Hans Stuck
Hans Stuck ( 27 December 1900 - 9 February 1978) was a German race driver. Despite many successes in Grand Prix racing for Auto Union, he is mostly known for his domination of hillclimb racing, which earned him the nickname "Bergkönig" or "King of the Mountains".
With his experience from racing up maintain passes in the Alps in the 1920, he was virtually unbeatable when he got the new Auto Union car which was developed by Porsche. Its rear mounted engine provided superior traction compared to conventional front engine designs, so the 500 hp could be transformed into speed even on non-paved roads. In circuit racing, the new concept was very hard to master, though. It took Formula One 25 years to re-discover its advantages.
After the war, Stuck continued racing. At age 60, he became German Hillclimb champion for the last time. As an instructor on the Nürburgring, he taught his son Hans-Joachim Stuck (born 1951) the secrets of this challenging circuit.
