BERND ROSEMEYER, THE STORY OF THE ICONIC RACE CAR DRİVER OF 1930S

Bernd Rosemeyer was born on October 14,1909 in Lingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. His father owned a garage and repair shop where young Bernd’s interest in motor bikes first started. As a young man in his early twenties, he started racing motorcycles in dirt roads and on grass hills and became well known as a fearless bike driver who was known for his quickness and acrobatic crowd-pleasing tricks.

In 1932 as an inexperienced driver, he signed at NSU to drive four wheelers and shortly after he caught the attention of DKW where he met the Director of the Horsch factory, the famous Ferdinand Porche. Ferdinand Porche was building a revolutionary 16-cylinder engine race car, where the engine was placed in the rear, had independent suspension systems and a sleek aerodynamic body. This was the ultimate race car build to win Grand Prix races, and DKW who recently joined forces with the Auto Group was aiming to beat Mercedes Benz. The driver for this new race car was a famous Austrian named Hans Stuck who was winning one Grand Prix after another at the time.

Bernd Rosemeyer, though inexperienced, but with the heart of a lion, wanted to drive this new machine. He made numerous pleas to his bosses until they finally gave in.

The impressive showing at Avus, won Rosemeyer the fourth driver position of Auto Union in the Eiffel Rennen at Nürburgring. They were to attack the Mercedes drivers and show the spectators Auto Unions supremacy with their new race car nick named the “ Silver Arrow”. When his other teammates fell behind in the race, Brend made the attack. He powered and passed Chiron and Fagioli and closed on the Mercedes’s star driver Caracciola. Caracciola the legend of Germany and Mercedes Benz felt the wind behind him. Rosemeyer kept pushing the pedal and all of a sudden he was ahead of Caracciola. He must have said;“İch Habe Cari überholen", when Caracciolo gave everything, he had with a last-ditch effort and took back the lead and reached the “Ziel”*. Rosemeyer, the rookie had placed second after the legend with only 1.8 seconds behind in the Eifel Rennen.

On his next race, this time he was going race against the “Great Italian”, Tazio Nuvolari. During an attempt to challenge Nuvolari his car hit a corner of the road , went into a ditch and miraculously emerged back to the road threading through a very narrow gap between a pole and a bridge. The distance between the two barricades was only little over an inch wider than the Silver Arrow at it’s widest point. The fearless Rosemeyer would finish the race in the second place after Auto Union’s Varzi. This was the last time he was going to finish a race in second place.

From 1936 to 1938 he was going to win all Grand Prix races. The first Grand Prix win came at Masarayk, then in Brno, topped with Grand Prix of Germany in Pescara, Switzerland and Italy. Winning the grand slam earned him the European Champion title. After the one of these races he was going to meet his future wife. Elly Beinhorn was a celebrity aviatrix, only the second woman pilot to fly solo from Europe to Australia. She was an attractive blond young lady, with blue eyes. She was invited to the Czechoslovakian Grand Prix in Brno by the Auto Union where she was introduced to the winner of the Grand Prix, Bernd Rosemeyer. They danced together that night at the reception party and fell in love with each other. Nine months later they got married.


The speed record attempt by the two automakers was scheduled on January 28, 1938, on the Frankfurt-Darmstadt Autobahn. At 8:00 A.M. Caracciola was going first on the Autobahn. To his advantage the gusty winds had not started yet and the Mercedes pilot broke the record with 268 mph. It was almost noon when the winds started picking up when Rosemeyer jumped into the cockpit and his crewman closed the top on him. When his Auto Union streamliner reached 270 miles an hour on the autobahn the cross winds were also at their maximum speed. Effected by the gusty wind the car's rear left tire went off the concrete and touched the median grass. Rosemeyer tried to rail the car back in to the autobahn. It wasn’t meant to be, the car skidded of the highway, was air born and landed by the trees and bushes on the side of the road. The fearless driver was thrown out of the car. His life, like a candle in the wind, had ended right there. People who saw him on the grass said he had no fear of sign on his face but rather an expression of satisfaction.

Cem Ozmeral by istanbullite.com