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Auto Union’s South African adventure



[ Author ]

  • Marius Matthee

[ Publication date ]

  • March 14, 2005

[ Related articles ]



Who?
Ernst von Delius, Bernd Rosemeyer

 What?
Auto Union Typ C, Auto Union Typ C

 Where?
Grosvenor Park, Pollsmoor, Cape Town

 When?
I Grosvenor GP (January 16, 1937)
Why?
South African motor sport of the 1930s was a Spartan affair that saw an enthusiastic and dedicated motley crew of drivers and cars competing against each other. Once so often international drivers were also invited to show off their talents against the local speedsters and to spark some patriotism amongst the crowd.

The first foreign drivers that competed here were men like Whitney Straight and Richard Seaman, when they accepted an invitation to compete in the 1st South African GP that was held on 27 December 1934 at East London’s Marine Drive circuit. Later in the same decade, South Africans also had the opportunity to see well-known drivers like Villoresi, Wimille, Taruffi, Lord Howe, Mays, Lurani, etc. competing in various races in this country. Men that left an immortal impression over the years and that are still on the lips of racing enthusiasts worldwide.

It was, however, the visit of the Auto Union men early in 1937 that is still considered as the highlight of pre-WW2 racing in South Africa.

Brud Bishop, who was instrumental in organising and staging the pre-war South African GPs, met the remarkable Baron Klaus von Oertzen at a party one day, when the latter was the Auto Union representative in this country. Bishop, a shrewd promoter and an eternal optimist, tried to convince the German that if he could bring out the Auto Union racers to South Africa it would be a tremendous sales boost for especially the DKW models out here. In general German car sales would benefit from this visit. In the end Von Oertzen agreed and the team was informed to prepare for a racing excursion to the southern tip of the African continent where they would contest the 3rd South African GP in East London on 1 January 1937, as well as the 1st Grosvenor GP in Cape Town on 16 January 1937.

Much hype and media attention focused on the team’s arrival in December 1936. The two “silver bullets”, as they were dubbed by a local newspaper, were to be driven by Bernd Rosemeyer and Ernst von Delius. Both drivers had proved their brilliance in European races, but they were not well known amongst the general public in South Africa. Evidence of this can be found in the fact that news reporters had difficulty in deciding on a correct name for Herr Rosemeyer. Berndt, Berant, Bernard, Bernhardt, Bernhard were all names that was attributed to the German ace. One newspaper report even referred to him as Hans Rosemeyer.

Bernd was flown from Germany to East London by his new bride Elly Beinhorn, Germany’s most famous aviatrix in her own right, in a Messerschmitt Taifun aeroplane. The rest of the Auto Union contingent that arrived in South Africa included the two C-type supercharged cars, a team of eight mechanics, a scientist to test for coast carburetion density, a tyre specialist, a timekeeper and manager, and also their spares that included 500 plugs, 146 tyres of various sizes and 60 wheels.

The men from Zwickau were inclined to take the South African race as a venture not as serious as events in Europe. Tyre experimentation was also high on the agenda.


3rd South African GP, Prince George Circuit, East London (1 January 1937)

The Auto Unions were brought to the circuit on the back of a lorry for the 2-hour long trial runs that were held on Monday, 28 December 1936. That afternoon von Delius was the first driver to go on to the circuit. For a couple of laps he felt his way round the many sharp bends and lapped at under 90 miles an hour.

Later it was Rosemeyer’s turn and he shot away, and after a steady first lap proceeded to do the next lap of 11 miles 57 yards in 6 min 2 sec. After he visited the pits for a tune-up he went out again and lapped the circuit in 6 minutes dead for an average speed of 110 miles an hour. This was done while there were about 14 other cars circulating on the track.

It was expected from Rosemeyer to average 108 miles an hour in the race, considering his pre-determined handicap, so he was immediately seen as a race favourite after the trial runs. Von Delius did not corner as well as his compatriot and this was mainly the reason for his slower lap times. Both the German aces were concerned, though, that the track was too narrow and bumpy and that this characteristic would sideline the Auto Union’s abilities.

Foul weather on the day before to the race, as well as fog on New Year’s Day morning, nearly led to the postponement of the race. Luckily the mist broke by noon and at 13h30, the 60,000 spectators saw the four limit men tore away from the start, while the remaining 20 competitors followed at intervals that were determined by their handicap times. Bernd Rosemeyer’s Auto Union was the last car to leave the start-line, exactly 52 min 53 seconds after the limit men departed. Von Delius had left the start 2 minutes 5 seconds before Rosemeyer. The entrants with their handicap times were as follow:

Entrants

 

 

 

Race No.

