1956 East German Grand Prix

1956 East German Grand Prix
	Race 5 of 10 in the 1956 Alternate Formula One season
Date	August 5, 1956
Official Name	1. Internationaler Großer Preis des Friedens und des Fortschritts der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik
Location	Rostocker Osthafenkurs, Rostock, East Germany
Course	Permanent racing facility; 4.6247 km (2.87 mi)
Distance	76 laps, 351.477 km (218.12 mi)
Weather	Cloudy
Pole Position
Time	38:55.3
Fastest Lap
Time	1:46.84
Podium

The 1956 East German Grand Prix was the fifth race of the 1956 Formula One World Championship and was held at the Rostocker Osthafenkurs on August 5th 1956. The main race was won by Desmond Titterington, his and Lancia's second and final Grand Prix victories. Controversial handling of the 41-car entry list by local organisers and accusations of favouritism towards entries from Warsaw Pact nations permeated the event, and resulted in a jumbled grid. East German driver Heinz Melkus finished second on début, ahead of Paul Frère who scored his and BRM's only points and podium. André Milhoux was killed in a violent accident early in the race, the second fatal accident of the season.

Background

Despite the odd experiment that was the Soviet Grand Prix in 1955 and the subsequent outcry it provoked, Formula One once again returns to a communist country, only this time, it's closer to home. The Rostocker Osthafenkurs is set to receive 42 drivers for the inaugural East German Grand Prix, which is to be held in a two-heats-and-final format more commonly used in club races.

Much like last year, having a race beyond the Iron Curtain has opened up many possibilities for local entries or local entrants who were able to secure a drive for this event.

-Escuderia Hernandez completely embrace East Germany, hiring the established Edgar Barth and local F3 racer Heinz Melkus, who drives a Lancia hired from IRC.

-Following a string of disappointing results, Ecurie Maghreb have replaced Louis Chiron with André Guelfi, driving a completely new O.S.C.A. chassis.

-The Czechoslovakian Julius Kubinsky returns with his JK Monos, one with a Tatra engine, the other with a Wartburg. Jaroslav Vlcek drives again, joined by four-time East German F3 champion Willy Lehmann.

-DB are present once again, entering last year's local F3 runner-up Günter Lenssen.

-Like in Estonia, Spider Webb has appeared on the entry list, this time for privateer Claus-Simon Schlusser, driving a Cooper F2 car with an old Bentley engine. No one really knows his intentions.

-After hitting customs trouble on the way to the Nürburgring, Dave Hampshire powers on to Rostock, joined, as always, by Roy Salvadori, who's coming off the back of a successful month in club racing.

-Despite his controversial appearance at Reims when he was supposed to be injured, Duncan Hamilton has returned to Irish Racing Cars, replacing the interim Hans Herrmann.

-Coming off a successful German Grand Prix, Scuderia Centro Sud have entered the promising Masten Gregory along with Alfonso de Portago, under pressure from the Castelldefels side of operations.

-In an unexpected move, B.C.M.A. have entered three completely unknown drivers in "experimental" cars powered by Bentley F3 engines. Coupled with rumours of arms smuggling related to the team, speculation is rife regarding the real identity of Arbuthnott, Berwick and Wellesley.

-After a two-car entry in Germany, where Colin Chapman was absent, many stories were heard about the eventual replacement for the late Dries van der Lof. Chapman was evidently unable to find a suitable fit, as he, a capable driver in his own right, has decided to step into the car himself, confident that the rest of the team can manage a race without him in the pits.

-The Soviet Union's official entry is exactly the same as it was last year, with Mikhail Metelev, Pavel Baranov and Vasiliy Kuznetzov driving the JK Mono, Kharkov and GAZ repsectively.

-The unknown Bradford businessman Donald Brown has surprisingly hired two Aston Martins from Chapman for two drivers entered as Michael Naysmith and Martin Drummond, though it's a thinly-veiled secret that they are really Michal Nuhorski and Marin Dumitrescu, highly-regarded drivers from Poland and Romania respectively. Brown's intentions are also unknown.

-Bruce Halford has once again entered himself alongside a local driver, and this time, he's pulled off the surprising signing of pre-War legend and recent defector Manfred von Brauchitsch who, at the age of 50, is taking one final bow before concentrating on promoting sports in his adoptive land.

