Otto Merz was a German

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

chauffeur A chauffeur () is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or a limousine. Initially, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to s ...

and

mechanic A mechanic is a skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially engines. Formerly, the term meant any member of the handicraft trades, but by the early 20th century, it had come to mean one who works w ...

. He was a driver in the motorcade during the 1914 assassination of Archuduke Franz Ferdinand and later won the second running of the

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix () was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history: the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in B ...

in 1927. He died in a crash during practice for the 1933 Avusrennen in a modified Mercedes SSK on 18 May 1933.

Early life

Otto Merz was born on 12 June 1889 in

Esslingen am Neckar Esslingen am Neckar (Swabian German, Swabian: ''Esslenga am Neckor''; until 16 October 1964 officially '' Eßlingen am Neckar'') is a town in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, seat of the Esslingen (district), Distri ...

to Karl Gottlob Merz, a locksmith, and Christine Margarete Merz ''née'' Blessing. In 1906, Merz was hired by

Daimler Daimler is a German surname. It may refer to: People * Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), German inventor, industrialist and namesake of a series of automobile companies * Adolf Daimler (1871–1913), engineer and son of Gottlieb Daimler * Paul Da ...

as a mechanic. He also served as a chauffeur and mechanic for several wealthy motor car enthusiasts, such as

Theodore Dreher Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory, Australia * Theodore, Queensland, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore Reservoir, in Saskatchewan People * Theodore (gi ...

, the Austrian motor sport sponsor and son of

Anton Dreher Anton Dreher (7 May 1810 in Schwechat near Vienna – 27 December 1863 in Schwechat) was an Austrian brewer, business magnate, philanthropist of Danube Swabian ancestry, the founder of the Dreher Breweries who was an important figure in the devel ...

, and the Saxon industrialist

Willy Pöge (Friedrich Elias Willibald) Willy Pöge (2 December 1869 - 12 May 1914)
from

The Gold Era of Grand Prix, Golden Era Drivers, "M" Accessed 27 July 2009
Here
A dedicated and capable employee, Merz advanced in the Daimler organization and remained faithful to the Mercedes -- and later Mercedes Benz -- throughout his life.

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

On 28 June 1914, as the chauffeur for Count Alexander von Boos-Waldeck during

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fran ...

and his wife

Sophie Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...

's visit to

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, Merz drove the third car in the motorcade. There were two attempts on the archduke's life that day. In the first one,

Nedeljko Čabrinović Nedeljko Čabrinović ( sr-Cyrl, Недељко Чабриновић; 1 February 1895 – 23 January 1916) was a Bosnian Serb typesetter and political activist, known for his role in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28 ...

threw a bomb with a 12-second fuse at the archduke's car, which was first in the motorcade, which bounced off and rolled under the wheels of Merz' car where it exploded, injuring Boos-Waldeck, Eric von Merizzi and a number of spectators. Later in the day, after the archduke's chauffeur Leopold Ljoka took a wrong turn on their way to visit the wounded at the hospital,

Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip ( sr-Cyrl, Гаврило Принцип, ; 25 July 189428 April 1918) was a Bosnian Serb student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess von ...

stepped up to the archduke's car and fired twice, killing the archduke and his wife.

Racing career

Merz took up on racing in the early 1920s and achieved victories at both

Solitude Racetrack The Solitude racetrack is an racing, race circuit on public roads used for motorsport in the Leonberg area, west of Stuttgart, Germany. It is named after Castle Solitude and until 1965 has hosted various motorcycle and automobile races. Route ...

and at the Klausen hill climb in 1924. He followed this up with a 1925 victory at the Solitude Ring, a closed

road course Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily closed publi ...

around

Castle Solitude Solitude Palace () is a Rococo ''schloss'' and hunting retreat commissioned by Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg. It was designed by and Philippe de La Guêpière, and constructed from 1764 to 1769. It is located on an elongated ridge betwe ...

, in a four-cylinder two litre Mercedes.Twite, p.1327. He repeated the victory there in 1926 at an average speed of , in an ill-handling Porsche-designed

straight-eight The straight-eight engine or inline-eight engine (often abbreviated as I8) is an eight-cylinder internal combustion engine with all eight cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The type has been produced in side-valve, I ...

