View source for Karl Kling

{{Short description|German racing driver (1910–2003)}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Karl Kling
| image         = Karl Kling El Gráfico.jpg
| caption       = Kling in 1951
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1910|9|16|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Giessen]], [[Grand Duchy of Hesse|Hesse]], [[German Empire]]
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2003|3|18|1910|9|16|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Lake Constance]], Germany
| module        = {{Infobox F1 driver|embed=yes
| nationality   = {{flagicon|BRD}} [[Formula One drivers from Germany|West German]]
| Years         = {{F1|1954}}–{{F1|1955}} 
| Team(s)       = [[Mercedes-Benz in Formula One|Mercedes]] 
| Races         = 11 
| Championships = 0 
| Wins          = 0 
| Podiums       = 2 
| Points        = 17 
| Poles         = 0 
| Fastest laps  = 1 
| First race    = [[1954 French Grand Prix]] 
| Last race     = [[1955 Italian Grand Prix]]
}}}}

'''Karl Kling''' ({{IPA|de|kaʁl klɪŋ|-|De-Karl Kling.ogg}}; 16 September 1910 – 18 March 2003) was a German [[racing driver]] and [[motorsport]] executive, who competed in [[Formula One]] at 11 [[Formula One Grands Prix|Grands Prix]] from {{F1|1954}} to {{F1|1955}}.

An employee of [[Daimler-Benz]] since the mid-1930s, Kling made his Formula One debut at the [[1954 French Grand Prix]], where he finished second to [[Mercedes-Benz in Formula One|Mercedes]] teammate [[Juan Manuel Fangio]], becoming the [[Formula One drivers from Germany|first German driver]] to score a podium finish in Formula One. He participated in 10 further World Championship Grands Prix, achieving another podium at the [[1955 British Grand Prix]] and scoring a total of 17 championship points.

Upon retiring from motor racing, Kling became the head of [[Mercedes-Benz in motorsport]] from 1956 to 1968.

==Early life and career==

Kling was born on 16 September 1910 in [[Giessen]], [[Grand Duchy of Hesse]], [[German Empire]].

It is said, that he was born too late and too early. Too late to be in the successful Mercedes team of the 1930s and too early to have a real chance in {{F1|1954}} and {{F1|1955}}. Unusually, Kling found his way into motorsport via his first job as a reception clerk at [[Daimler-Benz]] in the mid-1930s, competing in hillclimb and trials events in production machinery in his spare time. During the [[Second World War]] he gained mechanical experience servicing [[Luftwaffe]] aircraft, and after the cessation of hostilities he resumed his motorsport involvement in a [[BMW 328]].

Kling was instrumental in developing Mercedes' return to international competition in the early 1950s, and his win in the 1952 [[Carrera Panamericana]] road race, driving the then-experimental [[Mercedes-Benz 300SL]] was a defining point in assuring the Daimler-Benz management that motorsport had a place in Mercedes' future. Called up to the revived Mercedes Grand Prix squad in 1954 he finished less than one second behind the legendary [[Juan Manuel Fangio]] on his [https://web.archive.org/web/20120825175202/http://www.emercedesbenz.com/Jul08/29_001305_eMercedesBenz_Feature_Win_First_Refuel_Later_Mercedes_Silver_Arrows_Return_To_Formula_One_In_1954.html Formula One debut], taking second place in the [[1954 French Grand Prix]] at the fast [[Reims-Gueux]] circuit. This promising start was not to last, and with the arrival of [[Stirling Moss]] at Mercedes in 1955 Kling was effectively demoted to third driver. However, away from the World Championship, Kling took an impressive victory in the [[Berlin Grand Prix]] at [[AVUS]], another high-speed circuit. 

Having won all world championships they competed for, F1 in 1954 and 1955, plus sports cars in 1955, Mercedes retired from international racing after 1955 to focus on road car development. Kling succeeded [[Alfred Neubauer]] as head of Mercedes motorsport, with stock models only. He was in this post during their successful rallying campaigns of the 1960s, occasionally taking the wheel himself. On one such occasion he drove a [[Mercedes-Benz W111|Mercedes-Benz 220SE]] to victory in the mighty 1961 trans-African [[Algiers-Cape Town Rally|Algiers-Bangui-Algiers Rally]].

He died in 2003 at the age of 92.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/mar/22/guardianobituaries.motorracing|title=Obituary: Karl Kling|last=Williams|first=Richard|date=2003-03-22|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-12-12|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

