18 Pietro Bordino
Fiat SpA
Fiat 805

5 Felice Nazzaro
Fiat SpA
Fiat 805

16 Pierre de Vizcaya
Automobiles Ettore Bugatti
Bugatti T30

Bordino wins the Italian Grand Prix with Fiat in the rain

The second Italian Grand Prix was held for the first time at the new Monza Circuit. Initially 39 race cars had been entered, promising a great event. But it happened completely different than expected with only 3 Fiat, 2 Diatto, 1 Bugatti and 2 Heim appearing at the start. So, from the beginning Fiat, the fastest car, had the victory in their pocket. Bordino and Nazzaro in the Fiats dominated the race while the third car of Giaccone broke down at the start. The Diattos of Maserati and Meregalli held third and fourth place followed by Vizcaya's Bugatti and one Heim while the sister car driven by Stahl had retired on lap seven. The other Heim driven by the team owner retired on lap 16. When Meregalli fell behind, Vizcaya's Bugatti took fourth place. After Maserati crashed on lap 27, Vizcaya gained third place ahead of Meregalli with the field now down to four cars. When the second Diatto retired on lap 53, the final order Bordino, Nazzaro and Vizcaya was established. That's how they finished after 80 laps with Bordino two laps ahead of Nazzaro and 8 laps of Vizcaya.

The Gran Premio d'Italia was held for the second time. The Commissione Sportiva des RACI and the Società Autodromo di Monza carried out the organization under supervision of Arturo Mercanti, President of RACI. While the first Italian Grand Prix in 1921 was held at Brescia, the 1922 race took place on the brand new 10-km Autodromo di Monza A-circuit, comprising the original 4.5 km high-speed oval track and the 5.5 km asphalt circuit over 80 laps, a total of 800 km. The very first race on the new Monza circuit over 60 laps or 600 km on September 3 was for the 1500 cc Voiturettes, won by Fiat finishing in the first four places during pouring rain. One week later on September 10, the race for the 2-liter grand prix cars took place.

Entries: The race was open to the 2-Liter formula cars. Five nations had placed a total of 39 entries: from France 3 Talbot/Darracq, 4 Bugatti, 4 Rolland-Pilain, 2 Ballot and 1 Delage, a total of 14; from Great Britain 3 Sunbeam; from Austria 4 Austro-Daimler; from Germany 4 Benz, 3 Heim and 3 Mercedes, a total of 10; from Italy 2 Diatto, 3 Fiat, 3 Bianchi, a total of 8.       The Grand Prix was not the great event that it actually should have been. Weeks before the race, a large number of entries had become questionable. The German Benz and Mercedes cars could not be finished in time because of the 3-month long metalworker's strike in Germany, which made it impossible to do the preparations in the remaining time. Additionally, the planned German Grand Prix (Avus) was also cancelled. Fiat's great success, by winning the French Grand Prix at Strasbourg, discouraged some teams from taking part at the Italian Grand Prix. The British Sunbeams did not appear and Italian Bianchi withdrew their entry. According to Alessandro Silva, the Bianchi 18 was basically a touring car but they had two 18 Corsa, so called GP cars, in production that appeared eventually at the Autumn Grand Prix. From the 14 French cars, only Bugatti arrived a few days before the start. Austro-Daimler and Heim came in the last moment and did not have sufficient time to prepare themselves for the race. When the Austro-Daimler driver Fritz Kuhn was killed during practice one day before the race, Austro-Daimler withdrew their cars out of respect. Then in the morning of the race Bugatti decided not to start because he thought the new Monza circuit was too dangerous and he did not have the right tires. Only by the great efforts of a Fascist promoter group, one Bugatti started when 5 wheels and tires were loaned from Fiat and after the retirement of Giaccone additional ones were given to de Vizcaya. The promoter had delayed the start by half an hour, the time needed to change the wheels of the Bugatti, which de Vizcaya drove without any preparations. He was dressed in his regular suit and had not even driving goggles. Ettore Bugatti said that he only agreed to this kind of participation because he was practically forced to do so by the Fascist promoter group. The German Heim cars from Mannheim were at the start but were just too slow.

