Berlin Grand Prix 1937

A poster for the 1937 Berlin Grand Prix.

By 1937 races were held regularly in Norway, and the little country way up north had even bred an international superstar race car driver. "I originally took up racing as a sport, because in Norway automobiles are a luxury, not a necessity as they are in this country," Eugen Bjørnstad told a journalist from The Daily News in New York in July of 1937. Bjørnstad had put Norway on the motorsport map. The fearless kid from Oslo was known all over the world as the "Speed King of the North," and now he had crossed the Atlantic ocean to compete against thirty of the world's greatest race car drivers in the prestigious Vanderbilt Cup. This photo shows Bjørnstad in his ERA race car at the Avus-racetrack in 1937. Held May 30, 1937, Greger and some friends rode their bikes all the way to Berlin in order to watch the race. Photo from The Greger Strøm Photo Collection.

A photo of Greger Strøm in Eugen Bjørnstad's red, white, and blue ERA racecar at the 1937 Berlin Grand Prix. Held May 30, 1937, Greger and some friends rode their bikes all the way to Berlin to watch the race. After the race, Bjørnstad offered his young admirers a lift back home to Oslo, Norway. Photo from The Greger Strøm Photo Collection.

An estimated 500,000 spectators showed up for the 1937 Berlin Grand Prix, and Eugen Bjørnstad, with his red, white, and blue ERA, was the favorite before the race. Bjørnstad had a good start, and after a couple of laps, he had climbed his way up to a second position. Unfortunately, destiny wanted something else, and after a couple of busted tires, he ended up finishing the race in 7th place.

A pair of 1937 Auto Union Typ C Stromlinie's race cars in the pit area during the 1937 Berlin Grand Prix. Photo from The Greger Strøm Photo Collection.