1925 GRAND PRIX SEASON -

1 9 2 5

FOREWORD
The information within these pages was derived primarily from contemporary magazines and newspapers. I am indebted to all those outstanding journalists and newsmen for their dedicated reporting. Without their stories, we would not have learned about what happened at these events. Secondary sources have also been helpful but to a much lesser extent. Several others have given valuable advice and corrected errors. I extend my appreciation to all those helpful specialists and enthusiasts. I give particular thanks to Tony Kaye for patiently editing the the text for the major race reports. Lastly, I am immensely grateful to Leif Snellman for providing a site where these factual and elaborate accounts can enable us to relive these long-ago races and also for his incredible lifelike drawings.
	Hans Etzrodt

INTRODUCTION

1925 was the last year of the 2-liter formula. Of the 24 races for 2-liter racecars only seven were considered major events. Four of those races counted towards the inaugural automobile World Championship. Alfa Romeo had the best car and drivers, using previous year's proven design but refined for 1925. The two fastest grand prix cars were Alfa Romeo with 225 km/h top speed and Delage at 215 km/h. Malcolm Campbell, (Sunbeam) established a new World Land Speed Record on July 21 at 150.766 mph or 242.635 km/h.

The 1925 Formula
was referred to simply as the 2-liter formula, with a maximum engine capacity of 2.0-liters. Riding mechanics were banned in the Grandes Épreuves, but the empty seat had to be in place. However, this rule was not strictly applied at other events like the Rome Grand Prix, the JCC 200 miles and others. For the first time, driving mirrors were obligatory. The minimum unloaded weight had to be at least 650 kg - 1433 lb. and the minimum body width was 80 cm - 31.5 in. Repair and replenishment of the car during the race all pit work was restricted to the driver and one mechanic.
Indianapolis was part of the World Championship, where the engine size was reduced to 122 cubic inches, to match the 2-liter Grand Prix formula. But the cars were single seaters and the body width was smaller.
Formula Libre without the 2.0-liter formula restrictions worked well and produced good racing, allowing older cars with larger engines to contest non-World Championship Grand Prix races.
Targa Florio and Coppa Florio regulations were for racing cars divided into 5 categories: up to 1100 cc, 1500 cc, 2000 cc, 3000 cc and over 3000 cc. The minimum unloaded weight was 120 kg. Each car had to be occupied by the driver and the riding mechanic sitting side by side. They could be substituted during the race by a driver and riding mechanic who had been nominated before the race. This substitution could only take place at the end of a lap in the presence of an official. The mechanic was not permitted to drive. Only those who completed the race within one hour of the first car in their class would be classified, and the maximum allowable time was 10 hours. The entry fee for each car was 1000 lires per race and 1500 lires for both, the Targa and Coppa Florio.

The Races
Only the national clubs of Belgium, France and Italy held races to the international Grand Prix formula. Indianapolis was run to a different formula, although the engine size was the same. Other major events like the Rome Grand Prix, Targa Florio and San Sebastian Grand Prix were held to formula libre, bringing the total to seven major races.
There were an additional 17 minor events for Grand Prix cars, the Provence Grand Prix at Miramas, Tripoli Grand Prix in Africa, Alessandria Circuit, Solitude-Rennen at Stuttgart, Grand Prix d'Overture at Montlhéry, Savio Circuit at Ravenna, Coppa della Perugina at Perugia, Mugello Circuit at Mugello, Coppa Etna at Catana, Eifelrennen at Nideggen, Coppa Acerbo at Pescara, Coppa Vinci at Messina, Coppa Montenero at Livorno, Taunus-Rennen at Wehrheim, Boulogne Grand Prix, JCC 200 Miles at Brooklands and Garda Circuit at Salo. The remaining races were less important, minor national events of a club type nature.

The 1925 World Championship
was organized by the CSI (Commission Sportive Internationale) of the AIACR (Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus) in Paris. This first World Championship for constructors was won by Alfa Romeo. The Spanish Grand Prix was omitted from the 1925 World Championship for unknown reasons but allegedly due to an incident 1924 at Rabassada near Barcelona, which resulted end of 1924 in a 5-year disqualification of Alfieri Maserati by the CSI and a somewhat shorter ban for Diatto. Possibly in retaliation, evidently the Italian delegation within the CSI had enough influence, as organizer of the championship, to prevent Spain having a Grande Épreuve that year. Whether this is true or not, remains a matter of conjecture. In previous years the reason for Spanish GP cancellations was usually of a financial nature, so it is quite possible that Spain withdrew from the 1925 World Championship due to financial reasons. Following WW I, German cars and drivers were excluded from GP racing in France, Belgium and Britain. The CSI banned German competitors from participating in the 1925 Automobile World Championship. But in May 1925, the German Automobile Club was re-admitted into the AIACR and in November 1925, Germany became part of the CSI with 12 to 2 votes where America and Belgium were against the acceptance. Four votes abstained, amongst them Czechoslovakia. There were representatives present from 18 nations. More about it here.

Cancelled events
None recorded so far.

New Races - held for the first time:

February 22,	Rome Grand Prix
April 17,	Tripoli GP (Tripoli, Lybia), for racing cars, won by Renato Balestrero (OM 665)
May 17,	Solitude Race (Stuttgart, Germany), for racecars, won by Otto Merz (Mercedes 1924 TF)
?	Moroccan GP (Casablanca, Morocco), for touring cars won by de Vaugelas (Delage)
August 2,	Marne GP (Reims, France), for racing cars, won by Pierre Claus (Bignan)
September 6,	Comminges Grand Prix (St. Gaudens, France), for racing cars, won by Goury (Bignan)

1925 SEASON LINEUP

Factory Racing Teams

car

SA Italiana Ing. Nicola Romeo & C. (Milan, Italy)
Alfa Romeo entered their cars, which were built by the factory-racing department. The great designer Vittorio Jano led a team, which in 1924 had conceived and built a new Grand Prix car, the tipo P2 with a 1,987 cc, 8-cylinder, twin o.h.c. s/c engine, producing 140 hp at 5,500 rpm, giving a top speed of 225 km/h. During its first year in 1924, this car had won major races. For 1925, the last year of the 2-liter formula, the proven P2's were fitted with bigger brake drums and the power was raised to 155 hp by fine-tuning and using a special blend of fuel, producing a maximum speed of 240 km/h for their drivers Antonio Ascari, Giuseppe Campari and Gastone Brilli-Peri. After Ascari lost his life at the French Grand Prix, Peter DePaolo drove the third Alfa Romeo at Monza.

