The 1937 Donington Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held on 2 October 1937 at the Donington Park circuit.

Race report

In a last hurrah of the unlimited 750kg GP formula which expired after the 1937 Grand Prix season, the Germans brought no less than eight cars to Donington, five Mercedes-Benz W125 and three Auto Union C, each over 500 hp.

At first the Germans used Nürburgring axle ratios, which were too low, and after a change, the speed down Starkey's Straight went from 155 to 170 m.p.h., "a speed never before seen in Britain".Rodney Walkerley Manfred von Brauchitsch and Bernd Rosemeyer were the fastest in practise, while Hasse was the slowest of the seven Germans that started. Kautz as the Mercedes reserve driver did only practise laps.

In the race, Hermann Lang led the first few laps but retired with a broken damper. On the third lap British driver Richard Seaman was shunted by Müller up the escape road from where he restarted with crippled rear suspension and a broken shock absorber. He kept grimly on and retired only after Lang.Rodney Walkerley

With Lang out, the lead changed hands several times between von Brauchitsch, Rosemeyer and Rudolf Caracciola. Whilst in the lead for a second time, v. Brauchitsch suffered a puncture, allowing Rosemeyer to pass him and lead the race while his Auto Union teammates Müller and Hasse could not keep up in the tricky mid-engined car, getting lapped. Rosemeyer stayed in the lead until the end and took his final win after 80 laps, with four other German cars completing the full distance within the next 8 minutes before the race was flagged off for good for the remaining cars.

"When the Germans came to Donington" In "When the Germans came to Donington", Rodney Walkerleyhttps://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/february-1983/27/obituary-rodney-l-de-burgh-walkerley/ describes the impression the German cars made in 1937 on local British journalists who had not yet witnessed them abroad, being confident in the skills and machinery of British racers.

Away beyond the woods we heard the approaching scream of a well-tuned E.R.A. and down the winding slope towards us came Raymond Mays. He changed down, braked, skirted round the Hairpin and was gone.

"There's the winner," remarked one of my friends. "Knows this course backwards."

Half a minute later came the deeper note of a 2.9-litre Maserati, and "B. Bira" (Prince Birabongse of Siam, Mays’ nearest rival and a new star in the racing firmament) shot past us, cornering with that precision which marked him as the master he was.

"Or him," said another.

We waited again. Then they came.

Far away in the distance we heard an angry, deep-throated roaring – as someone once remarked, like hungry lions impatient for the arena. A few moments later, Manfred von Brauchitsch, red helmeted, brought a great, silver projectile snaking down the hill, and close behind, his teammate Rudolf Caracciola, then at the height of his great career. The two cars took the hairpin, von Brauchitsch almost sideways, and rocketed away out of sight with long plumes of rubber smoke trailing from their huge rear tyres, in a deafening crash of sound.

The startled Pressmen gazed at each other, awe-struck.

"Strewth," gasped one of them, "so that's what they're like!"

That was what they were like.

These were the fabulous machines which could top 190 m.p.h. on the long straights at Rheims and Spa and Pescara and which, on the twists and turns of the mountainous Nurburgring, scrubbed the tread from the tyres in 80 miles. On the starting line they weighed just over a ton, 75-gallon tanks filled to the brim to be emptied at the rate o 3 to 4 miles per gallon.

Entries No Driver Entrant Constructor Car 1 Rudolf Caracciola Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes-Benz W125 2 Hermann Lang Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes-Benz W125 2 Christian Kautz Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes-Benz W125 3 Manfred von Brauchitsch Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes-Benz W125 4 Richard Seaman Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes-Benz W125 5 Bernd Rosemeyer Auto Union Auto Union Type C 6 Rudolf Hasse Auto Union Auto Union Type C 7 Hermann Paul Müller Auto Union Auto Union Type C 8 Raymond Mays H. W. Cook ERA 9 Earl Howe H. W. Cook ERA 10 Arthur DobsonH. W. CookERAB 19 11 Prince Bira Private Maserati 8CM 12 A. B. Hyde Private Maserati 8CM 14 Antony Powys-Lybbe Private Alfa Romeo Monza 15 Robin Hanson Mrs M. E. Hall-Smith Maserati 16 Peter Whitehead Private ERA 16 Peter Walker Private ERA 17 Reginald Tongue Private ERA18 Charles MartinPrivate ERA Maserati 6CM 20 Percy Maclure Private Riley 2000/6

Notes: Arthur Dobson was entered with both number 10 and 19. Christian Kautz was a reserve driver but took part in practice sessions. Charles Martin used both an ERA and a Maserati during the practice sessions.

Classification

Starting grid positions 1st Row 1 Pos. 2 Pos. 3 Pos. 4 Pos. von BrauchitschMercedes-Benz2:10.4 RosemeyerAuto Union2:11.4 LangMercedes-Benz2:14.3 SeamanMercedes-Benz2:15.4 2nd Row 1 Pos. 2 Pos. 3 Pos. MüllerAuto Union2:15.4 CaracciolaMercedes-Benz2:15.8 HasseAuto Union2:19.0 3rd Row 1 Pos. 2 Pos. 3 Pos. 4 Pos. BiraMaserati2:25.0 MaysERA2:26.2 HoweERA2:26.2 HansonMaserati2:27.6 4th Row 1 Pos. 2 Pos. 3 Pos. DobsonERA2:28.4 MartinERA2:31.6 WhiteheadERA2:32.0 5th Row 1 Pos. MaclureRiley2:35.2

Notes: Hyde withdrew after practice, thinking he was too slow; he had set the 16th fastest time. Although Whitehead started, the qualifying time was set by Walker; Whitehead's time would have placed him behind Hyde.

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGrid 1 5 Bernd Rosemeyer Auto Union 80 3:01:02.5 2 2 3 Manfred von Brauchitsch Mercedes-Benz 80 +37.5 1 3 1 Rudolf Caracciola Mercedes-Benz 80 + 1:16.3 6 4 7 Hermann Paul Müller Auto Union 80 +3:47.5 6 5 6 Rudolf Hasse Auto Union 80 + 8:47.5 7 6 8 Prince Bira Maserati 78 + 2 Laps 11 NC 9 Earl Howe ERA 77 + 3 Laps 10 NC 19 Arthur Dobson ERA 74 + 6 Laps 12 NC 15 Robin Hanson Maserati 72 + 8 Laps 11 Ret 20 Percy Maclure Riley 67 Rear axle 15 Ret 8 Raymond Mays ERA 51 Brakes 9 Ret 4 Richard Seaman Mercedes-Benz 29 Rear suspension 4 Ret 2 Hermann Lang Mercedes-Benz 26 Front shock absorber 3 Ret 18 Charles Martin ERA 18 Piston 13 Ret 16 Peter Whitehead ERA 11 Engine 14 DNS 16 Peter Walker ERA DNS 12 Arthur Hyde Maserati DNS 2 Christian Kautz Mercedes-Benz

References

Session results taken from:

External links

When the Germans came to Donington