33 replies to this topic

[eukie]

Dear Fellows,

Grenzlandring 1952 - at the end of the first lap of the Formula 2-race the Reif Meteor of Helmut Niedermayr leaves the road, 14 spectators are killed and several dozens badly injured. In an older threat, „fines“ - for sure no cynic - called it Petit LeMans ...



The accident completely overshadowd the race itself which was not halted. In my sources qualifying or race result lists are nowhere near complete, not even a full list of those who took part is available. In his „Black Books“, on occasion of this race Sheldon rightly mourns the poor quality of contemporary race reports in Germany. So he is also at a loss: only incomplete - and partly wrong - data. And unfortunately even the local town archives do not contain official press releases or other documents by which the race could be reconstructed.

An interesting source I would like to show you is a pic taken by a local photographer, Edwin Pinzek, who kindly permitted to use it.



It was taken shortly after the start of the race, and with the help of Sheldon, the race programme and - of course - „uechtel“ entry and result can be concluded as follows:

1. #125 Toni Ulmen, D - Veritas BMW (Ulmen Renngemeinschaft), 31'22.1" ( = 206,8 KM/h)
2. #128 Hans Klenk, D - Veritas Meteor 31'40.2" ( = 204,8 KM/h)
3. #129 Josef Peters, D - Veritas RS BMW 33'04.8" ( = 195,1 KM/h)
4. #121 Fritz Riess, D - Veritas RS BMW 33'06.8" ( = 195,0 KM/h)
5. #127 Paul Pietsch, D - Veritas Meteor (Motor-Presse Verlag) 33'50.6" ( = 193,5 KM/h)
retired:
#120 Hans Stuck, D - AFM Küchen
#124 Helmut Niedermayer, D - Reif Meteor
#136 Alan Brown, GB - Cooper Bristol (Ecurie Richmond)
did start:
#122 Adolf Brudes, D - Orley Special BMW ? (Ulmen Renngemeinschaft)
#123 Willi Heeks, D - AFM BMW
#126 Kurt Adolff, D - Veritas RS BMW (Franz Rissmann)
#134 Yvonne Simon, F - Ferrari 166 MM Zagato
#135 Eric Brandon, GB - Cooper Bristol (Ecurie Richmond)
#140 Piero Carini, I - Ferrari 166F2/50 (Scuderia Marzotto)
#141 Puni Vignolo, I - Ferrari 166F2/50 (Scuderia Marzotto)
in entry list:
#130 Rob O'Brien, USA – Simca Gordini 15 (Vicomtesse de Walckiers)
#131 Kurt Straubel, DDR - BMW Eigenbau
#132 Wolfgang Seidel, D - Veritas RS BMW (Ulmen Renngemeinschaft)
#133 Hans Blees, D - Veritas RS BMW
#137 Roger Laurent, B - Ferrari 500 (Ecurie Francorchamps)
#138 „Bernhard Nacke" ( = Karl-Günther Bechem), D - Holbein HH48 BMW
#139 Theo Helfrich, D - Veritas RS BMW
uechtel tends to identify at least Seidel (or Blees) and „Nacke", but we`re not sure about Straubel, O`Brien, Blees (Seidel), Laurent and Helfrich, some of which must have taken part, too. Sheldon lists #137, #140, #141 as dna, but, as you can see, at least the two Marzotto-Ferraris did start the race (however, we cannot be sure that Carini and Vignolo were the drivers)

Since I have only the poor german race reports - „Das Auto“, „Motorwelt“, „Autowelt“, „Automobilrevue“ (CH), „Motorsport“ (DDR), various newspapers - I wonder if there were any reports in the specialized foreign press or even in some newspapers (maybe in Belgium or Holland)? AFAIK at least in „Autosport“ there was one, and maybe someone might be able to provide more info/data on this race or even post or send me other reports?

Thank you!

[Paul Rochdale]

Grenzlandring at one time was the fastest motorcycle circuit in the World. Back in the 70s, I was stationed at nearby Monchen-Gladbach and heard about this former circuit. It then was and is a public road lined by trees and formed an egg-shape. No corners just a long, long flat out blind a bit like Indy without the banking. I wrote at the time to Denis Jenkinson who I believe partnered World Sidecar Champion Eric Oliver in the early 50s, about the circuit and he was kind enough to reply. Of course it was far too dangerous and this serious crash with it's great loss of life was the end of the circuit.