car

Automobiles Ettore Bugatti (Molsheim, France)
Bugatti appeared in 1924 with their new Type 35, a 1,991 cc, 8-cylinder, delivering 90 hp at 6,000 rpm. In early 1925 this car had already won the Rome GP and the Targa Florio, but the cars did not appear at the European Grand Prix at Spa, let alone at Indianapolis. Five T35 models without superchargers then raced at the French Grand Prix, for Meo Costantini, the brothers Fernando and Pierre de Vizcaya, Giulio Foresti and Jules Goux. For the last race, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Bugatti produced five Type 35 with 1,493 cc, 8-cylinder, unblown engines, better known as the Type 39. H.G. Conway mentions in his book 'Grand Prix Bugatti' about records indicating that these were originally the cars driven at the 1925 A.C.F. Touring Grand Prix.

car

Chiribiri & Co. (Turin, Italy)
Chiribiri built little sports and racing cars in 1921. These had a pushrod-operated o.h.v. 4-cylinder engine of 1,453 cc, giving a top speed of 110 km/h. In 1922, am improved "Monza" type was produced with a 1,486 cc, 4-cylinder, twin o.h.c. engine, producing 72 hp at 5,100 rpm. These Voiturettes were able to reach speeds of 165 km/h, and were driven initially by 'Deo' Chiribiri and Jack Scales and in 1923 by Tazio Nuvolari amongst others. The only appearance of Chiribiri in the 1925 World Championship was at the Italian Grand Prix, where Luigi Platè and Santoleri retired both of these Voiturettes.

car

Automobiles Delage (Courbevoie, Paris, France)
Delage racing cars had been in existence since 1906 and were produced in Louis Delage's factory in Paris. In 1923 when the 2-liter formula came into being, Delage produced the 2LCV Grand Prix car with a four o.h.c. V-12 engine initially giving 105 hp. Except for some experiments, during the following year the 2LCV ran without blowers but for 1925 the 1,983 cc, V-12 engine came with twin Roots superchargers, increasing the power to 190 hp at 7,000 rpm and the top speed to 215 km/h, figures which were unprecedented. The car had a chassis incapable of handling this much power so the car's full potential was not realized. Nevertheless, the Delage was the only car that could almost compete with Alfa Romeo. Delage drivers for 1925 initially included René Thomas, Albert Divo, Robert Benoist and Paul Torchy. Later Louis Wagner joined the team after Louis Delage fired René Thomas following Delage's debacle in the 1925 European Grand Prix.
At the European Grand Prix at Spa on June 28, 1925, four 12-cylinder Delages were entered for Albert Divo, René Thomas, Paul Torchy and Robert Benoist. The 1925 Delage was lower and better streamlined than the previous year's model. The hood was now heavily louvered to dissipate the enormous heat generated by the V-12 engine, which was now equipped with a Roots blower on each bank of cylinders, boosting the power output to 205 hp. During this first race, the engines of the four cars all expired with connecting rods coming through the crankcase to describe their problems briefly. Griffith Borgeson stated, "The blame would seem to have been Lory's for miscalculating the piston pressures that supercharging would give him." This serious problem had to be resolved immediately by the Delage team chief René Thomas and the car's designer Albert Lory since the next race, the French Grand Prix, was just four weeks away. Griff added that after the race team morale was low and fingers were pointed at René Thomas, for pocketing the accessory money. Consequently, Louis Delage became involved, studying the contracts with the accessory firms, firing Thomas, and hiring Louis Wagner to take his place. Delage then had the contracts rewritten in his own name.

car

SA Autocostruzioni Diatto (Turin, Italy)
Diatto had started building Cléments under license in 1905. At the beginning of the 2-liter formula in 1922, they produced the Diatto 20S with a 1,997 cc, 4-cylinder engine, delivering 75 hp at 4,500 rpm and a top speed of 155 km/h. Alfieri Maserati designed the 1925 Diatto grand prix car with a 1,982 cc, 8-cylinder engine, delivering 130 hp at 5,600 rpm and reaching a top speed of 175 km/h. The drivers were Alfieri Maserati, his brother Ernesto and Emilio Materassi. When the Diatto Company withdrew from racing at the end of 1925, Alfieri Maserati left to start his own company with his brothers.

car

Duesenberg Inc. (Des Moines, Iowa, USA)
The Duesenberg brothers had emigrated from Germany to America when still children and in 1903, started an automobile supply company in Iowa. Duesenberg racing cars first appeared in 1914. After their great victory in the 1921 French Grand Prix, for 1923 they produced the Type 122 in reference to the engine's size in cubic inches. This monoposto had a 1,984 cc, 8-cylinder engine, giving 150 hp at 6,000 rpm, and won the Indianapolis 500 in the hands of Peter DePaolo and his relief driver Norman Batten. Duesenberg appeared at Monza with two cars for Tommy Milton and Peter Kreis. Instead of driving for the Duesenberg Brothers at Monza, DePaolo handled the third Alfa Romeo.

car

Fiat SpA (Turin, Italy)
Fiat had built race cars since 1904. In 1923 they raced their tipo 805 which had a 1,979 cc, straight 8-cylinder supercharged engine, producing 130 hp at 5,500 rpm and won that year's Italian Grand Prix at Monza. For the following season these machines were further developed to produce nearly 150 hp but were raced without success. This failure was probably a contributory factor to Fiat's departure from grand prix racing. During 1924, one tipo 805 was prepared with a monoposto body to race at some American track races. The presence of Fiat's Chief Engineer, Francisco Rosso, may have helped Pietro Bordino set a record of 131.6 mph to become the pole-sitter at the new Culver City board track race on December 14, 1924. In 1925, Bordino came sixth at the Culver City 250 Mile Race and retired at the Charlotte 250 with a broken rear wheel. He then entered and drove the 805 monoposto at Indianapolis, where the car covered the full race distance of 200 laps and finished tenth with assistance from his French relief driver Antoine Mourre, who took over after Bordino injured his hand and had to go to hospital. This was the only occasion that a Fiat appeared at a World Championship event but Indianapolis was not an official works effort.

car

Ets Albert Guyot et Cie (Clichy, Seine)
The Guyot Spéciale was produced by Albert Guyot who had been employed for years by Rolland-Pilain as a technician and driver. In 1924, he established the company Albert Guyot & Ci. Besides some touring cars, a few racecars were his better-known products. The first Guyot-Special appeared in 1925. It was based on a Rolland-Pillain chassis with a 6-cylinder, 1,984 cc sleeve-valve engine, built to Burt-McCallum patents. With a Cozette supercharger the engine produced 125 hp at 5,500 rpm, giving the car a maximum speed of 193 km/h. The Guyot-Special did not take part at its national race, the French Grand Prix, but was entered at Monza where just one of the three existing cars appeared. Later that year two Guyot-Specials were entered for the San Sebastian Grand Prix, but did not appear.

