from 
The victory; however, would not be lost on everybody. And two weeks later, Riess would arrive at the Nurburgring for the ADAC Eifelrennen, but he would arrive with a team and a different mount.
Riess wasn’t lost in the background with everyone. The small Ecurie Espadon team, which was founded by a number of Swiss gentlemen racers, had come calling upon Riess to drive its second chassis in the 16th Internationales ADAC Eifelrennen on the 25th of May. One of the team’s founders, a very good gentleman racer by the name of Rudolf Fischer, would drive the team’s new Ferrari 500 chassis. Their other chassis, a Ferrari 212, was then offered to Riess. Riess had proven himself quite successful and competent on the twisty and dangerous Nordschleife, and therefore, seemed like the logical choice to drive the second car.
As it were, it would be Fischer that proved to be the most adept to the 14 mile long circuit. Riess was looking good in the Ferrari 212. However, with just about a lap left, Riess’ race would come to an end. Fischer; though, would roll on to victory over Stirling Moss by over forty seconds. Ken Wharton would finish the race 3rd.
Were it not for the late troubles, Riess looked to be on course for a very good result. However, the failure not only ended his chance at a good result, it also hurt in the West German Championship as well.
Racing at the Nurburgring would not be entirely lost though. He would manage to take a Veritas RS and win another race held on the same day. This would just serve as a prelude to perhaps the greatest victory in Riess’ career just one month later.
On the 15th of June, Riess and Hermann Lang prepared to take part in over very important race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. One series of racing that was taking off during the early part of the 1950s was sports car racing. The connection with street cars that could be turned into racing cars helped German car companies, like Mercedes-Benz, rebuild and become a competitive threat again very quickly. Of course one of the biggest stages in which the German car company could compete and potentially grow was Le Mans. A good showing at Le Mans would only help a car company, like Mercedes-Benz, to attract customers and strengthen itself in its efforts to rebuild.
For 1952, Mercedes would take their new 300SL to the 24 hour race. Riess would end up co-driving one of the cars along with Hermann Lang. Tipped as favorites before the race even started, the Mercedes-Benz drivers would end up playing second fiddle behind an incredible performance by Pierre Levegh. Levegh would drive the entire 24 hour race by himself and would lead throughout until the 23rd hour. Then, in the last hour of the race, a tired Levegh made a mistake and blew up his Talbot. This handed the lead, and the victory, to Lang and Riess. Once again, Riess continued to enjoy success practically in whatever kind of race he was to take part.
Due to the value, or lack thereof, of German currency after the Second World War, Riess would end up being absent from the majority of the other grand prix races where the competition was tough and experienced gained was immeasurable. In fact, it wouldn’t be until August that Riess took part in another major grand prix race. However, the race in August was an important one.
On the 3rd of August, Riess was back at the Nurburgring, and the 14 mile long Nordschleife for a couple of races. In one race, he would drive a Mercedes-Benz 300SL sports car. In the other, he would drive a Veritas RS. The first race was called the Grand Prix of the Nurburgring. The second race was the German Grand Prix, which was also the sixth round of the World Championship. This would be the first time Riess had ever had the opportunity to compete in the World Championship. Fortunately for him, the race was taking part at a track that he was very familiar with and quite successful at.
Things were looking good after the Grand Prix of Nurburgring. Riess had started the race 4th in the Mercedes-Benz 300SL. He would end up going on to finish the race a very fine 3rd. This meant he took the final spot on the podium. This also offered him a good deal of confidence going into the German Grand Prix.
Seeing that the race took place in Germany, the German drivers came out in droves for the race. For many, like Riess, this would be their only opportunity to take part in the World Championship. They would be facing some of the best drivers in the world, including one Alberto Ascari.
The German Grand Prix was an important race and not just for the German drivers taking part in the 18 lap race. Alberto Ascari had missed the first round of the World Championship because he and part of the Scuderia Ferrari team were on their way to the United States to take part in the Indianapolis 500 at the end of the May. However, from the moment he arrived back in Europe, Ascari had been dominant. He had managed to score successive victories in the Belgian, French and British Grand Prix. If he were to win at the Nurburgring the World Championship was his. Therefore, none of the German drivers would receive a break from the rest of the international field, especially Ascari. He was not going to allow anybody to get in the way of his World Championship title, not after being so close the season before.
However, for Ascari to win the title, he; and everyone else, would have to negotiate the notorious Nordschleife, or ‘North Course’. Riess, like many of the other German drivers, was very familiar with the Nordschleife and could attest to its reputation. Ascari and many of the other drivers in the World Championship were also familiar with the circuit having raced there on and off over the last few years, and therefore, were very aware of the course’s reputation.
Considered the most-demanding and dangerous purpose-built road course in the world, the Nordschleife was a perfect method for sifting the amateur from the professional. To be fast took a certain amount of skill, but especially, bravery and courage. Situated in the Eifel mountains, the weather bears great similarity to another courageous circuit, that of Spa-Francorchamps. One part of the track could be soaking wet while another completely dry. Therefore, every moment of a lap required great concentration and willingness to push the edge of possibility. Unlike Spa; however, one lap around the 14 mile long Nordschleife took twice as long. The constant twisting, turning, rising and falling of the circuit had a way of mesmerizing drivers causing dangerous lapses in concentration. Just one lap ended up feeling like an eternity in a ‘Green Hell’, and just as the driver emerges from the forest, he or she finds themselves only heading out for yet another lap.
Very few drivers had ever been considered Ringmeisters. However, Asari looked to join that list as he was in pursuit of the World Championship title. Despite not being as well known as Ascari, Riess was another that could have been considered a Ringmeister as he seemed relaxed careening through the twisting mountainous circuit.
In practice, Riess would show just how much he felt at home at the Nurburgring. Right from the very start Riess was at a disadvantage. He had come to the race with a Veritas RS which was a number of years old. Compared to the Ferrari 500 chassis, the RS was outclassed. However, Riess would take the aged chassis and would manage to put the car on the fourth row of the starting grid in the 12th position overall. This put him in the top half of the starting field.
