Wolfgang Von Trips
German
Nicknamed 'Taffy' by Mike Hawthorn in the mid-1950s ('because I think you look like a taffy!'), Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips was a dashing young German count who had been brought up on the family estates near Cologne where his family lived in conditions of genteel, if faded, elegance.
His first F1 drive given in perhaps an over-generous moment by Enzo Ferrari in the 1956 Italian Grand Prix where he crashed heavily. It was only after the Lancia-Ferrari was stripped down for subsequent examination - and after two of its sister cars had also suffered steering arm breakages during the race - that von Trips was forgiven and offered another chance in Maranello's sports cars.
The German had always lived on the edge. His first Grand Prix appearance at Monza was ended by a practice crash when the steering failed, but he escaped serious injury this time around. In 1958 he collided with Schell on the opening lap and ended up with a broken leg. Returning to action at the start of 1959 he spun the works F2 Porsche at Monaco and eliminated the rest of his class. This sorry tally makes him seem a liability, but that was far from the case, for from the earliest days, when he took a third place in the 1955 Tourist Trophy in a Mercedes 300SLR at Dundrod, Trips was a fearless and skilled driver, particularly in sports cars. He was European hill-climb champion in 1958 in a works Porsche RSK, and in 1959 drove a brilliant race in the small-capacity Porsche in the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood to finish second ahead of Brooks’ Ferrari.
He drove for Porsche in F2 during 1959 and then went back to Formula One Ferrari for the 1960 season, finishing third in the Portuguese Grand Prix and then won the 1961 Dutch and British Grand Prix and stood poised to clinch the World Championship as he started the Italian Grand Prix from pole position at Monza. Tragically, he collided with Jim Clark's Lotus as the two cars slowed for the Parabolica towards the end of the second lap. The Ferrari flipped up into the air, riding along the packed spectator fence, before slamming back on to the circuit. Von Trips and fourteen onlookers were left dead or dying.
While there were various myths surrounding death, the one that surrounds Wolfgang von Trips is one that has a lot to do with destiny and fate. Wolfgang von Trips was already booked on a flight to the United States prior to his death. The flight that he was scheduled to be a passenger on actually crashed over Scotland.
.Author: ArchitectPage