Practice: On Tuesday September 5 late morning, Bordino, turned laps at high speed in 4m08.2s at 145.050 km/h, in 4m4s, 4m5.8s and in 4m03.6s at 148.48 km/h. Remarkable was also the time in 4m10s at 144 km/h, made by Giaccone. Nazzaro, who gave the clear impression of never forcing his car, did a lap in 4m29.2s at an average of 133,800 km/h, other laps in 4m37.6s and 4m30s. In the afternoon the two Diatto drivers, Meregalli and Maserati did their practice runs. Merigalli, who often slowed down on the straights, gave an excellent impression in the turns which he tackled very quickly. Maserati's time was 4m35s.       On Wednesday at 9:30 the Diattos of Maserati and Meregalli took to the track and did not leave until 3 p.m. Nazzaro then completed laps in 4m19s and 4m20s. Bordino and Giaccone also made remarkable times, with a record of Bordino in 4m flat at 150 km/h. Soon the four expected Bugatti cars painted in blue arrived. On Tuesday they had stopped in Lugano, after paying a fine of 500 Swiss francs for speeding. On Wednesday morning coming from Lugano, they reached Monza. Friedrich and De Vizcaya's cars seemed to be the faster ones. The four chassis were the same as in Strasbourg. while the bodywork had undergone some changes at the front. After a brief review of the engines, the team drove on the circuit very slowly with their luggage still loaded on the cars. In the meantime, the organizers announced the arrival of the three Heim with Heim, Henney and Stahl at the wheel. Hugo Boecker informed us that Arthur Henney in the #20 Heim car did not show up at Monza as he had an accident at the June Avusrennen and quit racing. At 12.30 the two-liter Bianchi driven by Eugenio Silvani was driven at slow speed as he entered the circuit. He limited himself to just testing the car.       On Thursday morning at 11.45 the first of the four Bugatti made their appearance with team leader Friedrich. The driver and his mechanic, a handsome fifteen-year-old boy, wore both on their heads a white and red cap which, with the blue of the bodywork, formed the colors of the French flag. Around midday, De Vizcaya and Monès-Maury drove some laps with the Bugatti, followed by Giaccone and Bordino with a 3-liter type 1921 GP car. Later, the fourth Bugatti driver, the Italian Marco, presented himself to the commissioners to begin practice. The times were as follows: De Vizcaya 4m14s, 4m18s, 4m19; Monès-Maury 4m31s; Marco 3m17s, 2m20.6s; Bordino 4m2.6s, 4m11.2s, 4m18.6s. Around 1:30 p.m., the small Austro-Daimler Sascha, driven by Pöcher completed a few laps. By a request of Bugatti, his cars were allowed to run until 3:30. The Austro-Daimlers and the Bianchi also feverishly intensified their preparation. The Heim were expected to arrive on Thursday. The Bianchi 4-cylinder cars continued to be prepared in the workshop while the 8-cylinder with Silvani took part in some tests on the Montichiari circuit.       On Friday, the 8. September the Motorcycle Grand Prix took place for 350 and 500 cc, 750 and 1000 cc machines. Friday morning the organizers received a telegram, announcing the arrival of the three 2-liter Heim, traveling on the roads from Mannheim. Scrutineering took place on Friday, in the control enclosure at the circuit, including the weighing operations in the following order: 9 a.m. 4 Bugatti, 10:15 a.m. 3 Fiat, 10:45 a.m. 3 Bianchi, at 2 p.m. 4 Austro-Daimler, at 2:45 p.m. 2 Diatto and at 3 p.m. 3 Heim. Hopefully the 8-cylinder Bianchi, would be able to be present in the race, entrusted to Eugenio Silvani. The 4-cylinder Bianchi driven by Conelli and Costantini were made too hasty and nothing was prepared.       During Saturday practice, Fritz Kuhn crashed his Austro-Daimler. The technical commission ordered by an Italian Court carried out an immediate investigation. Their report differed greatly from what was initially reported in Italian newspapers. The result of the court ordered investigation established beyond a doubt the following: Kuhn drove in a normal way with high speed into the right-hand turn (after the pits, the first turn of the high-speed oval) and took the corner along the inside. Already at the entry of the turn the car skidded towards the left and Kuhn steered in the same direction to compensate the skid. The Skid was explained due to the tearing of spokes from the left rear wheel, as the investigation of the track-marks showed that shortly after the moment when the car entered the turn, over a distance of about 40-meters, the track of the rear wheels narrowed by about 25 centimeters. The point where this change had begun was still one-meter from the outer edge of the turn, which was secured with sandbags. Therefore, the breakage of the rear wheels was not caused by the impact with the sandbags but vice versa this impact was a result of the wheel breakage. This way, the driver must have lost control, the car bounced over the sand bags and spun around without tipping over. Both occupants, Kuhn and his mechanic Fiedler, and the fuel container were thrown from the car at the impact. Kuhn fell so unfortunate that he was immediately dead, while Fiedler suffered severe injuries.

