Adenau, May 22nd
By the time these words appear in print the 1,000-kilometre race on the Nurburgring, for sports cars and Gran Truismo cars, counting towards the Sports-Ca, Championship, will have passed into history. Also, the Le Mans 24 Hour race will have taken place, so that the Championship will in all probability have been decided. It is, therefore, of little point to record a minute-by-minute· account of the German race, but rather to review the happenings of that miserable foggy day in May and possibly draw some conclusions.
Anyone who saw the performance of the Tipo 61 Maserati 2.89-litre car in the Targa Florio in' the hands of Maglioli and Vaccarella must have held great hopes for a Maserati victory in Germany, so that it was little surprise that a sister ·car from the Camoradi stable, driven by Moss and Gurney, directed by Taruffi and prepared by the Maserati factory, dominated the race, even though it did not lead throughout. Conditions for the 44-lap race were the worst ever, starting in a thin mist that later turned to rain and then fog so thick that visibility was down to 150 yards. From the start Moss built up an enormous lead, being quite unchallenged by Bonnier (Porsche 1,650-c.c.), Allison (V12 Ferrari), von Trips (VI2 Ferrari) or Clark (Aston Martin DBR1/300) he drove non-stop for 14 laps of the arduous Nurburgring, the Maserati on Goodyear tyres on the front and Pirelli on the rear, handling extremely well in the wet conditions. However, the four-cylinder Maserati engine, running a very high oil pressure of 9 kg./sq. cm., was breathing oil out all over the place, and while it was refuelled and refilled with oil there was a lot of mopping-up to be done in the cockpit. This did not lose the Maserati the lead and Gurney took over and kept up the pace that Moss had set, driving a splendid race and doing a wonderful job of supporting Moss.
