followed a linear scale. At the AIACR's end of season meeting towards the end of 1938, it was expressed that some were not content using the then current points system. Belgium's representative, Mr. Langlois, was asked to come up with an alternative system for 1939. Langlois took several months to propose a new system and there is no evidence to suggest that the previous scoring system was rescinded. In 1939, war broke out and the AIACR could not meet to publish an official set of championship results. Hermann Lang was declared European champion by Korpsführer Adolf Hühnlein of the NSKK, who was also president of Germany's highest racing organisation, Oberste Nationale Sportbehörde für die Deutsche Kraftfahrt. Hühnlein's declaration was published as a statement in the Völkischer Beobachter, the official Nazi Party newsletter. Hühnlein suggested that Lang had finished the season on 23 points, but this conflicts with the official scoring system, under which Hermann Paul Müller would have been the champion. Summary of results Scoring system Unlike the modern Formula One points system, the championship awarded fewer points for higher finishes; the champion would be the driver who ended the season on the lowest points score. The championship awarded one, two and three points to first, second and third places respectively. Other competitors were awarded points based on the percentage of the race distance they completed, as follows. Not entering, or failing to start the race, earned the driver eight points. Drivers only scored points with the car they entered the race with. In 1931, co-drivers were eligible to score championship points, but only from the car they were assigned to at the start, and provided that they had completed a stint in the car during the race. From 1932 onwards, if a driver handed his car over to another driver mid-race, only the original driver would score points from the car's final position. Championship history Footnotes Further reading Chris Nixon, Racing the Silver Arrows: Mercedes-Benz versus Auto Union 1934-1939 (Osprey, London, 1986) See also Grand Prix motor racing List of AIACR European Championship winners External links The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing Formula racing series European auto racing series Recurring sporting events established in 1931 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1939