At the kilometer 508 of the Frankfurt-Darmstadt motorway, in a small area encircled from trees there is a memorial stone erected in memory of Bernd Rosemeyer, legendary driver that with his enterprises and his charisma marked strongly the history of motorsport. He was the more shining meteor in the history of the competitions: appeared very young from null, in only two years has reached the apexes of motoring, and after that he flew in the sky in the winter of 1938, while he chased the myth of the speed, together with his Auto Union.
Bernd Rosemeyer is born in Lingen (Germany, Lower Saxony) in 1909 and, as many other colleagues, begins the career in the world of the races with the motorcycles, in 1931. He competes in numerous local and national contests in Germany with BMW and NSU. The talent and his capacities gives to him numerous victories and comes noticed from the observators, that soon comes engaged from the DKW. With his good results he becomes one of the young driver more considered from the technicians and the journalists and one of the most loved driver from the etnhusiasts.

The young Rosemeyer with the DKW

Good and happy boy, great wants to emerge, contagious "enthusiasm" and great driving dowries: not late Rosemeyer emerges.
The Auto Union (of whose group the DKW makes part) is in search of a young talented driver to place occasionally side by side to Varzi and Stuck and Bernd, together with others, is called from the german factory to do a driving test.
In November of 1934 he has the possibility to try the car of the four rings at the Nurburgring: it is the first time that he drives a racing car. In spite of the inexperience he emerges between the others and obtains a contract in order to run some contests the successive year.
Willi Walb, the sport director of the team, during the first GP of the '35 season doesn't "use" Rosemeyer, in wait of an easy and not too fast race, making the debut without too many risks. But the young Bernd does not has the intention to wait too much and after the first contests begins to insist for being able to run, but the permission is denied. But he is sure: he wants to run at the race of the AVUS and his enthusiasm is uncontrollable: every day he writes on the calendar of Walb "will run Rosemeyer at the AVUS?" until that a day his director, stressed and infuriated, yields and consents. The AVUS is the faster track of the year and is not adapt for a debut but Bernd makes an optimal race, demonstrating already great driving qualities and speed. In this race he has to withdraw for the breach of the engine, but his great performance permicts to him to participate to the successive Grand Prix of the Eifelrennen. On this track, the second race in absolute with the four wheels, he reaches the second position behind Caracciola with the Mercedes-Benz.
Rosemeyer does not leave more his place in the team and continues to compete for all the season: he's fifth at the GP of France, fourth at the Nurburgring and second at Pescara. Here, during the race, he has a "problem" and in a curve goes out of the road with the brakes blocked. He flies beyond a pit and with the car passes between a telegraphic pole and the parapet in cement of a bridge, in a very small space. Prof. Porsche, the engineer of the Auto Union, at the end of the race wants to go to see the place and measures the space between the two obstacles: 2 centimeters over the width of the car!!
The episode projects Bernd at the limelight and he becomes famous. Moreover he is loved from all, the enthusiasts, the technicians, the journalists, that appreciate his character, the courage and the great respect that he has towards the opponents. The season continues and, after other great performances, arrives the first victory of the career, at Brno, only four months from the debut.

Rosemeyer during the official test session of the Swiss GP (1935)

1936 is remembered in the annals of the history of motoring like the year of Rosemeyer: the German has at his disposal the new improved version of the Auto Union and dominates clearly the season.
The first race, at Montecarlo, is not fortunate: he exits of road and goes to blink against a parapet. After the race he is reached for an interview from a journalist, that sees Rosemeyer while is re-entering on foot to the box. Bernd takes a walk with an enormous stone vase under the arm and the journalist asks to him what is it. "Oh, this is in substitution of the entitled prize to prince Ranieri. When I have gone against to the parapet it has come to me this stone with others fragments of the destroyed parapect. I took this stone as a consolation: it has just the shape of the globet for which we have run..."
After others three races (Tunisi, Tripoli and Barcelona) begins the positive series at the Nurburgring. Rosemeyer has the first, epic duel against "the Master", Tazio Nuvolari, the only driver that with the Alfa Romeo still fight for the victory against the german cars. The day of the race the weather is terrible: it's foggy! During the last laps Rosemeyer prodigiously recovers on Nuvolari: the german, in spite of the visibility annulled, pushes to the maximum, braking at memory (!!) in the numerous curves and in the end he's able to exceed the italian.
After that Nuvolari returns to the victory at Budapest while Bernd returns to win at the Nurburgring, Pescara, Bern and Monza. At Bern he is protagonist of a memorable duel with Caracciola, with wich exist a strong rivalry similar to the one existing between Varzi and Nuvolari.
Rosemeyer begins to run (and to win) also in the contests in climb in Germany. Debuts and wins at Freiburg and Stuck, a great specialist of the category, remains impressed from his meticolous preparation, the facility of adaptation that demonstrates and from his speed. At the end of the year he will be European champion of the GP and German champion of the mountain and, naturally, is the point of reference of the Auto Union. Finally, during the year, gets married with the aviatrix Elly Beinhorn, known a year before: the two form "the fastest couple of the world".

1936, Monza: another victory for the great Bernd Rosemeyer

In 1937 Mercedes tries to return to dominate the races with a new car of beyond 640 horses and the Auto Union, a factory smaller that the rival, equally increase the power of the car but is not at the same level of the new Mercedes. Rosemeyer equally wins at the Eifelrennen, the Acerbo cup and Donington. He gains also the prestigious Vanderbilt cup in the United States, where drives as a master on a little and slow track, not adapt for his car. In October debuts also with the record car, derived from the one for the GP. Also in this speciality replaces Stuck and in October, on the Frankfurt-Darmstadt freeway, conquests the record of speed at 408 km/h (254 mph), striking clamorously the Mercedes.
Elly Beinhorn Rosemeyer: "...I went to the bridge of Morfelden, in order to see my husband passing at full speed. The impression of this speed never seen before removed me the breath: I was turning myself towards the other part of the bridge when Bernd was already far, in a curve several kilometres after...".
The race to the records seems ended but Mercedes does not want to loose against the little rival and reopen the sessions for new attempts and prepares the "revenge". The 28th January 1938 the two German factories are ready in order to reopen the challenge, still on the Frankfurt-Darmstadt freeway. It leaves Mercedes who succeds to improve the previous record and catches up a speed of 423 km/h (263 mph). At the return his driver, Rudolf Caracciola, advises Rosemeyer to send back the attempt to the successive day because there is a strong lateral wind that blows on the track, very dangerous at high speeds. But Rosemeyer does not have fear and wants to strike the record of Mercedes in order not to allow the journalists to write of the triumph of the rival factory the next day. He starts equally, in spite of the same technicians of the Auto Union are not favorable.
It will be a travel without return: a strong blow of wind hits the car just at the escape from an underpass: the driver equally succeeds to correct with the steering and not to lose the control of the car (in that moment he runs at over than 450 km/h - 280 mph) but the right wheels ands on the humid grass and the loss of adhesion is unavoidable and the car exits of road. The tragedy makes many polemics and arouse great impression all over the world. One of the most loved and admired drivers, one of the greatest natural talents in the history of motoring, symbol of the Auto Union and of the race of the end of the years '30, disappears like a shining shooting-star in the sky.