At just 914 meters in length, the Shelsley Walsh hillclimb course, in Worcester, England, is the oldest operational motorsport venue in the world. It opened for business in 1905.
One of the great highlights of the event took place in 1936, when Hans Stuck powered a special short wheelbase Auto Union Type C V16 up the course, as part of that years championship. Stuck had quickly risen to prominence in German motor racing during the 1920s, winning the very first European Hillclimb Championship in 1930, before he joined Auto Union in 1934. The following year he won the German Grand Prix, and was the star attraction at Shelsley Walsh in the purpose built hillclimb car Auto Union sent across in 1936.
This was to be the first time Stuck had raced at Shelsley since 1930, when he won the event spectacularly in his Austro-Daimler. By 1936, reigning champion was Raymond Mays, in his ERA. Mays was also the event record holder at the time, at 39.6 seconds.
On the Friday of the 1936 event, during practice runs and in dry conditions, Stuck unofficially equalled Mays record, setting the scene for an epic race day. The advantage appeared to swing further in Stuck’s favour when, during one of his practice runs, Mays had the supercharger in his purpose built 2 litre hillclimb racer fail and damage the engine, and was forced to use the 1.5 litre car he’d raced at the Isle Of Man.
However, come race day, and the weather turned increasingly sour. Mays burst up the hill in 41.8 seconds, thus eclipsing the previous best time of 42.6, held by German driver Walter Baumer, in his side-valve Austin Seven single seater.
However, by the time Stuck rolled to the startline in the mighty Auto Union, the track was completely soaked, and despite a herculean effort which saw the powerful car almost in a continual slide, Stuck could do no better than 45.2. The Auto Union was wheel spinning the entire length of the course, and Stuck had the tail at impossible angles on several occasions. Its narrow twin rear tyres were no match for its incredible 530hp. At 2500rpm, its V16 engine developed 627lb-ft! The cars great advantage in the dry was its downfall in the wet.
Fast forward 80 years, to 2016, and Audi chose to mark the occasion by sending a replica of that very special Auto Union hillclimb car back to Shelsley Walsh, with none other than Hans Stuck’s son, Hans-Joachim, at the wheel. Hans-Joachim Stuck had never driven Shelsley Walsh before, and only flew in on the morning of the event. But his first run up the hill, wearing a full-face helmet, was quite spectacular, as he swung the rear-end out on several occasions, and lit up the rear tyres, even with the most gentle of throttle applications. For those present, it was a monumental occasion, getting a rare glimpse of one of the worlds most legendary racing machines in action. Stuck took a second run up the hill, this time wearing the correct head-gear, said to be his fathers actual leather helmet.
This was purely a demonstration, Stuck never pushed the car hard, but he didn’t need to. The massive acoustics from the Auto Unions V16 engine, with its 16 stubby exhaust pipes, filled the air with noise. From the top of the course, the car could be heard easily at the startline. Hans Stuck’s appearance at Shelsley Walsh in 1936 drew a massive crowd. This was the first appearance on English soil of one of the great silver arrows cars. 80 years later, the return of a Type C was every bit as momentous, and almost as spectacular.
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