Driver

Car

Handicap

 

1

Les Miller

MG L Magna

52:53

2

Hector Wiggill

Ford 10 Special

52:53

3

E.R. Nesbitt

MG Magna

52:53

4

A.W. Payne

MG NA Magnette

52:53

5

Tom Scheckter

Brooklands Riley

49:38

6

Buller Meyer

Riley Ulster

48:33

7

Francis Chiappini

Riley Special

48:33

8

Dennis Woodhead *

MG NA Magnette

46:28

9

Johannes van den Dool *

Bugatti Type 37

46:28

10

Vernon Berrange *

Willys Special

34:58

11

Herbert Case

Ford V8 Special

34:58

12

Mickey Hooper *

Talbot 105

33:14

13

Roy Hesketh

MG "R" type

33:14

14

Lionel Meyer

Bugatti Type 35

31:32

15

James Clarke

Riley Sprite

31:32

16

Billy Mills

Aston Martin Ulster

31:32

17

Kay Petre (Mrs.)

Riley

28:13

18

Cyril Paul

Riley

28:13

19

Pat Fairfield

ERA R4A

28:13

20

Bobby Bothner

Bugatti Type 35B

25:04

21

Bill Roderick

Alfa Romeo Monza

20:37

22

Richard Seaman

Delage 15S8

17:48

23

Earl Howe

Bugatti Type 59

16:27

24

Piero Taruffi

Maserati 8CM

11:16

25

"Mario" (M. Massacurati)

Maserati Type 6C/34

6:30

26

Hans Ruesch

Alfa Romeo 8C-35

6:30

27

Ernst von Delius

Auto Union Type C

2:05

28

Bernd Rosemeyer

Auto Union Type C

scratch

* did not start

A frantic battle was raging amongst the earlier starters, but the crowd was soon on their feet when the phenomenal Auto Unions began attracting their attention, with flames shooting from their stubby exhausts. They were storming down the track and lapping at steadily higher speeds. Von Delius who had to average 106mph, soon lapped at 92mph and then at 110mph, while Rosemeyer rose in lap speeds to a best lap of over 114mph. The crowd were incredulous as the two silver bullets tore round the circuit. Past the grandstands, Rosemeyer and von Delius, heedless of the roughness and narrowness of the track they had noted before the start, tore down the straight at 180mph.

After about 5 laps the German cars were in trouble, though. The experimental synthetic tyres that they had opted to use could not cope with the pace of the cars and road surface. Rosemeyer, with the canvas of his nearside rear tyre stripping away rapidly, showed no sign of slacking. Pit stops where his downfall, though, and he had to make no less than 5 stops during the race to change tyres. In one such incident he swung round Potter’s Pass, the last corner before the pits, at about 135mph. One hundred and fifty yards from the pits the tyre cover blew completely. The crowd saw in amazement how the car slid broadside for the next 50 yards before Rosemeyer again gained control. He wrestled the car in on the wheel rim before stopping in his pit in a shower of stones. The team changed all four wheels on the car and also refuelled it within 48 seconds. The despondent driver was shouting at his mechanics and pointing to his tyres during stops.

If Bernd could just made one pit stop less during the race, he surely would have won the race with an average well above his set mark of 108 mph, but he had to be satisfied with fifth place in the end. First place went to Pat Fairfield in an ERA, followed by Buller Meyer (Riley Ulster), Francis “Steve” Chiappini (Riley Special) and Hans Ruesch (Alfa Romeo). If it were not for the handicap system under which the race was held, Rosemeyer would have run away with the race on scratch. After the race he told reporters that he must have touched nearly 200mph on the fast Orange Grove back section of the circuit. Spectators mentioned that it seemed to them that his car took off only to touch the ground every 15 yards.

Von Delius was in even more trouble than his teammate during the race and after a few pit stops due to shredded tyres, he eventually came into the pits on lap 17 to retire for good with terminal tyre problems.

