Rudi Fischer

Rudolf "Rudi" Fischer (19 April 1912 – 30 December 1976) was a racing driver from Switzerland.

Rudi Fischer
Born(1912-04-19)19 April 1912
Stuttgart, Württemberg, Germany
Died30 December 1976(1976-12-30) (aged 64)
Lucerne, Switzerland
Formula One World Championship career
NationalitySwitzerland Swiss
Active years1951–1952
Teamsnon-works Ferrari
Entries8 (7 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums2
Career points10
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1951 Swiss Grand Prix
Last entry1952 Italian Grand Prix

Fischer participated in eight World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 27 May 1951. He achieved two podium finishes, and scored a total of 10 championship points. He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One and Formula Two races.

Career

Fischer finished third in a race which marked the reopening of the AVUS, a German motor racing circuit. It had been closed for a 14-year period and was damaged during World War II. A crowd of 350,000 watched Paul Greifzu of Suhl, Thuringia, win in a car he built himself. Fischer drove a Ferrari to third place over a distance of 207.5 kilometres. His time was 1 hour, 10 minutes, 27.5 seconds.[1] In the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix, in Bern, Fischer finished second to Piero Taruffi; both drivers were in Ferraris.[2]

Écurie Espadon/Scuderia Espadon

Fischer was the leader of the "Écurie Espadon",[3] the entrant name for most of his racing career.

Écurie Espadon was composed of a group of Swiss amateur gentleman racers. The word "Écurie" was used at the beginning as most of the team's cars were French, generally Gordinis. Later the team's equipment changed to Ferraris and other Italian vehicles, thus the name of the team changed to use the equivalent Italian word "Scuderia".

The team was involved in several races all over Europe, as the presentation document described.[4]

The team was composed of:

  • Rudolf Fischer: a successful restaurant owner.
  • Rudolf Schoeller
  • Peter Hirt: a wealthy businessman from Küssnacht, near Zürich, involved in precision tool manufacturing.
  • Peter (Pierre) Staechelin from Basel.
  • Max de Terra
  • Paul Glauser

Racing record

Post WWII Grandes Épreuves results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5
1949 Écurie Espadon Simca Gordini T11 Simca-Gordini 1.4 L4 GBR BEL SUI
15		 FRA ITA
Source:[5][6]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 WDC Pts
1950 Écurie Espadon SVA 1500 Fiat 1.5 L4s GBR MON 500 SUI
DNA		 BEL FRA ITA NC 0
1951 Écurie Espadon Ferrari 212 Ferrari 212 2.5 V12 SUI
11		 500 BEL FRA GBR GER
6		 ITA
DNS		 ESP NC 0
1952 Écurie Espadon Ferrari 500 Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 SUI
2		 500 BEL FRA
DNS		 GBR
13		 GER
3		 NED ITA
Ret		 4th 10
Ferrari 212 Ferrari 166 2.0 V12 FRA
11†
Source:[7]

† Entered and practiced in his Ferrari 500, but engine failure meant that he reverted to the previous season's 212 model for the race.[8] Drive shared with Peter Hirt.

References
  1. 350,000 See Reopening of Motor RaceWay In Berlin After an Interval of 14 Years, The New York Times, July 2, 1951, Page 31.
  2. Swiss Auto Race to Taruffi, Los Angeles Times, May 19, 1952, Page 24.
  3. "Presentation document Ecurie Espadon". Archived from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  4. "Scuderia Espadon and its background". forums.autosport.com. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  5. "Rudolf Fischer – Biography". MotorSportMagazine. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  6. "Grosser Preis der Schweiz - Bremgarten, 3 Jul 1949". OldRacingCars. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  7. "Rudi Fischer - Involvement". StatsF1. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  8. Diepraam, M (June 2001). "German F2 specials taking on Ferrari". 8W. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
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