Rudi Fischer

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Rudi Fischer
Nationality  Flag of Switzerland Swiss
Formula One World Championship career
Active years 1951 - 1952
Teams non-works Ferrari
Races 8 (7 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podium finishes    2
Career points 10
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First race 1951 Swiss Grand Prix
Last race 1952 Italian Grand Prix

Rudi Fischer (born Rudolf Fischer April 19, 1912 in Stuttgart, Germany - December 30, 1976 in Luzern) was a racing driver from Switzerland. He participated in 8 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on May 27, 1951. He achieved 2 podiums, and scored a total of 10 championship points. He also participated in numerous non-Championship Grands Prix.

Fischer placed third in a race which marked the reopening of the AVUS, a popular Berlin, Germany motor racing venue. It was closed for a 14 year interval and was damaged during World War II. A crowd of 350,000 watched Paul Greifzu of Suhl, Thuringia, Germany, win in a car he built himself. Fischer drove a Ferrari to third place over a distance of 207.5 kilometers. His time was 1 hour, 10 minutes, 27.5 seconds.[1] In the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix, in Berne, Fischer came in 2nd to Piero Taruffi. Both drivers were in Ferraris.[2]


[edit] Ecurie Espadon and Scuderia Espadon

Rudi Fisher was the leader of the "Ecurie Espadon"[3].

Ecurie Espadon was composed of a group of Swiss amateur gentleman racers. The word "Ecurie" was used at the beginning as most of the team's cars were French, generally Gordinis. Later the team's equipment changed to Ferraris and other Italian vehicles, thus the name of the team evolved to "Scuderia".

The team was involved in several races all over Europe, as the presentation document described[4].

The team was composed of:

  • Rudolf Fischer: a successful restaurant owner.
  • Rudolf (Rudi) Schoeller
  • Peter Hirt: a wealthy businessman from Küssnacht, near Zürich, involved in precision tool manufacturing.
  • Peter (Pierre) Staechelin from Basel.
  • Max de Terra
  • Paul Glauser


[edit] Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 WDC Points
1951 Ecurie Espadon Ferrari 212 Ferrari V12 SUI
11
500
BEL FRA
GBR
GER
6
ITA ESP - 0
1952 Ecurie Espadon Ferrari 500 Ferrari L4 SUI
2
500
BEL FRA
11
GBR
13
GER
3
NED
ITA
Ret
4th 10

Entered and practiced in his Ferrari 500, but engine failure meant that he reverted to the previous season's 212 model for the race.[5] Drive shared with Peter Hirt.

[edit] References

  1. ^ 350,000 See Reopening of Motor RaceWay In Berlin After an Interval of 14 Years, New York Times, July 2, 1951, Page 31.
  2. ^ Swiss Auto Race to Taruffi, Los Angeles Times, May 19, 1952, Page 24.
  3. ^ [1] Presentation document Ecurie Espadon
  4. ^ [2] Team Espadon background
  5. ^ Diepraam, M (June 2001). German F2 specials taking on Ferrari. 8W. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.