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Hermann Lang - fast on two, three and four wheels

Name: Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (W 194) 1952
Brand: Mercedes-Benz

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Created on March 24, 2020

Text:

Hartmut Lehbrink

Photos:

Daimler AG

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Daimler AG

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1938) - Hermann Lang's pit stop at the 1938 French GP in Reims

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1938) - Hermann Lang wins the Coppa Ciano in Livorno in 1938

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Hermann Lang wins the Eifel race in 1939

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Mercedes-Benz W 25 (1935) - Hermann Lang (42), Rudolf Caracciola (42) and Manfred von Brauchitsch (8) in the pits at the same time at the 1935 Swiss GP

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Mercedes team at the 1938 German GP - von Brauchitsch, Neubauer, Seaman, Lang and Caracciola

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Preparations for training for the 1938 Tripoli GP - Hermann Lang, Uhlenhaut, Neubauer and Caracciola

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Hermann Lang prepares for the start of the German Grand Prix on the Schauinsland near Freiburg

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Hermann Lang, pursued by eventual winner Bend Rosemeyer in an Auto Union Type C at the 1937 Donington GP

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Winner Rudolf Caracciola (2) and runner-up Hermann Lang (6) at the Italian Grand Prix in LIvorno in 1937

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1938) - GP Donington - Hermann Lang ahead of Manfred von Brauchitsch

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1938) - Hermann Lang at the pit stop of the French GP in Reims

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1938) - Hermann Lang at the 1938 German GP on the Nürburgring

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1938) - Start scene at the Coppa Acerbo of Pescara 1938 - Hermann Lang (32), Manfred von Brauchitsch (46) and the later winner Rudolf Caracciola (26)

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1938) - Training preparations for the 1938 Tripoli GP - Hermann Lang in the cockpit, Neubauer and Uhlenhaut on the racing car

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1938) - von Brauchitsch (46), ahead of Lang (40) and winner Caracciola (26) at the Coppa Acerbo in Pescara in 1938

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Mercees-Benz W 154 (1938) - GP of Donington 1938 - Tazio Novolari on Auto Union Type D will win, Hermann Lang (7) will finish second

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1939) - Hermann Lang in the lead at the French GP in Reims

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Mercedes-Benz W125 (1939) - Hermann Lang on a Mercedes at the start of the 1939 Grossglockner mountain race in Ferleiten

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1939) - Hermann lang wins the 1939 German Grand Prix on the Grossglocknerstrasse

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1939) - Hermann lang wins the 1939 German Hill Climb Grand Prix on the Grossglocknerstrasse in a special hill-climbing car with an ice-cooled engine

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1939) - Double tires for Hermann Lang at the 1939 Vienna High Road Race

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1939) - Hermann Lang (2) behind Manfred von Brauchitsch (6) at the 2nd Belgrade City Race 1939

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1939) - Winner Hermann Lang at the 1939 Pau Grand Prix

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1939) - Winner Hermann Lang at the 1939 Vienna High Road Race

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1939) - Start of the German GP - Brauchitsch, Caracciola and Lang

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 M 163 (1951) - Hermann Lang at the Gran Premio Presidente Peron in Buenos Aires 1951

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Hermann Lang at the start of the Gran Premio Presidente Peron in Buenos Aires 1951

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Hermann Lang, Alfred Neubauer and Karl Kling arriving in Stuttgart after the races in Argentina

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Hermann Lang and Karl Kling on their arrival in Stuttgart after the race in Argentina

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The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL racing team before the Carrera Panamericana 1952 - (from left to right) Hermann Lang and Edwin Grupp, Hans Klenk and Karl Kling, John Fitch and Eugene Geiger

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1952) - Hermann Lang and Erwin Grupp start the 3rd Carrera Panamericana 1952

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1952) - 2nd place for Hermann Lang and Erwin Grupp at the 3rd Carrera Panamericana 1952

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1952) - driver team Hermann Lang and Erwin Grupp at the 1952 Mille Miglia in the W 194)

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1952) - Hermann Lang and co-driver Grupp at the 1952 Mille Miglia

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1952) - Hermann Lang at the 1952 Bern Prize

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Hermann Lang with the 300 SL on the occasion of the 1952 Mille Miglia

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1952) - Hermann Lang at the Bern Prize in 1952

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1952) - Hermann Lang in the cockpit on the occasion of the 1952 Bern Prize

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Hermann Lang signs an autograph on the occasion of the 1952 Bern Prize

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Hermann Lang is ready to race at the 1952 Bern Prize

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1952) - Winner Hermann Lang at the 1952 Nürburgring Grand Jubilee Prize for sports cars

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Hermann Lang wins the 1952 Nürburgring Grand Jubilee Prize for sports cars

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Le Mans 1952 - In the foreground, the double winners with Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. Second place with starting number 20 (Theo Helfrich + Helmut Niedermayr), starting number 21 (winner Hermann Lang + Fritz Riess

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1952) - Winner Hermann Lang and Fritz Riess at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1952

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Rudolf Caracciola in conversation with Hermann Lang on the occasion of the record drives at the end of 1936

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Italian GP 1954 - Hermann Lang, Alfred Neubauer, Juan Manuel Fangio, Karl Kling and Hans Herrmann

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Hermann Lang, Alfred Neubauer, Juan Manuel Fangio, Karl Kling and Hans Herrmann at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza in 1954

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Rudolf Caracciola, the coffin laid out in the Untertürkheim factory grounds (driveway), Hermann Lang and Karl Kling as well as the former racing mechanics keep a guard of honor at the coffin

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Alfred Neubauer explains the Mercedes-Benz W196 R, which Hermann Lang drove in the 1954 German GP, to museum visitors

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Hermann Lang during a veterans' race in 1973

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Summary

Hermann Lang (April 6, 1909 - October 19, 1987) was one of the exceptional talents who were fast on two, three and four wheels and survived the dangerous car races of the 1930s to 1950s unscathed. As a Mercedes-Benz driver, he became European champion in the Grand Prix class in 1939 and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1952 (together with Fritz Riess). He ended his career at the right time. This article looks back on the interesting life of Hermann Lang and shows him in many historical photographs.

This article contains the following chapters

A name that many bear
Dreams come true
Career with the sidecar
He also quickly became a racing mechanic
Behind the wheel of a racing car at last
Successes and tragedies
Record time at the Nürburgring
Retirement at the right time
From racing to customer service

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

"That's him," the landlord of a hotel in Kempten pointed to an elderly gentleman eating his dinner in a corner of the restaurant. As if on cue, the regulars at the table turned to look at the man eating, who, dismayed at suddenly being the center of attention, bent a little lower over his meal. He later summarized his impression of the scene in one word: "Embarrassing!" He was Hermann Lang, a field service inspector at Daimler-Benz since 1955, who at that moment was already marching sprightly towards the date of his retirement - May 1, 1974. If there was any uncertainty anywhere between Flensburg and Berchtesgaden as to whether a claim was covered by the warranty or not, Mr. Lang was deployed like a fire department, flanked by one or two mechanics. He settled the matter with Swabian conscientiousness, got back into his 230 and rolled back towards Stuttgart, inconspicuously, adapting to the flow of traffic, because "Mir fahret g'müatlich", 30,000 to 40,000 km a year, and always accident-free.

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