THE HISTORY OF THE GRAND PRIX OF MONACO BY ROY HULSBERGEN
Practice: For the first time starting positions are determined by the driver's lap times after three practice sessions. Sommer, Zehender and Fagioli drive Maseratis, Nuvolari, Borzacchini, Siena and Trossi make the Alfa Romeo Team directed by the illustrious Enzo Ferrari and Chiron and Caracciola enter the 2.3 litre Alfas of their new 'CC' team.
Dreyfus, Hartmann, Varzi and Williams, in the Bugattis, all make the starting grid; Varzi taking pole Caracciola crashes in practice and a badly broken leg puts him out of racing for a year. The race attracts 100,000 spectators and is broadcast live on Radio Paris.
Starting Grid
|
26 Borzacchini 2’03” |
16 Chiron 2’03” |
10 Varzi 2’02” |
|
Alfa Romeo 8C 2.6 |
Alfa Romeo 8C 2.3 |
Bugatti 51 |
|
8 Dreyfus 2’05” |
18 Etancelin 2’04” |
28 Nuvolari 2’04” |
|
Bugatti 51 |
Alfa Romeo 8C 2.3 |
Alfa Romeo 8C 2.6 |
|
20 Lehoux 2’07” |
22 Wimille 2’06” |
34 Fagioli 2’06” |
|
Bugatti 51 |
Alfa Romeo 8C |
Maserati 8C |
|
14 Falchetto 2’09” |
38 Zehender 2’08” |
32 Trossi 2’08” |
|
Bugatti 51 |
Maserati 8C/M |
∫Alfa Romeo 8C 2.3 |
|
4 Birkin 2’11” |
12 Williams 2’11” |
6 Howe 2’09” |
|
Alfa Romeo 8C 2.3 |
Bugatti 51 |
Bugatti 51 |
|
24 Hartmann |
36 Sommer |
30 Siena |
|
Bugatti 51 |
Maserati 8C/M |
Alfa Romeo 8C 2.3 |
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Race Result
1 Achille Varzi (I) |
3h27’49” 91.808 km/h |
|
2 Borzacchini (I) |
Alfa Romeo 8C 2.6l |
+ 12” |
3 Dreyfus (F) |
Bugatti 51 |
+ 2’20” |
4 Chiron (MC) |
Alfa Romeo 8C 2.3l |
+ 3 laps |
5 Trossi (I) |
Alfa Romeo 8C 2.3 l |
+ 3 laps |
6 Zehender (I) |
Maserati 8C/M |
+ 6 laps |
7 “Williams” (GB) |
Bugatti 51 |
+ 10 laps |
8 Hartmann |
Bugatti 51 |
+ 14 laps |
Fastest lap: Varzi, Bugatti, 1’59”, 96.201 km/h
Retired:
Siena |
lap 7 |
clutch |
Birkin |
lap 17 |
suspension |
Sommer |
lap 19 |
engine |
Lehoux |
lap 25 |
gearbox |
Wimile |
lap 28 |
brakes |
Howe |
lap 48 |
suspension |
Fagioli |
lap 61 |
magneto |
Etancelin |
lap 65 |
gearbox |
Nuvolari |
lap 99 |
engine, disqualified |
The start
Practice; Caracciola being caried off with a fractured leg
for the 2nd or 3rd time.
Chiron leading Varzi on the port
Nuvolari
Race
Varzi in pole position, is first off closely followed by Borzacchini, Lehoux and Nuvolari. Nuvolari takes the lead in lap 4. A duel between red and blue, Tazio - Achille keeps spectators on their toes. They keep the fight going, to the excitement of the public for 83 laps. Varzi beats the lap record with 1’59”. Etancelin adds to the excitement by passing Borzacchini, skidding in the chicane and again passing Borzacchini with a lap time of 2’01” and approaching the 2 minutes. In the last lap the two cars are nose to nose, no one checks the revs.
Nuvolari pushes his blown Alfa
The Bugatti holds, but the Alfa blows up in flames. Men ran towards him with fire extinguishers but Nuvolari continues and only when the engine faltered, he got out of the car and pushes it all the way to the pit lane. A mechanic ran up to help him push and Nuvolari got disqualified.
Varzi in the tabac corner chased by Nuvolari
Varzi home free wins, while setting a new record of 91.808 km/h and giving Bugatti’s last victory. It is the first time the record is fixed under 2 minutes. This marks also the end of the Bugatti saga.
Enzo Ferrari and team
Station corner
Zehender passing Casino square