Charles Vögele - Far more than a mountain king

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Charles Vögele - Far more than a mountain king

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Created on August 7, 2020

Text:

Jürg Kaufmann

Photos:

Archiv / J. Froidevaux / Daniel Reinhard

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Archiv Jürg Kaufmann / Auto Sport Schweiz

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Charles Vögele as class winner in Insbruck

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Vögele in the Lotus Elite at the Gaisberg race

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A Lotus Elite, moved by Charles Vögele in Insbruck

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Vögele in a Mclaren Elva in Vienna, Aspern

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Vögele in a Porsche 911 in Vienna, Aspern

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Here you can see Charles Vögele on his return from Sebring in 1960, next to friend Robert Schittli

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Vögele in the 911 R during the world record drive in 1967

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Vögele in the 911 R during the world record drive in 1967

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Vögele in the 911 R during the world record drive in 1967

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Swiss motor racing's Wall of Fame - Charles Vögele

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Charles Vögele at Le Mans 1960 in the Lola Mk.1 with starting number 45

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Brabham Climax 2.7 (1966) - Charles Vögele on the finishing bend of the Oberhallau hill climb in 1966

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The famous Swiss racing driver Charles Vögele exhibits for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show - Geneva Motor Show 1966

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Charles Vögele misses out on victory in the 1960 slalom race in Dübendorf (Switzerland) on Lola

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Charles Vögele wins the hill climb at Marchairuz 1965 in a Brabham 2700

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Summary

In the sixties, Charles Vögele raced from victory to victory in hill climb races in Switzerland and the surrounding countries in top English cars. However, the son of the village cobbler from Uznach had other talents both inside and outside of motorsport.

This article contains the following chapters

At the front right from the start
Dogged by bad luck
Critics silenced
Failed season opener - but world record
Taking a back seat
No longer active in, but for racing

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Charles Vögele first came into contact with racing at the age of 28, when the then Bern-based advertising man attended the races on the Bremgarten track in 1951. The spark was immediate and he soon achieved his first successes. In 1954, he set the third-best time of the day at the Mitholz-Kandersteg hill climb in the Glöckler-Porsche formerly owned by Hans Stanek. However, according to his own statements, he only really learned to drive a car during his trips to England, from where he was the first Swiss to bring home the most modern lightweight constructions of the local racing car manufacturers. The Lotus 12 F2 and Eleven models were followed in 1960 by a Lola Mk2 with a 1200 Climax engine. Vögele made his debut in this new acquisition at the legendary American 12 Hours of Sebring, where he and works driver Peter Ashdown won a class victory at the first attempt.

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