SUMMARY OF THE PREVIOUS EPISODE
Welcome back everyone ... let's briefly review what happened in the previous episode:
If you missed it
We're at the end of the nineteenth century and "A NEW HOPE" appeared in the world with the advent of strange motorized vehicles that definitively changed man's relationship with means of transport.
Intrepid gentlemen decided to defy the laws of physics aboard cute four-wheeled vehicles and the Mercedes adventure begins, which is inextricably linked to the history of the automobile.
This first glimpse of the twentieth century officially saw the birth of the Mercedes brand which achieved its first important results.
Now that we've done a brief recap, you are ready to be drawn to the force, the dark side of the force... yes, because we're ugly and bad😠😅, but first settle down:
Have you got 🍟🥤chips and drinks? Perfect… happy reading!
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK!
Thanks to the outbreak of the First World War, participation in racing was first interrupted and then drastically decreased until the mid-1920s. Due to the slow post-war reconstruction, Mercedes returned to full sporting activity only in 1934, also thanks to the new sporting regulations (and did it seem to you that they should not be favored in something? That's, and remains, only a mere and ironic observation! !! But that's another story!😅)
Mercedes-Benz W06...FROM THE ROADS TO THE CIRCUIT
This is the name of the family basic project of extremely high-performance cars derived from series production. At the end of its career and with all the variants thr models S, SS, SSK and SSKL obtained very important results: just think that in 1927 alone (debut year), the S obtained about a hundred statements divided between the various categories a in which it participated. In 1928 it even got 53 first places, making it really difficult for me to report all these important results!🤯
The SS obtained a splendid hat-trick on its debut in the 1927 German Grand Prix, beating, and I would like to clarify hands down, the fierce competition of the fearsome red Alfa Romeo and blue Bugatti!
The victory of this model at the Tourist Trophy of 1927 was very important: Rudolph Caracciola won with an amazing average of 117.2 km/h ... and let's even burst into a sarcastic laugh 😂😂😂, but let's all remember that it was only 1927!!
Caracciola, perhaps comparable to a Lewis Hamilton of the 1930s for the strong bond he had with the Star, obtained important victories with the SSK both in uphill races and in circuit races: the most striking were the Schauinsland uphill race in Freiburg and the Semmering circuit in Vienna. In addition, he won the European Mountain Championships in 1930 and 1931. The SSKL, again by the hands of the usual Caracciola, won the Mille Miglia in 1931 and obtained another three first places: the AVUS, Nürburgring and Nürburgring circuit ... BINGOOO !! 44 + 63 😅
Year 1932: the SSKL decided it was time for a restyling: it was modified with elegantly sinuous and attractive new aerodynamic look!
The creator of that creature was Baron Reinhard von Koenig-Fachsenfeld who made the SSKL a sort of land-to-land torpedo.
At the Berlin Grand Prix on the AVUS circuit, the Alfa Romeo were much lighter than the older SSKL, but the idea of one of the forerunners of aerodynamics was absolutely successful.
It's not to make us big 😁, but how to say… our beloved Star has always looked towards the future!
In 1934, Mercedes decided to definitively abandon the now too outdated and increasingly less competitive W06 project in the face of fierce competition.
It was time to debut what will become, with its evolutions, a deadly weapon ... codenamed W25!
THE SILVER ARROWS' LEGEND
Today we see our beloved Stars darting with the elegantly shaded silver livery mixed with the colors that recall the main sponsors of the team. I believe it's important to remember that in the last two seasons the dominant color has been black for a well-known awareness campaign carried out by King Lewis VII from Stevenage, and from which Mercedes has not been able and wanted to exempt itself: 🤝🏻 maximum respect between driver and team and I'm extremely proud of it!
However, and there's always a though, until the 1930s the color of the cars entered in the competitions that raced under the German flag was the white!
Damn!! And why did they turn into gray color? The answer is contained in an anecdote that I could compare it to a real weight loss diet. To tell the truth, the halos of mystery surrounding this change of livery would be two, but I'll stick exclusively to the most accredited one, also because it?s reported on the official Mercedes-Benz websites.
In those years the German metallurgical industry was extremely avant-garde and this factor enhanced the construction techniques of the cars by the Star and those of the cousins of Auto Union (current AUDI). They had managed to combine the lightness of their frames with powerful and extremely performing engines.
May 27, 1934, on the occasion of the ADAC Eifelrennen to be held on the Nürburgring circuit, the fast W25 were heavier than 1 kg and therefore irregular (perhaps too many sausages and too many sauerkraut someone might think!). The solution to the problem had to be found during the night, and the sports director Alfred Neubauer improvised himself as a dietician... the order was unequivocal: lose weight! Armed with brushes, sanding paper and scrapers, as further modifications to the chassis and body were unthinkable, the Mercedes-Benz W25 would have to show up absolutely paint-free on the day of the race, reaching the weight limit of 750 kg!
