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Hermann Lang

Hermann Lang
  • Surname
    Lang
  • First name
    Hermann Albert
  • Date of birth
    06.04.1909
  • Date of death
    19.10.1987

Hermann Lang's racing career initially began on a motorbike before the racing and testing department of Daimler-Benz AG hired the trained mechanic as a fitter in 1933. The Cannstatt-born driver's talent quickly became apparent during test and setting runs in the Silver Arrows. Two years later, the time had come: Hermann Lang started for the first time as a racing driver in Mercedes-Benz at the International Eifel Race and achieved a remarkable fifth place.

After this successful debut, Hermann Lang achieved outstanding success: In 1937, for example, he won the race on Berlin's AVUS, which, with top speeds of almost 400 km/h, went down in motorsport history for decades as the fastest race in the world. Together with Manfred von Brauchitsch and Rudolf Caracciola, he formed the trio of drivers in the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows that were feared by the competition in the 1930s. In 1939, he won the Grands Prix of Pau and Tripoli in succession and with new track records, and after two more victories in Belgium and Switzerland, he was the most successful driver of the season.

Nevertheless the question of which driver won the European Championship was more complicated in 1939 than in previous years. A new points system similar to that used in the later World Championship would have seen Lang in the lead, but was never introduced - just as no official points table was published by the AIACR in the end. Instead, the representatives of the Nazi regime awarded Lang the title of European champion at their own discretion. The case was completely unambiguous in the German Hillclimb Championship, which Hermann Lang had won by winning both of the hillclimb races counted for this championship title without any room for interpretation.

After the war, he celebrated a remarkable comeback in the new Mercedes-Benz 300 SL racing car: The highlight was his overall victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1952 together with Fritz Riess. in 1954, Hermann Lang retired from racing and worked as a customer service inspector for Daimler-Benz until his retirement.

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