[Muzza]

Hello, Marco,

I am also looking for information on the events that took place at the V DMV Grenzlandringrennen in 1952. I will send you a private message with the e-mail addresses of some people that may have information about it. I can't promise we will find anything new, since you already scouted most of the contemporary German racing publications. What newspapers did you check?

As far as we could find (thanks to Hans-Hugo Boecker) there were - besides the 14 fatalities (nine instantly; five perished later) - at least 31 people injured in the accident, many quite badly.

So, was Niedermeyer's car a Veritas or a Reif? We have received conflicting infomation about this for a while (people sure it is one thing or another), but I have never seen a clear picture of it, and I cannot identify it on the second picture you posted. Stefan Örnerdal's Le Mans & Formula 2 Register, on this page, calls the car a Veritas Reif Meteor. Is that correct? (I am not a Veritas connoisseur, but I have never heard of a Veritas Reif Meteor before either).

By the way, the first picture is not inverted, as some might think - Niedermeyer crashed into the crowd standing in the inside of the track.

Regards,


Muzza

P. S.: Also, let's not forget Karl Gommann, killed two years earlier in a last lap accident driving his AFM - BMW through Beecker Kurve (also called Gladbacher Kurve; according to some reports Gommann would have touched wheels with another competitor when attempting an overtaking maneuver).

[eukie]

Niedermayr`s Reif (with sportscar-type closed body) is the car behind Klenk's streamlined Veritas Meteor (on the right, darker pavement of the track - "right" = driver`s direction).
It was NOT the AFM listed in the race programme - this car (Niedermayr had acquired from Krakau and raced in the GP at the Nürburgring) was damaged in qualifying so that he was forced to use his older car.
I stop here - maybe our connaisseur "uechtel" wants to elaborate (once more) on the Reif? (see also: http://forums.atlasf...&threadid=67427)

[uechtel]

Originally posted by Muzza
Hello, Marco,

So, was Niedermeyer's car a Veritas or a Reif? We have received conflicting infomation about this for a while (people sure it is one thing or another), but I have never seen a clear picture of it, and I cannot identify it on the second picture you posted. Stefan Örnerdal's Le Mans & Formula 2 Register, on this page, calls the car a Veritas Reif Meteor. Is that correct? (I am not a Veritas connoisseur, but I have never heard of a Veritas Reif Meteor before either).

You can see the car in eitht position on the picture (left behind Klenk´s streamliner). While the shape of the radiator inlet is very much "Veritas" the rest of the car is an "offset seater", hence Niedermayr´s old car, which came to life as "Reif-BMW" in 1949, then became a "BMW/Meteor" in 1951 and then finally a "Veritas" in 1952 together with the new nose. I have also already seen a full-size picture of the car at the EIfelrennen and I can confirm that it is as I told above.

As reasons for this I can imagine either to "hide" the car´s East German origin when this became more and more unpopular in those days or to participate from the popularity of the Veritas make when it came to negotiationg starting money.

[Racer.Demon]

eukie & uechtel - an outstanding reconstruction of the starting field!

As for race accounts, you might try to contact these local Dutch newspapers:

De Limburger
Limburgs Dagblad

They might also have archives of now defunct newspapers such as the Maas- en Roerpost, which did report on motorsport, as I know from various clippings regarding Carel de Beaufort.

And for those who hadn't noticed - this is how the Grenzlandring looks like today.

[starlet]

Concerning the Ferraris, and thanks to the pic, we can recognize three of them : Marzotto's cars, plus the one of Simon.
But it seems that there is also the Laurent's 500 F2, behind the second Marzotto's car.

Somebody agrees with this suggestion ?

[Muzza]

Thanks Marco, uechtel and Mattijs for your replies.

Marco, was the car entered by Niedermeyer as a Reif? Just a curiosity - I now learned that simply calling it a Veritas is not accurate. Maybe Reif Meteor (Veritas) would be a better denomination for purposes of Motorsport Memorial. Do you agree? In any case, we shall add uechtel's comments to our "notes" about the event.