-The biggest news regarding the championship as a whole is Gordini announcing the formation of a veritable superteam, adding three more cars to the already dominant line-up of Jack Brabham, Consalvo Sanesi and Eugenio Castellotti. From now on, Grand Prix winner André Simon and promising Swede Jo Bonnier will be joining them for the rest of the European rounds, joined by André Milhoux in Rostock, Edinburgh and Silverstone.

Here's how this weekend will play out:

-One single qualifying session including all 42 drivers.

-A random draw will split the drivers into two 100km heats of 21 drivers each, the starting order set by the qualifying results.

-The top 11 drivers in each heat will make the final 350km race. The winner of the heat that included the fastest qualifier will start from pole, and the drivers in that heat will line up on the odd spots on the grid. Similarly, the drivers from the other heat will line up on the even spots on the grid. The grid is set by the heat results rather than the qualifying results.

Race weekend

Qualifying

Brabham sets one of the greatest performances of all time to score pole position by nearly five seconds from teammate André Simon. No real pressure here, as everyone will race in the heats.

Heat 1

Desmond Titterington led off the line and took the early lead, ahead of Moss, Brabham, Simon, Bira and Masten Gregory, who made a brilliant getaway. González and Bonnier followed Gregory towards the front, at the expense of Simon, Sanesi and Castellotti. Berwick was the first man to retire, his B.C.M.A. suffering from a clutch failure. Brabham was held up behind Bira and Moss until lap 6, by which point Titterington had established a comfortable lead. At the same time, Peter Whitehead, crashed into an earth bank at the first corner. He was thrown from the car and landed behind the bank. Unconscious, he was taken to the nearest hospital, and as of yet, we have no word on his condition.

Bruce Halford's engine failed on lap 7, leaving 17 drivers in the race, though they were reduced to 16 on the next lap, when Maurice Trintignant got caught out by a passing move from Masten Gregory, smashing into another earth bank. Unlike Whitehead, though, he escaped unhurt. In the meantime, Moss and Bira had both passed Brabham again, though Titterington was slowing down by this point. The field was slimmed down further when the very impressive Wellesley (who was running as high as 12th) and Sanesi collided on lap 10, both of them retiring from the race. Serafini retired with an oil leak on lap 13, leaving just 13 drivers still running, Titterington leading Bira, Brabham, Moss, González and Bonnier. The fight between Brabham and Moss over third place was the main point of interest for the following few laps.

Going back to Serafini's oil leak, the field paid attention to it at first, but evidently concentration slipped away. On lap 18, Arbuthnott span out on the oil, closely followed by Bira, who was trying to catch Titterington for the lead. Gregory then heartbreakingly retired with an engine failure, leaving 10 drivers still going, then 9 when Stirling Moss foolishly span out on the same oil with just two laps remaining.

In the end, Titterington led every lap and got fastest lap, only missing pole position for a grand chelem. Brabham took second, while González salvaged third place for O.S.C.A.. Simon and Bonnier took the next two spots, ahead of Volonterio, Castellotti, Chapman and Milhoux. The other two drivers who will make the grid tomorrow are as of yet unknown. The two remaining drivers who completed the most laps are the best candidates, but should the mechanics fail to repair the car in time, their spot would go further down the field.

Heat 2

Fitzau led from the start, ahead of Guelfi, Melkus and Bianchi, who made the best getaway. The midfield positions changed constantly, until lap 4 when Gerini span out, becoming the first driver to retire from the race. He was soon followed by Martin Drummond, who collided with Willy Lehmann, prompting an angry tired in Romani-sorry, heavily-accented Manx. André Guelfi followed them on the sidelines, spinning off into an escape road and stalling the car while running in a safe second place. Barth and Baranov retired shortly afterward, with gearbox and brake failures respectively. On lap 7, Lehmann retired with a puncture, reducing the field to 15 drivers, with Fitzau and Melkus well ahead of Hampshire, Bianchi, Salvadori, von Brauchitsch, Flockhart, de Portago and Frère.

On lap 9, Roy Salvadori attempted an optimistic move on Lucien Bianchi, which resulted in Salvadori's retirement and Bianchi losing fourth place to Manfred von Brauchitsch. Günter Lenssen then had a spin, presumably induced by a puncture caused by debris. While the field settled for a bit, this didn't last long as Heinz Melkus suffered from a transmission failure on lap 12, closely followed by Mikhail Metelev, with an engine failure. Webb had a similar failure on lap 17, leaving only 10 drivers on the track. From then on, the action was in the fight for fourth between Bianchi, de Portago, Naysmith and Frère, which the latter narrowly won.

