# 1926 German Grand Prix

The 1926 German Grand Prix was an auto race held at the AVUS track on 11 July 1926. It was the first ever German Grand Prix. The race was held in heavy rain, and was won by Germany's native son, Rudolf Caracciola.
Recognising a lack of available vehicles for the new Grand Prix formula (for example, the 1926 French Grand Prix had just three starters), the organisers decided to admit a diverse field vaguely described as sports cars. These were divided into three classes based on engine capacity: Class D (2L-3L), Class E (1.5L-2L) and Class F (1.1L to 1.5L). The race start was staggered, with class D released first, followed by class E, and finally class F, at 2-minute intervals.
The race was marred by an accident involving driver Adolf Rosenberger, whose car crashed into one of the marshals' huts, killing three people.
The German Grand Prix would not return to the AVUS track until 1959.

## Classification

| Pos | No | Class | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/Retired |
| 1 | 14 | E | Rudolf Caracciola | Mercedes | 20 | 2:54'12.8 |
| 2 | 5 | D | Christian Riecken | NAG | 20 | 2:57'33.2 |
| 3 | 7 | D | Willi Cleer | Alfa Romeo RLSS | 20 | 3:00'16.8 |
| 4 | 20 | E | Pierre Clause | Bignan | 20 | 3:02'07.4 |
| 5 | 32 | F | Georg Klöbe | NSU | 20 | 3:07'27.0 |
| 6 | 16 | E | Max zu Schaumburg-Lippe | OM 665 | 20 | 3:10'57.4 |
| 7 | 28 | F | Jakob Scholl | NSU | 20 | 3:11'54.2 |
| 8 | 37 | F | Franz Islinger | NSU | 20 | 3:13'58.8 |
| 9 | 23 | E | Hans Santner | OM 665 | 20 | 3:16'54.2 |
| 10 | 54 | F | Josef Müller | NSU | 20 | 3:18'25.4 |
| 11 | 44 | E | Hans Bakasch | Brennabor | 20 | 3:21'26.2 |
| 12 | 41 | E | Edard Reichstein | Brennabor | 20 | 3:26'33.8 |
| 13 | 10 | D | Fritz Feldmann | Hansa | 20 | 3:27'45.8 |
| 14 | 9 | D | Erwin Orska | NAG | 20 | 3:28'11.0 |
| 15 | 25 | E | Fritz Mitzlaff | Brennabor | 20 | 3:29'01.6 |
| 16 | 42 | F | Hugo Urban-Emmerich | Talbot | 20 | 3:29'37.8 |
| 17 | 33 | F | Max Wälti | Bugatti | 20 | 3:31'17.8 |
| DNF | 24 | F | Hans Hanft | Bugatti | 17 | |
| DNF | 31 | F | Hermann Friedrich | Pluto | 16 | |
| DNF | 38 | F | Georg Kimpel | Bugatti | 16 | Conrod |
| DNF | 15 | E | Josef Ludwig | Bugatti | 15 | |
| DNF | 4 | D | Paul von Guillaume | Austro-Daimler | 14 | |
| DNF | 18 | E | Otto Komnick | Komnick | 13 | Conrod |
| DNF | 4 | D | Carl Deilmann | Austro-Daimler | 12 | |
| DNF | 13 | E | Rudolf Breier | Bugatti | 9 | |
| DNF | 36 | F | Jean Chassagne | Talbot | 8 | Accident |
| DNF | 26 | F | Alfred Mederer | Pluto | 8 | Accident |
| DNF | 40 | F | R. van Horn | GM | 8 | Broken valve |
| DNF | 19 | E | Adolf Rosenberger | Mercedes | 6 | Accident |
| DNF | 27 | F | Ferdinando Minoia | OM 865 | 6 | Tyres, engine |
| DNF | 1 | D | Hans Lohmann | Komnick | 6 | |
| DNF | 2 | D | Hans Berthold | NAG | 5 | |
| DNF | 8 | D | R. C. Krüger | Alfa Romeo | 3 | Clutch |
| DNF | 45 | F | Willy Loge | AGA | 2 | Radiator |
| DNF | 3 | D | Ernst Hofer | Steiger | 1 | Radiator |
| DNF | 30 | F | Max Georg Fielder | BFA | 1 | Flat tyre |
| DNF | 34 | F | Otto Fettkenheur | Bob | 0 | Retired |
| DNF | 46 | F | Heinz Erblich | Alfi | 0 | Retired |
| DNS | 11 | D | Wilhelm Heine | NAG | | Accident in practice |
| DNS | 12 | E | Arno Hänsel | Bugatti | | Engine |
| DNS | 21 | E | Hans Kolb | Bugatti | | Engine |
| DNS | 35 | F | Luigi "Gigi" Platé | Chiribiri | | Accident in practice |
| DNS | 39 | F | August Momberger | NSU | | Engine |
| DNS | 43 | F | Cord von Einem | Pluto | | Engine |
| Sources: |||||||