Eberhard Hess: Farewell to a great promoter of talent

For many decades, Eberhard Hess, a classic patron of the arts, supported many a young racing driver. Whether it was Stefan Bellof, Karl Wendlinger, Kris Nissen, Altfrid Heger or Jürgen von Gartzen – they all competed in the white-and-yellow KRAFFT-Walzen livery.

For former VW motorsport director Kris Nissen, who hovered between life and death for a long time following his fire accident in Japan in 1988, entrepreneur Hess spontaneously set up a relief fund. His willingness to help was always selfless, and his big heart helped many a motor sportsman who had fallen on hard times through no fault of their own to get back on their feet without any fuss. And yet he always knew how to distinguish between those who really needed help and those who simply wanted to take advantage of him.

Eberhard Hess once described his years with Renault in the Alpine A 310 V6 European Cup as the finest period of his sponsoring career. It was primarily Altfrid Heger, Sigi Müller Jr and Jürgen von Gartzen who, from the mid-1980s onwards, frequently shone with the yellow-and-black Krafft roller logo and represented the colours of their sponsor’s company on the winners’ podiums.

Jürgen von Gartzen im Krafft Walzen-Renault A310 V6

Foto: Renault Sport

And then, in 1989, there was another title success that Hess regarded as particularly valuable – winning the 1989 German Formula 3 Championship with Ralt-Alfa driver Wendlinger in Dr Marko’s RSM team. “In the end, we were exactly one point ahead of Messrs Schumacher and Frentzen,” the Walzen boss himself recounted with pride just a few years ago.

Karl Wendlinger siegt 1989 mit Krafft-Unterstützung im F3-Titelkampf

Foto: Archiv Hess

Alongside his sponsorship commitments in various racing series and in the historic and classic car sector, Hess spent almost 20 years at the helm of the Düren Motorsport Club (DMC), which organised circuit races at Zolder and the Nürburgring. Furthermore, the former amateur racing driver was active for many years on the executive committee of the DSK and on the board of ADAC North Rhine.

DMC-Chef Hess ’93 mit Junioren Wolf Henzler, Ralf Schumacher, Eric Schwarz

Foto: Archiv Hess

The senior managing director of the fifth-generation family business ‘Carl KRAFFT & Söhne’ remained an enthusiastic motorsport fan right up until his death. Although his sponsorship involvement in motor racing was now a thing of the past (“in difficult economic times, we can no longer afford this luxury”), he devoted himself wholeheartedly to maintaining his classic cars and was often a welcome guest at classic car events at the Ring.

As for politics, the government’s course of action in recent years could drive him into a rage. When he began to voice his opinions on this subject, one would be well advised not to cross him. He also enjoyed gathering his closest motor racing friends from time to time for a lunch at his private home to mark his birthday.

The Hess company produces steel sheet coils weighing up to 100 tonnes at three plants. Over the years, the senior boss had gradually handed over management responsibilities to his children Michael (57) and Alice (61). “The two of them have long been integrated into the day-to-day running of the business, and I finally have more time for my family, my grandchildren and historic motorsport,” he told me years ago, full of anticipation for a quieter life.

Yet Eberhard Hess never got over the death of his beloved wife Lotte at the end of July 2024 (the two had been as one heart and one soul all their lives). Within a very short space of time, the once stable, healthy man had become someone who found it increasingly difficult to cope with being alone and with life in general. So for him – who, in the end, had no strength left and probably no will to live either – death was, in a way, a relief.

The motorsport community and all those who benefited from his generosity will remember Eberhard Hess fondly as a patron and mentor. The motorsport community extends its deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the families of his children and grandchildren, as well as to the staff of his company.