Herbert Müller (racing driver)
Swiss racing driver (1940–1981)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Herbert Müller Rebmann (11 May 1940 – 24 May 1981)[1] was a racing driver from Switzerland. He was born in Reinach and was nicknamed Stumpen-Herbie. Among other successes, he won the Targa Florio twice, in 1966 and 1973, both with Porsche.
Reinach, Switzerland
Cologne, West Germany
Swiss Müller, in 1975 at Spa-Francorchamps | |
| Born | 11 May 1940 Reinach, Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Died | 24 May 1981 (aged 41) Cologne, West Germany |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Active years | 1971 |
| Teams | non-works Lotus |
| Entries | 1 (0 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1971 Italian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1971 Italian Grand Prix |
Driving a Ferrari 512 in an Interserie race at the Nürburgring, Müller survived a fiery start collision that ended in the pit lane next to a fire engine. Müller got out of the car and ran towards a fire fighter who put out the flames on his overall.
Müller died in the 1981 1000 km Nürburgring in his Porsche 908 Turbo, racing with his longtime friend Siegfried Brunn. Before the event, Müller stated that he would retire from driving after the end of the race. On lap 1, Bobby Rahal, driving the Bob Akin Porsche 935, raced side-by-side with Guy Edwards in a Lola T600-Cosworth. The two cars collided and Rahal's Porsche made contact with Henri Pescarolo, driving a Lancia Beta Montecarlo. It sent Rahal's Porsche spinning backwards on the left side of the track at Kesselchen. The car, which was fully fueled from the first lap, was allowed to remain where it was abandoned. Akin reported in a November 1981 Road & Track article that a marshal called four times to race control the car was in a dangerous section of the circuit and had to be removed, with the request repeatedly ignored. On lap 17, Brunn pitted and exited the car, with Müller taking over driving duties. On the same lap, another driver spun in front of him at Kesselchen, which is after Bergwerk. He collided heavily with an earth bank and then collided with the abandoned Akin Porsche 935, causing a large explosion and fire. He was dead by the time he was removed from the burning car; he had not been wearing his safety belts at the time of the crash, and was killed in the initial impact. The race was stopped after 17 laps and the result declared official after 17 of 44 laps. Half points were awarded as the race had not reached 33 laps.
Racing record
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Non-championship Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