Also, the car is one of those borderline cases between being a single seater or sportscar. Very interesting, fellows. I think we agree single seater is an adequate denomination, adding complementary remarks (sportscar-like, enclosed-wheel bodywork).

I just visit Mattijs' page with pictures of the Grenzlandring (great job as usual ) and it refreshes a question I debated with some German friends once: what was exactly the origin of the track? There were some a few theories floating around amongst us:

- it was built as a rapid troop displacement facility (maybe the explanation I heard the most, but... it links nothing to nothing else : )

- it was built as a test road for paving technologies to be eventually applied to the growing net of Autobahnen in Germany;

- it was to be part of a superfortress / military base that was never completed.

Any information on that?

Regards,


Muzza

[eukie]

I have to admit that I have my own theory (and some kind of knowledge, too) about the origins of the Grenzlandring - please allow a few days for a short summary (maybe after the weekend). - @Matthijs, I know IOU something - and I don`t know, how to do it (aas always, a amtter of time ... ).

Unfortunately I have no entry lists, only the race programme, for 1952, so that I don`t know under what name Niedermayr has entered the Reif. In the programme only the AFM is listed.

Some more pics:
the accident is about to happen:

© Town Archive Mönchengladbach

after the crash:

© Town Archive Wegberg

one of the many newspaper reports (with some false data; note: "AFN") :


I have not listed the newspaper reports seperately because they are assembled in one book the organisers commissioned from a press service - the book is preserved in the local town archive.

Thanks so far for your contributions. Further help and reports will be very much appreciated.

[Muzza]

Hello, Marco,

It's me again... Is the suname of the unfortunate driver Niedermayer or Niedermayr? (Mattijs is gonna kill me for asking this question... )

According to Hugo Boecker (and his sources) it is Niedermayer, and I had bowed to that; your opening posting mentions Niedermayr in the first paragraph but Niedermayer in the racing results, whilst the subsequent messages by you and uechtel all spell it Niedermayr - the same form used in the newspaper crop you posted.

Incidentally, let me give a big you Danke on behalf of everybody involved in our project for posting this newspaper report. We have been trying for years to find the names of the victims, with no success whatsoever but now I see that... they are listed at the end of the report you posted! Would you please let us know the name of the publication and its issuance date? Thanks indeed.

Best regards,


Muzza

[uechtel]

Originally posted by starlet
Concerning the Ferraris, and thanks to the pic, we can recognize three of them : Marzotto's cars, plus the one of Simon.
But it seems that there is also the Laurent's 500 F2, behind the second Marzotto's car.

Somebody agrees with this suggestion ?

hello starlet!

finally we meet together in one thread...

and interesting statement, as this is the car, of which eukie thinks, that he can recognize it as the Orley Speciale driven by Brudes, while I tend rather to have Brudes in the car behind Simon´s Ferrari, which might be Ulmen´s Veritas Special in sports car trim.

There are good reasons for both theories. In favour for eukie´s is the fact, that Brudes drove the Orley Speciale quite regularly that season, for example just four weeks earlier at the German GP. My position is based on the entry in the race programme, which was made by the "Ulmen Renngemeinschaft", and also the fact, that Brudes did not appear in Orley´s car anymore after that. So perhaps he was looking for a new drive? Just a month later at the Avus I have an entry for him in Niedermayr´s AFM plus the statement, that he intended to take over that car (Kirchberg: Motorsport in Berlin, S. 76)

So if you can recognize the car behind the Marzotto Ferrari as Laurent´s Tipo 500, this means it can´t be Brudes...

[uechtel]

Originally posted by Muzza
Thanks Marco, uechtel and Mattijs for your replies.

Marco, was the car entered by Niedermeyer as a Reif?

Well, for the race at the Grenzlandring he had entered his AFM. The Reif was only brought along as spare car and therefore did not appear in the entry list. Only after practise he swopped the cars.

But at the Eifelrennen he had entered the car simply a s"Veritas".

On second thought it may have been even possible, that Veritas had officially "adopted" the car, as at the German GP Niedermayr was in the cockpit of Loof´s latest sports car creation as quasi-works driver. This would also explain the face-lift of the car.

