THE 1926 AUTOMOBILE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
By Hans Etzrodt
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The 1926 World Championship for automobiles was the second such contest after the first one in 1925. The regulations remained more or less the same as before since none of the sources mentioned changes for the 1926
World Championship. The only differences were with the new 1.5-liter formula and a change of the events counting towards the championship.
On October 28, 1925 [1] the CSI of the AIACR debated at their Paris meeting the regulations and decided that five Grands Prix would be applicable for the 1926 World Championship [3]: Indianapolis on May 30, the
Grand Prix of France on June 27, the Grand Prix of Europe at San Sebastian on July 25, the British Grand Prix at Brooklands on August 2 (later changed to August 7) and the Grand Prix of Italy on September 5 [1, 3].
From these five races three would be obligatory, amongst them the Italian Grand Prix [3]. The new formula for 1926 was limited to 1500 cc engine capacity and 600 kg minimal weight. The body width of 80cm was to
be measured at the seat area [1].
Two separate issues affected the 1926 World Championship. First, the German National Automobile Industry Federation announced in November 1925 that they had unanimously decided not to participate at race events
of any kind in 1926 [2, 4]. That precluded Mercedes from sending a 1.5-liter racecar. Second, on March 19, 1926 the CSI of the AIACR met at the premises of the ACF in Paris [6], where amongst other things the
AIACR Court of Appeals revoked the decision of the Maserati disqualification which had been declared in 1925 for the entire 1926 season [6]. This opened the way for Maserati to participate.
The Rules
- The World Championship was for manufacturers, not for drivers.
- 1.5-liter formula; maximum engine capacity of 1500 cc - 91.5 cubic inch.
- Minimum weight empty not less than 600 kg - 1322 lb. Minimum body width 80 cm - 31.5 inch.
- Riding mechanic barred, but a driving mirror was obligatory as was the mechanic's seat.
- The series consisted of five races: Indianapolis 500, French Grand Prix, European Grand Prix (Spain), British Grand Prix and Italian Grand Prix [1, 3, 13].
- Participation in the Italian Grand Prix [3, 13] plus at least two of the remaining four races was obligatory. Non-compliance would exclude entrant from the Championship.
- In each race manufacturers would receive the lowest point score earned by one of its cars.
- The manufacturer with the lowest points total would be awarded the Championship. In 1925 the winner received cash as a prize and a 30,000 FF trophy, something not mentioned in 1926 reports.
- Points Score: 1 point = first place
2 points = second place
3 points = third place
4 points = all other finishers (who completed the total distance).
5 points = all other starters.
6 points = non starters
The Indianapolis 500
race took place on May 30. The inclusion of the premier American race gave the appearance of a World Championship but not the true character of one. The American cars were narrow single-seaters
with a body width of less than the required 80 cm - 31.5 in and therefore did not comply with the official AIACR rules. Indianapolis reduced the engine formula from 122 to 91.5 cubic inch to match
the 1.5-liter GP Formula introduced for 1926. The AIACR was aware that only a few European manufacturers would make the trip to America, since the European cars would have been at a disadvantage to
the speedway single-seaters owing to their different design. Likewise, it was questionable if American cars would travel to Europe because their narrow cars would not comply with European rules.
Since most of the Europeans didn't compete at Indy, it meant that they had to take part in the Italian GP plus two of the remaining three races.
Rain had shortened the race to 160 laps instead of 200. The Miller driven by Frank Lockhart finished first while all others completed less than the full distance of 160 laps. Regardless of their
names, the first thirteen cars were Miller-powered with Miller chassis with only one exception, the Duesenberg driven by Peter DePaolo in fifth place. The remaining field retired, including a
Locomobile Junior 8 with Fengler chassis driven by Cliff Durant and the Fronty-Ford driven by Jack McCarver based on a Ford T-chassis. Three European cars were entered, two by Ernest Eldridge
from England and one by Albert Guyot from France, all of which retired.
