

1926 Germany
1931 Germany
1960 Germany (2)
1932 Monza
1935 Tripoli
1935 France
1936 Monaco
1936 Tunis
1936 Masaryk
1937 vd'Allemagne
1938 de Suisse
1939 d'Allemagne


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 was born
in the town of Remagen, Germany on January 30, 1901 the son of parents whose family it was said originally came from Italy.
When still a trainee at the Fafnir-Automobilwerke in Aachen, he started in the 1922 Avus race in Berlin and finished fourth in has class. The following year he won his first race at the age of 22. After a run-in with an officer of the Belgian occupying forces, Caracciola thought it best if he left Aachen and became a Fafnir representative in Dresden. In 1923 He worked as a salesman at newly formed
Daimler-Benz and was allowed to race on weekends if the race was within driving distance
of the Dresden agency. After convincing the general manager at
Daimler to lend him a factory racecar he was required to enter the Grand Prix of Germany
at Avus under his own name. This 25-year-old weekend racer started the most important race
of his young career and promptly stalled his car. His mechanic Otto Salzar was forced to
jump out and push start the lonely Mercedes. At last the car sputtered to life. Starting
from dead last in a 44-car field was not what the young Caracciola had in mind. Shortly it
began to rain and cars were flying off the track. One crashed into a timekeeper's stand
and killed the course worker.
The 500,000 spectators that were in attendence that day were to get the shock of their
afternoon when it was announced that a new driver, one completely unknown to them had gone
into the lead. But this lead was short lived as the Mercedes began to suffer from serious
misfire. Caracciola pulled into the pits and in those days the driver had to do any
repairs required on the car so Caracciola pulled each of the eight spark plugs out one by
one. It was not until the last plug did he discover the culprit. By then it seamed that
all was lost and he was urged to quit. Caracciola would hear none of this and chose to
continue spurred on by a sense of duty to the factory. By the 13th lap the rain had
stopped but Caracciola had no sense of his position but still he soldiered on. After
driving flat-out for nearly three hours and 243 miles he crossed the finished line totally
exhausted. Only then did he learn that he had won the first Grand Prix of Germany. Caracciola used the prize money to good use setting up a Mercedes-Benz dealership on the prestigious Kurfürstendamm in Berlin. He also married his girlfriend, Charlotte, whom he had met in 1923 while working at the Mercedes-Benz outlet in Dresden.
Caracciola would gain fame throughout Germany
racing the legendary white SSK for Mercedes. He was
renowned for his wet weather prowess. In 1929 he scored one of his greatest victories at
the Tourist Trophy in Northern Ireland. Racing against the cream of
Great Britain, including Bentley ace Tim Birkin, he came from a five lap handicap to win
the thirty lap race in a rain storm. His victory in the 1931 Mille Miglia was not equaled
by another non-Italian for 24 years until Stirling Moss
won it in 1955. The starting positions were still selected by drawing lots in the 1935
Spanish Grand Prix. Caracciola would have to start from the last row. His style had always
been to get to the front as quickly as possible but this time things would be a little
more difficult. The flag fell and Caracciola roared off down to the first corner.
Mistaking the pedal arrangement in his Grand Prix car with his touring car, he stepped on
the accelerator instead of the brake. The leaders seeing this maniac charge from way
behind could only give way and in spite of almost crashing out on the first corner did he
garner the lead!
The year 1935 had been a
special year as he returned to racing after suffering serious injuries to his body and his
heart. His beloved wife, Charly, had died in an avalanche. Still hobbled by injuries his
come back victory at the Grand Prix of Tripoli had a legendary
quality to it. That year he became European Champion. In 1936 he won the Grand Prix de Monaco but the year
belonged to Bernd Rosemeyer and Auto Union. Mercedes came back
in 1937 and Caracciola was again European Champion. In 1938 he won the Coppa Acerbo at Pescara and won his third
title. Rudolf Caracciola's career was plagued by painful leg injuries and later ill health
yet he continued to win many honors.
His battles with Bernd Rosemeyer and
Auto Union ended in the World Land Speed Record for Caracciola and the tragic death of
Rosemeyer. During World War II he lived in exile at his home in Lugano, Switzerland. After
the war, his love of racing unabated, he continued to race through worsening health
brought on by bone disease. After he retired Caracciola worked as a Mercedes-Benz salesman targeting allied troops stationed in Europe. He died at the age of 58 in 1959. According to the legendary
Mercedes team manager Alfred Neubauer, with who he had a long
and close relationship, " ... of all the great drivers I have known - Nuvolari, Rosemeyer, Lang, Moss or Fangio
- Caracciola was the greatest of them all." |
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