12 Facts About Hermann Lang

Hermann Albert Lang was a German racing driver who raced motorcycles, Grand Prix cars, and sports cars.

Young Lang found a job as a motorcycle mechanic, eventually buying his own used bike with which he began amateur racing.

Hermann Lang won the first race he entered and before long decided to compete in the sidecar class.

Hermann Lang was made head mechanic for the Mercedes-Benz W25A model to be driven by the Italian star Luigi Fagioli who had left Alfa Romeo to create a powerhouse Mercedes factory team that included Rudolf Caracciola.

Hermann Lang proved to be most capable on high-speed racetracks, capturing his first win in the 1937 Tripoli Grand Prix at the Mellaha Lake course in Libya which was then the fastest racetrack in the world.

Hermann Lang dominated the event, winning it for three straight years.

Hermann Lang clocked the fastest lap at the French Grand Prix and was leading the field but engine trouble knocked him out of the race.

In 1939, Hermann Lang competed in, and won, the Kahlenberg hillclimbing race in Austria.

In 1939, Hermann Lang was declared the champion of the European Championship, but this is unofficial.

In 1953, Hermann Lang was given a chance to participate in Formula One racing driving for Maserati after one of their team drivers was injured.

Hermann Lang raced in two F1 events that year with his best result a fifth-place finish at the Swiss Grand Prix.

Hermann Lang recognized the time had come to retire from racing and he returned to his job at the Mercedes factory.