Rudolf "Rudi" Fischer (19 April 1912 – 30 December 1976) was a Swiss racing driver, who competed in Formula One at seven Grands Prix from to .
Fischer debuted in Formula One at the in . He achieved two podium finishes, and scored a total of ten championship points. He also participated in numerous non-championship Formula One and Formula Two races.
Career
Fischer finished third in a race which marked the reopening of the AVUS, a German motor racing circuit. It had been closed for a 14-year period and was damaged during World War II. A crowd of 350,000 watched Paul Greifzu of Suhl, Thuringia, win in a car he built himself. Fischer drove a Ferrari to third place over a distance of 207.5 kilometres. His time was 1 hour, 10 minutes, 27.5 seconds.350,000 See Reopening of Motor RaceWay In Berlin After an Interval of 14 Years, The New York Times, July 2, 1951, Page 31. In the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix, in Bern, Fischer finished second to Piero Taruffi; both drivers were in Ferraris.Swiss Auto Race to Taruffi, Los Angeles Times, May 19, 1952, Page 24.
Écurie Espadon/Scuderia Espadon Fischer was the leader of the "Écurie Espadon", the entrant name for most of his racing career.
Écurie Espadon was composed of a group of Swiss amateur gentleman racers. The word "Écurie" was used at the beginning as most of the team's cars were French, generally Gordinis. Later the team's equipment changed to Ferraris and other Italian vehicles, thus the name of the team changed to use the equivalent Italian word "Scuderia".
The team was involved in several races all over Europe, as the presentation document described.
The team was composed of: Rudolf Fischer: a successful restaurant owner. Rudolf Schoeller Peter Hirt: a wealthy businessman from Küssnacht, near Zürich, involved in precision tool manufacturing. Peter (Pierre) Staechelin from Basel. Max de Terra Paul Glauser
Racing record
Post WWII Grandes Épreuves results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 1949 Écurie Espadon Simca Gordini T11 Simca-Gordini 1.4 L4 GBR BEL SUI FRA ITA
Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pts Écurie Espadon SVA 1500 Fiat 1.5 L4s GBR MON 500 SUIDNA BEL FRA ITA NC 0 Écurie Espadon Ferrari 212 Ferrari 212 2.5 V12 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA ESP NC 0 1952 Écurie Espadon Ferrari 500 Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA 4th 10 Ferrari 212 Ferrari 166 2.0 V12 FRA Entered and practiced in his Ferrari 500, but engine failure meant that he reverted to the previous season's 212 model for the race. Drive shared with Peter Hirt.
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References