car

Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, Germany)
Mercedes had successfully raced their 1924 TF, a 2-liter 4-cylinder car, in the 1924 Targa Florio. At the Italian Grand Prix six months later, they entered four newly designed Grand Prix cars with blown 2-liter 8-cylinder M218-engines, producing 170 hp at 7,000 rpm, and a top speed of 210 km/h. The team was withdrawn after Zborowsky, one of the team's drivers, had crashed fatally after 43 laps. The German company announced that they would not enter at any international events in 1925. The Mercedes driven by Christian Werner at the 1925 Rome GP was not a works' entry.
The ban after WW I, which applied to German cars and drivers, had extended only to the French and European Grands Prix and was apparently still in effect because in their February 1925 meeting, the International Sporting Commission of the AIACR banned German competitors from participating in the Automobile World Championship. However, at the May 5, 1925 AIACR meeting in Paris, the German Automobile Club was readmitted into the International Association. The voting was twelve in favor, two against, and four neutral. Later that year, at the AIACR October conference in Paris, with the recommendation of the ACF, it was decided that Germany should be represented on the CSI (International Sporting Commission) of the AIACR. The racing circuit at Linas-Montlhéry even invited the German industry to participate in their opening race in May 1925.

car

Miller Motors Inc. (Los Angeles, California, USA)
Miller established a business in about 1907 in Los Angeles which was owned by Harry Armenius Miller. In 1916, Miller designed his first racing engine and car. During 1920, a new 2,999 cc, 8-cylinder monoposto was produced. Miller engines were designed for the American speedways, where they powered the winning cars at Indianapolis from 1922 to 1924. The 1925 Miller 122 monoposto had a very narrow single-seater body with a 1,977 cc, 8-cylinder, supercharged engine, producing 200 hp at 5,800 rpm. A Miller which was privately entered by Harry Hartz came fourth at Indianapolis, while the only factory Miller, driven by Bennett Hill, retired after 69 laps. Millers were not entered at any of the other three races of the 1925 World Championship.

car

Sunbeam Motor Car Company Ltd, (Wolverhamton, Staffs., England)
Their racing history went back as far as 1907. In 1922, the beginning of the 2-liter formula, they raced a 4-cylinder car but progressed the following year with a 6-cylinder engine, capable of 106 hp. For the 1924 season, Sunbeam lowered the chassis and fitted a 1,988 cc, 6-cylinder, blown engine, producing 138 hp at 5,500 rpm, bringing the top speed to 200 km/h. These cars were then entered at the 1925 French Grand Prix for Henry Segrave, Giulio Masetti and Caberto Conelli, the only race of the Championship in which the cars appeared. At season's end Conelli raced one Sunbeam at the San Sebastian Grand Prix where it retired.

Independent Racing Team

car

Eldridge-Special
These were 1.5- Liter cars built by the English driver Ernest Eldridge. Although he had produced several Eldridge Specials with large engines, only the smaller versions that appeared in 1925 are of interest here. His first small car had a 1,496 cc, 4-cylinder, Anzani side valve supercharged engine, giving 80 hp at 5,500 rpm. It was mounted in an Amilcar Grand Sport chassis, and reached 181 km/h over a flying kilometer. With this design he finished fourth at the Grand Prix de l'Ouverture at Montlhéry. This car was followed by a very low-built chassis of his design which was equipped with the same 1.5-liter engine. Eldridge raced this car without success at the Italian and San Sebastian Grands Prix.

VICTORIOUS DRIVERS

The success of drivers in Major Grand Prix races can be found in the list of 1925 Major Grand Prix Races.

Antonio Ascari, 36, started driving in 1911 with a De Vecchi at a Modena touring event and thereafter joined ALFA as test driver. In 1919 he won the important Parma-Poggio di Berceto and Coppa della Consuma hill climbs with his own 4.5-L Fiat racecar. He drove for the Alfa Romeo team in 1921 and won the Parma-Poggio di Berceto hill climb but crashed at Mugello. At the 1922 Targa Florio he crashed once again, this time on the first lap. In the 1923 Targa Florio he finished second in an Alfa Romeo and won at the following Cremona Circuit. In 1924 he established a 10 km world record at 195 km/h on the long Cremona straight and won the Parma-Poggio di Berceto hill climb. While leading the Targa Florio his Alfa Romeo spun to a halt with a seized engine on the last lap only 200 meters from the finish. At the European Grand Prix at Lyon he also retired while in the lead. Finally, at the Italian Grand Prix he won the race in superb fashion. In 1925 he won the European Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. At the following French Grand Prix, Ascari crashed at high speed on lap 23 and his car overturned. He died shortly afterwards in the ambulance which was bringing him to a hospital in Paris.

Albert Divo, 30, began in 1919 as a riding mechanic for René Thomas in a Sunbeam. He moved with Thomas to Talbot and in 1922 when Thomas left the team, Divo became a driver for Talbot. In 1923 Divo finished second in the French Grand Prix and won at the Sitges Oval. In 1924, he raced for Delage winning several races. As a Bugatti works driver he won the 1925 French Grand Prix with Robert Benoist and also won the San Sebastian Grand Prix with André Morel at the end of the year.

Count Carlo Masetti, 27, won the 1925 Rome Grand Prix. He had a younger brother, Giulio who was more famous. Both raced in the 1919 Targa Florio, Carlo placed fourth in an Aquila-Italiana and Giulio was sixth in a Fiat. In 1922 Carlo won the Coppa Montenero driving a Bugatti and also won hill climbs at Rome.

Gastone Brilli Peri, 32, won the 1925 Italian Grand Prix and was proclaimed for winning the World Championship for Alfa Romeo. He was born in Montevarchi near Florence and started racing motorcycles but changed to racecars in 1920, first with a Nazarro and then a Fiat. He placed second at Mugello in 1922 and won several hill climbs. During 1922 he entered a Steyr in the Targa Florio, where he crashed about 15 km from Cerda after completing three laps in eleventh place. He received serious injuries. He mainly raced the Steyr until the end of 1924. He won in 1925 at Mugello and Parma-Poggio di Berceto hill climb in a 4.5-liter Fiat. In August of 1925 at the 15.5 km Coppa Pistoiese hill climb near Florence he set FTD in his 3-liter Diatto racecar and at the Montenero Circuit he made the fastest lap before retiring his Diatto. In 1925 he joined the Alfa Romeo Factory team, culminating with his victory in the 1925 Italian Grand Prix, which won Alfa Romeo the World Championship. In some smaller events in 1925 he raced his Ballot, winning the 1925 Perugia Cup.