Race: Early Sunday morning the sky was covered and it rained. Later at around 11:00 a.m. the sun was seen between the clouds. After the practice accident of Kuhn, Austro-Daimler withdrew their cars from the start, planned for 9:00 a.m. At 8:00 a.m. 11 cars were announced as secure starters. But soon thereafter the sad news was announced that Bugatti had withdrawn his four cars from the start. The reason given by Bugatti was that his cars with the smaller wheels would run into danger, so he declined to start with any car. At this time Ettore Bugatti was visited by a Fascist pseudo government committee, who were able to win at least one Bugatti to participate. The car of De Vizcaya was fitted with larger wheels on loan from Fiat because Bugatti had also claimed that his smaller wheels were not the right ones for the Monza track. All this happened so fast, that De Vizcaya had no time to change, so he appeared in regular clothes at the start.       Gazzetta dello Sport on 11. September reported, how Bugatti explains his participation after the withdrawal when a number of rumors had started about how the participation itself had been obtained. On Sunday morning about 7.30 a.m. Ettore Bugatti was visited by a group of public commissioners, seven or eight gentlemen, civilly dressed. Bugatti gave the following account: "Asked about the reasons why I did not intend to take part, I repeated for the umpteenth time that the gear ratios were not suited to the nature of the circuit, which I considered faster from the descriptions in the newspapers. The commissioners told me about the public who, having paid, would have misunderstood the news of my withdrawal. I replied that I too had paid the entrance fees and that I had to pay interest.       "When I was asked if I intended to leave only if I was not to finishing first, I pointed out to my interviewers that the circuit was, in my opinion, very dangerous. I was sorry to challenge the men of my team (faithful employees or friends) on a circuit that in some high-speed corners exposed the lives of the drivers at serious risk.       "At this point the commissioners told me that they could not answer for over 100,000 people. I insisted on expressing my will not to run. I said, I didn't come from France to be an actor! As the commissioners continued to insist that I should participate in the Grand Prix at least with one car, I explained the difficulty of the wheels and tires that I did not consider suitable for the race. Then the commissioners stated that they could delay the start by half an hour and that they would arrange to borrow wheels and tires from Fiat, which was done when I received 5 wheels with tires at the start, and others after Giaccone's retirement. But De Vizczya had to leave without the car being prepared for the race. My driver was dressed as a tourist and did not even wear goggles. In conclusion, I ran because I was forced to run, without having the necessary preparation, resulting in Vizcaya's two pit stops. Otherwise, he could have done much more."       An estimated crowd of 100,000 was watching the race. At 8:30 a.m. during rain the cars were pushed from the pits to the starting grid for the anticipated 9 a.m. start and lined up in order by drawing lots and as assigned by the officials. Finally, the Bugatti of De Vizcaya arrived last, placed next to Bordino's Fiat. Five minutes before the start the engines were cranked to life.

-x- -x- 7 Heim Heim 5 Nazzaro Fiat 9 Meregalli Diatto 16 De Vizcaya Bugatti 18 Bordino Fiat -x- -x- 31 Stahl Heim 29 Giaccone Fiat 22 Maserati Diatto

