1956 1000km of Nürburgring

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 decide to put Moss into the car. At this point of the race, Moss was lying 66 seconds the 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	Piero Taruffi Jean Behra	Harry Schell Stirling Moss	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 300S	7hr 43:54.5, 44
2nd	1	S+2.0	Juan Manuel Fangio	Eugenio Castellotti	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 860 Monza	7hr 44:20.7, 44
3rd	4	S+2.0	Phil Hill Olivier Gendebien	Alfonso de Portago	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 290 MM	7hr 53:55.9, 44
4th	21	S1.5	Wolfgang von Trips	Umberto Maglioli	Porsche	Porsche 550 RS	8hr 01:45.9, 44
5th	9	S+2.0	Peter Collins	Tony Brooks	David Brown	Aston Martin DB3S	43
6th	20	S1.5	Richard von Frankenberg	Hans Herrmann	Porsche	Porsche 550 RS	44
7th	26	S1.5	Edgar Barth	Arthur Rosenhammer	VEB	AWE R3/55	43
DNF	31	S+2.0	Mike Hawthorn	Desmond Titterington	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Jaguar D-Type	43	Driveshaft
DNF	10	S+2.0	Peter Walker	Roy Salvadori	David Brown	Aston Martin DB3S	41	De Dion tube
8th	56	GT/T+2.0	Bengit Martenson	Wittigo von Einsedel	Bengit O. Martenson	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	44
9th	61	GT/T2.0	Max Nathan	Gert Kaiser	Max Nathan	Porsche 356 Carrera	44
10th	65	GT/T2.0	Helmut Schülze	Joaquim Felipe Nogueira	Helmut Schülze	Porsche 356 Carrera	44
11th	81	GT/T1.3	Jo Bonnier	Herbert MacKay-Fraser	Jo Bonnier	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce	43
12th	83	GT/T1.3	Walter Ringgenberg	Heini Walter	Walter Ringgenberg	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce	43
13th	43	ser.S1.5	Friedrich Kretschmann	Sepp Liebl	Friedrich Kretschmann	Porsche 550	43
14th	87	GT/T2.0	Piero Carini	Franco Bordoni	Piero Carini	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce	42
15th	63	GT/T2.0	Helmut Zick	Hans-Gerog Plaut	Hans Gerog Plaut	Porsche 356 Carrera	42
16th	88	GT/T1.3	Gilberte Thirion	Ada Pace	Gilberte Thirion	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce	42
17th	53	GT/T+2.0	Rainer Günzler	Helmut Retter	Rainer Günzler	Mercedes Bens 220S	42
18th	86	GT/T1.3	Adolf-Werner Lang	Kurt Kuhnke	Adolf-Werner Lang	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce	41
19th	64	GT/T1.3	Kurt Zeller	Wolfgang Bieling	Kurt Zeller	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce	40
20th	64	GT/T2.0	W. H. Wittmann	Walter Hampel	W. H. Wittmann	Porsche 356 Super 1600	40
21st	76	GT/T1.3	Helmut Busch	Horst Bös	Helmut Busch	Porsche 356 Super 1300	40
22nd	77	GT/T1.3	Sepp Greger	Harald von Saucken	Sepp Greger	Porsche 356A Super 1300	40
23rd	78	GT/T1.3	Hartmuth Oesterle	Siegfried Günther	Hartmuth Oesterle	Porsche 356 Super 1300	40
24th	45	ser.S1.5	Mathieu Hezemans	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Gotfrid Köchert	Porsche 550	38
25th	72	GT/T1.3	Helmut Deutenberg	Heinz-Gerd Jäger	Helmut Deutenberg	Porsche 356 Super 1300	39
26th	74	GT/T1.3	Karl Falk	Albert Joch	Karl Falk	Porsche 356 Super 1300	39