Bartolomeo "Meo" Costantini, 36, was Italian and the most successful driver in 1925. After winning the Targa Florio he finished fourth in the French Grand Prix and third in the Italian Grand Prix. His first race was with the Aquila-Italiana works team at the 1914 Targa Florio including a few other races. After the war in 1920 he raced a 1500 Bugatti T13, and in the following year with the same car he finished second at the Garda circuit. In 1922 he raced a Bianchi 18 and in 1923 with an 1100 Amilcar he finished first in class at the Coppa delle Alpi. In 1923 Costantini joined Bugatti in a role that would change while he remained in Molsheim. The official standing of Costantini in the Bugatti factory was not known. He was undoubtedly very close to the Bugatti family's inner circle. He prepared racing cars and he won races with them in a manner which no other has equaled. Costantini started as a test driver and sports director in 1924 and became the team leader. At the September 1924 San Sebstian GP in Spain, he finished second in a T35 to Segrave's winning Sunbeam. In May 1925 Costantini won the Targa Florio with a T35. The Italian was victorious at the 950 km French Touring Car Grand Prix at Montlhéry with a 1500 cc T39 Bugatti after over 11 hours behind the wheel. At the 800 km Italian GP he finished third overall with the T39 and won the 1500 cc category.

Peter DePaolo, 27, won the 1925 Indianapolis 500. At the Italian Grand Prix, he finished fifth in a works Alfa Romeo. He started as the riding mechanic for his uncle Ralph DePalma. By 1922 he became a driver with a Frontenac which he wrecked at the Indy 500. In 1923 he drove a Leach/Miller which he crashed at Fresno, California. In 1924 he finished sixth at the Indy 500 with a Duesenberg, came fourth at the Charlotte 250 Miles and ended up twelfth in the AAA Championship. 1925 was his best year winning the Indy 500 and the AAA Championship ahead of Tommy Milton.

Robert Marcel Charles Benoist, 30, Frenchman from St. Benoît near Paris, had left WW I in 1919 as a daring fighter pilot. He began racing in 1921 and was accepted into the Salmson racing team later that year. After some minor successes including an outright win at the 1922 Gaillon hill climb with an 8-cylinder Salmson, he was offered a drive with Delage in 1924. During his time with the team he came third in the 1924 French Grand Prix, fourth at San Sebastian and won the 1925 French Grand Prix with Divo and at the San Sebastian Grand Prix he finished second.

IN MEMORIAM

April 30, 1925 - Gerhard Ferdinand Kluge (D), 32, an accomplished independent Mercedes sports car driver, died after a short illness in his castle at Königswartha in Oberlausitz (D).

June 20, 1925 - André Guilbert (F), died in 1925 at the 24 Hours Le Mans as the result of a crash whilst driving on his way to the race during the morning of the race. He was driving his 2.5-liter Ravel 12 hp sports car, which was designed by the brother of the composer Maurice Ravel. His car was struck head-on by a van traveling at high speed on the wrong side of the road on the Mulsanne Straight. The van driver only suffered slight injuries, but Guilbert died a few hours later from his injuries, though another source claimed that he died on June 23.

June 20, 1925 - Marius Mestivier (F), driving an 1100 Amilcar CGS Grand Sport, died at the 24 Hours Le Mans race. At 8 pm, on his eighteenth lap, spun his Amilcar on the Mulsanne Straight, and the car swerved off the road and plunged head first into a ditch, killing him instantly. An early report claimed a blown tire or a locked brake caused the crash, but many sources later claimed that he was struck by a bird, causing him to lose consciousness.

June 20, 1925 - Paul Jessen (D) from Cologne died in a crash with another car during the sports car race of the Eifel-Rennen at Nideggen near Vlatten where his #76 Excelsior spun in a curve. Ludewig in the #118 Bugatti was following closely and drove at full speed into the side of the Excelsior that was blocking the curve. Jessen was immediately dead and his passenger was seriously injured. Ludewig who held a promising position in the race was also seriously injured.

July 19, 1925 - Flöhr (D), a riding mechanic, died at the Selbecke-Zurstraße hill climb near Hagen, Westphalia. He was leaning out while going through a turn, he lost his balance and his head hit a tree, causing his immediate death.

July 26, 1925 - Antonio Ascari (I) crashed on lap 23 while leading the French Grand Prix, driving an Alfa Romeo P2. The race officials received statements from André Boillot, who was present at the location of the accident on the Straight of Saint Eutrope. Ascari had clipped a post of the retaining wooden palisades with the hub of the left front wheel on a fast and long left-hand bend at a speed of about 180 km/h. The car then uprooted around 100 meters of the light fencing with the wheels now on soft earth, before it finally went out of control. The car spun around and made another half turn before it ran front first into the 1½ meter wide ditch where it overturned twice, flying high through the air. At the second time Ascari was ejected from his seat.
Boillot was the first to reach the scene and rushed to lift up the injured Ascari. With tears in his eyes Boillot reported that Ascari was fully conscious and even when he pulled the gloves from his hands with a broken arm. It took quite some time before medical help arrived for Ascari. Severely injured and bleeding from several head wounds, after an emergency dressing, he was lifted into the ambulance which brought him to the grandstand where Doctor Richard gave first aid. Ascari had a serious leg injury and a fracture of the right arm. Part of his back was sheared to the bone and much of his scalp, the size of a hand, was removed. By now Ascari was unconscious. Besides him his mechanic Giulio Ramponi cried like a child and made an effort to help the doctor in his office. There was nothing else to do than to take Ascari immediately to Paris. The ambulance left the grandstands in the midst of general consternation. Ascari died even before the town of Linas was reached, where the body of the unfortunate driver was brought to the Alfa Romeo headquarters in that town.

August 10, 1925 - Onesimo Marchisio (I) driving a 2-liter Diatto at the Cuneo-Colle della Maddalena (I) hill climb, was gravely injured on August 9. When he was in a curve 48 km from the start between Sambucco and Pietroporzio he lost control. The car went in a roadside ditch, and hit a pole where his riding mechanic Mario Maladora was thrown from the car, escaping with minor injuries. The car then rolled down an embankment with the driver inside who suffered severe chest injuries. There were no spectators at the scene and the car was not seen by passing cars. Rescuers only arrived after the end of the hill climb. A doctor assisted him in Pietraporzuio but he died of his injuries the following day.

August 30, 1925 - Paul Vauthier (F) was the riding mechanic in the 3-Liter Bignan of Henri Matthys (F) during the August 30 Boillot Cup race at Boulogne-sur-Mer. Trying to avoid a spectator who was crossing the road, Matthys lost control; the car hit a tree, overturned and caught fire. Both of the occupants were seriously injured. Vauthier died hours later, while Matthys died 15 days later on September 14 in the Boulogne-sur-Mer hospital.

September 12, 1925 - the date is not certain - Bodo Raddaz (D) died during practice for an event near Breslau, Germany, organized by the ADAC. He was thrown from his car while taking a bend and landed in such a way that he was immediately dead.

September 19, 1925 - Paul Torchy (F) died on lap five of the San Sebastian Grand Prix, driving a Delage 2LCV. The accident took place after 13 km at the Aurte bend, at the descent of Hernani. He was trying to pass Masetti's Sunbeam whom Torchy had been following closely. Torchy passed on the right, but ran off the road into the loose earth. The car went into a skid at full speed and crashed against a tree on the other side from which it bounced off and collided with another tree which it uprooted. The impact threw Torchy violently against the steering wheel, crushing his chest and he died seconds later.

