Richard Seaman – a racing career for Mercedes-Benz
Triumph and tragedy were closely intertwined in the career of Richard John Beattie Seaman, known to friends and colleagues as “Dick”. The Englishman, who had been driving cars since his student days in Cambridge, joined the Mercedes-Benz racing stable in 1937. He won the 1938 German Grand Prix driving the W 154 3-litre formula racing car. He suffered a fatal accident at the 1939 Belgian Grand Prix in Spa.
• Born: 4 February 1913
• 1926: Public school at Rugby
• 1930: Presented with his first car, a Riley Brooklands Nine
• July 1931: First hillclimb competition at Shelsley Walsh in the Riley
• October 1931: Begins studies at Cambridge. Meets Whitney Straight. Seaman decides on a career as a racing driver.
• 1932: Rows for Cambridge
• 1932: Member of the Cambridge University Automobile Club (CUAC)
• Parents present him with an MG Magna.
• 1933: He persuades his parents to buy him a 2-litre Bugatti. Enters the Bugatti for a race in Donington, but not placed. Later that year his father buys him a Lagonda.
• December 1933: Whitney Straight forms a racing stable.
• February 1934: Seaman joins Straight’s stable with a newly acquired MG Magnette.
• March 1934. First class victory with the MG at the Intervariety Speed Trials in Eynsham
• August 1934: Class victory at the “Prix de Bern” in Bremgarten
• 1935: Seaman drives for ERA. However, ongoing problems with the vehicle lead him to set up his own racing team with mechanic Giulio Ramponi.
• August 1935: Wins in the ERA at Pescara (Coppa Acerbo) and Bremgarten (Prix de Bern)
• 1936: On Ramponi’s advice, Seaman buys a ten-year-old Delage from Earl Howe. Rebuilt by Ramponi, the Delage leads to winning ways: Seaman notches up victories in Donington, as well as on the Isle of Man, in Pescara and Bremgarten.
• November 1936: Invited to test drive for Mercedes-Benz at the Nürburgring
• February 1937: Contract with Mercedes-Benz
• May 1937: First race in the W 125 Silver Arrow at the Grand Prix of Tripoli. Finished seventh
• May 1937: 5th place at the AVUS Grand Prix
• July 1937: 2nd place at the Vanderbilt Cup in New York, 1st Rosemeyer, 3rd Mays
• 1937: Moves to Dambach on Lake Starnberg, practises his waterskiing
• July 1937: Serious accident as a result of colliding with Ernst von Delius at the German Grand Prix on the Nürburgring. Von Delius dies, Seaman breaks thumb and nose.
• August 1937: Accident during qualifying in Pescara, nevertheless finishes 5th in Caracciola’s car at the Coppa Acerbo
• September 1937: Two 4th place finishes in Livorno and Brno
• October 1937: Crashes out of the Grand Prix at Donington
• June 1938: Meets his future wife Erika Popp
• July 1938: Wins the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. 2nd Lang / Caracciola, 3rd Stuck
• August 1938: 2nd place at the Swiss Grand Prix in Bremgarten. 1st Caracciola, 3rd von Brauchitsch
• September 1938: Starts in a Frazer-Nash BMW at the British Tourist Trophy. Finishes a disappointing 21st as a result of technical problems
• October 1938: 3rd place at the Donington Grand Prix. 1st Nuvolari, 2nd Lang
• December 1938: Marries Erika Popp, terminates contact with his mother
• 1939: In spite of mounting political tension, British racing colleagues advise Seaman to continue driving for Mercedes-Benz.
• April 1939: Drives the fastest lap in practice at the Grand Prix de Pau, but only named as reserve driver
• May 1939: Abandons the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nürburgring shortly after the start. A few days later takes part in filming for a documentary on the Silver Arrows
• 25 June 1939: Leads the field at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa, but crashes in heavy rain and dies of his injuries later that day
Pictures of John Richard Beattie Seaman
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