Gerhard Karl Mitter (30 August 1935 – 1 August 1969) was a German

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

and sportscar driver.

Early life and career

Mitter was born in Schönlinde (

Krásná Lípa Krásná Lípa (; german: Schönlinde) is a town in Děčín District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,400 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Dlouhý Důl, Hely, Kamenná Horka, Krásný Buk, Kyjov, ...

) in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, but his family was expelled from there, to

Leonberg Leonberg (; swg, Leaberg) is a town in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg about to the west of Stuttgart, the state capital. About 45,000 people live in Leonberg, making it the third-largest borough in the rural district (''Landkr ...

near

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. After racing motorbikes, he switched to

Formula Junior Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (''International Sporting Commission'', the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class ...

, becoming the best German driver with 40 victories. In addition, he sold

two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

s for FJ. In 1963, Mitter won the

Eifelrennen The Eifelrennen was an annual motor race, organised by ADAC Automobile Club from 1922 to 2003, held in Germany's Eifel mountain region even before the Nürburgring was built there. History Starting from 1922, the first races were held on a 33& ...

at the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

Formula One

Mitter also participated in seven Grands Prix, debuting on 23 June 1963. He scored a total of three championship points in his home

1963 German Grand Prix The 1963 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring on August 4, 1963. It was race 6 of 10 in both the 1963 World Championship of Drivers and the 1963 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 15-lap race was ...

with an old Porsche 718 from 1961. Impressed by this,

Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. Mor ...

gave him a chance in the following years.

Sportscar driver

Mitter, Gerhard - Porsche 908 (1969-06-01)

sportscar racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...

and

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...

for Porsche, he scored many wins, e.g. the 1966-1968

European Hillclimb Championship The FIA European Hill Climb Championship (FIA EHC) is an FIA-run motorsport competition held across Europe on closed public road courses. Unlike circuit racing, each driver competes alone, starting from a point at the base of a mountain and reac ...

s against

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

, the 1966

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...

(

Porsche 907 The Porsche 907 is a sportscar racing prototype built by Porsche in 1967 and 1968. 1967 The 907 was introduced at the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. Following a suggestion by Ferdinand Piëch, the position of the driver was moved from the tradition ...

, in class) and the 1969

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

(

Porsche 908 The Porsche 908 was a racing car from Porsche, introduced in 1968 to continue the Porsche 906- Porsche 910- Porsche 907 series of models designed by Helmuth Bott (chassis) and Hans Mezger (engine) under the leadership of racing chief Ferdinand P ...

) as his final major win.

Return to Formula One and death

Due to the long

track, it was possible to take part in the

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) 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 R ...

with

Formula 2 Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name re ...

cars that were classified in their own contest. Mitter was killed there at ''Schwedenkreuz'' while practising for the

1969 German Grand Prix The 1969 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring on 3 August 1969. It was race 7 of 11 in both the 1969 World Championship of Drivers and the 1969 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. Twelve Formula Two ...

with BMW's ''269'' F2 project. As a suspension or steering failure was suspected, the BMW team with

Hubert Hahne Hubert Hahne (28 March 1935 – 24 April 2019) was a racing driver from Germany. He was the older brother of Armin Hahne, as well as the uncle of Jörg van Ommen. Career He participated in five Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, two of ...

and

Dieter Quester Dieter Quester (born 30 May 1939 in Vienna) is an active touring car racing driver from Austria. Dieter has participated in 53 24-Hour Races. He competed in a single Formula One race in which he finished ninth. Starting with motorboats in the 1950 ...

withdrew from the race, as did Mitter's teammate at Porsche,

Hans Herrmann Hans Herrmann (born 23 February 1928) is a retired Formula One and sports car racing driver from Stuttgart, Germany. In F1, he participated in 19 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 2 August 1953. He achieved 1 podium, and scored a ...

Udo Schütz Udo Schütz (born 11 January 1937) is a German entrepreneur, who was competing successfully with racing cars in the 1960s, and with yachts in the 1990s. Career His career began in the early 1960s. With Anton Fischhaber and his #72 Porsche 9 ...

, his driving partner at Porsche in the

1969 World Sportscar Championship season The 1969 World Sportscar Championship season was the 17th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1969 International Championship for Makes,FIA Yearbook, 1974, Grey section, page 124-125 which was a series for FIA ...

with whom he had won the Targa three months earlier, had survived a bad crash at the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans, and retired.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

(

)

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(

)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitter, Gerhard People from Krásná Lípa Sudeten German people German racing drivers German Formula One drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in Germany 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 12 Hours of Reims drivers Ecurie Maarsbergen Formula One drivers Team Lotus Formula One drivers BMW (1950s–60s) Formula One drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Naturalized citizens of Germany 1935 births 1969 deaths Porsche Motorsports drivers