Grossglockner Races

The Grossglockner Automobile and Motorcycle Races took place in 1935, 1938 and 1939 on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road in Austria, county Salzburg.

History

When after five years of construction of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, had been opened in the year 1935 as a link between North and South of Middle Europe, the High Society of the Austrian motorsport had given a powerful demonstration of its presence. The "First international Großglockner race" took place on August 4, 1935, only one day after the official opening of the road. Still two further races should follow in 1938 and 1939; they had been named according to the political development “Großer Bergpreis von Deutschland” (Hill climb Race Grand Prix of Germany).

The Races

1935

Despite political problems many foreign racing drivers and riders participated in this first race 1935: With their automobiles came Tadini, Ballestrero, Pintacuda, Strazza and Villoresi from Italy; Hans Kessler, Max Christen and Christian Kautz from the Switzerland; Zanelli came from Spain, Bruno Sojka and the brothers George and Zdenek Pohl as well as engineer Proskowetz from Czechoslovakia; from England Richard Seaman and Thomas Clarkes, from the Netherlands Cornelius and Herkuleyns, from Belgium Cocagne, from France Pierre Rey and Comte de Bremond, and finally from Hungary the drivers Wilheim and Delmar. The Austrian participation with cars was small, from Germany had been come the mountain specialists Bobby Kohlrausch with his 750-cc-supercharged-MG, Rudolf Steinweg and Walter Bäumer. The very opposite situation with the motorcycle racer: there the Austrians placed the bulk with the mountain-experienced Martin Schneeweiss, Michael Gayer, Hermann Deimel and Otto Steinfellner leading the team, while only a few foreigners had entered for the motor cycle competition. From Switzerland had come the two NSU specialists Hans Stärkle with his wife in the sidecar and Hans Kaufmann, from Italy Radames Bianchi, from Hungary Gyula Patho and from Germany Schnitzelbaumer from Munich. On the 19,5 kilometres long race course of rolled sand, which had been still wet with rain at the beginning, the 250 cc motor cycle class was won by the Italian Bianchi on his Miller Balsamo (actual Ludwig Zangerl, Salzburg on Rudge had been the fastest but he had been disqualified due to break of regulations); in the 350 cc class the Viennese Hermann Deimel on Velocette won on an average of 72,7 km/h speed; in the half litre class Michael Gayer, likewise a Viennese, was on his work Husqvarna two cylinder successful and came on an average speed of 75,4 km/h.

The fastest motor cycle time completed by Martin Schneeweiss, who was not specialized yet at that time on speedway racing, likewise of Vienna, in the class over 500 cc. With his Austro Omega (600 cc JAP engine) he speeded up on the average of 76,5 km/h, which corresponded to a time of 15:17,57 min. The side car class had been dominated by Hans Stärkle on NSU with an average speed of 70,8 km/h. With automobiles succeeded the best sports car time to the Italian Carlo Pintacuda, whose Alfa Romeo from the Scuderia Ferrari made an average speed of 76,7 km/h (15:15,69 min.), only scarcely two seconds faster than the fastest motor cycle racer. The highlight of the racing cars was the race of Mario Tadini, who shot up with his Alfa, likewise from the Scuderia Ferrari, in a time of 14:42,74 min. (79,58 km/h). Despite the absence of, at that time at the focus of the general interest, Auto Union and Daimler Benz, the Großglockner Race 1935 was a brilliant event.

1938

The meetings followed in 1938 and 1939 indeed brought the large work race stables to the Grossglockner Road, but the atmosphere were strongly impaired by bad weather conditions. Also the numbers of entries remained in a modest scale. Hill climb race champion Hans Stuck on Auto Union, Hermann Lang on Mercedes and Manfred von Brauchitsch participated with their automobiles, Ewald Kluge on DKW, Leonhard Fassl on NSU lined up at the start beside many other participants of the first race from 1935.

The Austrians were steely-eyed during the Glockner race in 1938 as a blue automobile, a perfectly ordinary touring car never seen there before, hummed happily up the Grossglocknerrace course. The loudspeakers made it known that this vehicle required 21:54,4minutes for the 12,5 km course and achieved an average of 34,5km per hour.Utterly without boiling over or adding cooling water. There was a famous man atthe wheel: Prof. Ferdinand Porsche, and the automobile – the “KdF car”,Germany’s Volkswagen!

Prof. Ferdinand Porsche, who ran a construction office in Stuttgart, constructed this Volkswagen on commission to the German government of the day. Prof. Porsche was then forced during the Second World War to move his factory to Gmünd in Carinthia. The first Porsche models were made there after the war. When the factory again returned to Stuttgart, he also founded the oldest Porsche workshop in Austria, the Porsche in the Alpenstraße inSalzburg. Prof. Porsche also constructed the Auto Union type C racing car,which with about 520 horse power dominated the races in the mid-thirties. Thisracing car was also used in the three Glockner races.