Just a curiosity - I now learned that simply calling it a Veritas is not accurate. Maybe Reif Meteor (Veritas) would be a better denomination for purposes of Motorsport Memorial.

I would use either Reif-Meteor or Reif-Veritas or even Reif-Heinkel, which is the factory where the engines were produced. Veritas is never easy...

Also, the car is one of those borderline cases between being a single seater or sportscar.

Exactly that. Called "Intertyp" in German jargon at that time, and one, that was widely used in both categories. As sports cars were by reglement more or less a subset of race cars I would tend to use that first designation, as according to that the car was not a single seater.

[starlet]

uechtel, the joy is shared.

Originally posted by uechtel


interesting statement ...

... So if you can recognize the car behind the Marzotto Ferrari as Laurent´s Tipo 500, this means it can´t be Brudes...

You know, it's what I think, but I would have preferred a better one sight of the car ...
I have no better eyes than you two ... and I see perhaps Ferraris everywhere.

Do you have a pic of the Orley Speciale ?
It can really looked like this ?

[uechtel]

Do you have a pic of the Orley Speciale ?

[eukie]

Originally posted by starlet
Do you have a pic of the Orley Speciale ?
It can really looked like this ?

Brudes in the Orley Speciale at Eifelrennen, Nürburgring 1952 (#135) :

Cover of ADAC Motorwelt

@Muzza: it`s definetly Niedermayr (a quite common bavarian form of -meyer, meier, maier etc. - Niedermayr`s family came from Munich where his father was a musician) - sorry for my typo in the result list And somewhere I must have a more complete list of the victims; hope I can find it. (and again sorry, no reference for the article - I just took it as an example for a typical newspaper report ...)

Also, let's not forget Karl Gommann, killed two years earlier in a last lap accident driving his AFM - BMW through Beecker Kurve (also called Gladbacher Kurve; according to some reports Gommann would have touched wheels with another competitor when attempting an overtaking maneuver).

Most of the contemporary sources say that he was taken off the road by a wind gust?



Before you ask: it`s Gommann (see: http://www.gommann.de - his family business), and no, no reference, again. :

[uechtel]

Originally posted by eukie


Brudes in the Orley Speciale at Eifelrennen, Nürburgring 1952 (#135) :

Cover of ADAC Motorwelt

And with car No. 136 you have a better view on Niedermayr´s car to clearly see it´s not a standard Meteor monoposto (for example compared to No. 127 which is Pietsch´s car)

[uechtel]

Oh, and btw, directly behind Niedermayr you can see the AFM which he drove in practise at the Grenzlandring (driven here by Krakau if I recall it right from my memory).

[starlet]

Thank you very much Marco for the 1952 photograph ... because I am very happy that we can see also the Fischer's Ferrari ( Isn't it ?, uechtel ... ).

And thanks to it ( and that of uechtel ), I am even surer than it can be the Laurent's car.
The radiator grill of the car on the start picture is circular, as the 500 F2, while that of Orley Speciale is more " triangular ".
For me, it is the sight of the typical front of 500 F2 s/n 0208 F2, in its 1952 version.

[uechtel]

Of course you are right, it is Fischer.

But isn´t it strange, that Laurent is so far back on the grid in a Ferrari 500?

[starlet]

Er... good thought, uechtel.
It would be nice if we had the practice results.

And why not a problem in the starting up ?

[uechtel]

It would be nice if we had the practice results.

and pity that just this race is one of those I have no complete information about that. So of anybody could help with that...

[eukie]

Originally posted by uechtel
and pity that just this race is one of those I have no complete information about that. So of anybody could help with that...

And I would appreciate such information, too ...

[starlet]

This does not categorically confirm my last post, but all the same ... :
I have found in a uekie's recent thread, a photography taken from the start of the 1952 German GP.
According to me, the pic is interesting, because we can see on one hand that Laurent is one more time in back of the grid, and that Taruffi ( dark car # 103, on the right ), after having obtained nevertheless the fifth place in the practices, is him too outstripped.
So, this could arrive, and my supposition is perhaps plausible.

