The starting lineup with #1 Fangio/Castelotti, #3 Luidi Musso/Maurice Trintignant and #4 Phil Hill/Olivier Gendebien the top 3 all in Ferrari’s.

The #5 MAserati of Stirling Moss was 4th with Hawthorne’s D Jag and Taruffi’s Maserati #6 in positions 5 & 6.

In 7th spot is the #2 Ferrari of Count Alphonso de Portago. Next is the silver Porsche 550 of Wolfgang vonTrips/Umberto Maglioli and then the two Aston Martins with Tony Brooks/Peter Collins in #9 and Peter Walker/Roy Slavadori in #10.

Farther down the grid the smaller cars are formed up. There were 71 entries for 1956 and 61 appeared. For the race, 26 were classified and 31 were DNF or DSQ for assistance.

Drivers opposite their cars waiting for the start. ( L) Juan Fangio, Luigi Musso, Phil Hill, Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorne (in green)

They are off. Moss is low and headed out, Hawthorne in green is starting and in the black sweater Piero Taruffi is not in such a hurry.

The rivers are starting the cars but nobody has moved yet. Moss is looking down the track and is ready first.

Moss accelerates the 300S Maserati with Hawthorne’s D Type Jag on his heels and Hill’s #4 the first of the Ferrari’s.

As the race progresses the #2 Ferrari of dePortago comes past the pits.

A cropped image of the #2 Ferrari.

Mike Hawthorn with his usual helmet & visor in the D Type Jag fell out with a broken driveshaft.

Peter Collins in the Aston Martin co drove with Tony Brooks to a fine 5th overall. In those days the Ring was a narrow ribbon of road with hedges and grass berms and more to catch an out of control car.

What appears to be Phil Hill in #4 went on to finish 3rd with Gendebien and Portago as co-drivers. This car recently sold for over $2,000.000.

The white Porache 550 of Friedrich Kretschmann and Sepp Liebl were 13th overall.

Eugenio Castelloti fresh from a win at Sebring in the 860 Ferrari. Over 70,000 spectators came to the race and you can see full parking lots behind.

Hawthorn in the Jag out in the forests. Note how close spectators could be to the cars in 1956.

The German giant-killer 1500cc Porsche leads the 3 liter Aston Martin through the Eifel forest and past some grandstands. Even then, sponsor banners & signs were everywhere.

The full Nurburgring. I’ve driven it twice and you can read volumes but nothing can aptly describe it.

The poster.