Dr. Eng. hc F. Porsche AG mourns the loss of Hans Herrmann. The former racing driver died on January 9, 2026, at the age of 97. During his motorsport career he achieved more than 80 overall and class victories, the vast majority for Porsche. Herrmann not only took part in all major endurance races and the European Hill Climb Championships, but also carried out countless tests at the development center in Weissach. “The death of Hans Herrmann has deeply affected us all,” said Thomas Laudenbach, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “He was one of Porsche AG’s most successful factory drivers. With victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 in the Porsche 917, he and Richard Attwood made history.” The sports car manufacturer from Zuffenhausen owes him not only numerous triumphs, but also the historic milestone he set, making Porsche a serious competitor in endurance racing.
Hans Herrmann was born on February 23, 1928. He trained as a pastry chef and plans to take over his mother’s café later. However, this did not happen, as his talent and passion lay in motorsport. In 1952, the Stuttgart native started his first circuit race at the Nürburgring behind the wheel of a Porsche 356 – and won. The following year, he took a class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Porsche 550 Coupé. Also in 1953, Herrmann claimed the title of German sports car champion. Mercedes-Benz then recruited him to its factory team, making him a colleague of Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss and Karl Kling. In 1954, Herrmann continued to race for Porsche in smaller displacement classes and took class victories in the 550 Spyder at the Carrera Panamericana and the Mille Miglia. The latter race is remembered for a particularly spectacular moment: Herrmann drove the mid-engined open sports car under a closing railway barrier. He then captioned the postcard-style image with the words: “Gotta be lucky.”
Hermann returned to Porsche several times
Luck will remain a constant companion throughout his career. After Daimler-Benz withdrew from motorsport, he spent years at Maserati, BRM, Borgward and at various times Porsche.
In 1960, Olivier Gendebien and Herrmann triumphed with a 718 RS 60 Spyder at the 12 Hours of Sebring – Porsche’s first overall victory in a World Sports Car Championship race. Shortly afterwards, Herrmann and Joakim Bonnier won the Targa Florio in the Porsche 718 RS 60 Spyder and in the same year he was celebrated as European Formula 2 champion with the Porsche 718/2. In 1962, he joined Carlo Abarth to become a works driver for the Viennese manufacturer from 1963. In 1966, he returned to the Porsche factory team alongside drivers Jo Siffert, Vic Elford, Rolf Stommelen, Udo Schütz and Gerhard Mitter.
A victory for the history books
In 1970, Herrmann faced the most difficult race of his life behind the wheel of the Porsche 917 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “In 1969, I narrowly lost out on victory to Jacky Ickx after we overtook each other several times in the last hour and a half of the race. In 1970, Ferdinand Piëch made sure that we had a more powerful engine and a real chance of winning. Winning exactly a year after the narrowly missed victory at Le Mans was of course special. It was also Porsche’s first overall victory – and it was my last race,” he said. remembers Herrmann. He had already lost too many friends on that June day; his wife was worried and Herrmann himself was clear: “I can’t be so lucky, and at some point this phase might end.” »
The endurance and single-seater specialist has become one of the most reliable and consistent drivers of all time in motorsport history. During his career, Herrmann raced for many manufacturers, but his closest and most formative connection was always with Porsche. He accompanied the Porsche Museum for decades after retiring from auto racing at the age of 42, competing in driving events at world-famous classic car events. Hans Herrmann leaves behind his wife Magdalena, two sons and a grandson.