16 Carlo Masetti
Count C. Masetti
Bugatti T35

3 Emilio Materassi
E. Materassi
Itala Special

7 Guido Ginaldi
G. Ginaldi
Alfa Romeo RLTF24

REALE PREMIO DI ROMA

Circuito Monte Mario - Rome (I), 22 February 1925.
40 laps x 10.6 km (6.59 mi) = 424.0 km (263.5 mi)

Note: No. 17 was not used.
No.	Driver	Entrant	Car	Type	Engine

	V. Category Speciale over 3001 cc
1	Giovanni Minozzi	G. Minozzi	Alfa Romeo	RLTF24	3.6	S-6
2	Vittorio Foroni	V. Foroni	Itala Special		5.8	S-4
3	Emilio Materassi	E. Materassi	Itala Special		5.8	S-4
4	Anselmo Cesaroni	A. Cesaroni	Mercedes	GP 1914	4.5	S-4
5	François Lecot	F. Lecot	Diatto Spl	Hispano Suiza	5.9	S-4
6	Gastone Brilli Peri	G. Brilli Peri	Ballot	Indy 1919	4.9	S-8

	IV. Category Speciale 2001 to 3000 cc
7	Guido Ginaldi	G.Ginaldi	Alfa Romeo	RLTF24	3.0	S-6
8	Giulio Ranza	G. Ranza	Diatto	35	3.0	S-4
9	Angelo Ruggeri	A. Ruggeri	Alfa Romeo	RLTF23	3.0	S-6
10	Gino De Grandis	G. De Grandis	Fast		3.0	S-4
11	Augusto Nardi-Pelagalli	A. Nardi-Pelagalli	Alfa Romeo	RLTF23	3.0	S-6
12	Silvio De Vitis	S. De Vitis	Itala Special	50	3.0	S-4
13	Guido Meregalli	G. Meregalli	Diatto	35	3.0	S-4	DNA - did not appear

	III. Category 1501 to 2000 cc
14	Archimede Rosa	A. Rosa	OM	665	2.0	S-6	replaced F. Minoia
15	Christian Werner	C. Werner	Mercedes	TF 1924	2.0	S-4
16	Carlo Masetti	Count C. Masetti	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8
18	Domenico Antonelli	D. Antonelli	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8
19	Giovanni Bonmartini	Count G. Bonmartini	Mercedes	TF 1924	2.0	S-8	DNS - practice crash
20	Giuseppe Morandi	G. Morandi	OM	665	2.0	S-6
21	Diego De Sterlich	Marquis D. De Sterlich	Bugatti	T30	2.0	S-8	DNA - did not appear
22	Renato Balestrero	R, Balestrero	OM	665	2.0	S-6
23	Ernesto Maserati	E. Maserati	Diatto	20S	2.0	S-4
24	Amedeo Silliti	A. Silitti	Bianchi	18	2.0	S-4

	II. Category 1101 to 1500 cc
25	Aymo Maggi	Count A. Maggi	Bugatti	T13/22	1.5	S-4
26	Cesare Renzi	C. Renzi	Aurea	400 SC	1.5	S-4
27	Roberto Serboli	R. Serboli	Chiribiri	Monza S	1.5	S-4
28	Giovanni Negro	G. Negro	Chiribiri	Monza S	1.5	S-4
29	Franco Mazzotti	F. Mazzotti	Bugatti	T13/22	1.5	S-4
30	Luigi Spinozzi	L. Spinozzi	Bugatti	T13/22	1.5	S-4
31	Luigi Tattini	L. Tattini	Fiat	501S	1.5	S-4
32	Maurizio Ciancherotti	M. Ciancherotti	OM	469	1.5	S-4	DQU - disqualified
33	Filippo Tassara	F. Tassara	Bugatti	T13/22	1.5	S-4
34	Michele Baccoli	M. Baccoli	Bugatti	T13/22	1.5	S-4	DNA - did not appear
35	Luigi Platè	L. Platè	Chiribiri	Monza S	1.5	S-4
36	Pasquale Croce	P. Croce	Bugatti	Brescia	1.5	S-4
37	"Nino"	Dr. G. Cirio	Chiribiri	Monza S	1.5	S-4
38	Barino Viarana	B. Viarana	Bugatti	T13/22	1.5	S-4	DNA - did not appear

	I. Category up to 1100 cc
39	Ruggero Pigazzi	R. Pigazzi	Salmson		1.1	S-4
40	Massimiliano Lancellotti	M. Lancellotti	Salmson		1.1	S-4
41	Giovanni Tartaglia	G. Tartaglia	Amilcar		1.1	S-4	DNA - did not appear
42	Augusto Vallecoccia	A. Vallecoccia	Amilcar		1.1	S-4
43	Abele Clerici	A. Clerici	Salmson	AL 3	1.1	S-4

Carlo Masetti wins the Royal Rome Grand Prix with Bugatti

by Hans Etzrodt

The Reale Premio Roma was the first international race of the season. Only eight of the 35 starters finished the 424 km race. After the first 5 laps Brilli Peri (4.9-L Ballot) led ahead of Materassi (5.8-L Itala Special), followed by Minozzi (3.6-L Alfa Romeo), Carlo Masetti (2-L Bugatti), Nardi (3-L Alfa Romeo) and Werner (2-L Mercedes). The battle for victory was amongst these six contenders while the remaining 29 drivers could only hope for a class victory. As the furious battle progressed, cars dropped out with breakdowns or driver errors. When Brilli Peri retired after six laps, Masetti took the lead and kept it unchallenged until the end, finishing three laps ahead of Materassi. Ginaldi (3-L Alfa Romeo) was third, ahead of Croce (1.5-L Bugatti), Platè (1.5-L Chiribiri), Mazzotti (1.5-L Bugatti), Nino" (1.5-L Chiribiri) and Clerici (1100 Salmson) the eighth and last finisher. The race officials stopped six cars which did not finish in the required time but were still running. The 21 retirements included Werner who crashed his Mercedes after he held second place. Likewise, the Minozzi/Ascari Alfa Romeo was eliminated when Ascari crashed with Maggi's Bugatti, eliminating both category leaders.

