburgring, one can only admire Rosemeyer for what he is.

As his great rival Rudolf Caracciola summed it up:[i] "Bernd literally did not know fear,and sometimes that is not good. We actually feared for him in every race. Somehow I never thought a long life was on the cards for him. He was bound to get it sooner or later..."

[D28]

He is truly one of the greatest GP drivers ever, most serious lists rate him somewhere in the top 10 all time. He quickly mastered the tricky AU mid-engine layout, having no previous conceived ideas about car handling; all his racing experience involved bikes.

[ShiftingGears]

Easily one of the greatest natural talents to step into a car.

[52Paddy]

Interesting read. Thanks Valve :up:

[wedge]

A true great, perhaps the greatest in the pre-war era.

Auto Union and Audi have a special place in my heart. One of these days I'm going to have to rummage in the attic for my father's Audi magazines.

[Valve Bounce]

A true great, perhaps the greatest in the pre-war era.

Auto Union and Audi have a special place in my heart. One of these days I'm going to have to rummage in the attic for my father's Audi magazines.

I was just wonder: [b][i]Could this have been the best years of Porche's involvement in Grand Prix racing? Probably the most enjoyable/satisfying when he was flogging the mighty Benz team with his car and Bernd as his Ace driver. :)

[D28]

[quote="wedge"]A true great, perhaps the greatest in the pre-war era.

The greatest pre-war (or maybe ever), has to be Tazio Nuvolari. I would concede that Rosemeyer may have had the edge in the AU cars, but they never drove them at the same time. Nuvolari has to rate numero uno for the length of his career and the variety of autos he won with. Rosemeyer's career was very short, but still he would have to be ranked close to the top.

[Easy Drifter]

The 1952 movie 'The Racer' or sometimes released as 'Such Men are Dangerous' starring Kirk Douglas and Bella Darvi still pops up now and then.
The movie is based on a book called 'The Racer' and the book is about that era and many of the characters are very thinly disguised GP drivers of the mid to late 30's. Even the story line is based on the actual events. The author Hans Reusch was a sometime Swiss GP driver who actually competed in those races and, of course, knew everybody.

[wedge]

The greatest pre-war (or maybe ever), has to be Tazio Nuvolari. I would concede that Rosemeyer may have had the edge in the AU cars, but they never drove them at the same time. Nuvolari has to rate numero uno for the length of his career and the variety of autos he won with. Rosemeyer's career was very short, but still he would have to be ranked close to the top.


I did say 'perhaps the greatest' for a reason!

That was a special era: Rosemeyer, Nuvolari and Carricciola.

But I do agree with Nuvolari. The amount of praise he has received it is the stuff of legends.

[D-Type]

And Chiron and Varzi!

But what sets Rosemeyer apart is how rapidly he rose to the front line. And of course his premature death.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Rosemeyer was the bravest, and maybe one of the greatest. Still isn't Nuvolari tho.

Tazio was unique...