Elfriede Flossdorf (1927-2016)
Elfriede Floßdorf passed away on January 27, 2016. She had been the personal secretary to our club founder, Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips, since late 1958 and remained closely connected to the Count's family even after his death in 1961. Until last year, she still lived in the house on Parkstraße, leading to Burg Hemmersbach, where she had moved in shortly after starting her position with the Count's family. From there, she not only assisted the racing count with his correspondence but also helped out wherever needed. Thanks to her, many of her personal memories of the Count's exciting life, his racing friends, and the many anecdotes from that time have been preserved for posterity – often shared with us at the club and in media interviews. Despite numerous requests from journalists, she never revealed overly personal details about Wolfgang von Trips out of respect for the beloved motorsportsman.
Since 2001, she was an honorary member of the Scuderia Colonia and, until her final days, was dedicated to nurturing talented young racing drivers. Volker Nast from Hamburg brought her particular joy by inviting her to take a lap of honor in the green Ferrari California Spyder, Count Trips' last private car, at the Classic Days at Dyck Castle. With Elfriede Floßdorf, we are losing, to quote our club president Achim Droste, one of the last eyewitnesses who personally knew Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips and significantly accompanied his career in the second half.