In regards to points scored, it is only known from later magazine reports that Miller had received one point for winning at Indianapolis. Miller headed the World Championship followed by Duesenberg,
Eldridge, Locomobile Junior 8, Guyot and Fronty-Ford, each with 5 points. Another 13 cars had all retired and are not listed here. The American cars would not have affected the final outcome of the
World Championship since none of them competed in two of the European races including the obligatory Italian Grand Prix.
| 1926 World Championship Unofficial Standings after the Indianapolis 500 |
| May 30 | June 27 | July 18 | August 7 | September 5 |
| Manufacturer | Indiana-
polis 500 | French
GP | European
GP (Spain) | British
GP |
Italian
GP | Total
Score |
|
| Miller | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Duesenberg | 5 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| Eldridge | 5 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| Locomobile Jr. 8 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| Guyot | 5 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| Fronty-Ford | 5 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
The French Grand Prix
was the second round of the World Championship, held on June 27 at Miramas over 100 laps, a distance of 505.56 km [8]. The stipulation for this race was that once the first three contestants had
finished the full distance, the remaining cars were then flagged off [5]. After Talbot [7], Delage and Sima-Violet [8] each cancelled their three entries shortly before the race, there were only
three Bugattis left for the start. Consequently the race was a total fiasco. Jules Goux won, Meo Costantini was not classified and Pierre de Viscaya retired.
After this second race, Miller and Bugatti were leading the World Championship with 7 points each, ahead of Duesenberg, Eldridge, Locomobile Jr. 8, Guyot and Fronty-Ford with 11 points each.
| 1926 World Championship Unofficial Standings after the French Grand Prix |
| May 30 | June 27 | July 18 | August 7 | September 5 |
| Manufacturer | Indiana-
polis 500 | French
GP | European
GP (Spain) | British
GP |
Italian
GP | Total
Score |
|
| Miller | 1 | 6 | - | - | - | 7 |
| Bugatti | 6 | 1 | - | - | - | 7 |
| Duesenberg | 5 | 6 | - | - | - | 11 |
| Eldridge | 5 | 6 | - | - | - | 11 |
| Locomobile Jr. 8 | 5 | 6 | - | - | - | 11 |
| Guyot | 5 | 6 | - | - | - | 11 |
| Fronty-Ford | 5 | 6 | - | - | - | 11 |
The European Grand Prix
on July 18 near San Sebastian, Spain, went over 45 laps of the 17.315 km Lasarte circuit, a total of 779.175 km [9]. A similar problem as had happened at the French race ensued when 15 entries
did not appear, three O.M.s, three Talbots, two Guyots, two Eldridges, four SIMA-Violets and two Jean Graf CIMEs. This left only six cars to take the start, three Bugattis and three Delages.
The Bugatti of Jules Goux won the race; the Delage of Edmond Bourlier and Robert Sénéchal finished second, but was later disqualified [11] due to unauthorized driver changes. Thus the Bugatti
of Meo Costantini became second and the Delage of André Morel, Louis Wagner and Edmond Bourlier that had placed fourth moved into third place after the disqualification. Ferdinando Minoia's
Bugatti, which finished fifth, was disqualified [11] for the same offence as the Delage. The Delage of Robert Benoist and Robert Sénéchal was so far behind that it was not classified. The
Delage drivers encountered serious problems with excessive heat from the exhaust system, which was too close to the drivers legs and there was insufficient or no insulation, requiring numerous
driver changes. Delage appealed the disqualification [12] and a decision was reached by the AIACR [12] at their next meeting in October [19].
After this third race Bugatti had scored another victory which gave them the lead in the World Championship with 8 points. Miller was second with 13 points, Delage 15 and the remaining
manufacturers all with 17 points.
