STUCK AND AUTO UNION BACK TO SHELSLEY

Special appearance to commemorate famous 1936 Shelsley run

Hans Stuck Jr at the wheel of a 1936 Auto Union C Type grand prix car will be the major attraction at the Classic Nostalgia Weekend at Shelsley Walsh in July.

The recreation of the spectacular Silver Arrows machine will tackle the Worcestershire hillclimb course to mark the 80th anniversary of Stuck’s father competing there in a similar car in June 1936.

The organiser of the event, the Midland Automobile Club, has pulled off a major coup by arranging for the German ace to drive the monstrous V16 up the 1000-yard hill during the annual retro event at Shelsley. Stuck, now 65, raced in F1 and is a double winner at Le Mans.

In 1936, Hans Stuck Sr travelled to Shelsley in his bid to win the European Hillclimb Championship, but poor weather hindered his speed in front of a huge crowd. Stuck recorded times of around 40s in practice on Friday, but the 39.6s hill record of Raymond Mays was not troubled in the official competition. However, the sight and sound of the Auto Union had a major impact on the British crowds.

Stuck had competed at Shelsley six years earlier in his Austro Daimler singleseater when he slashed three seconds off the hill record to set a new mark of 42.8s.

Also in action in July will be the Group B Audi quattro of Steve Perez, which competed at Shelsley in 1986 with Hannu Mikkola at the wheel in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Stuck’s visit.