[uechtel]

Originally posted by starlet
This does not categorically confirm my last post, but all the same ... :
I have found in a uekie's recent thread, a photography taken from the start of the 1952 German GP.
According to me, the pic is interesting, because we can see on one hand that Laurent is one more time in back of the grid, and that Taruffi ( dark car # 103, on the right ), after having obtained nevertheless the fifth place in the practices, is him too outstripped.
So, this could arrive, and my supposition is perhaps plausible.

starlet, your explanations absolutely can make sense, so the more I tend to believe you.

But the problem is, that if the cars are already mixed up so much of course we can not determine any more, whether the Orley Special was actually there (and then in some other position on the picture) or whether it was absent.

[Hugo Boecker]

It would be nice if we had the practice results.

For Pietsch I have 11min 03sec

sorry but that's all

[eukie]

Originally posted by Muzza
I just visit Mattijs' page with pictures of the Grenzlandring (great job as usual ) and it refreshes a question I debated with some German friends once: what was exactly the origin of the track? There were some a few theories floating around amongst us:
- it was built as a rapid troop displacement facility (maybe the explanation I heard the most, but... it links nothing to nothing else : )
- it was built as a test road for paving technologies to be eventually applied to the growing net of Autobahnen in Germany;
- it was to be part of a superfortress / military base that was never completed.
Any information on that?
Regards,
Muzza

A rough summary of the origins of the Grenzlandring, deducted from local archives and literature:

The Grenzlandring was built for the german army (Wehrmacht ) from June 1939 to June 1942. It`s original purpose was to bypass the narrow towns of Beeck and Wegberg, in order to make the Westwall, the massive fortication system at the western border, more accessible for big machines, transports, troops etc. At first two separate streets, one leading to the north, the other to the south, were planned. But during the planning process, maybe already in 1938, the NSKK intervened. In march 1938, they had opened one of the biggest NSKK-schools (Motorsportschulen) of the Reich in Rheindahlen, about 5 miles east from Beeck/Wegberg. The NSKK suggested that not two seperate arms but a closed oval should be built, so that it would fulfill the bypass-purpose but could also be used as a test and training ground for the school in Rheindahlen.
There is no proof that the NSKK thought of a genuine race track, and I agree with that, mainly because the road (built of autobahn-type concrete) was quite narrow, approx. 7 metres only, and there was no infrastucture like pits, grandstands whatsoever. The „honour“ to have adopted it for races (and to have named it Grenzlandring) belongs to „Teddy“ Vorster, together maybe with some other friends including Carl Marcus, the mayor of Vorster`s hometown, Rheydt, another town in the neighbourhood (Rheindahlen and Rheydt today belong to Mönchengladbach). Vorster was the head of the races at the Grenzlandring, held from 1948 to 1952.
There are some more interesting connections with politics, industry and even the history of modern architecture, but this would lead too far right now.

[Twin Window]

A couple more pics of Niedermayr's Reif-Meteor...





It staggers me that folk continued to spectate at that place after what they'd witnessed!

And here's Helmut in the paddock afterwards, clearly - and unsurprisingly - shaken;

[cheapracer]

There is a very nice rendition of this track available for the Grand Prix Legends simulation.

Track map here...
http://gpltd.bcsims....ap-grnzland.pdf

Google Earth Hacks here...
http://www.gearthhac....php?file=16340

[rx-guru]

Thanx for the never before seen pics, TW!

That track map of the GPL is quite a crap.
The Google aerial pic can only show the "destroyed" current Grenzlandring. BTW, the 1952 accident spot is just a bit above the L3 sign on the left.

[r.atlos]

This forum can get so excited about copyright protection that I feel our host should identify the photographer who had originally taken (but rarely published) these photos - even if today's copyright may sit with "twinny" or somebody else.

It was a gentleman from Bonn by the name of Adolf von Keller. He has been editor of a picture magazine called "Rennfahrer" which appeared between 1950 and 1957 with generally only two to three issues per year.

Adolf became then Head of PR of Renault Germany where he continued to excel with a number of outstanding photos - Renaults in every German or French environment you could imagine but no racing scenes anymore.

