The Greatest Victory
Tazio Nuvolari’s epic racing win is a lesson about self-confidence and perseverance that’s valid to this day
It’s the 28th of July, 1935.
The German Grand Prix was the fourth of seven races valid for the European Driver’s Championship, held on the 22.8 Kms long Nurburgring circuit. Germany’s Third Reich considered motor racing a useful propaganda tool and, keen to showcase Germany’s superiority in automobile engineering, generously funded the racing programs of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union.
The race was supposed to be a walkover for the “Silver Arrows,” as the Mercedes-Benz W25s were nicknamed: a home win in front of around 300,000 spectators and high-ranking Nazi party brass. The Mercedes-Benz W25B was the car to beat: Its four liters supercharged straight-eight engine produced around 375HP, and its advanced chassis design featured independent suspension on all four wheels. Its drivers were among the best of the era: Caracciola, Fagioli, Lang, and Manfred Von Brauchtisch.
Meanwhile, Auto Union was kind of an upstart, lacking Mercedes’s illustrious racing heritage, but its “Type B” was a technological marvel: designed by Ferdinand Porsche, it had a pioneering mid-engine configuration, and its supercharged, sixteen cylinders engine produced an estimated 400HP. Its drivers that year were Stuck, Rosemeyer, and the Italian ace Achille Varzi.
Then there was another Italian: one in a bad mood. Enzo Ferrari, a former racing driver himself, founded his “Scuderia” back in 1929 and campaigned Alfa Romeo racing cars with success… But he knew this time his red Alfas were just going to be there to provide the Germans something to beat. The Alfa Romeo “P3” may have been a glorious race winner, but that was yesterday’s news: it was a hundred HP down on the German rivals, and its outdated chassis design put it at a further disadvantage in the corners.
Nobody told Tazio Nuvolari, though.
The Italian ace by then already had 20 years of racing under his belt. His fearless driving style and unflinching resolve had made him a legend in his own lifetime. He’s the only one in the Scuderia consistently showing any confidence for the race. Lucky he certainly was, though: grid positions back then were assigned by a ballot, and Nuvolari received a place in the front row.
Despite being late July, the weather was wet and drizzling. The Auto Unions stalled on the start, allowing Caracciola to storm ahead of everyone from the third row: His Mercedes, as everyone expected, by lap 2 was leading the pack with a 12-second advantage over Rosemayer’s Auto Union, which occupied the second position. Nuvolari, in his red Alfa Romeo, was fourth. Rosemeyer overdid a corner and had to go the pits to fix his damaged car, allowing Nuvolari to pass him on lap six.
He passed Von Brauchitsch and Fagioli on lap eight. Then, in front of a crowd who could not believe what was happening, Tazio Nuvolari, driving his old Alfa as if it would be the last thing he would do in his life, passed Caracciola to take the lead by the tenth lap. Halfway through the 22-lap race, most drivers entered the pits to refuel, and the Mercedes pit crew was fastest, with Von Brauchitsch storming away after only 47 seconds.
Then Caracciola. Then Rosemeyer. Nuvolari’s Alfa Romeo didn’t move.
The Scuderia’s mechanics had clumsily damaged their fuel pump, so they had to resort to canisters to pour fuel into the car: Nuvolari was desperate, helplessly screaming his anger to the crew, which took a whopping 2 minutes and fifteen seconds to finish the job. Now back in sixth place, Nuvolari’s resolve didn’t fade as he went chasing the Silver Arrows once again. By lap thirteen, Tazio Nuvolari had managed to claw his way back to the second position, still over one minute behind the leading Von Brauchitsch.
The lousy weather conditions certainly helped the Italian, as tire technology hadn’t advanced as fast as Mercedes and Auto Union’s cars did. Hence, in his much less powerful Alfa, the skilled Nuvolari could exploit the Silver Arrows’ traction problems. With only one lap to go, Nuvolari was just 35 seconds off Von Brauchitsch, who was now feeling the pressure and taxing his brakes and tires heavily. Five km from the finish line, on the last lap, Nuvolari was down at 30 seconds…
The aristocratic German had the race in his pocket.
A Mercedes with a German driver was to win the German GP, as the Nazi party officials present expected. Von Brauchitsch must have glanced at his tires then: the front ones were OK, but at the back was another story, as the cord on the left rear tire was starting to show up. Pitting was no longer an option, so he had to hang on for dear life and hope to make it to the finish line, eyes peeled to the rearview mirror looking for a red Alfa to appear.
Some say there was an eerie silence when the winner crossed the finish line…The driver wasn’t German.
The car was an old Alfa Romeo “P3”.
Despite a life spent cheating death in hundreds of races, Tazio Nuvolari died in his bed in 1953. The 1935 German Gran Prix would remain in history as his finest racing exploit, winning against formidable odds. By capitalizing on his strengths and never losing faith, Nuvolari fought his way through the race, putting himself in the ideal position to exploit any mistake his allegedly superior rivals made. Winners never give up.