The delayed start was given at 9:30 a.m. with a wave of the flag. Bordino darted ahead of Nazzaro, Vizcaya and Meregalli. Giaccone's car jumped and stopped after a few meters with a broken transmission. The car was out of the race and was pushed off the track. Maserati's engine did not fire up causing a delayed start.       After the first half lap, Bordino held the lead, followed very close by Vizcaya, Nazzaro already detached by almost half a minute, then Meregalli ahead of Maserati and the two Heim far behind. At the end of the first lap, Bordino held the lead after 4m26s, Vizcaya continued to follow him, while Nazzaro chased at a distance ahead of Maserati and Meregalli. The two white cars of Heim and Stahl had hopelessly fallen behind. Bordino covered the second lap in 4m09s and got rid of Vizcaya. After 50 km, Bordino led Nazzaro in second place by over two minutes. His average lap time was 4m14.6s, enabling him to lap the two Heim twice and Vizcaya once. He led the seven-car field at 145.163 km/h average speed after 5 laps: 1. Bordino (Fiat) 21m13s 2. Nazzaro (Fiat) 23m30s 3. Maserati (Diatto) 23m31s 4. Meregalli (Diatto) 24m05s 5. Vizcaya (Bugatti) 27m48s 1 lap behind 6. Heim (Heim) 31m38s 2 laps behind 7. Stahl (Heim) 32m12s 2 laps behind On the sixth lap Vizcaya stopped at the pits due to a misfiring engine and replaced spark plugs. He had started the race without goggles which he now put on. The stop took 4 minutes. Vizcaya, who had practiced with the smaller wheels, now had to get used to the larger ones from Fiat, that gave the Bugatti a higher speed but also made driving through the turns of the inner oval more difficult. Stahl (Heim) experienced an engine breakdown on the seventh lap and retired. He was two laps behind, so he completed only four laps. After 100 km, Bordino had raised his advantage to Nazzaro by almost four minutes. Bordino's average lap time during the first ten laps was 4m12.5s, enabling him to lap all cars except his teammate, Nazzaro. He led the six-car field in the following order after 10 laps: 1. Bordino (Fiat)     42m05s 2. Nazzaro (Fiat)     45m57s 3. Maserati (Diatto)     46m21s 1 lap behind 4. Meregalli (Diatto)     47m57s 1 lap behind 5. Vizcaya (Bugatti)     50m24s 1 lap behind 6. Heim (Heim) 1h00m39s 4 laps behind After 15 laps, Bordino led in 1h03m48s, Nazzaro 1h08m11s, Maserati 1h09m37s, Meregalli 1h12m05s, Vizcaya 1h16m31s and Heim 1h29m31s. In the middle of the 16th lap Heim stopped in front of the pits with an engine failure. His car remained in the middle of the track. As he was four laps behind, he completed only 11 laps. On the 19th lap Bordino overtook Nazzaro and resumed his race at a faster pace. After 200 km, Bordino had raised his advantage to Nazzaro by over four minutes. His average lap time during the last ten laps was 4m23.7s. He led the five-car field at an average speed of 139.480 km/h after 20 laps: 1. Bordino (Fiat) 1h26m02s 2. Nazzaro (Fiat) 1h30m21s 1 lap behind 3. Maserati (Diatto) 1h32m33s 1 lap behind 4. Vizcaya (Bugatti) 1h38m58s 1 lap behind 5. Meregalli (Diatto) 1h43m00s 3 laps behind Meregalli and Maserati stopped consecutively at the pits, the Bolognese two times, allowing Vizcaya to take 3rd place. After 25 laps, Bordino led in 1h47m24s, Nazzaro 1h52m16s, Vizcaya 2h01m03s, Maserati 2h02m20s, Meregalli 2h02m20s. On lap 27, Maserati excited the crowds at the Lesmo turn and made them scream in anguish of seeing the catastrophe that cost poor Kuhn's life on Saturday. Maserati approached the Lesmo curve with excessive speed, the car spun on itself three times, escaping the driver's control, collided with the outer sand bags, twisted the front axle when both front wheels were ripped off, spilling onto the lawn. In this moment of horror there was dead silence, then a tumultuous rush of people. Maserati and his brother Ernesto who acted as a mechanic had been thrown out of the car now lying on the side badly damaged. Neither the driver