It is strange that Guyot and Eldridge went all the way to Indiana to compete in the championship and then couldn't be bothered going to any of the four European races.
| 1926 World Championship Unofficial Standings after the European Grand Prix |
| May 30 | June 27 | July 18 | August 7 | September 5 |
| Manufacturer | Indiana-
polis 500 | French
GP | European
GP (Spain) | British
GP |
Italian
GP | Total
Score |
|
| Bugatti | 6 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 8 |
| Miller | 1 | 6 | 6 | - | - | 13 |
| Delage | 6 | 6 | 3 | - | - | 15 |
| Duesenberg | 5 | 6 | 6 | - | - | 17 |
| Eldridge | 5 | 6 | 6 | - | - | 17 |
| Locomobile Jr. 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | - | - | 17 |
| Guyot | 5 | 6 | 6 | - | - | 17 |
| Fronty-Ford | 5 | 6 | 6 | - | - | 17 |
The British Grand Prix
on August 7, was the fourth championship event held at Brooklands, 110 laps [10] around a 2.61 mile circuit, totaling 287.1 miles. The stipulation for this race was that once the first four
contestants had finished the full distance, then the remaining cars were flagged off [5, 10]. There were a total of nine cars at the start [13], three Delages, three Talbots, one Bugatti,
one Aston-Martin and one Halford Special. Five cars failed to appear. Robert Sénéchal and Louis Wagner won with a Delage, Malcolm Campbell in his newly acquired Bugatti T39A with wire
wheels finished second ahead of Robert Benoist and André Dubonnet in another Delage. The three Talbots retired as did Wagner's Delage, the Halford Special and Eyston's Aston-Martin [13].
After this fourth race Bugatti led the World Championship with 10 points ahead of Delage with 16 points. These were the only manufacturers who had a right to claim the World Championship.
All others no longer classified for the World Championship, since none of them had participated in at least two of the four races (Indianapolis, French Grand Prix, European Grand Prix and
British Grand Prix) [13, 14]. Bugatti had a six point advantage over Delage, which was enough for them regardless of the outcome in the Italian Grand Prix [14]. Even if Delage were to win
the last race it would raise their total to 17 points and if all the Bugatti entries had retired in Italy, Bugatti would still win with 15 points [17]. Therefore the Championship was
effectively decided after the British Grand Prix unless Bugatti failed to start in the obligatory Italian Grand Prix.
| 1926 World Championship Unofficial Standings after the British Grand Prix |
| May 30 | June 27 | July 18 | August 7 | September 5 |
| Manufacturer | Indiana-
polis 500 | French
GP | European
GP (Spain) | British
GP |
Italian
GP | Total
Score |
|
| Bugatti | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | 10 |
| Delage | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | - | 16 |
| Miller | 1 | 6 | 6 | 6 | - | 19 |
| Duesenberg | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | - | 23 |
| Eldridge | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | - | 23 |
| Locomobile Jr. 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | - | 23 |
| Guyot | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | - | 23 |
| Fronty-Ford | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | - | 23 |
| Talbot | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | - | 23 |
| Halford Special | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | - | 23 |
| Aston Martin | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | - | 23 |
|
Total Point Score
1 = for 1st place
2 = for 2nd place
3 = for 3rd place
4 = all other finishers
5 = non finishers
6 = non starters
|
Manufacturers with gray background did
not classify since they did not contest the
mandatory two races of the first four events.
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The Italian Grand Prix
at Monza was the last championship event, held on September 5. The 600 km race went over 60 laps of the 10 km circuit. Only six 1500 cc cars appeared for the start plus seven cycle cars to
make the race more interesting for the spectators. Delage did not enter probably because they knew that even a victory at Monza would not be enough to win the World Championship [17]. An
additional ten 1500 cc cars failed to appear. Bugatti had to participate in the obligatory Italian Grand Prix if they wanted to claim the World Championship [15]. They finished first and
second while a third Bugatti retired as did a Chiribiri and two Maseratis.
With their victory at Monza, Bugatti had secured the 1926 Automobile World Championship [16]. The Molsheim company was the only manufacturer that participated in four international Grands
Prix during the year [16] and fully deserved the title [16]. They ended up with 11 points while Delage had now 22 [20] but did not classify as second because they had missed the obligatory
Italian Grand Prix and the required three events. Only Bugatti classified according to the regulations.
| 1926 World Championship Unofficial Standings after the Italian Grand Prix |
| May 30 | June 27 | July 18 | August 7 | September 5 |
| Manufacturer | Indiana-
polis 500 | French
GP | European
GP (Spain) | British
GP |
Italian
GP | Total
Score |
|
| Bugatti | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Delage | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 22 |
| Maserati | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 29 |
| Chiribiri | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 29 |
|
Manufacturers with gray background did
not classify since they did not contest the
mandatory three races.