DNF	27	S1.5	Paul Thiel	Egon Binner	VEB	AWE R3/55	29	Engine
DNF	31	S1.5	Louis Chiron	Luigi Villoresi	Monte Carlo Sport	Osca MT4 1500	26	Engine
DNF	38	S1.5	Carlo Tomasi	Alejandro de Tomaso	Isabel Haskell	Maserati 150S	25	Engine
DISQ	33	S1.5	Hans Tak	Henk van Zalinge	Beels Racing	Maserati 150S	22	Assistance
DNF	5	S+2.0	Stirling Moss	Jean Behra	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 300S	19	Suspension
DNF	12	S+2.0	Casare Perdisa	Robert Manzon	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 350S	12	Axle
DISQ	2	S+2.0	Alfonso de Portago	Olivier Gendebien	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 860 Monza	9	Assistance
DNF	8T	S+2.0	Paul Frère	Duncan Hamilton	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Jaguar D-Type	7	Gearbox
DNF	29	S1.5	Francesco Giardini	André Pilette	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 150S	7	Fuel system
DNF	3	S+2.0	Luigi Musso	Maurice Trintignant	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 290 MM	4	Accident
DNF	34	S1.5	Michael May	Pierre May	Michael May	Porsche 550		DNF
DNF	36	S1.5	Karl Busch	Karl Schwaneberg	Karl Busch	Porsche 550		Accident
DNF	40	ser.S1.5	Theo Helfrich	Peter Nöcker	Theo Helfrich	Porsche 550		DNF
DNF	41	ser.S1.5	Wolfgang Seidel	Helm Glöcker	Wolfgang Seidel	Porsche 550		Wheel
DISQ	46	ser.S1.5	Dick Fitzwilliam	Robin Carnegie	Richard W. Fitzwilliam	MG A		Assistance
DNF	47	ser.S1.5	William Buff	Gotfrid Köchert	William C. Buff	Porsche 550		DNF
DNF	50	GT/T+2.0	Fritz Riess	Friedrich-Victor Rolff	Fritz Riess	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL		Gearbox
DNF	52	GT/T+2.0	Erwin Bauer	Willi Heeks	Erwin Bauer	Mercedes Bens 220S		Split fuel tank
DNF	57	GT/T+2.0	Günther Isenbügel	Helmut Rathjen	Günther Isenbügel	Ford Thunderbird		Engine
DNF	62	GT/T2.0	Ludwig Blendl	Dieter Lissmann	Ludwig Blendl	Porsche 356 Carrera		Wheel
DNF	67	GT/T2.0	Heini Buess	Franz Hammernick	Meute	Porsche 356 Super 1500		Gearbox
DNF	70	GT/T1.3	Richard Trenkel	Helmut Niedermayr	Richard Trenkel	Porsche 356		DNF
DNF	71	GT/T1.3	Paul Ernst Strähle	Paul Denk	Erich Hofmann	Porsche 356		DNF
DNF	73	GT/T1.3	Josef Jeser	Manfred Elmenhorst	Josef Jeser	Porsche 356 1300		DNF
DNF	75	GT/T1.3	Alfred Kling	Edmund Graf	Alfred Kling	Porsche 356		Engine
DNF	80	GT/T1.3	Helmut Felder	Heinz Endermann	Helmut Felder	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce		DNF
DNF	82	GT/T1.3	Marcel Stern	Louis Noverraz	Meute	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce		Engine
DNF	84	GT/T1.3	Alfranco Pagani	Pietro Cagnana	Mediolanum	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce		Windscreen broken
DNF	37	S1.5	Giuseppe Musso	Walter Monaco	Isabel Haskell	Maserati 150S		Withdrawn
DNS	44	ser.S1.5	Christian Goethals	Freddy Rouselle	Ecurie Francorchamps	Porsche 550
DNS	8	S+2.0	Paul Frère	Duncan Hamilton	Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Jaguar D-Type		Accident in practice

^[6][7]

• Fastest Lap: Juan Manuel Fangio, 10:05.2secs (84.296 mph) ^[6][8]

Class Winners

^[4]

References