1937 Belgian Grand Prix

1937 Belgian Grand Prix
1937 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 1 of 5 in the 1937 European Championship
	Next race →
Race details
Date	11 July 1937
Official name	VII Grand Prix de Belgique
Location	Spa-Francorchamps; Spa, Belgium
Course	Road course
Course length	14.95 km (9.29 miles)
Distance	34 laps, 508.30 km (315.86 miles)
Pole position
Driver	Raymond Sommer;
	Grid positions set by ballot
Fastest lap
Driver	Hermann Lang
Time	5:04.7
Podium
First	Rudolf Hasse;
Second	Hans Stuck;
Third	Hermann Lang;

The 1937 Belgian Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 11 July 1937.

Circuit

It was the last Grand Prix to be held at the circuit's original configuration^[2] with the slow corner at the former Belgian-German border. This was bypassed by the fast Raidillon uphill shortcut after the bridge over Eau Rouge river.

Vanderbilt Cup

A week prior, the 1937 Vanderbilt Cup race ^[3] was held in the USA, and the German teams split their efforts, while Alfa Romeo's Scuderia Ferrari preferred to race in the US with its main drivers, sending only a B-team to Spa; the Belgians were particularly disappointed that Rudolf Caracciola, who was supposed to come to Belgium, pulled rank, and decided to go to the Cup, which opened up a berth for Hermann Lang.^[4] Some German pilots were supposed to take the LZ 129 Hindenburg to return in time to Europe, but this Zeppelin was destroyed to months earlier and the German airship flights were cancelled.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Car	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	12	Rudolf Hasse	Auto Union	Auto Union C	34	3:01:22	5	1
2	8	Hans Stuck	Auto Union	Auto Union C	34	+0:42	3	2
3	2	Hermann Lang	Daimler-Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz W125	34	+2:45	4	3
4	6	Christian Kautz	Daimler-Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz W125	34	+3:03	7	4
5	16	Raymond Sommer	Scuderia Ferrari	Alfa Romeo 12C-36	33	+1 Lap	1	4
Ret	4	Manfred von Brauchitsch	Daimler-Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz W125	31	Supercharger	2	4
Ret	14	Hermann Paul Müller	Auto Union	Auto Union C	13	Oil pipe	8	6
Ret	18	Carlo Felice Trossi	Scuderia Ferrari	Alfa Romeo 12C-36	5	Engine	6	7
DNS	10	Luigi Fagioli	Auto Union	Auto Union C				8
DNS	20	Franz Gouvion	F. Gouvion	Maserati 8CM		Engine		8