The Reale Premio Roma was held for the first time and was organized by the still young Automobile Club di Roma which decided to use existing roads to form the 10.6 km Monte Mario circuit just north of the Vatican where it went in clockwise direction along the twisting roads. The start was on Rome's longest straight, the Viale Angelico, heading south and soon turning sharp right into Viale Milizie with another right along Via Trionfale climbing along a narrow winding road up Monte Mario. From there the course wound through numerous half turns downhill along the Cammilluccia. After more right turns into Via Cassia there was a sudden descent through the most difficult right turn near the Milvio Bridge leading into Viale Angelico, where it snaked along the Tiber River through a left bend and a left-right onto the long straight towards the finish. An average speed of only 105 km/h was expected for even the fastest cars on a dry road because the turns were not cambered, often banked the wrong way, and the narrow road seldom exceeded six meters in width.
The Reale Premio Roma had been planned for January 24 and 25 but had to be postponed to February 22 to 24 because of urgently needed road improvements. The entries were divided into five categories by capacity, I. up to 1100 cc, II. 1101 to 1500 cc, III. 1501 to 2000 cc, IV. 2001 to 3000 cc, V. over 3000 cc. The cars had to be occupied by either the driver and his mechanic, or just the driver, in which case the vehicle had to carry 70 kg of ballast. The maximum allowable time for each category was ½ hour after arrival of the first car. After the racecar event, the touring car race was held in two stages on the same circuit during the following two days.
The overall winner, the driver who, regardless of class, completed the race in the shortest time, received 100,000 lire. In each of the categories the winner received 10,000 lire, second 6,000 and third 4,000. A reproduction of the Roman she-wolf was awarded to the manufacturer of the overall winning car.

Entries:
An unusually large entry list of 42 cars comprised 5 in the 1100 category, 14 in the 1500 category, 10 in the 2000 cc category, 6 in the 3000 cc category and 7 in the category over 3-liters. 10 of the cars were Bugattis, 4 Diattos, 4 Alfa Romeos, 3 Italas or Specials, 4 OMs, 4 Chiribiris, 3 Mercedes, and 1 each Fast, Ballot, Aurea, Fiat and Bianchi, also 3 Salmsons and 2 Amilcars. With one exception, the drivers were all Italians but famous names like Campari, Bordino and Costantini were not in the entry list.
The race had an international aspect with a German entry of Christian Werner with the same Mercedes in which he had won the 1924 Targa and Coppa Florio races, but it was not a works entry. He was accompanied by Alfred Neubauer, the officially nominated reserve driver, who had last raced four months earlier at the 1924 Italian Grand Prix. Both Germans raced with an Italian license by the ACI. Other officially entered reserve drivers were Bernardi for Ginaldi (Alfa Romeo); Giani for Ruggeri (Alfa Romeo); Ascari for Minozzi; Giulio Masetti for Bonmartini (Mercedes).
There were four RLTF Alfa Romeos, all independent entries, although the 3.6-Liter car of Minozzi carried the famous clover leaf emblems on the hood. His riding mechanic was none other than Giulio Ramponi, a long time Alfa Romeo employee and leading mechanic. Evidently this car was a works entry in disguise, especially when considering that Minozzi's reserve driver was none other than Antonio Ascari, the number one driver at Alfa Romeo.
Alfieri Maserati had entered his Diatto Special, which was powered by a 5.9-liter 4-cylinder Hispano-Suiza aero engine. Gazzetta dello Sport stated that Carlo Lecot, actually the Frenchman François Lecot, was the substitute for Maserati who was subject to a 2-year ban from racing. At the May 25, 1924 Rabassada hill climb Maserati had made the fastest time of the day, after which Pierre de Vizcaya filed a protest. It was then discovered that the engines of both Diatto cars had a larger capacity than had been quoted on the entry list. It was an accidental mistake but the Spanish AC disqualified the Italian company Diatto and Alfieri Maserati and banned them. Eventually, the ban was lifted at the 1925 February CSI meeting of the AIACR.
The over 3000cc Category had two entries of 5.8-Liter Itala Specials for Materassi and Foroni. The cars had only a few Itala parts (clutch, gearbox, transmission) so to call them Itala 55 Specials, as was often done, is misleading. It had a makeshift chassis and suspension. It was called an Itala for publicity reasons as Materassi owned the Itala agency in Florence. The engine was half of a V8 Hispano-Suiza aircraft engine so the capacity was about 5.8 liters. The figure of precisely 4722cc, which is to be found in prevailing motor sport literature, is a mystery. This is well explained in an Alessandro Silva's article about Italian aero-engined specials, which was published in The Automobile magazine.

Practice:
Wednesday practice was reported by the Gazzetta dello Sport. Brilli Peri, who was confident in his own ability and the road-holding of his car, did good practice times. According to rumors the fastest lap was performed by Minozzi with the Alfa Romeo in 6m38s. Bonmartini drove with a fur helmet that did not conceal his beard. Werner was not talkative and kept to a moderate pace. Nardi with his Alfa Romeo marveled at the safety of driving around the bends which often were banked the wrong way along the Camilluccia roadway. De Sterlich and Antonelli completed the circuit several times. Minoia with his two-liter OM was driving the turns of Monte Mario in perfect style. The wet road and the excessive heat betrayed De Grandis in the Fast when he slipped in the turn of Viale delle Milizie, knocking down a fence but without further damage. The Diatto of Ranza ended up in a field where he was temporarily stuck. On a later practice day Bonmartini crashed his 1924 2.0-L Targa Florio Mercedes and was unable to start.

Race:
The Non- starters included Meregalli (Diatto), Bonmartini (Mercedes), De Sterlich (Bugatti), Baccoli (Bugatti), Viarana (Bugatti) and Tartaglia (Amilcar). When Ciancherotti (1500 OM) was disqualified at the start for unbecoming behavior (details about this incident could not be found), the field was reduced to 35 cars. Rosa replaced Minoia in the #14 OM. The cars of Category V, over 3001 cc, were to start first and the field lined up as follows:

3
Materassi
Itala Spl.

2
Foroni
Itala Spl.

1
Minozzi
Alfa Romeo

6
Brilli Peri
Ballot

5
Lecot
Diatto Spl.

4
Cesaroni
Mercedes

Shortly before 10:00 AM, Princess Mafalda left the Royal stand and went down to the track accompanied by both, the Representative and President of the Rome AC, Dr. Romeo Gallenga, Mr. Leonardi and a woman timekeeper. The Princess raised a flag in the colors of the Automobile Club. The six racecars of category five were vibrating, with their drivers eager to commence. At 10:00 AM the Princess Mafalda gave the starting signal by lowering the flag and Brilli Peri in his 4.8-L Ballot shot to the front. Next, the six cars of category IV, 2001 - 3000 cc, lined up and were started one minute later by the Princess.

9
Ruggeri
Alfa Romeo

8
Ranza
Diatto

7
Ginaldi
Alfa Romeo

12
De Vitis
Itala Spl.

11
Nardi
Alfa Romeo

10
De Grandis
Fast

After an interval of one minute the 2-Liter cars were started by Princess Mafalda, showing here just the first row of the eight cars in this category.

