Saturday,

9th of February – Under the direction of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, Auto Union developed a revolutionary new Grand Prix car with 12- and 16-cylinder engines installed behind the driver, with independent suspension and aerodynamic bodies. These cars dominated Grand Prix racing and set a host of world records during the late thirties. Hans Stuck, the aniversary of his death being reminded today, raced the new car to victories at the German, Swiss and Czech Grand Prix. The shot above shows his son Hans-Joachim Stuck at the wheel of the 1938 Auto Union Hill Climber version, with double rear wheels for more traction.

9/2/1937, Anthony Maggs is born in Pretoria, South-Africa.

Tony Maggs shot to prominence being signed by the works Cooper Formula 1 team for 1962 and 1963, partnering Bruce McLaren and finishing 2nd twice in the French Grand Prix. Out of a drive in 1963 after losing his seat with Cooper, he tried the BRM of Scuderia Centro-Sud for three races in 1964 and had an outing in the 1965 South African GP with a Lotus-BRM, which would be his last F1 race. Racing in F2 for the remainder of the season he had a crash at Pietermaritzburg injuring spectators and killing child. Shocked, he retired from racing to his farm in South Africa, only to suffer another tragedy. He surives a crash with a light aircraft, but his farm manager was killed in the accident.

9/2/1978, Hans Villiez von Stuck dies.

During his 40-year career, Stuck scored 411 wins and runner-up finishes, including seven Grands Prix victories, and set numerous land, water and hill-climb speed records. ASide his driving duties, together with engineer Alex von Falkenhausen, he built the famous AFM race car. When the “Bergkönig” (King of the Hills), as he was nicknamed for his innumerous hill climb successes, won his final German hill-climb championship in a BMW 700 at 60 years of age, his son Hans-Joachim Stuck’s career had progressed as far as Formula 1.

Born: 27th of December 1900 in Warsaw, Polonia.
Died: 9th of February 1978 in Grainau, Germany.