The 2016 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is officially underway and this year, top honors go to Formula One racer Hans-Joachim Stuck. Born in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany, Stuck is son of the legendary racer Hans Stuck, best known for his multiple Gran Prix successes during the 1930s – the Silver Arrows era.
The younger Stuck learned to drive on the famed Nürburgring and ran his first race in 1969 at the Nordschleife.
“Getting to the grid was extremely exciting,” Stuck said of that first race. “All of a sudden, my wishes to become a racer came true. I just wanted to start the race and give everybody hell!”
Stuck won his first 24-hour race the next year at age 19 and many more victories followed, including the Spa 24 Hours endurance race in Belgium in 1972, two 24 Hours of Le Mans races, and the DTM Championship in 1990. He participated in 81 Grands Prix, achieving two podiums and scoring 29 championship points. He announced his retirement from racecar driving in 2011 after 43 years on the competitive track and, in 2012, was appointed President of the German Motorsport Association (Deutscher Motor Sport Bund).
As part the celebration, Stuck’s Formula One 1977 Brabham-Alfa Romeo will make a rare appearance. Traveling from the Alfa Romeo museum in Arese, Italy, it’s the centerpiece of the Hans Stuck Class and best known as the car that Stuck put on the front row at Watkins Glen in the 1977 Grand Prix of the United States, despite soaking conditions.
"I was at Watkins Glen in 1977 and have great memories of Stuck's Brabham and the great sound of that 12 cylinder Alfa Romeo engine," said Bill Warner, founder and Chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. "We're honored that Alfa Romeo has sent this car from their fabulous museum in Arese, Italy, to honor Hans Stuck".
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