Mercedes. In July 1927, he won the

at the newly-opened

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

in a Mercedes SSK. He raced against many one-cylinder

Hanomag Hanomag (Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG, ) was a German producer of steam locomotives, tractors, trucks and military vehicles in Hanover. Hanomag first achieved international fame by delivering numerous steam locomotives to Finland, Romania and ...

s and beat his teammate,

Christian Werner Christian Werner (19 May 1892 – 17 June 1932) was a German racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, t ...

, by three minutes over the race. The following year, in "sweltering" heat, the competition included several

Bugatti Type 35 The Bugatti Type 35 is an iconic race car design produced by Bugatti at their Molsheim premises between 1924 and 1930. It was extremely successful when raced by the factory works team. It was also bought by a diverse roster of privateer client ...

s, and top-ranked drivers including

Tazio Nuvolari Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari (; 16 November 1892 – 11 August 1953) was an Italian racing driver. He first raced motorcycles and then concentrated on sports cars and Grand Prix racing. Originally of Mantua, he was nicknamed ("the Flying Mantuan") ...

Louis Chiron Louis Alexandre Chiron (; 3 August 1899 – 22 June 1979) was a Monégasque racing driver who competed in rallies, sports car races, and Grands Prix. Among the greatest drivers between the two World Wars, his career embraced over thirty year ...

, and

Achille Varzi Achille Varzi (8 August 1904 – 1 July 1948) was an Italian racing driver. He is remembered as the winner of the 1933 Monaco Grand Prix, as well as the winner of the first Formula One Grand Prix at the 1946 Turin Grand Prix, and as the chief ...

. Merz came in second place, while several drivers succumbed to the heat, including

Rudolf Caracciola Otto Wilhelm Rudolf Caracciola (30 January 1901 – 28 September 1959) was a German racing driver.Bolsinger and Becker (2002), p. 63 He won the European Championship (auto racing), European Drivers' Championship, the pre-1950 equivalent of the m ...

, who took over from

and Willy Walb. Since Werner shared the driving duties with both Caracciola and Walb, he is credited with a share of first and third places. Merz was the sole driver of the Mercedes Benz SS for the 18 laps of the daunting Nürbrugring Nordschleife, at racing pace, an achievement for which he was widely praised. This ''tour de force'', his amusing ability to hammer nails through wood with his bare hands, together with his reported attempt to rescue Franz Ferdinand fourteen years earlier, forged the imagery of Metz the ''colossus,'' as he became known. These wins did not catapult Merz into a full-time racing career; he participated in races on occasion, such as in the 1929 Tourist Trophy in Ireland, won by his teammate Caracciola; that year's

Ulster Tourist Trophy Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); the remaining three are in the Republic of ...

was less auspicious, for the Caracciola/Merz Mercedes came 13th. Merz was usually listed only as a reserve driver, but he did see action at the International Alpine Trial and at the

ADAC The ADAC, officially the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (), is Europe's largest automobile association. The ADAC is the largest wikt:Verein, ''verein'' (club) in Germany, with around 21 million members. Its headquarters are located i ...

long distance trials. In 1931 he shared Caracciola’s Mercedes-Benz SSKL in the

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championship. It is one of the oldest ...

Montlhéry Montlhéry () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris. History Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to Orléans. U ...

, a grueling ten-hour race in the full circuit, but the car's supercharger failed after 39 laps. That same year, Merz obtained a fifth place at the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring in anSSKL. The six points he scored with Caracciola at the French Grand Prix – the duo completed one-third of the race – tied them for 51st place in the final classification table of the

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, won that year by

Ferdinando Minoia Ferdinando "Nando" Minoia (2 June 1884 – 28 June 1940) was an Italian racing driver with an exceptionally long, distinguished and varied career. In 1907, he won the Coppa Florio driving an Isotta Fraschini. In 1923, he drove the world’s ...