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On October 27 [18] the AIACR awarded Bugatti the 1926 World Championship title [17, 21]. Regarding the Delage-Bugatti disqualification incident, at the October meeting the AIACR Court of Appeals
revoked the European Grand Prix decision [19] which meant Delage would have finished second instead of third or 2 points instead of 3 at the European Grand Prix.
The possibility of additional rules existed but absolutely no evidence was found to justify that decision. (The AIACR also upheld the Indianapolis results even though they must have known that the
cars contravened the regulations.) Additional rules would in any case not have affected the final outcome of the World Championship.
The significance of the word 'unofficial' in 'World Championship Unofficial Standings' means that the tables were constructed from the best understanding of the championship regulations, but
they do not represent official standings, since these were not issued by the AIACR. Shown are merely the computed points results based on possibly incomplete information about the regulations.
Sources
Since AIACR documents were not accessible, two contemporary magazines served as primary sources, the Swiss AUTOMOBIL-REVUE and the Austrian ALLGEMEINE AUTOMOBIL-ZEITUNG. Several books have dealt
with this topic rather superficially but are not listed here because their descriptions do not add to the primary information base. However, a condensed report of the 1926 World Championship was
told by Adriano Cimarosti in his magnificent book "THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF GRAND PRIX MOTOR RACING". Closer examination revealed that this report was spot on except a small glitch in the point
score and crediting Delage with second place in the World Championship.
[1] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1925 #65 p10, Oct-30 - AIACR meeting on Oct-28, 1926 Grands Prix.
[2] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1925 #67 p2, Nov-13 - German Motor Industry not supporting racing in 1926.
[3] AAZ(A) 1925 #22 p4, Nov-15 - AIACR conference; 1926 WC race calendar; 3 of 5 races are obligatory.
[4] AAZ(A) 1925 #23 p18, Dec-1 - German Automobil Industry not participating in 1926 race events.
[5] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #11 p5, Feb-23 - British GP & GP de l'ACF ending of the race.
[6] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #19 p2, Mar-23 - CSI Meetg disqualification of Maserati revoked.
[7] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #42p22, Jun-14 - GP de l'ACF reduced entries due to cancellation.
[8] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #48 p3, Jul-2 - GP de l'ACF report & NO World Championship info.
[9] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #53p2, Jul-20 - European GP at S.Sebastian & NO World Championship info.
[10] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #53p10, Jul-20 - British GP preview & NO World Championship info.
[11] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #54p7-8, Jul-23 - European GP review & NO World Championship info.
[12] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #56 p5, Jul-30 - Delage appealed the disqualification.
[13] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #60 p8, Aug-13 - British GP review & World Championship regulations.
[14] AAZ (A) 1926 #17 p50, Sep-1 - 1926 World Championship point standing before Italian GP.
[15] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #66 p1, Sep-3 - Italian GP preview & World Championship preview.
[16] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #68 p1-2, Sep-10 - Italian GP review.
[17] AAZ(A) 1926 #18 p4, Sep-15 - World Championship 1926 analyzed.
[18] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #83 p3, Nov-2 - AIACR & CSI meetings on Oct-27; Bugatti 1926 World Champion.
[19] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #83 p5, Nov-2 - Delage-Bugatti affair; The AIACR court of appeal revoked the decision.
[20] AUTOMOBIL-REVUE 1926 #85 p8, Nov-8 - International Automobile Races 1926 table & World Championship.
[21] AAZ(A) 1926 #22 p26, Nov-15 - AIACR Meetg, 1926 World Championship went to Bugatti.
[22] Adriano Cimarosti "Autorennen" publ. 1986, p374: Die ersten Automobil-Weltmeisterschaften der Geschichte.
[23] Adriano Cimarosti "The Complete History of GRAND PRIX MOTOR RACING" publ. 1990, p75.
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