Hans
Stuck

Hans Stuck was born in Warsaw on 27 December 1900 and grew up in Germany. His racing career began in the 1920s on hillclimbs, and he won his first event at Baden-Baden in 1923. In 1927 he became a works driver for Austro-Daimler, and that year he also took part in his first circuit race, the German Grand Prix. He later drove a Mercedes-Benz SSKL in sports car racing.

In the 1930s Stuck raced for Auto Union. In 1934 he won the German, Swiss and Czechoslovakian Grands Prix, and in 1935 the Italian Grand Prix. In 1936 he finished second in the European Championship for circuit racing. He won the European Mountain Championship three times (1934, 1935 and 1938). His success on the hills earned him the nickname "Bergkönig", or King of the Mountains.

After the war Stuck raced in Formula Two, but with little success. In the Formula One World Championship he was entered from 1951 to 1953: in 1951 with BRM without starting, in 1952 with AFM and Ferrari for one start, and in 1953 with AFM for two starts. His five entries therefore produced three starts and no podium finish. From 1957 he drove for BMW, and in the BMW 700 RS he won the German Hillclimb Championship for the last time at the age of 60. He then ended his career as a professional driver.

He worked as an instructor at the Nürburgring, where he passed on his knowledge to his son Hans-Joachim, who also became a racing driver, as did his grandsons Johannes and Ferdinand later. Hans Stuck died on 9 February 1978.

Source: Wikipedia, “Hans Stuck”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.