In 1968, he started a series of yearbooks called "Autodrom", giving a good summary of every year's racing season in F1, sports cars WC races, European Hillclimb Championship and German Championship rounds. When Interserie started its life, it was also included.

From a number of non-racing snapshots in my possession I recognize a person which knew how to enjoy life - apparently an excellent connaisseur of good food, good wine, good travel, always extremely stylish and well dressed. Adolf passed away some 2 or so years ago in his high 70s and that's where the sad part of the story begins: Zillions of his negatives ended in a dustbin but have fortunately enough been re-covered by a fleamarket dealer who passed them on to another one who knew what a racing car looked like ...

Unfortunately, he turned down any substantial offers to sell them all in one go and decided to cut them down to individual negatives and put them on eBay. I reckon we must have been some seven or so people across Europe who spent a fortune to acquire these bits and pieces of von Keller's treasures that way. I would, of course, love to see more re-appearing in public.

Adolf von Keller is for me a personality I would have loved to meet in person. We owe him an incredible number of racing shots from the days before magazines found it necessary to list the name of their photographers. I am sure he would have loved the idea that some of us continue to cherish the work of his lense even after his passing.

[D-Type]

Originally posted by r.atlos
This forum can get so excited about copyright protection that I feel our host should identify the photographer who had originally taken (but rarely published) these photos - even if today's copyright may sit with "twinny" or somebody else.

It was a gentleman from Bonn by the name of Adolf von Keller. He has been editor of a picture magazine called "Rennfahrer" which appeared between 1950 and 1957 with generally only two to three issues per year.

Adolf became then Head of PR of Renault Germany where he continued to excel with a number of outstanding photos - Renaults in every German or French environment you could imagine but no racing scenes anymore.

In 1968, he started a series of yearbooks called "Autodrom", giving a good summary of every year's racing season in F1, sports cars WC races, European Hillclimb Championship and German Championship rounds. When Interserie started its life, it was also included.

From a number of non-racing snapshots in my possession I recognize a person which knew how to enjoy life - apparently an excellent connaisseur of good food, good wine, good travel, always extremely stylish and well dressed. Adolf passed away some 2 or so years ago in his high 70s and that's where the sad part of the story begins: Zillions of his negatives ended in a dustbin but have fortunately enough been re-covered by a fleamarket dealer who passed them on to another one who knew what a racing car looked like ...

Unfortunately, he turned down any substantial offers to sell them all in one go and decided to cut them down to individual negatives and put them on eBay. I reckon we must have been some seven or so people across Europe who spent a fortune to acquire these bits and pieces of von Keller's treasures that way. I would, of course, love to see more re-appearing in public.

Adolf von Keller is for me a personality I would have loved to meet in person. We owe him an incredible number of racing shots from the days before magazines found it necessary to list the name of their photographers. I am sure he would have loved the idea that some of us continue to cherish the work of his lense even after his passing.

It's unfortunate how often this happens.

Hopefully with the advent of e-bay more and more relatives will consider e-bay before throwing things out.

Of course it would be better if the owners of such collections appreciated the historical, as opposed to commercial, value and bequeathed them to a museum.

[eukie]

Hmm, I don't think that this picture was taken after the big accident on sunday. Although Niedermayr wasn't severely injured, he was taken to the hospital - indeed he wasn't released before friday after the race!



For me it's more likely that Twinny's Von Keller-picture was taken saturday (or sunday before the race), when Niedermayr already had a minor accident during practice (in which his AFM was damaged so that he had to race with his old spare car, the Reif Meteor).

[HDonaldCapps]

Originally posted by r.atlos
Unfortunately, he turned down any substantial offers to sell them all in one go and decided to cut them down to individual negatives and put them on eBay.

Why eBay is the Spawn of the Devil.....

[rx-guru]

Originally posted by uechtel
Exactly that. Called "Intertyp" in German jargon at that time, and one, that was widely used in both categories. As sports cars were by reglement more or less a subset of race cars I would tend to use that first designation, as according to that the car was not a single seater.

Found two 1951 pics showing clearly the cover above the second seat or the space for it:

http://www.norisring.../1951/51_17.htm

http://www.norisring.../1951/51_16.htm