16
Masetti
Bugatti

15
Werner
Mercedes

14
Rosa
OM

Werner's Mercedes took the immediate lead and was still first in his class as he reached the top of Monte Mario. But on the decent he was passed by Carlo Masetti's Bugatti. The 1500 cars followed with an interval of one minute, showing here just the first two rows of this category, as seen in a photograph.

27
Serboli
Chiribiri

26
Renzi
Aurea

25
Maggi
Bugatti

30
Spinozzi
Bugatti

29
Mazzotti
Bugatti

28
Negro
Chiribiri

The 1100 cars followed with an interval of one minute. Soon after the start of the last cars Brilli Peri appeared in first place with a lap time of 6m53.2s. He was closely followed by Materassi and Minozzi. Nardi was leading the fourth category with a short gap to Ginaldi. In the third category Masetti in the fast Bugatti held the lead ahead of Werner's Mercedes. Count Maggi was leading the second category and the 1100 cars were initially led by Lancellotti.
After the second lap Minozzi's Alfa Romeo showed traces of a dog which had been victim to the car's speed. Ruggeri (Alfa Romeo) retired after the third lap and Silitti (Bianchi) ended his race one lap later. Masetti passed Ginaldi and was amongst the fifth category cars. After the third lap one cylinder of Cesaroni's Mercedes was no longer working. De Vitis in the 4-cylinder Itala Spl., drove along with just two working cylinders, and in this condition he completed six laps before ending his race. Foroni retired on lap five. Cesaroni changed plugs on his Mercedes on the open road and again at his pit. After the fifth lap he had dropped to 23rd place and was then one lap behind with no chance of success. After the retirements of Ruggeri, Silitti and Foroni the field was down to 32 cars. Brilli Peri's average lap time for the first five laps was 6m51s with the field in the following order:

1.	Brilli Peri (Ballot)	34m13s	over 3000 cc category
2.	Minozzi (Alfa Romeo)	34m28s	over 3000 cc
3.	C. Masetti (Bugatti)	34m35s	2000 cc
4.	Materassi (Itala Special)	35m08s	over 3000 cc
5.	Nardi (Alfa Romeo)	35m15s	3000 cc
6.	Ginaldi (Alfa Romeo)	?	3000 cc
7.	Werner (Mercedes)	35m43s	2000 cc
8.	Antonelli (Bugatti)	37m06s	2000 cc
9.	Lecot (Diatto)	37m30s	over 3000 cc
10.	Morandi (OM)	37m46s	2000 cc
11.	Maserati (Diatto)	38m12s	2000 cc
12.	Balestrero (OM)	38m25s	2000 cc
13.	Rosa (OM)	38m51s	2000 cc
14.	Tassara (Bugatti)	38m53s	1500 cc
15.	Maggi (Bugatti)	38m55s	1500 cc
16.	Lancellotti (Salmson)	38m56s	1100 cc
17.	Clerici (Salmson)	39m00s	1100 cc
18.	Spinozzi (Bugatti)	39m02s	1500 cc
19.	Croce (Bugatti)	39m07s	1500 cc
20.	Serboli (Chiribiri)	39m30s	1500 cc
21.	Ranza Diatto)	40m09s	3000 cc
22.	Platè (Chiribiri)	40m34s	1500 cc
23.	Cesaroni (Mercedes)	41m42s	over 3000 cc	1 lap behind
24.	Mazzotti (Bugatti)	41m54s	1500 cc	1 lap behind
25.	Renzi (Aurea)	42m52s	1500 cc	1 lap behind
26.	"Nino" (Chiribiri)	44m18s	1500 cc	1 lap behind
27.	Negro (Chiribiri)	44m21s	1500 cc	1 lap behind
28.	De Vitis (Itala Spl.)	44m45s	3000 cc	1 lap behind
29.	Tattini (Fiat)	47m55s	1500 cc	2 laps behind
30.	De Grandis (Fast)	50m41s	3000 cc	2 laps behind
31.	Pigazzi (Salmson)	1h02m25s	1100 cc	4 laps behind
32.	Vallecoccia (Amilcar)	1h25m57s	1100 cc	7 laps behind

After the sixth lap Brilli Peri retired on the circuit at Villa Colomba with a broken gearbox but other reports claimed that it was due to the differential. Minozzi, who was in second position after five laps stopped after the sixth lap at the pits to change a tire. Ascari, his official reserve driver, climbed into the car amid applause from the crowd. The reason for this driver change was not apparent but the pit stop dropped the well placed Alfa many places behind. While the crowd was still applauding, Masetti, Nardi, Werner, Materassi and Antonelli passed the parked Alfa Romeo and Ascari joined the race in sixth position. On lap eight De Vitis retired his Itala Special with engine failure. Spinozzi and Lancellotti retired on the ninth and tenth lap respectively, the latter with a broken gearbox. Maserati had dropped from tenth to 13th place. Brilli Peri, De Vitis, Spinozzi and Lancellotti had retired. The latter was no longer listed by the timekeepers while Vallecoccia (Amilcar) was shown 7 laps behind. As a result, the field was down to 27 cars. Werner allegedly had changed plugs on his Mercedes four times but still held third place. Masetti's average lap time for the last 5 laps was 6m45s. The order was as follows after ten laps:

1.	C. Masetti (Bugatti)	1h08m16s	2000 cc category
2.	Nardi (Alfa Romeo)	1h09m36s	3000 cc
3.	Werner (Mercedes)	1h10m16s	2000 cc
4.	Materassi (Itala Special)	1h11m44s	over 3000 cc
5.	Antonelli (Bugatti)	1h12m33s	2000 cc
6.	Minozzi/Ascari (Alfa Romeo)	1h13m39s	over 3000 cc
7.	Lecot (Diatto)	1h14m11s	over 3000 cc
8.	Morandi (OM)	1h14m27s	2000 cc
9.	Balestrero (OM)	1h15m47s	2000 cc	1 lap behind
10.	Rosa (OM)	1h16m07s	2000 cc	1 lap behind
11.	Tassara (Bugatti)	1h16m26s	1500 cc	1 lap behind
12.	Maggi (Bugatti)	1h16m31s	1500 cc	1 lap behind
13.	Maserati (Diatto)	1h16m51s	2000 cc	1 lap behind
14.	Croce (Bugatti)	1h17m03s	1500 cc	1 lap behind
15.	Clerici (Salmson)	1h17m24s	1100 cc	1 lap behind
16.	Ginaldi (Alfa Romeo)	1h18m31s	3000 cc	1 lap behind
17.	Serboli (Chiribiri)	1h18m44s	1500 cc	1 lap behind
18.	Platè (Chiribiri)	1h19m22s	1500 cc	1 lap behind
19.	Negro (Chiribiri)	1h24m07s	1500 cc	2 laps behind
20.	Cesaroni (Mercedes)	1h24m19s	over 3000 cc	2 laps behind
21.	Ranza Diatto)	1h25m25s	3000 cc	2 laps behind
22.	"Nino" (Chiribiri)	1h26m18s	1500 cc	2 laps behind
23.	Mazzotti (Bugatti)	1h26m40s	1500 cc	2 laps behind
24.	Renzi (Aurea)	1h27m40s	1500 cc	2 laps behind
25.	Tattini (Fiat)	1h30m06s	1500 cc	3 laps behind
26.	De Grandis (Fast)	1h35m59s	3000 cc	3 laps behind
27.	Pigazzi (Salmson)	1h46m02s	1100 cc	4 laps behind

