Before Michael Schumacher became “The Red Baron” flying to new heights in Formula 1, his nation, rich in motorsports heritage from Mercedes and Auto Union to Bernd Rosemeyer and Rudolf Caracciola, had produced only two winners in Grand Prix racing since the beginning of the Formula 1 Championship in 1950.
The first was Wolfgang von Trips, when he triumphed in the 1961 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. This was the first German victory since the 1939 Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten, when Hermann Lang won in a Mercedes.
“Taffy,” as he was known in racing circles, was born into German nobility in Cologne. He was the only child of Eduard Graf Berghe von Trips and Johanna Adelheid Melzer and grew up in the family castle at Horrem. His family wanted him to study agriculture and take over the farming business.
Von Trips had other ideas. The fields he was interested in ploughing were located in places like Nürburgring, Le Mans, and Monza. The family’s nonapproval of a career in racing led him to enter his first race in 1953 as Alex Linther.
Wolfgang von Trips was on his way.
Sports Car Racing
In 1954, he won the German championship driving a Porsche and placed second in the GT1.5 class at Mille Miglia, co-driving with Walter Hampel.
The following season, Porsche’s cross-town rival Mercedes hired Von Trips. The silver cars dominated the RAC Tourist Trophy at Dundrod in Northern Ireland, taking the top three positions with Von Trips and French teammate Andre Simon third. The winning Mercedes 300 SLR was driven by Stirling Moss and American John Fitch, with Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling second.
The Levegh tragedy at Le Mans led to Mercedes withdrawal from motor racing. Von Trips was back in the cockpit of a Porsche.
In 1956, he took victory in his class and finished fifth overall at Le Mans. His teammate was fellow German Richard von Frankenberg. This would be Von Trips’ only finish in the French classic in five attempts. Sixth overall and another class victory with Hans Hermann was scored in the Sebring 12 Hours in Florida.
At the daunting Nürburgring, Von Trips and Italian Umberto Maglioli took fourth overall and class victory in the 1000km race.
Formula 1, Triumph & Tragedy
The 1956 Formula 1 season finale at Parco Monza was to be Von Trips Grand Prix debut in a Ferrari D50, but a crash due to steering failure in practice prevented him from qualifying.
In the 1957 season opener in Buenos Aires, he was classified sixth in his first championship Formula 1 race in a shared drive with Cesare Perdisa and Peter Collins. Von Trips second outing came in Round 2 in Monaco, where he qualified ninth and finished seventh.
His third and final appearance came in the season finale at Monza. He started eighth and finished on the podium in third place behind race winners Moss and Fangio.
The final and tragic Mille Miglia in 1957 saw Scuderia Ferrari drivers take the top three positions; Von Trips finished second to Piero Taruffi and ahead of Belgian Olivier Gendebien.
In the 1958 season, Von Trips took part in six of the ten Grand Prix on the calendar. His best qualifying position came in the French Grand Prix at Reims. Starting from the back of the grid, he scored his best finish of the season in third. This race is remembered as the final F1 start for Fangio.
Two other top five finishes, fourth in Germany and fifth in Portugal, led to the top ten position in the championship standings with nine points.
There were only two appearances in Formula 1 during the 1959 season. He crashed his Porsche in the Monaco Grand Prix and raced his Ferrari to a sixth-place finish in the inaugural United States Grand Prix at Sebring.
In the 1960 Formula 1 season, Von Trips finished joint sixth with Gendebien in the championship with ten points. There was no podium appearance for the German count and driver, but he did score four top-five finishes: fifth in Argentina, the Netherlands, and Italy, and his best finish of fourth in Portugal.
In the Formula 2 theatre, he was third in the championship, taking victory at Syracuse, Italy. He also won the non-championship German race at Solitude near Stuttgart.
First Win and Final Lap
The 1961 season started on a winning note for Von Trips. In the second round at Zandvoort, he took his first Formula 1 Grand Prix victory. A month earlier, he and Gendebien triumphed in the Targa Florio at the wheel of their Ferrari 246 SP.
His Ferrari teammate Phil Hill won the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps; Von Trips was second, while another Ferrari driver, Giancarlo Baghetti, won on his championship debut in a thrilling slipstreaming battle over the Porsche of Dan Gurney at Reims in the French Grand Prix. von Trips failed to score any points due to engine issues.
The British Grand Prix took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool. This turned out to be the final victory of his life. After finishing second to Moss in the German Grand Prix, he came to the penultimate round, the Italian Grand Prix, leading the championship.
Five red cars proudly displaying the prancing horse from the Ferrari stables occupied the top six positions on the grid. Championship leader Von Trips was in pole position, the first for a German driver in Formula 1. His championship challenger Hill was fourth on the grid, sharing row two with fellow Californian Richie Ginther.
The real surprise in qualifying was the teenager Enzo Ferrari had entered for his Formula 1 debut, Ricardo Rodriguez from Mexico City.
Race day, September 10, 1961, looked set to see the return of glory days in international motor racing for the German nation. It went all wrong from the start of the race. Hill grabbed the lead, and as the cars went into the Parabolica on the opening lap, none of the top three Ferraris featured Von Trips in the cockpit.
Jim Clark: I honestly don’t think “Taffy” realised I was there
Approaching Parabolica on the second lap, young Scottish Lotus driver Jim Clark was trying to re-pass the shark-nose Ferrari 156 of Von Trips when the two made contact just before the braking zone.
This is Clark’s version after the race: “I was preparing to overtake him, and my front wheels were almost level with his back wheel as he started to brake. Suddenly he began to pull over towards me, and he ran right into the side of me. I honestly don’t think “Taffy” realised I was there. I am sure that, when he passed me earlier, he had decided his was the faster car and I would be left behind.”
The result was deadly for Von Trips and fourteen spectators, including children. The Ferrari went up the embankment, striking spectators protected only by a wire fence; the driver was ejected from the car, and both the body of Von Trips and the remains of his car were hurtled back on the track.
Clark was unhurt but badly shaken. His Lotus team would endure more dark days at Monza Autodromo in 1970 and 1978.
The race went on. Hill won the race to become the first American Formula 1 World Champion. A single point was his advantage over his fallen teammate and friend.
Hill would remember Von Trips as an “adventurous spirit.”
“Taffy” was 33 years old.
Lasting Legacy
On a trip to Florida, Von Trips purchased one of the first go-karts manufactured in the United States. Karting had originated from southern California in the late 1950s. In the last year of his life, 1961, he set up a karting track in Kerpen.
Wolfgang von Trips was unable to achieve his goal of becoming the first German World Champion, but the karting facility he created helped fire the desire and determination of a young boy in Kerpen who not only became the first German to win the Formula 1 World Championship but went on to become one of the greatest legends of motor racing. Alles gut.
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