In the end, though, Theo Fitzau had a performance very similar to that of Desmond Titterington in heat 1, leading every lap and scoring fastest lap, only lacking pole position to net a grand chelem. David Hampshire finished second, with von Brauchitsch, Frère, de Portago, Bianchi, Naysmith, Flockhart, Kuznetzov and Vlcek the last finishers. Spider Webb is the last driver to make the main event, although his participation is uncertain at best with his blown engine. Heinz Melkus would then be next in line.

Pre-race

Overnight between Saturday and Sunday, several competitors never returned to the paddock. Martin Drummond and Michael Naysmith were later revealed to have been club racers Marin Dimitrescu and Michal Nahorski (of Romania and Poland respectively) conspiring with team owner Donald Brown to help him defect to the Soviet Union. Colin Chapman repossessed the machinery he had loaned Brown, and Maurice Trintignant instead took the start on Sunday.

American racer Spider Webb similarly vanished, although he would later resurface in America with speculation that he had carried out undercover work either for the US Government or as a rogue agent. His withdrawal from the event allowed Heinz Melkus to inherit the final spot on the starting grid.

Race

Brabham got the best start of the frontrunners and led the first lap from Fitzau, Hampshire, Titterington, de Portago, González and Bianchi. However, on lap 2, the spirit of the race was dampened when Heinz Melkus closed the door on Jaroslav Vlcek. The Czechoslovakian was launched into the air and landed on an earth bank, tumbling end over end and ending up behind the bank. Vlcek was thrown from the car, which caught fire. Like Peter Whitehead on the Saturday, he was taken to hospital, unconscious but still breathing. This was only the beginning.

Bonnier was then put on the sidelines, spinning off while defending from Paul Frère. At this point, David Hampshire pulled off a masterstroke of overtaking, taking second place. Lap 9 saw the true beginning of unreliability though, as Maurice Trintignant's engine expired, Stirling Moss' gearbox failed and André Simon crashed at the final corner, exiting his car in visible pain. On lap 14, it was de Portago who came into contact with André Milhoux, speeding into an escape road side on, then colliding with a tree. He was trapped in his car for a few minutes, though still conscious. He was also taken to hospital. But things would only get worse.

André Milhoux had been error-prone all race, having minor contact with a few drivers on multiple occasions. Obviously having trouble handling the fast car, he made his final mistake on lap 16. While running in eighth place, André Milhoux brushed tyres with Manfred von Brauchitsch at the fastest point of the circuit. He lost control of his car, flying off the track and disintegrating in the forest lining the circuit. Milhoux had no chance. The resulting debris also injured some spectators, though no one else was killed.

Heartbreak continued on lap 19, when David Hampshire, until then holding his own in second place for a long time, then backing down to fourth, retired with brake failure. Two laps before, José Froilán González retired from second place with clutch failure, as did von Brauchitsch, his steering having been affected by the brush with Milhoux. Fitzau followed suit on lap 20, with suspension failure. Further back, Ron Flockhart was knocked out of the race by an optimistic overtake from Castellotti. With barely a quarter of the race completed, three drivers were injured, one was dead, and only ten remained. Brabham led from Titterington, with a scarcely believable Paul Frère in third place. They were followed by Volonterio, Bira, Melkus, Castellotti, Gregory, Bianchi and Kuznetzov.

Masten Gregory was the next man to pull out with gearbox failure on lap 23. Five laps later, it was Volonterio who span out. Two laps after that, Lucien Bianchi's usually reliable Maserati engine expired. Seven drivers remained. Only 30 laps out of 76 had been completed. Bira passed Frère for third place, making for a credible top three. However, the rest of the runners were seemingly random. Castellotti quickly took fourth place, with Heinz Melkus in fifth place. The race then settled down for a while, until lap 46, where Jack Brabham span out of his own accord! From this point, simply finishing the race would be good enough to score a point.

Titterington inherited the lead, with Castellotti and Bira not far behind. Castellotti immediately started catching Titterington, while Bira couldn't quite keep up. Frère and Melkus were scrabbling over fourth place, with Vasiliy Kuznetzov focusing on simply finishing the race. On lap 56, Castellotti finally managed to find a gap to make a move on Titterington. However, the Ulsterman closed the door, and Castellotti lost a wheel, shuddering to a halt by the side of the track.

