Mercedes-Benz Classic Motorsport Newsletter 2/2025

Mercedes-Benz, the oldest car manufacturer in the world, has been involved in motorsport for more than 130 years. Its activities have ranged from Formula 1 to rallies. This chapter of the company's history is correspondingly diverse. Here is a brief summary of some of the important anniversaries and milestones. The Mercedes-Benz Corporate Archive contains additional data and many more stories and photos in the expanded and restructured motorsport section of the M@RS multimedia archive and research system

• 1905: Mercedes wins the "Herkomer-Konkurrenz" rally (120 years ago)
• 1955: Fangio wins the Italian Grand Prix and becomes Formula 1 World Champion (70 years ago)
• 1995: One-two-three victory for Mercedes-Benz in the FIA European Truck Racing Championship (30 years ago)
• 1955: Withdrawal of the Silver Arrows at the height of their success (70 years ago)
• 2005: Mercedes-Benz driver Gary Paffett wins DTM season (20 years ago)
• 2015: Mercedes GP PETRONAS F1 Team dominates Formula 1 (10 years ago)
• 2025: 75th birthday of Brand Ambassador Roland Asch

10 to 17 August 1905 - 120 years ago

Edgar Ladenburg wins the first "Herkomer-Konkurrenz" rally in the Mercedes 40 PS

• One-two-three victory for DMG with Mercedes model
• Reliable even under heavy use
• An artist promotes the development of the automobile

Motorsport flourished at the turn of the 20th century: competition was increasingly taking its place alongside everyday mobility with the automobile, which was invented in 1886. An important early event, first held in 1905, was the "Herkomer-Konkurrenz" rally. It took place from 10 to 17 August 1905 and ended with a one-two-three victory for Mercedes: Edgar Ladenburg won ahead of Hermann Weigand, both in a Mercedes 40 PS. Willy Pöge came third in a Mercedes 60 PS. The initiator was Hubert von Herkomer, a painter and universal artist who lived in England and was enthusiastic about cars. The event was organised by the Bavarian Automobile Club with the aim of "developing a practical and reliable touring car that would be affordable for a wide range of people". The regulations stipulated four seats, wings, lighting, rain protection and a luggage compartment. In 1905, the cars traversed around 1,000 kilometres on the Munich-Baden-Baden-Nuremberg-Munich route. It was as much about the reliability of the vehicles as it was about their speed.

11 September 1955 - 70 years ago

Fangio becomes World Champion at the fastest Formula 1 race to date in Monza

• The Mercedes-Benz W 196 R "Streamline" achieves an average speed of 206.791 km/h over 500 kilometres
• Two great years for the Silver Arrows end with a double victory
• Oval with high-banked curves extends the Grand Prix circuit to a total of ten kilometres

In the last race of the 1955 Formula 1 World Championship, Juan Manuel Fangio achieved an average speed of 206.791 km/h in the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R with streamlined bodywork. That was a record: there had never been a faster race in the Formula 1 World Championship, which had been taking place since 1950, than this Italian Grand Prix on 11 September 1955 in Monza. Fangio won the Grand Prix ahead of his teammate Piero Taruffi on the circuit redesigned for 1955. Today, Fangio's winning car can be experienced at the Mercedes-Benz Museum, in the racing curve of Legend Room 7: Silver Arrows - Races and Records. In the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, Stirling Moss retired with a defect. His W 196 R with streamlined bodywork is nevertheless the most valuable Grand Prix racing car ever auctioned. The vehicle, which is owned by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, was auctioned in February 2025 for EUR 51,155 million.

8 October 1995 - 30 years ago

The FIA European Truck Championship fills the spectator stands

• Renowned racing drivers in the field of high-speed trucks
• Racing technology under the silhouette of road-going tractors
• Two original race trucks can be seen at the Mercedes-Benz Museum

Motorsport with fast trucks was always very popular with racing fans, especially in the 1990s. Races such as the Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring attracted 70,000 or more visitors. A total of 13 European championship titles in the European Truck Racing Championship (ETRC) in various classes went to drivers with Mercedes-Benz trucks from 1989 to 1999. The Super Race Truck Championship ended 30 years ago on 8 October 1995 in Jarama with a one-two-three victory for Mercedes-Benz drivers Slim Borgudd, Steve Parrish and Markus Oestreich. The driver names had a good ring to them: Borgudd also competed in Formula 1 races and was the studio drummer for the band ABBA, Parrish was part of the motorbike world championship field and Oestreich drove in the DTM. Apart from the body shape, their Mercedes Benz 1843 S had nothing in common with a standard tractor unit. The Super Race Truck class had an engine capacity limit of maximum 11,999 cubic centimetres and a minimum weight of five tonnes. The diesel engine produced over 846 kW (1,150 hp), the torque was more than 5,500 Nm and the top speed was limited to 160 km/h. The lowered chassis was extremely rigid, the huge disc brakes were water-cooled, and the interior was dominated by a roll cage, bucket seat, fire extinguisher and sports steering wheel. The Mercedes-Benz Museumpresents two original race trucks: A Mercedes-Benz 1450 S from 1990 and a Mercedes-Benz Atego from 2001.

