Hans Herrmann obituary

"This was his 14th attempt at the French sports car classic and, at 42, he was not expecting to have to honour his pledge. But win he did. He and his co-driver, Richard Attwood, a former Jaguar apprentice, held the lead in their Porsche 917K for the last 12 hours of a race run on a rain-drenched track so treacherous that only seven cars out of 51 starters were able to reach the finish."

"He was also famous for his spectacular crashes, including one during the 1959 German Grand Prix at the superfast Avus circuit in Berlin, when the brakes failed on his BRM as he neared the end of a three-mile straight at 180mph. The car somersaulted several times, destroying itself. In the era before the use of safety belts, Herrmann was thrown out of the cockpit. I knew I was a dead man, he said. Spectators were amazed when he got up and walked away with only cuts and bruises."

Hans Herrmann promised his wife he would retire if he won Le Mans and honoured that pledge after winning the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans. He and co-driver Richard Attwood led in a Porsche 917K for the final 12 hours on a rain-soaked, treacherous track where only seven of 51 starters finished. Herrmann competed in 19 Formula One grands prix and finished third for Mercedes-Benz in the 1954 Swiss Grand Prix. He achieved outright victories at the Targa Florio, Sebring and Daytona and class wins in the Mille Miglia. He survived spectacular crashes and celebrated narrow near-misses during his career.

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