The racing driver icon Hans Herrmann is dead. The former Le Mans overall winner died on Friday at the age of 97, as the car manufacturer Porsche announced, citing his family.
The racing driver was one of the most successful German motorsports drivers of the post-war period. With his driving style and numerous podium finishes, he influenced an entire generation of German racing drivers.
Herrmann was active in various types of racing in international motorsport for many years. He celebrated his greatest success in 1970 with overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Heidelberg native shared the red-white-red Porsche 917 with the Englishman Richard Attwood in the classic.
Herrmann then ended his career. “I didn’t want to tempt fate any longer,” the racing driver once said. “I realized how lucky I had been with so many friends lost over the years.” Because, despite several serious misfortunes, he mostly escaped with horror, he was given the name “Hans im Glück”. At the Monaco Grand Prix in 1955, for example, he had a serious accident.
Porsche and Mercedes are reminiscent of legendary racing drivers
“The news of Hans Herrmann’s death hit us all very hard,” said Thomas Laudenbach, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “He was one of Porsche AG’s most successful factory racing drivers.” He made history with his victory at Le Mans.
Mercedes remembered an “outstanding racing driver who significantly shaped the history of Mercedes-Benz.” As part of the legendary Silver Arrows racing drivers, he impressed in the mid-1950s. “His likeable charisma and his passion for motorsport made him very popular with fans and fellow human beings,” said Marcus Breitschwerdt, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Heritage.