The final result of the race that was held over 18 laps, was as follows:

Result *

1(5)

Pat Fairfield

ERA R4A

2 h 13 min 37,6sec

89,17 mph

2

Buller Meyer

Riley Ulster

3

Francis Chiappini

Riley Special

4(2)

Hans Ruesch

Alfa Romeo 8C-35

5(1)

Bernd Rosemeyer

Auto Union Type C

1 h 50 min 12 sec

108,16 mph

6(4)

Earl Howe

Bugatti Type 59

7

Cyril Paul

Riley

8

Herbert Case

Ford V8 Special

9

Les Miller

MG Magna

10(3)

"Mario"

Maserati Type 6C/34

11

Kay Petre

Riley

dnf

A.W. Payne

MG Magnette

lap 3

dnf

Tom Scheckter

Booklands Riley

carburettor

lap 3

dnf

Billy Mills

Aston Martin Ulster

oil pressure

lap 3

dnf

E.R. Nesbitt

MG Magna

accident

lap 5

dnf

Roy Hesketh

MG "R" type

supercharger

lap 5

dnf

Hector Wiggill

Ford 10 Special

broken steering

lap 7

dnf

Bill Roderick

Alfa Romeo Monza

accident

lap 7

dnf

Dick Seaman

Delage

broken hub

lap 8

dnf

Piero Taruffi

Maserati 8CM

lap 8

dnf

Lionel Meyer

Bugatti Type 35

lap 10

dnf

James Clarke

Riley Sprite

accident

lap 14

dnf

Bobby Bothner

Bugatti Type 35B

lap 14

dnf

Ernst von Delius

Auto Union Type C

tyres

lap 17

dns

Dennis Woodhead

MG Magnette

practice accident

dns

Johannes van den Dool

Bugatti Type 37

engine problems

dns

Vernon Berrange

Willys Special

engine problems

dns

Mickey Hooper

Talbot 105

engine problems

* handicap result (scratch result in brackets)

Fastest lap: Bernd Rosemeyer (Auto Union Type C) in 5 min 46,4 sec (114,69 mph)




1st Grosvenor Grand Prix, Grosvenor Park, Pollsmoor, Cape Town (16 Jan. 1937)

The Grosvenor Grand Prix was held on 16 January 1937 and despite qualms about their handicap times the Auto Union team decided to take part.

The Grosvenor GP was the brainchild of a British tycoon, Mr. A.O. Edwards, who was the chairman of Grosvenor House, a luxury hotel in London. When he extended his business and property interests to South Africa, he appointed two local men to plan and built a racing circuit near Cape Town. The track was built in less than six months on a section of the farm, Pollsmoor, near the villages of Steenberg, Retreat and Tokai. The first owner of the farm, which was situated about 15km due south from the Cape Town city centre, was a chap with the name of Hendrik van der Poll.

The circuit covered a length of 7.56 miles and was 8.3 metres wide on the straights and up to 15.2 metres wide on the corners. A run-off area of 12 metres wide surrounded the whole circuit. Spectator facilities were excellent and included a purposely-built grandstand that had seating for nearly 2,000 people.

Practice was held on Thursday, 14 January 1937, in gusting southeasterly winds. The Auto Union team was quite concerned about these weather conditions. Rosemeyer said that he could not hold his car straight at full speed and that the dust on the circuit was so thick that he could not see the corners even when he was going into them.

The entrants with their respective handicap times were as follow:

Entrants

 

 

Race No.

Driver

Car

Handicap

1

G. Anderson *

Austin Ulster

39:40

2

N. Clayton

MG C Type

39:40

3

F. Chiappini

Riley Special

36:11

4

D. van Riet

Austin Brooklands

36:11

5

M.E. Bothner

Bugatti Type 35B

35:01

6

V.C. Berrange *

Riley Offset

35:01

7

R.O. Hesketh

MG R Type

32:50

8

K. Petre (Mrs.)

Riley

24:38

9

W.H. Roderick

Alfa Romeo Monza

20:48

10

C. Paul

Riley

20:48

11

R.T. Rohr *

Bugatti Type 35

19:52

12

P.G. Fairfield

ERA R4A

15:26

13

Earl Howe

ERA R8B

13:42

14

Earl Howe *

Bugatti Type 59

10:27

15

P. Taruffi

Maserati 8CM

9:39

16

"Mario" (M. Massacurati)

Maserati 6C-34

8:50

17

H. Ruesch

Alfa Romeo 8C-35

5:47

18

E. von Delius

Auto Union C

2:06

19

B. Rosemeyer

Auto Union C

scratch

* non starter



Punctually at 14h30 the first of the 15 competitors was flagged off to start the race over 45 laps (340km) in fine, but very windy conditions. The organisers had arranged to send off each starter under his national flag.

