Karl Kling
Encyclopedia
Karl Kling was a motor racing driver and manager from Germany
. He participated in 11 Formula One
Grands Prix, debuting on 4 July 1954. He achieved 2 podiums, and scored a total of 17 championship points.
It is said, that he was born too late and too early. Too late to be in the successful Mercedes team of the '30s and too early to have a real chance in and . Unusually, Kling found his way into motorsport via his first job as a reception clerk at Daimler-Benz
in the mid-1930s, competing in hillclimb and trials events in production machinery in his spare time. During the Second World War he gained mechanical experience servicing Luftwaffe
aircraft, and after the cessation of hostilities he resumed his motorsport involvement in a BMW 328
.
Kling was instrumental in developing Mercedes' return to international competition in the early 1950s, and his win in the 1952 Carrera Panamericana
road race, driving the then-experimental Mercedes-Benz 300SL
was a defining point in assuring the Daimler-Benz management that motorsport had a place in Mercedes' future. Called up to the revived Mercedes Grand Prix squad in 1954 he finished less than one second behind the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio
on his Formula One debut, taking second place in the 1954 French Grand Prix
at the fast Reims-Gueux
circuit. This promising start was not to last, and with the arrival of Stirling Moss
at Mercedes in 1955 Kling was effectively demoted to third driver. However, away from the World Championship, Kling took impressive victories in both the Berlin Grand Prix (at AVUS
, another high-speed circuit) and the Swedish Grand Prix
. He left the Formula One team at the end of the season, to succeed Alfred Neubauer
as head of Mercedes motorsport. He was in this post during their successful rallying campaigns of the 1960s, occasionally taking the wheel himself. On one such occasion he drove a Mercedes-Benz 220SE
to victory in the mighty 1961 Algiers
-Cape Town
trans-African rally.
* Shared drive with Stirling Moss
and Hans Herrmann
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He participated in 11 Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
Grands Prix, debuting on 4 July 1954. He achieved 2 podiums, and scored a total of 17 championship points.
It is said, that he was born too late and too early. Too late to be in the successful Mercedes team of the '30s and too early to have a real chance in and . Unusually, Kling found his way into motorsport via his first job as a reception clerk at Daimler-Benz
Daimler-Benz
Daimler-Benz AG was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motor vehicles, and internal combustion engines; founded in 1926. An Agreement of Mutual Interest - which was valid until year 2000 - was signed on 1 May 1924 between Karl Benz's Benz & Cie., and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, which had...
in the mid-1930s, competing in hillclimb and trials events in production machinery in his spare time. During the Second World War he gained mechanical experience servicing Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
aircraft, and after the cessation of hostilities he resumed his motorsport involvement in a BMW 328
BMW 328
The BMW 328 is a sports car made by BMW between 1936 and 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II ....
.
Kling was instrumental in developing Mercedes' return to international competition in the early 1950s, and his win in the 1952 Carrera Panamericana
Carrera Panamericana
The Carrera Panamericana was a border-to-border sports car racing event on open roads in Mexico similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy. Running for five consecutive years from 1950 to 1954, it was widely held by contemporaries to be the most dangerous race of any type in the world...
road race, driving the then-experimental Mercedes-Benz 300SL
Mercedes-Benz 300SL
The Mercedes-Benz 300SL was introduced in 1954 as a two-seat, closed sports car with distinctive gull-wing doors. Later it was offered as an open roadster...
was a defining point in assuring the Daimler-Benz management that motorsport had a place in Mercedes' future. Called up to the revived Mercedes Grand Prix squad in 1954 he finished less than one second behind the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio , nicknamed El Chueco or El Maestro , was a racing car driver from Argentina, who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing...
on his Formula One debut, taking second place in the 1954 French Grand Prix
1954 French Grand Prix
The 1954 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims-Gueux on July 4, 1954, the same date of 1954 Football World Cup Final...
at the fast Reims-Gueux
Reims-Gueux
Reims-Gueux was a triangular motor racing road course near Reims, France, which hosted 14 French Grands Prix.Reims-Gueux was first established in 1926 on the public roads between the small French villages of Thillois and Gueux. The circuit had two very long straights between the towns, and teams...
circuit. This promising start was not to last, and with the arrival of Stirling Moss
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
at Mercedes in 1955 Kling was effectively demoted to third driver. However, away from the World Championship, Kling took impressive victories in both the Berlin Grand Prix (at AVUS
AVUS
The Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungs-Straße, better known as AVUS, is a public road that was also used as a motor racing circuit. It is located in the south-western districts of Berlin, Germany, between Charlottenburg and Nikolassee, and is nowadays an important part of the public highway system, as...
, another high-speed circuit) and the Swedish Grand Prix
Swedish Grand Prix
The Swedish Grand Prix was a round of the Formula One World Championship from 1973 to 1978. It took place at the Scandinavian Raceway in Anderstorp , about 30km from Jönköping, in Småland, Sweden...