. The following year, Mercedes stayed away from the racing circles, and Merz continued to work at the firm as an experimental and test driver. Even though Mercedes was officially on hiatus, Merz was entered as an alternative driver for the German Grand Prix, but did not take part.Motorsport Memorial. Mercedes-Benz returned to racing in 1933; the company’s management wanted to win the AVUS race; that event, to be held on 21 May in the German capital, was to be attended by high government dignitaries and would be a great opportunity to demonstrate Mercedes' technical prowess. Taking the -long straights of the Berlin track into consideration, the Mercedes-Benz team produced a streamlined SSKL for the occasion. Caracciola, who was back to the firm, would be the first choice to drive it, but he was still in the hospital, convalescing from fractures and injuries suffered during a practice accident for the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the wo ...

on 23 April in a

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

. Under such circumstances, Merz had the SSKL seat in the AVUS race. Possibly he was invited by the team to drive: Merz had been a popular employee since 1906, and was in good standing with the management; it is also possible that Merz offered his services. Although only 43, he had semi-retired from racing, but enjoyed driving and may have considered this race as his last chance to compete in a widely publicized event. Whatever the reason, Mercedes outsiders were surprised to see Merz in the car.

Death

The first official practice session for the 1933 Avusrennen took place on 18 May 1933. A heavy rain drenched the track, and

Daimler Benz Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Daimler-B ...

drivers Merz and

Manfred von Brauchitsch Manfred Georg Rudolf von Brauchitsch (15 August 1905 – 5 February 2003) was a German auto racing driver who drove for Mercedes-Benz in the famous " Silver Arrows" of Grand Prix motor racing in the 1930s. Racing career Brauchitsch won t ...

wanted to try their heavy SSK streamliners under those conditions. Witnesses reported the cars were sliding in several locations on the track and it was very difficult to drive.Motorsport Memorial. A few minutes after 13:00, Merz crashed his SSK on the long straight, overturning near the

Grunewald Grunewald is the name of both a locality and a forest in Germany: * Grunewald (forest) * Grunewald (locality) Grünewald may refer to: * Grünewald (surname) * Grünewald, Germany, a municipality in Brandenburg, Germany * Grünewald (Luxembourg), ...

station and nearly from the finish line. At the place of the accident, the surface changed from

cobblestones Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called ''Belgian blocks'', are often referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct from a ...

tarmac Tarmac may refer to: Engineered surfaces * Tarmacadam, a mainly historical tar-based material for macadamising road surfaces, patented in 1902 * Asphalt concrete, a macadamising material using asphalt instead of tar which has largely superseded tar ...

, and traces of the car trajectory were clearly visible on the cobblestones - but suddenly ended. The next mark left by the vehicle was found further on, where the car hit the ground again. The Mercedes-Benz crashed into a cement milestone on the right side of the track, and, according to the single eye-witness, it somersaulted and rolled several times. The car stopped with its wheels in the air near an embankment. Ejected from the car, rescuers found Merz on his back on the right side of the track. He was transported to the Hildegard Hospital at

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

, a suburb of Berlin and very near the accident site, but his condition was beyond help.Motorsport Memorial.

Cause of accident

Investigators later concluded Merz had lost control for a few moments. A fundamental difference between Brauchitsch's and Merz's Mercedes was determined to have caused the accident. Brauchitsch's had a differently streamlined body than Merz's: on the Brauchitzch SSK, modified by König-Fachsenfeld, the tail comes a high point. Mercedes had modified Merz's SSK differently, and the Sindelfingen-made body of Merz’s car curved down markedly at the rear, a configuration much more likely to create substantial lift. The characteristics of the accident, and the fact it happened in an untested vehicle, has led many experts, including Karl Ludwigsen, to believe the aerodynamic configuration of Merz’s car may have played an important role in this tragedy.

Personal life

On 19 October 1918 in

Schelklingen Schelklingen () is a town in the district of Alb-Donau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is situated 10 km north of Ehingen, and 20 km west of Ulm. Schelklingen and 82% of its territory form part of the Swabian Jura Biosphere Reserv ...

, Otto Merz married Maria Hoch, who was born in

Allmendingen Allmendingen may refer to: In Germany * Allmendingen, Germany In Switzerland *Allmendingen bei Bern Allmendingen bei Bern is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Besides the village ...

on 22 January 1889 to Leo Hoch and Maria Hoch ''née'' Autenrieth. Otto and Maria were of

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

faith.

Racing record

Sources:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merz, Otto German racing drivers 1889 births 1933 deaths Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in Germany European Championship drivers Sportspeople from Esslingen am Neckar Racing drivers from Stuttgart (region)