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[Dennis David]

The 1931 German Grand Prix was due to take place on the Nurburgring on July 19th. The best drivers in Europe had entered for it. Surprisingly, after three practice runs all my confidence had gone. Caracciola looked more and more depressed. "There's something wrong with the blower," he complained bitterly. After the tenth, practice run things were no better, and Sebastian swore that he had been unable to locate the defect. I decided that Caracciola had to be written off, and the other Mercedes drivers clearly shared my view. They, in fact, could hardly conceal their relief. It was not until later that I learned the truth about this strange trouble with the supercharger. Rudi Caracciola first had the idea of hoodwinking the opposition, and me, by pretending his compressor was defective. Sebastian, who would have gone through hell and firewater for him, was easily won over.

But there was more than just a cunningly devised smoke screen involved. One evening shortly before the day of the race Sebastian, with the mechanic Zimmer at his side, drove the Mercedes quietly along the deserted track. As they approached the "Karussell," a hairpin bend which at that time was still flat and therefore forced even the most skillful driver to drop to about 30 mph, Sebastian steered the car slowly towards the ditch on the inner edge of the bend.

Yard by yard Sebastian eased the car forward while Zimmer on his hands and knees kept a constant check. Fifteen minutes later they knew they could do it. Just to make sure Sebastian drove from the starting line with his foot hard down, took the "Karussell" on the inside and drove straight into the ditch. It was like driving on a wall of death, but the centrifugal force kept the machine in balance. As they emerged, Sebastian shouted triumphantly:

"Forty miles an hour!"

Monday, July 20th, 1931, was a surprising day in more ways than one. One hundred thousand people turned up at the Nurburgring to watch the Grand Prix race. Only one thing more was needed to lift me out of my depression: rain. Only rain could help us, for on a wet track the heavy Mercedes took the bends much better than the light Bugattis and Alfas. My prayers were answered. When the starter's flag dropped at ten o'clock that Sunday morning the rain was coming down in torrents.

The field shot away in a cloud of oil fumes and spray and disappeared round the first bend. Then followed one of the most agonizing quarters of an hour I have ever spent. There was no knowing what the first lap would produce. What did finally emerge from it was probably the last thing in the world I expected to see: a white Mercedes number eight! Rudi Caracciola And to my astonishment and delight his blower sounded as sweet and clear as a chorus of silver trumpets. On the fifth lap Caracciola had a clear lead of one minute over Fagioli and Nuvolari. By the seventh lap he had substantially increased his lead. What I did not realize at the time was that this was partly due to his daring new technique at the "Karussell" bend. Later other drivers were to follow his example, till eventually the ditch was filled in and made part of the track.

It was towards the end of the twelfth lap that the rain stopped and the sun broke through. My heart sank. As the track dried out there was a marked increase in the speed of the Bugattis. On the fifteenth lap Rudi still had a lead of 1.47 minutes, but Chiron was creeping up on him. Two laps later he had reduced the gap by almost half a minute. I waved the red flag for maximum speed, and Caracciola responded. But Chiron was not to be shaken off. It was one of the most exciting duels I have ever seen. When Rudi Caracciola finally crossed the finishing line Chiron was still seventy-eight seconds behind him. And the first to congratulate the winner was Louis Chiron with a resounding kiss on both checks…

Alfred Neubauer

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Regards,

Dennis David
Yahoo = dennis_a_david

Life is racing, the rest is waiting

Grand Prix History
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