The race remained in stasis from this point on, with Titterington in a comfortable lead ahead of Bira, Melkus, Frère and Kuznetzov. At least, until lap 67, when an oil leak developed on Bira's car. He retired at the end of the lap, despite pleas from himself and Colin Chapman to repair the car. From then on, the race was a foregone conclusion. Desmond Titterington, as the only frontrunning car remaining, won a controversial race, three laps ahead of Heinz Melkus and Paul Frère. Vasiliy Kuznetzov finished fourth, seven laps adrift. Unfortunately for Bira, he was unable to complete 90% of the race, and walked away with nothing to show for his efforts.

Classification

Entry list

No	Driver	Entrant	Chassis	Engine
1	Heinz Melkus	Escuderia Hernandez	Hernandez Tipo 56	Hernandez H258/A 2.5 L8
2	Edgar Barth	Escuderia Hernandez	Lancia D50	Lancia DS50 2.5 V8
3	André Guelfi	Écurie Maghreb	O.S.C.A. F156A	O.S.C.A. 156s 1.5 L6s
4	Ottorino Volonterio	Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili	O.S.C.A. F156A	O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
5	Stirling Moss		O.S.C.A. F156A	O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
6	José Froilán González		O.S.C.A. F156A	O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
7	Peter Whitehead		O.S.C.A. F156A	O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
8	Jaroslav Vlcek	Julius Kubinsky	JK Mono 3000	Tatra F1 V8 3.0 V8
9	Willy Lehmann	Julius Kubinsky	JK Mono IV	Wartburg 310 1.5 L6s
10	Günter Lenssen	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	DB 01	DB 84-1 0.5 V2
11	Spider Webb	Claus-Simon Schlusser	Cooper T40	Bentley 163-1 3.0 V16
12	David Hampshire	Hampshire Racing Alliance	Vanwall VW56	Vanwall 254 2.5 L4
14	Roy Salvadori	Hampshire Racing Alliance	Vanwall VW56	O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
15	Ron Flockhart	British Racing Motors	BRM P25	BRM P25 2.5 L4
16	Paul Frère	British Racing Motors	BRM P25	BRM P25 2.5 L4
17	Desmond Titterington	Irish Racing Cars	Lancia D50	Lancia DS50 2.5 V8
18	Duncan Hamilton	Irish Racing Cars	Lancia D50	Lancia DS50 2.5 V8
19	Theo Fitzau	MSG Köthen	O.S.C.A. F156A	O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
20	Alfonso de Portago	Scuderia Centro Sud	O.S.C.A. F156A	O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
21	Masten Gregory	Scuderia Centro Sud	O.S.C.A. F156A	O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
22	Gerino Gerini	Scuderia Adriatica	Ferrari R560	Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
23	Dorino Serafini	Scuderia Adriatica	Ferrari R560	Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
24	Paul Wade Arbuthnott	British Commonwealth Motorsport Association	B.C.M.A. C-01.EX	Bentley 84-1 0.5 V2
25	John Laurence Berwick		B.C.M.A. C-01.EX	Bentley 84-1 0.5 V2
26	Thornton Arrowsmith Wellesley		B.C.M.A. C-01.EX	Bentley 84-1 0.5 V2
27	B. Bira	Team Lotus	Lotus 10	B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
28	Colin Chapman		Lotus 10	B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
29	Maurice Trintignant		Lotus 10	B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
30	Mikhail Metelev	State Committee for Sports and Body Culture of USSR	JK Mono 3000	Tatra F1 V8 3.0 V8
31	Pavel Baranov		Kharkov F1	Kharkov F1 2.0 L6
32	Vasiliy Kuznetzov		GAZ M550	GAZ M550 2.0 L4
33	"Michael Naysmith"	Brown Racing Enterprises	Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
34	"Martin Drummond"	Brown Racing Enterprises	Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
35	Bruce Halford	Halford Auto Racing Team	Vanwall VW56	Vanwall 254 2.5 L4
36	Manfred von Brauchitsch	Halford Auto Racing Team	Vanwall VW55	Vanwall 254 2.5 L4
37	Consalvo Sanesi	Alexander Racing Team-Gordini	Gordini Type 56	Gordini G258/A 2.5 L8
38	Jack Brabham		Gordini Type 56	Gordini G258/A 2.5 L8
39	Eugenio Castellotti		Gordini Type 56	Gordini G258/A 2.5 L8
40	André Simon		Gordini Type 56	Gordini G258/A 2.5 L8
41	Jo Bonnier		Gordini G-953	Gordini ART-004 3.0 V6
42	André Milhoux		Gordini G-953	Gordini ART-004 3.0 V6
43	Lucien Bianchi	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Cooper T41	Maserati 56A 2.5 V8