Walter Schlüter

Walter Schlüter (1911 – November 1977) was a West German racing and rally driver, who won the 1954 European Rally Championship.

Racing Driver

Schlüter was a fuel wholesale by trade, from Velbert. He started racing in 1930, notably in a modified BMW 328. After the World War II, he played an instrumental in the re-establishing of the Automobilclub von Deutschland (AvD), and getting motor racing underway in Germany. In 1950, he entered the inaugural season of the Deutsche Meisterschaft Formel 3, where he raced a Monopoletta-BMW. During the season, he won F3 support race at the Großer Preis von Deutschland, on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. This result helped him to third overall in the championship.

Schlüter returned the following season, but without much success, although he became to first German driver to complete in England following the war, when he drove his Monopoletta-BMW at Brands Hatch in the August Bank Holiday meeting.

Rally Driver

Schlüter, now aged forty, switched to rallying for the 1952 season. He scored his first international victory in the sport when he finished in second on the Rallye Travemünde, as co-driver to Helmut Polensky. The pairing continuing into 1953, where they took two victories as Polensky won the European Rally Championship.

Back on the track, Schlüter scored his greater result when he and Richard Trenkel took fourth place in the 1953 Internationales ADAC-1000 Kilometer Rennen Weltmeisterschaftslauf Nürburgring, a round of the World Sportscar Championship.

When in the autumn of 1953, DKW created their new motor sport department, and Schlüter was one of the trio of drivers signed to tackle the European Rally Championship. By now, Schlüter had moved across to the driver’s seat. After victory on the Rallye Wiesbaden and two further podium finishers, he had been enough to secure the championship title for himself, ahead of the other two DKW drivers.

Schlüter continued with DKW for the next couple seasons, when in 1955, he scored his first outright victory outside of Germany, when he won Norway’s Viking Rally. This would turn out to be his last international victory as well.

Racing record

Career highlights

Season Series Position Team Car 1950 Großer Pries von Deutschland [F3] 1st Walter Schlüter Monopoletta-BMW Deutsche Meisterchaft Formel 3 3rd Walter Schlüter Monopoletta-BMW Preis von Deutschland für Motorräder 3rd Walter Schlüter Monopoletta-BMW 1952 Rallye Travemünde * 2nd Porsche 356 1953 Coupes des Alpes * 1st Porsche 356 1500 S Internationale ADAC-Rallye Travemünder * 1st DKW DKW 3=6 F91 Sonderklasse Rallye Wiesbaden 1st DKW DKW 3=6 F91 Sonderklasse Coupes des Alpes 2nd DKW DKW 3=6 F91 Sonderklasse Rally International de Genèe 2nd DKW DKW 3=6 F91 Sonderklasse 1955 Viking Rally 1st DKW DKW 3=6 F91 Sonderklasse = he was a co-driver on the event

Complete Rallye de Monte Carlo results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car 1955 DKW ??? DKW 3=6 F91 Sonderklasse 222nd 1956 DKW ??? DKW 3=6 F91 Sonderklasse DNF

Complete RAC Rally results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car 1955 DKW ??? DKW 3=6 F91 Sonderklasse 13th 1956 DKW ??? DKW 3=6 F91 Sonderklasse started