Former Grand Prix driver Ambraüsus (or ‘Brausch’) Niemann turns 73 years old today!
The South African was earned plenty of nicknames for his habit of patching his car together with masking tape, with the ‘masked marvel’ driving the ‘coffin on cotton reels’ were two phrases that appeared to stick!
Niemann shot to fame for the incredible results he achieved on the domestic scene in a wide-wheeled Lotus 7, and it was this that helped him into two World Championship Grands Prix.
He appeared at his home races in 1963 and 1965 driving a Lotus 22 backed by Ted Lanfear. He made the grid for the former, finishing a distant fourteenth, but failed to make the qualifying cut at the latter.
Niemann would later switch to endurance motorcycle racing, winning the national title in 1979.
[Image via JungleKey]
Richard Bailey
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