Ernst Loof (4 July 1907 in Neindorf near Oschersleben – 3 March 1956 in Bonn) was an automotive engineer and racing driver from Neindorf, Germany. He contributed to the design of the BMW 328 sports car in the late 1930s.
Loof participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, the German Grand Prix held on 2 August 1953. He retired with fuel pump failure after two meters of racing and scored no championship points. Having only making it six feet off the starting grid, Loof holds the undesirable record for the driver with the shortest Formula One career, a record often falsely attributed to Marco Apicella. Info from Wiki
Ernst Loof: 1953 Formula One Season By Jeremy McMullen
Ernst Loof’s contribution to automotive and motor racing history is truly not a small one. In many ways, his work before the start of World War II would help Europe to rebuild as quickly as it did after it. It is, therefore, understandable that a man that influenced automotive and motor racing so much would naturally want to be a part of it.
Born in Neindorf, Germany in 1907, Loof would become an automotive engineer. While working as an engineer, Loof would design and even race motorcycles. For this he would be quite successful. This would lead to Loof working for BMW in the years preceding World War II.
During his tenure there, during the late 1930s, he would play an important role in the development of the BMW 328. The BMW 328 would become quite popular and quite successful. Its engine would become particularly coveted by many nations.
When the United States, England, Russia and the rest of the allies won the war England would lay claim to the 328 engine as one of the spoils of the war. Bristol Cars, a division of Bristol Aeroplace Company, would go on to produce its own example of the 328 engine drawn from the copies of the 328 engine they got. These Bristol versions of the 328 engine would go on to power many of the Formula 2 cars of the late 1940s, as well as, those that would take part in the World Championship in the early 1950s.
Yet, Loof’s influence on the post-war racing scene wouldn’t begin and end with the 328. Most of the major manufacturers had been heavily destroyed or damaged during the war. It was going to take a long while to get these major manufacturers back up and running. This opened the door to smaller manufacturers. One small manufacturer of motor racing cars was Veritas, of which Loof was one of its founders. Veritas would go on to produce one of the most successful cars Germany had available during those reconstructive years, the Meteor.
By 1953, Loof was already 45 years old. Veritas was also past its prime and was in the midst of bankruptcy. However, Loof decided to take part in some more races, just one more time. Therefore, he would take one of the Veritas Meteors he had helped design and would prepare to take part in some of the Formula 2 races, including a round of the World Championship.
Being bankrupt and 45 years of age, Loof would not take part in too many races over the course of the 1953 season. In fact, while both East and West Germany hosted more than one race before the month of May, it wouldn’t be until the 24th of the month that Loof would take part in his first race of the season. Interestingly, the first race in which Loof would take part would not take place in his native Germany. The race was the non-championship 23rd Grand Prix des Frontieres held near the town of Chimay.
While Loof may have become famous as an engineer of the 328 and the Meteor for which he was going to drive in the race, Chimay was noted for an engineering blend of another kind. Located in the Scourmont Abbey, Chimay Brewery is just one of seven breweries in the world that produce Trappist beer. Besides the beers sold for support of the monastery and for other good causes, the brewery also produces some fine ales that are sold the world over.
Besides the beer, Chimay was also well known for probably one of the best road courses in the country, besides Spa-Francochamps. Lying just to the west of the town’s center were some winding, undulating country roads that comprised the 6.75 mile Chimay circuit. Complete with a hairpin turn, fast sweeping esses and some very long straights, the Chimay circuit featured just about every kind of corner possible and was also a rather technically challenging circuit. It was fast, dangerous and rather easy to make a mistake while driving.
While not as popular as some of grand prix held throughout Europe the Grand Prix des Frontieres was certainly no spring chicken. In fact, Chimay would help Belgium become one of the leaders in motor racing back during the golden era before World War II.
In spite of all the history, the field for the race would be mostly comprised of Belgian racers. But there would be some other very talented foreign drivers in the field in which Loof would have to contend.
Fastest of them all would be a Frenchman in a French car. Maurice Trintignant would set the pace in practice and would take the pole with a time of four minutes and eleven seconds. Belgian Johnny Claes would find his way to the front row as well with a lap time of four minutes and fifteen seconds. Loof would find his way toward the later part of the starting grid. He would be starting from the back but would have 20 laps in which to improve upon his position.
Loof would be helped almost immediately when the race began. Three cars would end up breaking right at the start of the race. This would help Loof almost before he himself had pulled away from the grid. This would be good as Loof himself wouldn’t last much longer.
While Trintignant held onto the lead and began to turn out some fast laps to pull away from Claes and Roger Laurent, Loof was just beginning to run into trouble. Just two laps into the race, Loof’s Meteor began to run into mechanical trouble. He would do his best to carry on but the troubles would be just too much for him to continue. Therefore, in his first race of the season, Loof would be out after just two laps.