==Complete Formula One World Championship results==
([[:Template:F1 driver results legend 2|key]])
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! WDC
! Points
|-
| [[1954 Formula One season|1954]]
! [[Mercedes-Benz in Formula One|Daimler-Benz AG]]
! [[Mercedes-Benz in Formula One|Mercedes]] [[Mercedes-Benz W196|W196]]
! [[Mercedes-Benz in Formula One|Mercedes]] [[straight-8]]
| [[1954 Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]]
| [[1954 Indianapolis 500|500]]
| [[1954 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1954 French Grand Prix|FRA]]<br>{{small|2}}
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1954 British Grand Prix|GBR]]<br>{{small|7}}
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| ''[[1954 German Grand Prix|GER]]''<br />{{small|4}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1954 Swiss Grand Prix|SUI]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1954 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1954 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]<br>{{small|5}}
! 5th
! 12
|-
| [[1955 Formula One season|1955]]
! [[Mercedes-Benz in Formula One|Daimler-Benz AG]]
! [[Mercedes-Benz in Formula One|Mercedes]] [[Mercedes-Benz W196|W196]]
! [[Mercedes-Benz in Formula One|Mercedes]] [[straight-8]]
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1955 Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]]<br />{{small|4*}}
| [[1955 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]
| [[1955 Indianapolis 500|500]]
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1955 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]<br>{{small|Ret}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1955 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]<br>{{small|Ret}}
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| [[1955 British Grand Prix|GBR]]<br>{{small|3}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1955 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
|
|
! 11th
! 5
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Shared drive with [[Stirling Moss]] and [[Hans Herrmann]].

===Non-championship results===
([[:Template:F1 driver results legend 3|key]]) (Races in '''bold''' indicate pole position)
(Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! 17
! 18
! 19
! 20
! 21
! 22
! 23
! 24
! 25
|-
| [[1954 Formula One season|1954]]
! [[Mercedes-Benz in Formula One|Daimler-Benz AG]]
! [[Mercedes-Benz in Formula One|Mercedes]] [[Mercedes-Benz W196|W196]]
! [[Mercedes-Benz in Formula One|Mercedes]] [[straight-8]]
| [[1954 Syracuse Grand Prix|SYR]]
| [[1954 Pau Grand Prix|PAU]]
| [[1954 Lavant Cup|LAV]]
| [[1954 Bordeaux Grand Prix|BOR]]
| [[1954 BRDC International Trophy|INT]]
| [[1954 Bari Grand Prix|BAR]]
| [[1954 Curtis Trophy|CUR]]
| [[1954 Rome Grand Prix|ROM]]
| [[1954 Grand Prix des Frontières|FRO]]
| [[1954 I Cornwall MRC Formula 1 Race|COR]]
| [[1954 BARC Formula 1 Race|BRC]]
| [[1954 Crystal Palace Trophy|CRY]]
| [[1954 Rouen Grand Prix|ROU]]
| [[1954 Caen Grand Prix|CAE]]
| [[1954 August Cup|AUG]]
| [[1954 II Cornwall MRC Formula 1 Race|COR]]
| [[1954 International Gold Cup|OUL]]
| [[1954 RedeX Trophy|RED]]
| [[1954 Pescara Grand Prix|PES]]
| [[1954 Sachsenring-Rennen|SAC]]
| [[1954 Joe Fry Memorial Trophy|JOE]]
| [[1954 Circuit de Cadours|CAD]]
| style="background:#FFFFBF"| [[1954 Berlin Grand Prix|BER]]<br />{{small|1}}
| [[1954 Goodwood Trophy|GOO]]
| [[1954 Daily Telegraph Trophy|DTT]]
|-
|}

===Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Co-Drivers
! Car
! Class
! Laps
! {{Tooltip|Pos.|Overall Position}}
! {{Tooltip|Class<br />Pos.|Class Position}}
|-
! [[1952 24 Hours of Le Mans|1952]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|FRG}} [[Daimler-Benz AG]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|FRG}} [[Hans Klenk]]
|align="left"| [[Mercedes-Benz W194]]
| S<br>3.0
| 
| DNF
| DNF
|-
! [[1953 24 Hours of Le Mans|1953]]
|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Alfa Corse|SpA Alfa Romeo]]
|align=left| {{flagicon|FRG}} [[Fritz Riess]]
|align=left| [[Alfa Romeo 6C#6C 3000 CM|Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM]]
|S5.0
|133
|colspan=2|DNF<br>(Transmission)
|-
! [[1955 24 Hours of Le Mans|1955]]
|align="left"| {{Flagicon|West Germany}} [[Daimler-Benz|Daimler Benz AG]]
|align="left"| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[André Simon (racing driver)|Andre Simon]]
|align="left"| [[Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR]]
| S3.0
| 130
| DNF
| DNF
|}

==References==
<references />
*{{cite web |title= DRIVERS: KARL KLING |url= http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/drv-klikar.html |work= GrandPrix.com |access-date= 2007-04-11 }}
*{{cite news |title= Mercedes Racing Driver Karl Kling Dies |url= http://www.automobilemag.com/features/0306_klingobit/ |work= Automobile |access-date= 2007-04-11 }}

==Further reading==
* Karl Kling, G. Molter, ''Pursuit of Victory'' (Bodley Head, London, 1956)

{{s-start}}
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{{succession box|before=[[Paul Falk]]|title=[[German Sportspersonality of the year|German Sportsman of the Year]]|years=1952|after=[[Werner Haas]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Mercedes Grand Prix}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kling, Karl}}
[[Category:German racing drivers]]
[[Category:German Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:Mercedes-Benz Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Giessen]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from Hesse]]
[[Category:World Sportscar Championship drivers]]
[[Category:DAMC 05 people]]
[[Category:Luftwaffe personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Carrera Panamericana drivers]]