nor his mechanic took a long time to get up amid the emotion of those present, and they walked to the nearest first-aid station, where they were treated for light scratches and contusions. As he was one lap behind, Maserati completed only 25 laps. After 300 km, Bordino had raised his advantage to Nazzaro by over five minutes. His average lap time during the last five laps was 4m15.2s, leading the four-car field at 139.878 km/h average speed after 30 laps: 1. Bordino (Fiat) 2h08m41s 2. Nazzaro (Fiat) 2h14m15s 1 lap behind 3. Vizcaya (Bugatti) 2h23m42s 3 laps behind 4. Meregalli (Diatto) 2h30m24s 5 laps behind After 35 laps, Bordino led in 2h30m03s, Nazzaro 2h36m03s, Vizcaya 2h46m04s, Meregalli 2h54m24s. Meanwhile Vizcaya stopped again at the pits to change the left front wheel. After 40 laps, 400 km, Bordino had raised his advantage to Nazzaro by over six minutes. His average lap time during the last five laps had gone down to 4m11.2s. He led the four-car field at 139.548 km/h average speed after 40 laps: 1. Bordino (Fiat) 2h50m59s 2. Nazzaro (Fiat) 2h57m45s 1 lap behind 3. Vizcaya (Bugatti) 3h11m52s 4 laps behind 4. Meregalli (Diatto) 3h22m24s 7 laps behind After 45 laps, Bordino led in 3h11m56s, Nazzaro 3h19m06s, Vizcaya 3h34m03s, Meregalli 3h46m27s. On lap 48 Bordino stopped at the pits to change both rear wheels and took on fuel simultaneously in only 1m40s. Nazzaro stopped the following lap for a similar service but he took time to chat with his team. The stop took four minutes. After 50 laps, or 500 km, Bordino had raised his advantage by over nine minutes to Nazzaro who was now two laps down. Bordino's average lap time during the last five laps was 4m35.0s, reflecting the time lost with his pit stop. He led the four-car field at 139.632 km/h average speed after 50 laps: 1. Bordino (Fiat) 3h34m51s 2. Nazzaro (Fiat) 3h44m15s 2 laps behind 3. Vizcaya (Bugatti) 3h56m01s 4 laps behind 4. Meregalli (Diatto) 4h10m28s 7 laps behind On lap 51 Bordino made the fastest lap of the race in 4m05s. Meregalli stopped at the middle of the 53rd lap at the pits with a broken engine mounting. As he was 7 laps behind, he completed only 45 laps. After 55 laps, Bordino led in 3h55m32s, Nazzaro 4h05m35s, Vizcaya 4h19m15s. On lap 60 Bordino changed the front wheels which took over one minute. After 60 laps, or 600 km, Bordino had an advantage of over ten minutes to Nazzaro. Bordino's average lap time during the last five laps was 4m8.4s. He led the three-car field at 140.481 km/h average speed after 60 laps: 1. Bordino (Fiat) 4h16m14s 2. Nazzaro (Fiat) 4h26m52s 2 laps behind 3. Vizcaya (Bugatti) 4h44m19s 6 laps behind After 65 laps, Bordino led in 4h37m03s, Nazzaro 4h48m22s, Vizcaya 5h08m16s. After 70 laps, or 700 km, Bordino now had an advantage of over 11 minutes to Nazzaro. Bordino's average lap time during the last five laps was 4m12.6s. He led the three-car field at 140.900 km/h average speed after 70 laps: 1. Bordino (Fiat) 4h58m06s 2. Nazzaro (Fiat) 5h09m37s 2 laps behind 3. Vizcaya (Bugatti) 5h31m47s 8 laps behind After the 70th lap Nazzaro gave the spectators the feeling of driving very hard and he indeed gained a few seconds per lap on Bordino. After 75 laps, Bordino led in 5h21m37s, Nazzaro 5h30m35s, Vizcaya 5h56m58s. At the end of the 80th lap, as Bordino victoriously crossed the finish line, Nazzaro still had two laps to complete. As Nazzaro crossed the finish line, his arrival provoked the invasion of the track by the enthusiastic crowd. Thus, Vizcaya was stopped to prevent an accident. The winners were taken to the honour grandstand, complimented and kissed by old and young. Nazzaro made many shed tears with emotion by lifting his little girl on his arms. But hundreds of arms also lifted the Spaniard in triumph. Officially however, Vizcaya was stopped after the 76th lap with a time of 6h01m43.2s to complete 760 km, and on the 77th lap ended his race in 6h06m13s. Bordino was knighted as cavaliere by S. E. Rossi.