Rudi Fischer
Birth nameRudolf Fischer
Birth date19 April 1912
Birth placeStuttgart, Württemberg, German Empire
Death date30 December 1976 (aged 64)
Death placeLucerne, Switzerland
Rudi Fischer
NationalitySwiss
Years
TeamsPrivateer SVA, privateer Ferrari
Races8 (7 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums2
Points10
Poles0
Fastest laps0
First race1950 Swiss Grand Prix
Last race1952 Italian Grand Prix

Rudolf "Rudi" Fischer (19 April 1912 – 30 December 1976) was a Swiss racing driver, who competed in Formula One at seven Grands Prix from to .[a]

Fischer debuted in Formula One at the in . He achieved two podium finishes, and scored a total of ten 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.[citation needed]

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)

YearEntrantChassisEngine12345
1949Écurie EspadonSimca Gordini T11Simca-Gordini 1.4 L4GBRBELSUI
15
FRAITA
Source:[4][5]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

YearEntrantChassisEngine12345678WDCPts
Écurie EspadonSVA 1500Fiat 1.5 L4sGBRMON500SUI
DNA
BELFRAITANC0
Écurie EspadonFerrari 212Ferrari 212 2.5 V12SUI
11
500BELFRAGBRGER
6
ITA
DNS
ESPNC0
1952Écurie EspadonFerrari 500Ferrari 500 2.0 L4SUI
2
500BELFRA
DNS
GBR
13
GER
3
NEDITA
Ret
4th10
Ferrari 212Ferrari 166 2.0 V12FRA
11
Source:[6]

Entered and practiced in his Ferrari 500, but engine failure meant that he reverted to the previous season's 212 model for the race.[7] Drive shared with Peter Hirt.

Notes

  1. ^ Fischer was also entered into the 1950 Swiss Grand Prix in a privateer SVA 1500, but did not complete a competitive session.

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. ^ "Rudolf Fischer – Biography". MotorSportMagazine. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  5. ^ "Grosser Preis der Schweiz - Bremgarten, 3 Jul 1949". OldRacingCars. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  6. ^ "Rudi Fischer - Involvement". StatsF1. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  7. ^ Diepraam, M (June 2001). "German F2 specials taking on Ferrari". 8W. Retrieved 30 April 2008.