Walter Bäumer (17 October 1908 – 30 June 1941) was a German racing driver, whose greatest triumph was sharing the winning car in the 1940 Mille Miglia.
Career
While completing a commercial apprenticeship, in 1928 Bäumer began to enter motorcycle races on an NSU. After an accident, he turned to racing on four wheels, originally in Dixi and BMW sportscars. and in the mid-thirties in an Austin, primarily in hillclimbing.dixi-magazin – Internetseite: Between 1937 and 1939 he was a reserve driver for the Mercedes Grand Prix team, but he only appeared in four Grande Epreuves, two of which were events in the AIACR European Championship.
The only one he started was the 1938 Donington Grand Prix, in which he ran sixth towards the end, only for an engine fire to cause his retirement. His only finish was 10th at the 1938 Swiss Grand Prix, sharing with Hermann Lang, whose car he had also taken over in the German Grand Prix. He was a reserve in the 1939 Belgrade Grand Prix, held after the start of the Second World War, and replaced an injured Lang, but soon crashed.
Bäumer, like most German racing drivers, was a member of the NSKK, and joined the NSDAP in June 1937. After the war started he was placed in the NSKK driving pool, probably in occupied France.Bundesarchiv R 9361-VIII KARTEI/440872Militzer 2010, S. 26.
In 1940, he was ordered to take part in the Mille Miglia (given the title of Gran Premio de Brescia della Mille Miglia, as, instead of being a single 1,000 mile lap of central Italy, the war reduced the event to 9 laps of 100 miles), sharing a BMW 328 Touring-Coupé with SS member Fritz Huschke von Hanstein. Bäumer drove the last 3 laps to secure the victory.
Death
Bäumer died in a car crash on Salzufer Street in Herford in the early hours of the morning of 30 June 1941, thrown out of his Tatra when losing control after being kissed by his girlfriend.Militzer 2010, S. 27 f. Vgl. auch Hartmut Braun: Der Ruhm des schnellen Bünders. In: Neue Westfälische, 13. November 2009. Online
Results Grands Prix (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 1937 Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes W125 Mercedes 5.7 L8 BEL GER MON SUI ITA 1938 Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes W154 Mercedes 3.0 V12 FRA GER SUI 'ITA 1939 Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes W154 Mercedes 3.0 V12 BEL FRA GER SUI
References