Mercedes makes track return

The last Mercedes W154 to be built was driven on track for the first time in 70 years, ahead of the Lime Rock Vintage meeting on September 4-7.

This particular W154 was the 15th and last to be built and made one of its few starts in the 1939 Yugoslav Grand Prix in Belgrade, where Manfred von Brauchitsch drove it to second place.

Chassis No 15 was one of two that was transported to Austria for safe keeping during World War II. Near the end of the war the cars were moved to Romania by train, where they sat neglected for many years. Chassis 15 was recently rebuilt with help from Mercedes-Benz before being driven at Lime Rock on demonstration laps by Murray Smith and Mercedes test driver Gert Staub.

Motor Sport was a new partner to the Lime Rock Festival this year and sponsored two awards over the four-day Labor Day weekend event. The first award was for registered entrants in the ‘Sunday in the Park’ car show, judged by Murray Smith and Kent Bain, which went to a 1929 6.5-litre Bentley Speed Six owned by Roger Noble.

The other award sponsored by the magazine was given in recognition of a notable on-track performance in the weekend’s racing. It went to Jeff Jacobson in his 1931 Morgan Super Aero three-wheeler, who notched up a podium on Saturday and a fifth place on Monday.