Adolf Brudes was born in Kotulin, near Breslau. Breslau was part of the German Reich in 1899. He began his racing career on motorcycles as early as 1919.
Between 1924 and 1927, he was the master mechanic and works rider for motorcycle manufacturer Victoria. In 1925, the company added a Root blower to their 2-cylinder ohv 597cc flat engine. A year later, Brudes set a Land Speed Record of 102½ mph (165 km/h), riding one of these bikes. He started racing cars alongside the bikes in 1928 with a Bugatti Type 37A, taking a number of overall and class victories mostly in Poland. He also established a BMW and Auto Union dealership in Breslau.
By 1934, he had added a Bugatti Type 35B and a MG C-type to his stable, and it was with the MG, he scored a class victory in the 1934 Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring. In 1936, Brudes took part in an Auto Union driver evaluation test, but the drive went to another driver. He then acquired a BMW 328. After some excellent results, he earned himself a place in their works squad of the 1938 Spa 24 Hours race. Partnered by Paul Heinemann, they finished fourth overall, second in class. He also recorded a podium finish in the 1940 Mille Miglia. The race ran over a shortened course, under the title of Gran Premio Bescia delle Mille Miglia. Brudes was paired with Ralph Röese in a BMW 328 spider, finishing third.
With the outbreak of war, racing naturally stopped. After the war ended, Brudes' situation was much changed and by 1945, he had lost everything. He and his family moved to Sedlitz, a small town in east of Germany where his brothers lived. He found work at the BMW dealer in Halensee, where he was introduced to an American officer interested in racing, Alexander Orley. Brudes was employed to prepare BMW coupés for Orley to race. When Brudes resumed his own racing career, it was driving one of Orley's BMW Orley Speciale, based upon the Vertias-Meteor. He took part in his only World Championship Grand Prix, the 1952 Großer Preis von Deutschland, but retired after 5 laps with engine problems.
In October 1953, in a very streamlined 1500cc sports car with lightweight twin tube chassis, he set a number of speed and endurance records at L'autodrome de Linas-Monthlhéry. During the season of 1953, he was given a contract by Borgward and became an official works driver. When the team took their steps into international motorsport, Brudes was amongst the squad of drivers. Their first event was the 24 Heures du Mans, with a trio of Borgward-Hansa 1500 Rennsport Coupés. Brudes's car would run out of fuel just after three hours of racing.
Brudes continued to race until 1968, when he made his last competitive appearance on the Taunus Hillclimb, where in an Alfa Romeo Giulia, he finished third in class. He died on 5 November 1986.
This article is based on the Wikipedia article “Adolf Brudes”. No external sources, such as primary archives, autobiographies, period programmes, or specialist publications, were consulted.