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Old 26 Jul 2007, 20:03 (Ref:1974342)   #1
Corktree
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1934 Eifelrennen

This was posted at some point in the past:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vitesse
The white/silver paint-scraping story has just one source: the often unreliable memoirs of Alfred Neubauer, so not even contemporary to the event. No press reports at the time mention it. It's just a pity that MB didn't turn up at AVUS in 1934: this was where the AUs raced for the first time, as always in bare metal. Early pictures of the W25 seem to show it as white and the paint scraping allegedly happened at the Eifelrennen: yet a short time later, Barré Lyndon describes the MBs at Montlhéry as white!
Not sure if there much interest here in this, but....

First, the W 25 was at AVUS and quite apparently in silver.... They suffered fuel feed problems and were withdrawn prior to the race.

Second, I think that there is still an element of serious doubt as to whether any of the W 25 were ever white -- with the possible exception of the prototype W 25, chassis 86120/1.

Third, after attending a symposium in Stuttgart earlier this week on this very matter, it is obvious that Something Happened, the only question being precisely just what that was.... Seriously, it seems that after some discussion that an important aspect of this tale was the finish of the car, not necessarily the paint, was the factor giving rise to this story.

Fourth, after listening to and speaking with Herr Harvey Rowe, author of the articles in Quick which were turned, willy-nilly and much chopped up and altered which much omitted into the 1958 Neubauer book, I have a different and better perspective on Don Alfredo and his tales....

Fifth, the frustration of what one reads in the contemporary literature was discussed with Doug Nye adding several more examples to the already long list.... However, once you begn to take them as a whole and sort out the seemingly endless contradictions, a picture begins to emerge.... of a silver car....

Sixth, while the symposium did not reach any -- overtly -- hard and fast conclusions, but that MB included Eberhard Reuss among those invited meant that it was not going to be a white-wash -- groan....

Doug Nye and I ended up sitting next to each other and had many exchanges, knowing glances, and sidebar discussions during the symposium. We tended to be largely in agreement that there seems to be some basis for the story, but not prehaps the one usually cited.

Here are some links to the Motor-Klassik site's coverage of the event:

Kratzer im Lack - Experten diskutieren Mercedes-Legende

See Bild 8

As always, "Pity the Poor Historian!"

Regards,

H. Donald Capps
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Old 1 Aug 2007, 15:18 (Ref:1978312)   #2
D-Type
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Don,

Can you please clarify what Harvey Rowe had to say?
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Old 2 Aug 2007, 11:57 (Ref:1979009)   #3
Corktree
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Quote:
Originally Posted by D-Type
Don,

Can you please clarify what Harvey Rowe had to say?
Harvey Rowe provided a missing perspective to the books "Manner, Frauen un Motoren"/ "Speed Was My Life" -- which are different in many respects, which were based upon the articles in Quick that he wrote with Neubauer.

Rowe described how the interviews took place. Using a reel-to-reel tape recorder, the plan was for Rowe to ask questions and Neubauer to respond, only it didn't quite work out that way in the beginning. In the first session, Rowe asked a question and Neubauer launched into an animated talk that did not end until the tape ran out, ignoring any efforts by Rowe to interject questions or ask for comments on other topics. The second and subsequent sessions went better. Why? Because Rowe's wife was from the same area Neubauer was and whenever Neubauer would begin to get off topic, Frau Rowe -- a delightful lady by the way -- would interupt and get Don Alfredo back on track. The first installment was printed a month after the first interview.

Rowe knew little about motor racing -- indeed, the Quick articles were the only items he ever wrote on the subject, but was to remain to close touch with Neubauer until his death. Neubauer "knew a little about a lot" and "wanted more recognition" were two of the conclusions that Rowe came away with as a result of his relationship with Neubauer. He was also an "entertaining and animated talker with great stories."

Rowe said that the story about the 1934 Eifelrennen was mentioned by Neubauer "at least four, five times." Rowe saw no reason to doubt it, especially since von Brauchitsch and Lang both seemed in agreement. He said Neubauer seemed very proud of the story. Rowe was very emphatic that while Neubauer embellish things, lying was not something he was inclined to do, this being a clear reference to the charges of Eberhard Reuss that the entire episode was a lie, a fabrication.

Rowe stated that while the specifics of what happened concerning the paint-scraping may have been embellished, he was also very certain that there was a foundation to such a story, that it was based upon some element of truth, even if it did not happen at the Eifelrennen. While Neubauer may have gotten things a bit "mixed up or jumbled' on this, Rowe was very forceful in his view that it contained an element of truth, in large part because none of those contemporaries with some knowledge or even possible involvement never expressed an doubt over the basic story.

I spoke with Rowe about the Tripoli story. He said that Neubauer related it was a story that he had heard and thought very entertaining, never claiming personal knowledge, but simply passing the story on -- with a few embellishments, perhaps.

Which brings us to an important point that Rowe mentioned a number of times. The style used in the articles was "very much like a novel." Why? Because "readers wanted the story, the human side, not necessarily the factual information." He said that this is a point that is so often lost by those today. At the time, Rowe stated, they wrote that way because that was what sold and which also what the editors wanted.

The book was made from the Quick articles without the knowledge or involvment of either Rowe or Neubauer. Its release was a surprise to both. Neither were very happy about it, but that was how things were.

Rowe, by the way, had a German mother and an English father and lived almost his entire life in Germany, working as a journalist.

So, after our discussions at supper on Monday night (Hans Herrmann was there as well) and on Tuesday, I came to the conclusion that Rowe, who really had not been aware that this was even "much of an issue" until recently, while very perturbed by having a "tribunal about some paint that may have been scraped off" as he put it, was also a credible person regarding Neubauer. Rowe readily stated that Neubauer may have been many things, but "a liar was not one of them."

Therefore, after taking into account there seems to be an element of truth in the paint-scraping story, what was it? Probably not at the Eifelrennen, which was not an event run to the International Formula (750 kg), and probably not even at the AVUS race, which had originally been set to run to the new formula but then changed a few weeks prior to the race.

It seems that at some point prior to the AVUS and Eifelrennen events, only a week apart, that a weight problem was identified and dealt with by the team. Exactly when is a question only now being considered.

Also, it is doubtful that any of the W 25 machines were white, with the exception of perhaps a single machine and even then not for long. The cars apparently were intended to be silver from the start.

Photos of the machines indicate that the finish of the machines was scarcely of the pristine, 'concours d'elegance' that one would assume. Looking at the remaining W 25 at the Classic-Center even today, you can clearly sense this. Doug Nye thinks that filler added for presentation purposes was removed as a means to reduce weight. I am in agreement with this idea, the only issue being when it was done.

The more you dig and the more rocks you kick over, the more there is dig through and the more rocks to look under.

Interestingly, those at M-B stated that the first time that they began to question this story, according to Dr. Harry Niemann, was in 1994. Niemann also brought out the fact that while M-B managed to get Neubauer's diaries that were once in the hands of Christy's for an auction, the one for the 1934 season was not among them.

Currently, I am awaiting a packet from M-B with more information that has been gathered since the symposium.
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