Hans Villiez von Stuck Born: 27 December 1900, Warsaw, Poland
Died: 9 February 1978, Grainau, Germany
Grand Prix Starts: 0 Grand Prix victories: 0 Points total: 0
Hans Villiez von Stuck was born in Poland to Swiss parents who lived in Germany but he is perhaps best-known as the 'Austrian King of the Mountains' because of his extraordinary record in hill-climbs (he developed his skill bringing milk from his farm to Munich in the early 1920s).
He won his first race in Baden-Baden in 1923 and then graduated to Austro-Daimlers. He showed so much promise that Ferdinand Porsche built him an Auto Union and he promptly won GPs in Germany, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia.
He also won the first of three European Mountain titles. More GP wins in Italy and Germany followed, and he was unbeatable in hill-climbs before the war. German drivers were banned from competition until 1950 so Stuck took Austrian citizenship and beat Ascari at Monza later that year. He competed in hill-climbs in his 60s and also coached his son, Hans-Joachim, in the intricacies of the Nurburgring.