Grossglockner on August 26 1938. The field of participants was not very large – motor-sport was simply very expensive! Sepp Hofmann from Salzburg on a private BMW 500 R 51 SS provided one of the two sensations among motorcycle-racing participants in the second Grossglockner race.

The first was that Ewald Kluge (Germany) rode in the worst possible weather the best motorcycle time of 68,46km per hour and thus became the “German Hill Climb Champion”. And that with only a 250cc DKW racing motorcycle! It should be mentioned that the “German Hill Climb Champion” title was given to the rider achieving the best overall time, independent of the racing class. Kluge rode up the mountain in an overall time (two heats) of 22:05,2 minutes. The second sensation was that the private rider, Sepp Hofmann, with an overall time of 24:38,2 minutes, won in the half-litre class ahead of the DKW works rider, Bungerz.

The course length in 1938 was 12,5 km; one drove twice from the Ferleitentoll gate to the Fuscher Törl. As the winner of the 350cc class, brand colleague Sissi Wünsche (Germany), achieved a time of only 23:12,1 minutes. This was because bad weather hindered fast riding during the event. The newly minted European dirt-track champion, Martin Schneeweiss from Vienna, Austria, disappointed the spectators. He had been taken into the BMW works team that year, but could not get along with the supercharged boxer. He already had “dismounted” in the Grand Prix of Germany in Hohenstein, which also happened to him on the Grossglockner.

Hans Stuck became the “German Hill Climb Champion” in an Auto Union with an overall time of 20:10 minutes (74,67 km per hour) ahead of Hermann Lang and Manfred von Brauchitsch (both in Mercedes Benz).

1939

The course on the north side of the Glockner Massif with a maximum gradient of12 % covers an altitude difference of 1.285m. But because the start itself was at 1.145 m, andthe highest point at 2.400 m, a worsening of engine performance became evident due to thethin air. And then with bad and constantly changing weather the race technicians were reallyput through their paces. In respect of weather, the Grossglockner is unfortunately by no meanstimid. Sun, rain or fog can alternate often within minutes. Thus the third and last event on the mountain, on August 6 1939, suffered severely under this capriciousness.

During training, in dry weather, Hans Stuck drove in an Auto Union and at 8:59,6 minutes set a new record (84,7 km per hour). Among the motorcycles it was always the DKW racing motorcycles that achieved the fasted training times.

On the day of the race the Grossglockner showed itself in its worst mood. Following grey thunderstorms in the morning, the loveliest high-summer weather prevailed at noon, but at the start of the race this turned into rain and fog. The fog was so thick that visibilitywas hardly 20 metres. The average speed then also told the tale all too clearly: MartinSchneeweiss (DKW), winner of the 250cc class - 63,04km per hour – even beating the DKWworks rider Walfried Winkler; Leonhard Faßl (NSU), winner of the 350cc class - 62,87 km per hour; Georg Mittenwald (DKW), winner of the 500cc class - 66.85km per hour, the best sportscar time was driven by Polensky from Berlin in a BMW (67,45 km per hour), among the racing cars it was Hermann Lang in a Mercedes Benz with 75,09 km per hour, who as overall winner became the German Hill Climb Champion. Hans Stuck in an Auto Union achieved second place with 74,88 km per hour.

The Second World War broke out a little later and the Grossglockner never again was conquered in race speed.

After the Second World War

Today the regular traffic has become too much dense than one could close this road for a weekend. Also the safety requirements would not have to be brought in harmony with the conditions to be found along the road.

But the great competitions taken place at this famous race course should not fall into oblivion. As early as 1985, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the existence of the road, it came again to a meeting of motor sport enthusiasts at the Grossglockner: about 100 automobiles and motorcycles from the time before 1940 ago met there. For example Hans Hermann with the Mercedes W 196, Silver arrow, joined the meeting. And of course Professor Dr. Helmut Krackowizer came and was highly pleased about reviving of an old past time - despite the bad weather conditions.

Since 2002 there had been a regularity race for historical racing motorcycles up to vintage 1961 in memoriam Prof. Dr. Helmut Krackowizer who died in 2001, the "Grossglockner Trophy Memorial Prof. Dr. Helmut Krackowizer". It took place every two years for three times (2002, 2004 and 2006).

References

[http://www.reisemosaik.at/Grossglocknertrophy The official site of the Grossglockner Trophy]

External links

* [http://www.reisemosaik.at/Grossglocknertrophy The official site of the Grossglockner Trophy]
* [http://www.reisemosaik.at/Oldtimer/ The Austrian Motorcycle Literature and Picture Archives Prof. Dr. Helmut Krackowizer]