Here, I add, a cathartic moment: the silver and shiny aluminum bodywork was so attractive that it really made them look like Stars! History has thus come down to the present day and I like to pamper myself thinking that it will remain so in the eternity of the Motorsport firmament.
...BACK TO US...
For a change, the debut was not the happiest ... engine problems forced the silver lees to retire, but these beasts made a great comeback in the following competitions, above all thanks to the boring and redundant Rudolf Caracciola.
From 1935 to 1939, until the competitions were interrupted due to the outbreak of the Second World War, the Star shared the four editions of the European Motoring Championship with the compatriots of Auto Union. 1935 was the year in which the two German giants won everything possible between the European championship and the 14 races valid internationally ... for the others (Alfa Romeo) only the meager consolation of the crumbs, with a single victory at the German Grand Prix.
1935: the W25 won the French and Belgian GPs, 3rd place at the German GP, Pole in Monte Carlo and fastest lap in Switzerland. Final victory in the EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP.
1936: victory at the Monte Carlo GP and Pole position at the Swiss GP.
1937: the new W125 (heir to the w25 project) made its debut… emblematic for that season were the 1-2 in Germany, and even the hat-tricks in Munich and Czechoslovakia. Overall 6 victories out of 12 participations and the title of European Champion… again in the name of Caracciola.
The last appearance for the W125, with a modified bodywork called STREAMLINER was on the AVUS circuit, where our dear Jedi knight, Rudolf Caracciola attempts the assault on the speed record hitting 431 km/h... and it was only 1938 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 !!
1938 and 1939: further change of technical regulation and Mercedes-Benz fielded the new and powerful W154 which overall obtained the victory in 12 occasions out of 23 races.
In September 1939 with the invasion of Poland and the beginning of the Second World War all the competitions were canceled, and even if not awarded, the EUROPEAN championship saw the German driver Hermann Lang on W154 at the top of the standings.
The last appearances of the W154 date back to the first postwar period by some American stables, but the times in which these jewels dominated the asphalt of the racing world were definitively faded like an old postcard!
1954-1955: THE FIRST TWO TITLES IN F1
By now, fortunately, the Second World War was beginning to be just a bad memory. In 1952 Mercedes-Benz officially returned to engage in the world of racing in various categories and the victories obtained in the 24 HOURS OF LE MANS and in the PANAMERICAN CARRERA remained of extreme importance, but the greatest results were obtained in the new F1 category (heir to the European Championship) where the Star dominated and won the drivers' title with Juan Emanuel Fangio in 1954 and 1955.
The silver arrow designed to dominate the world of the new motorsport frontier was called W196 and W196s (unlike the first mentioned, the second had covered wheels): the M196 engine was the strong point which, thanks to the revolutionary and effective distribution with desmodromic valves integrated by a direct injection system, it was able to deliver a power of 260 hp at 8500 rpm… in short, a real interstellar cruiser I dare to say !!
The domination was impressive and annihilating!
1954: 5 wins (Argentina, Holland, Belgium, Italy and Great Britain), 4 poles, 5 fastest laps and 10 overall podiums. 1-2 final result in Holland and in Monza, a stellar hat-trick in Great Britain!
1955: 9 wins out of 12 races, 8 poles, 9 fastest laps, 17 podiums and 5 double podium. An amazing year, in each of the 12 GPs he wins the victory or at least the pole position.
1954: 5 vittorie (Argentina, Olanda, Belgio, Italia e Gran Bretagna), 4 pole, 5 giri veloci e 10 podi complessivi. Doppietta in Olanda e a Monza e stellare tripletta in Gran Bretagna!
1955: 9 vittorie su 12 gare, 8 pole, 9 giri veloci, 17 podi e 5 doppiette. Anno strepitoso, in ognuno dei 12 GP si aggiudica la vittoria o almeno la pole position.
1955 GOODBYE MOTORSPORT…MAYBE!
11 June 1955... an historical date for the Star, in negative: the famous 24 Hours of the same name was being held on the Le Mans circuit. The Mercedes 300 SLR driven by Pierre Levegh collided with Lance Macklin's Austin Healey followed an unorthodox maneuver by Ferrari's Mike Hawthorn. The outcome was dramatic because the Mercedes went off the track losing several components that hurled themselves into the public: 120 injured and 82 dead.
Exploded like the BLACK DEATH of STAR WARS✨, the Star went out deciding to retire from all competitions ... it was the end of a glorious era ...
Dear readers ... I'll be here again in a few days... we know that the last episode of the trilogy is missing. "The best is yet to come!" and you can't miss the 3rd Chapter THE RETURN OF THE JEDY!... who knows who I'm thinking about ??
I'll be waiting here for you!!
LUCA PATRONE
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