Willi Krakau (4 December 1911, Felgeleben (now
Schönebeck
Schönebeck (), officially Schönebeck (Elbe), is a town in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, approx. southeast of Magdeburg.
For much of the twentieth century it was noted ...
) – 26 April 1995) was a racing driver from
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, he built a reputation as a constructor of special racing cars, sometimes based on the
BMW 328, with which he enjoyed some success in various formulae including
Formula Two
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 retur ...
.
His single entry into a World Championship race was at the
1952 German Grand Prix
The 1952 German Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 3 August 1952 at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It was race 6 of 8 in the 1952 World Championship of Drivers, in which each Grand Prix was run to Formula Two rules rather than the Formula ...
. Driving his six-cylinder
AFM car, he completed the qualifying sessions but did not appear on the starting grid.
Prior to his motor racing exploits, Krakau had tried his hand at several sports, and was a member of the German
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
team at the
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
.
Krakau died in
Peine
Peine (; Eastphalian: ''Paane'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of the district Peine. It is situated on the river Fuhse and the Mittellandkanal, approximately west of Braunschweig, and east of Hanover.
History
A deed from 11 ...
in 1995.
Complete 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 ...
)
References
Article at 8W
1911 births
1995 deaths
People from Peine (district)
German racing drivers
German Formula One drivers
AFM Formula One drivers
Racing drivers from Lower Saxony
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