Wolfgang von Trips German Ferrari Formula One Driver

By Robert Grey Reynolds, Jr

Baron Wolfgang von Trips was a German nobleman from the Rhineland of Germany. He gave up his castle and privileged life to enter the sport of Formula One racing in the mid 1950s. By September 1961 he was on the threshold of winning the Formula One World Championship, as a driver of a Ferrari. Trips also ran at Le Mans, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico, Nassau in the Bahamas, and many other sports car tracks. He competed in a Porsche at the Le Mans, France 24 hour endurance race with Wolfgang von Frankenberg. The Germans drove a Porsche in the grueling event. Von Trips was known as a driver who took risks, somewhat different than his American Ferrari teammate Phil Hill. In the late 1950s and early 1960s Ferrari fielded a team of three factory cars in F1 racing. Aside from Trips and Hill, Richie Ginther was a mainstay among drivers of the famed Italian marquee.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Grey Reynolds, Jr
• Release date: Jun 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311844576

Robert Grey Reynolds, Jr

I am a soon to be retired Duke Medical Center library researcher, who enjoys writing. I have been writing on Wikipedia for years and have begun to writeebooks. My pastimes include selling books on EBay, genealogical research, baseball (Pittsburgh Pirates), collecting antique furniture and coins, and spending time with Kingsley, my cocker spaniel.

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Wolfgang von Trips

German Ferrari Formula One Driver

Published by Robert Grey Reynolds Jr. at Smashwords

Copyright 2015 by Robert Grey Reynolds Jr.

Baron Wolfgang von Trips was the odds-on favorite to win the 1961 Formula One World Championship at Monza, Italy. His main competition for the title was his Ferrari teammate, Phil Hill (born Philip Toll Hill Jr., April 20, 1927-August 28, 2008) an American from California. The other contenders, with only two races remaining in August, were Paul Richard Richie Ginther (August 5, 1930-September 20, 1989) and Stirling Moss (born September 17, 1929).

Five races had already been run, Monaco, Holland, Belgium, France, and England. The sixth was slated for August 6th at the Nurburgring in Germany. The final race was the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Italy on September 10th.

At Monaco on May 14th Stirling Moss finished first with Richie Ginther next in second. Hill claimed the third and final podium position for Ferrari. Wolfgang von Trips came in fourth.

Hill later commented that Monaco was tough because he and von Trips had not been active during the winter. Ginther had an advantage with his 120-degree engine that he had tested in the off season. What I remember about the race, Hill reminisced, was the frustration of busting my ass and not being able to catch Moss. Richie had driven the 2.5 litre rear engine there the