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Rudolf Fischer - the best amateur of all time

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Created on August 24, 2011

Reading time 7min

Written by:

Bernhard Brägger

Photos:

Archiv Bernhard Brägger

Ferrari 212 (1951) - Beim Albis Bergrennen 1951 wird Rudolf Fischer auf dem Ferrari 212 Tagessieger

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Rudolf Fischer (mit Brille) lässt sich zusammen mit dem Sieger Peter Whitehead am Grossen Preis der Ostschweiz 1951 in Erlen feiern

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Ferrari 500 (1952) - Rudolf Fischer fährt beim GP Bern 1952 auf seinem privaten Ferrari 500 ein sensationelles Rennen und beendet das über 62 Runden führende Rennen auf dem 2. Rang

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Summary

Four Swiss drivers lined up at the start of the Swiss Grand Prix on May 18, 1952: Emanuel de Graffenried in a 2-litre Maserati 4CLT, Peter Hirt in a 12-cylinder Ferrari 212, Max de Terra in a Simca Gordini and Rudolf Fischer in a 1.5-litre Ferrari 500. After 62 laps, the Italian Piero Taruffi crossed the finish line as the winner in a Ferrari, followed by Rudolf Fischer. De Graffenried finished sixth and Hirt seventh. De Terra drops out. In one fell swoop, Rudolf Fischer's name was on everyone's lips. A few months later, Rudolf Fischer announced his retirement from motor racing.

This article contains the following chapters

Short racing career
The spectacular accident
Inferior material
In the 12-cylinder Ferrari 212
The best race ever by an amateur
Retirement at the height of the career

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Bern, May 18, 1952: Four Swiss drivers line up at the start of the Swiss Grand Prix: Emanuel de Graffenried in a 2-litre Maserati 4CLT, Peter Hirt in a 12-cylinder Ferrari 212, Max de Terra in a Simca Gordini and Rudolf Fischer in a 1.5-litre Ferrari 500. After 62 laps, Italian Piero Taruffi in a Ferrari crosses the finish line as the winner, followed by Rudolf Fischer. De Graffenried finished sixth and Hirt seventh. De Terra drops out. In one fell swoop, Rudolf Fischer's name was on everyone's lips. A few months later, Rudolf Fischer announced his retirement from motor racing. The racing career of Rudolf Fischer, born in Zurich in 1912, lasted only a short time. It was not until 1948 that he sat in the cockpit of a 1.1-liter Simca Gordini. He was already 36 years old on that fateful weekend in Bern when the famous Italian motorcyclist Omobono Tenni, Achille Varzi, the great rival Tazio Nuvolari and the former Swiss works driver for Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union Christian Kautz were killed in an accident. The Bern Prize, a race for the newly created Formula 2 with 1.1-liter engines, attracted world-class drivers: Raymond Sommer, Jean Louis Trintignant, Piero Taruffi, Giuseppe Farina and the now ageing Hans Stuck.

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