. He left the Formula One team at the end of the season, to succeed Alfred Neubauer
Alfred Neubauer
Alfred Neubauer was the racing manager of the Mercedes Grand Prix team from 1926 to 1955.-Biography:...
as head of Mercedes motorsport. He was in this post during their successful rallying campaigns of the 1960s, occasionally taking the wheel himself. On one such occasion he drove a Mercedes-Benz 220SE
Mercedes-Benz W111
The Mercedes-Benz W111 was a chassis code given to its top-range vehicles, including 4-door sedans, produced from 1959 to 1968, and 2-door coupes and cabriolets from 1961 to 1971. The W111, was initially attributed only to 6-cylinder cars with 2.2 litre engines. The luxury version with big-block 3...
to victory in the mighty 1961 Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
-Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
trans-African rally.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 1954 Formula One season The 1954 Formula One season included the 5th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on January 17, 1954, and ended on October 24 after nine races. The Championship was won by Juan Manuel Fangio who drove, and won races, for both Maserati and Mercedes over the course of the season... |
Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG... |
Mercedes Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG... W196 Mercedes-Benz W196 The Mercedes-Benz W196 was the Mercedes-Benz Formula One entry in the and Formula One seasons, winning 9 of 12 races entered in the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss.... |
Mercedes Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG... straight-8 Straight-8 The straight-eight engine or inline-eight engine is an eight-cylinder internal combustion engine with all eight cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase... |
ARG 1954 Argentine Grand Prix The 1954 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Buenos Aires on January 17, 1954. It was the first round of the 1954 World Drivers' Championship.- Classification :- Notes :... |
500 1954 Indianapolis 500 The 1954 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race held on Monday, May 31, 1954 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the second round of the 1954 World Drivers' Championship.- Classification :- Notes :... |
BEL 1954 Belgian Grand Prix The 1954 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 20, 1954. It was the third round of the 1954 World Drivers' Championship.- Race report :... |
FRA 1954 French Grand Prix The 1954 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims-Gueux on July 4, 1954, the same date of 1954 Football World Cup Final... 2 |
GBR 1954 British Grand Prix The 1954 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on July 17, 1954. It was the fifth round of the 1954 World Drivers' Championship.- Race report :... 7 |
GER 4 |
SUI 1954 Swiss Grand Prix The 1954 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Bremgarten on August 22, 1954. It was the seventh round of the 1954 World Drivers' Championship.- Race report :... Ret |
ITA 1954 Italian Grand Prix The 1954 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 5, 1954 at Monza. It was the eighth round of the 1954 World Drivers' Championship.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Juan Manuel Fangio - 1:59.0... Ret |
ESP 1954 Spanish Grand Prix The 1954 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 24, 1954 at Pedralbes. It was the ninth and final round of the 1954 World Drivers' Championship.- Race report :... 5 |
5th | 12 |
| 1955 1955 Formula One season The 1955 Formula One season was the sixth season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1955 World Championship of Drivers, which commenced on January 16, 1955 and ended on September 11 after seven races... |
Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG... |
Mercedes Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG... W196 Mercedes-Benz W196 The Mercedes-Benz W196 was the Mercedes-Benz Formula One entry in the and Formula One seasons, winning 9 of 12 races entered in the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss.... |
Mercedes Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG... straight-8 Straight-8 The straight-eight engine or inline-eight engine is an eight-cylinder internal combustion engine with all eight cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase... |
ARG 1955 Argentine Grand Prix The 1955 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Buenos Aires on January 16, 1955. It was the first round of the 1955 World Drivers' Championship.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: José Froilán González - 1:43.1... 4* |
MON 1955 Monaco Grand Prix The 1955 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on May 22, 1955. It was the second round of the 1955 World Drivers' Championship and was given an honorary name, Grand Prix d'Europe.- Race report :... |
500 1955 Indianapolis 500 The 1955 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race held on Monday, May 30, 1955 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the third round of the 1955 World Drivers' Championship... |
BEL 1955 Belgian Grand Prix The 1955 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 5, 1955. It was the fourth round of the 1955 World Drivers' Championship.- Race report :... Ret |
NED 1955 Dutch Grand Prix The 1955 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on June 19, 1955. It was the fifth round of the 1955 World Drivers' Championship.- Race report :... Ret |
GBR 1955 British Grand Prix The 1955 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Aintree on 16 July 1955. It was the sixth round of the 1955 World Drivers' Championship.- Classification :- Notes :* Lap Leaders:** Juan Manuel Fangio 10 laps... 3 |
ITA 1955 Italian Grand Prix The 1955 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 11 September 1955. It was the seventh and final round of the 1955 World Drivers' Championship.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Juan Manuel Fangio - 2:46.5... Ret |
11th | 5 |
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
and Hans Herrmann
Hans Herrmann
Hans Herrmann is a former Formula One and Sports car racing driver from Stuttgart, Germany.In F1, he participated in 19 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on August 2, 1953...
.
Further reading
- Karl Kling, G. Molter, Pursuit of Victory (Bodley Head, London, 1956)