Scratchman, Bernd Rosemeyer, was shown the Swastika 39 minutes and 40 seconds later than the limit drivers, who had already covered 9 laps by that time. Von Delius left 2 minutes 6 seconds earlier to his teammate. Baron von Oertzen worked out a strategy where Rosemeyer would save his tyres and thereby limiting his pit stops. Ernst von Delius was given the order to drive flat-out and to change tyres as often as he was flagged in.

After he had completed 8 laps, Rosemeyer was flagged in, but he ignored the pit signal. He eventually pitted after 18 laps and it only took his team 41 seconds to refuel the car and change all four wheels. He steadily lapped in the region of 132km/h. The other Auto Union in the hands of Von Delius was also going great guns and at times it seemed that he and Rosemeyer almost frightened the other competitors off the course. Von Delius had pitted as early as his 7th lap and had the edge on his teammate throughout the race.

As the race grew to an end excitement inevitably increased. With four laps left Lord Howe in an ERA was leading from Von Delius, but then had to pit to change plugs. Ernst was set to take the lead, but was at the same time flagged in for a final tyre change. Earl Howe roared away from the pits, in the lead. It however took Von Delius just one lap, after his pit stop, to catch the Englishman, much to the dismay of some supporters in the crowd.

Rosemeyer was then given a signal from the pit to speed up. This he did and by doing so he not only set the fastest lap of the race at 83.73 mph, but also overtook Howe’s ERA to clinch second place by a narrow margin of 10 seconds. Despite of poor visibility due to the dust on the circuit and also the fact that he was recovering from a bout of tonsillitis, Rosemeyer gave a performance that had the Capetonians on their feet for the final couple of laps.

It is interesting to note that Von Delius covered the race in 2 hours, 31 minutes and 39 seconds and that Rosemeyer’s time was 2 hours 31 minutes and 14 seconds. Considering the 2 minutes 6 seconds head start that Von Delius had on Rosemeyer, the result suggested that Rosemeyer would have won by 25 seconds if they started together. During the race Ernst made a total of four tyre stops while Bernd had managed with two. Von Delius was a popular winner, though, and was heartily congratulated by his fellow competitors after the race.

Von Delius won £750 and the Grosvenor Floating Trophy, while Rosemeyer won £250 and a plaque. To put Von Delius’s prize money in perspective, it was worth the price of nearly four DKW sedan cars. The race programme carried an advertisement for the DKW/Auto Union dealer in Cape Town and they were selling the DKW sedan for £197 at the time.

In general the race provided a great spectacle, but the organisers made quite a financial loss. They made provision for a crowd in the order of 120,000 people, but in the end not even half that number showed up.

The final result was as follows:

Result *

1

Ernst von Delius

Auto Union C

2 h 35 min 39 sec

80,37 mph

2

Bernd Rosemeyer

Auto Union C

3

Earl Howe

ERA R8B

4

Pat Fairfield

ERA R4A

5

Hans Ruesch

Alfa Romeo 8C-35

6

Kay Petre

Riley

7(1)

Doug van Riet

Riley Brooklands

8(2)

Bill Roderick

Alfa Romeo 6C

dnf

Cyril Paul

Riley

bearings

lap 2

dnf

Piero Taruffi

Maserati 8CM

supercharger

lap 3

dnf

Roy Hesketh

MG R type

plugs

lap 4

dnf

"Mario"

Maserati 6C

radiator

lap 15

dnf

Bobby Bothner

Bugatti Type 35B

con rod

lap 22

dnf

Neville Clayton

MG C type

engine

lap 30

dnf

Francis Chiappini

Riley Special

engine

lap 37

dns

George Anderson

Austin Ulster

dns

Vernon Berrange

Riley Offset

dns

Ralph Rohr

Bugatti Type 35

dns

Earl Howe

Bugatti Type 59

competed in ERA R8B

* scratch result (handicap result in brackets)

Fastest lap: Bernd Rosemeyer (Auto Union) in 3min. 14,1 sec. (83,73 mph)




Bibliography

In compiling the item on the Auto Union team’s visit, the following newspapers were consulted and proof to be invaluable in the contemporary reports that they covered:
  • The Cape Argus
  • The Cape Times
  • Die Burger
  • The Daily Dispatch
  • The Weekly Standard
Brud Bishop’s South African Grand Prix as well as the ever-popular Sun on the Grid (Ken Stewart/Norman Reich) empowered me with additional information.

André Loubser’s excellent article on the Grosvenor Grand Prix that featured in CAR magazine (March 1984) also deserves credit.

Entrant lists were obtained from the official race programmes in my private collection and the late Peter Macintosh’s meticulous records of South African race results were used to compare and to add to my own race statistics.