24 October 1955 - 70 years ago

End of an era - Alfred Neubauer places white cloth covers on the Silver Arrows

• Formula 1 World Championship 1954 and 1955 and Sports Car World Championship 1955
• The decision to withdraw from Formula 1 is taken as early as April 1955
• Engineers and technicians from the racing department are needed for series production development

1954 and 1955 were two years full of success for the Mercedes-Benz racing department: the W 196 R Formula 1 racing cars and the 300 SLR racing sports cars (W 196 S) dominated their respective World Championships. But on 24 October 1955, 70 years ago, it all came to an end: at the height of its success, Mercedes-Benz withdrew from motor racing to concentrate entirely on the development of series production vehicles. To do this, the company needed the development capacities and highly qualified employees of the racing department. In an emotional ceremony, race director Alfred Neubauer placed white cloth covers on the Silver Arrows in a grand farewell gesture. The decision to leave Formula 1 was taken as early as 14 April 1955. After winning the Sports Car World Championship in 1955 with the outstanding victory of Stirling Moss/Denis Jenkinson at the Targa Florio, Mercedes-Benz also withdrew from this championship. Thus ended the second era of the Silver Arrows. More than 40 years later, a new chapter began: in 1989, shortly before the start of the Group C season, Mercedes-Benz CEO Werner Niefer decided to have the dark blue Sauber-Mercedes C9 start in silver. They won the Sports Car World Championship and celebrated a double victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans - the Silver Arrows were back on the circuit.

23 October 2005 - 20 years ago

DTM title for Mercedes after a thrilling season

• Three manufacturers and well-known drivers fill the starting field
• Thousands of fans in the stands and millions in their living rooms follow the races
• Formula 1 racing drivers and touring car specialists at the wheel of AMG-Mercedes

The 2005 season was a highlight in the fascinating history of the DTM: Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Opel battled for victories in the German Touring Car Masters 20 years ago. Within the AMG-Mercedes team, Formula 1 drivers Mika Häkkinen and Jean Alesi competed with touring car specialists Bernd Schneider and Gary Paffett. Briton Paffett prevailed with five first places in ten races and became DTM champion. AMG-Mercedes also took the brand and team honours. The secret of the DTM's success lay, on the one hand, in the narrowly defined regulations, which gave the racing touring cars a tight field in the years 2000 to 2018 with reliable four-litre eight-cylinder engines with an output of almost 368 kW (500 hp). On the other hand, the public identified with the vehicles. The body of the racing touring car was derived from the Mercedes-Benz C-Class of the 203 model series. The races broadcast live by ARD were watched by up to two million viewers in 2005. 20 years later, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 is on the DTM grid for the 2025 season.

29 November 2015 - 10 years ago

The Mercedes GP PETRONAS F1 team ends the season with 16 victories in 19 Grands Prix

• Third World Championship title for Lewis Hamilton
• The Mercedes-Benz power unit sets standards in the early years of the hybrid era
• The development of energy recovery systems begins as early as 2007

Formula 1 had never seen a winning streak like this before: between 2014 and 2021, the Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 team won seven drivers' world championships and eight constructors' world championship titles. In 2015, the second year of this brilliant run of success, the team celebrated 16 victories in 19 races between 15 March 2015 (Australia) and 29 November 2015 (Abu Dhabi). Old and new champion Lewis Hamilton won ten times; Nico Rosberg six times. The technical background to this superiority was the introduction of hybrid drives in 2014: a 1.6-litre V6 turbo engine was complemented by two energy recovery systems. Together with the utilisation of exhaust gas heat and braking energy, the system output was around 735 kW (1,000 hp). Its forerunner was the Kers system (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), which Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains began developing in Brixworth, UK, in 2007. In 2025, not only the Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 team with drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli will be using the current Mercedes-Benz power units in Formula 1, but also McLaren (Lando Norris/Oscar Piastri), Williams (Alex Albon/Carlos Sainz) and Aston Martin (Fernando Alonso/Lance Stroll).

12 October 2025

75th birthday of "Swabian Arrow" Roland Asch

• Two-time DTM runner-up with the 190 E racing touring car
• One of the most popular drivers in German motorsport
• As a Brand Ambassador, Asch represents the brand with the star at classic events

When will Roland Asch end his career? That will take some time. At the popular "Hockenheim Historic" in May 2025, for example, he was at the front of the field of touring cars in a Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16. Before and after the race, he signed autographs, talked to fans - and, as a trained master mechanic, worked on the brake system of the racing touring car. Everything is the same as always. Asch is closely associated with the "Baby-Benz". As a private driver, the car dealer from Ammerbuch-Altingen finished runner-up in the up-and-coming German Touring Car Championship (DTM) in 1988. A short time later, Mercedes-Benz officially recommitted itself to motorsport. Asch was part of the driver line-up for the DTM and was also signed up as a test driver. In 1993, he drove for AMG and was again runner-up in the DTM behind Nicola Larini (Alfa Romeo) and ahead of his brand colleagues Bernd Schneider and Klaus Ludwig. Later, Asch represented Mercedes-Benz as a Brand Ambassador at numerous events. A constant in Roland Asch's racing career, which has spanned more than four decades: the "Swabian Arrow" is one of the most popular racing drivers in German motorsport.