After the 12th lap Cesaroni retired his Mercedes. It appeared that the fuel mixture had affected the spark plugs, possibly having used too little Benzene. Negro (Chiribiri) and Tattini (Fiat) probably retired after ten laps when they were two and three laps behind respectively and thereafter were not listed by the timekeepers. Ranza (Diatto) and Nardi (Alfa Romeo) also retired after the 13th and 14th lap respectively and consequently there were only 22 drivers left after 15 laps. Maggi fell several places behind and Serboli dropped several laps. Ascari was finally able to pass Materassi and Antonelli to gain third place. Masetti's average lap time for the last 5 laps had decreased to 6m36s when the order was as follows after 15 laps:

1.	C. Masetti (Bugatti)	1h41m16s	2000 cc category
2.	Werner (Mercedes)	1h43m35s	2000 cc
3.	Minozzi/Ascari (Alfa Romeo)	1h46m51s	over 3000 cc
4.	Antonelli (Bugatti)	1h47m08s	2000 cc
5.	Materassi (Itala Special)	1h49m17s	over 3000 cc	1 lap behind
6.	Morandi (OM)	1h50m41s	2000 cc	1 lap behind
7.	Balestrero (OM)	1h52m11s	2000 cc	1 lap behind
8.	Lecot (Diatto)	1h52m17s	over 3000 cc	1 lap behind
9.	Rosa (OM)	1h52m35s	2000 cc	1 lap behind
10.	Tassara (Bugatti)	1h52m35s	1500 cc	1 lap behind
11.	Ginaldi (Alfa Romeo)	1h52m43s	3000 cc	1 lap behind
12.	Maserati (Diatto)	1h54m07s	2000 cc	1 lap behind
13.	Croce (Bugatti)	1h55m26s	1500 cc	2 laps behind
14.	Clerici (Salmson)	1h56m44s	1100 cc	2 laps behind
15.	Platè (Chiribiri)	1h57m56s	1500 cc	2 laps behind
16.	Maggi (Bugatti)	1h58m05s	1500 cc	2 laps behind
17.	Mazzotti (Bugatti)	2h06m26s	1500 cc	3 laps behind
18.	"Nino" (Chiribiri)	2h07m40s	1500 cc	4 laps behind
19.	Renzi (Aurea)	2h16m01s	1500 cc	5 laps behind
20.	Serboli (Chiribiri)	2h21m22s	1500 cc	6 laps behind
21.	De Grandis (Fast)	2h21m50s	3000 cc	6 laps behind
22.	Pigazzi (Salmson)	2h31m38s	1100 cc	7 laps behind

The number of participants was further reduced when Serboli retired his Chiribiri on the 11th lap. After the 18th lap Werner passed the grandstand with a dented hood, the result of an impact at the turn to Viale Milizie. He had made contact with the outer board fence after he had been signaled by his pit to increase his speed to pass Masetti. Far from narrowing the gap to Masetti, this incident increased it. On the 20th lap Antonelli retired for unknown reasons. Masetti's average lap time for the last 5 laps had decreased to 6m31s with the field down to 20 cars by lap 20:

1.	C. Masetti (Bugatti)	2h13m52s	2000 cc category
2.	Werner (Mercedes)	2h19m47s	2000 cc
3.	Materassi (Itala Special)	2h25m52s	over 3000 cc	1 lap behind
4.	Minozzi/Ascari (Alfa Romeo)	2h25m54s	over 3000 cc	1 lap behind
5.	Lecot (Diatto)	2h26m04s	over 3000 cc	1 lap behind
6.	Morandi (OM)	2h26m47s	2000 cc	1 lap behind
7.	Balestrero (OM)	2h28m24s	2000 cc	2 laps behind
8.	Tassara (Bugatti)	2h28m35s	1500 cc	2 laps behind
9.	Ginaldi (Alfa Romeo)	2h30m20s	3000 cc	2 laps behind
10.	Rosa (OM)	2h30m25s	2000 cc	2 laps behind
11.	Maserati (Diatto)	2h31m51s	2000 cc	2 laps behind
12.	Croce (Bugatti)	2h33m50s	1500 cc	3 laps behind
13.	Clerici (Salmson)	2h36m48s	1100 cc	3 laps behind
14.	Maggi (Bugatti)	2h38m42s	1500 cc	3 laps behind
15.	Platè (Chiribiri)	2h44m50s	1500 cc	4 laps behind
16.	Mazzotti (Bugatti)	2h45m31s	1500 cc	4 laps behind
17.	"Nino" (Chiribiri)	2h48m23s	1500 cc	5 laps behind
18.	Renzi (Aurea)	2h57m11s	1500 cc	6 laps behind
19.	De Grandis (Fast)	3h07m04s	3000 cc	7 laps behind
20.	Pigazzi (Salmson)	3h46m56s	1100 cc	way behind

Morandi's OM was no longer shown by the timekeepers. After twenty laps he had been in sixth place one lap behind in the fastest OM but since then he had possibly retired. After lap 21, Werner stopped at his pit, changed plugs and refueled. He re-started but did not pass the pits again because he crashed for the second time. He escaped unhurt but the damage to his Mercedes was such that he had to leave the car at the curves of Monte Mario. Soon afterwards he was seen at the Mercedes pit. With the disappearance of Werner's Mercedes, Materassi took second place and Ascari was third in Minozzi's Alfa Romeo. On the 23rd lap Ginaldi stopped his Alfa Romeo to change a tire, and Mazzotti and Nino refueled. Lecot had engine problems and stopped frequently at the pits. De Grandis with the Fast was disqualified because he did not give way to others and the commissioners withdrew him from the race. On lap 20 De Grandis had completed only 13 laps, thus he is shown in the results with 13 laps or more completed. Maggi was no longer shown by the timekeepers. At 20 laps he was 3 laps behind and on lap 25 he would have covered 22 laps at best. On the 25th lap Maserati stopped at the pits for refueling. Materassi was once again firmly in second place. Clerici completed his regular pit stop and departed still in the leading position in the 1100 Category. Masetti had not yet stopped at his pit and had lapped the entire field at least once. His average lap time for the last 5 laps had decreased further to 6m25s. The field was down to 16 cars in the following order after 25 laps:

1.	C. Masetti (Bugatti)	2h45m57s	2000 cc category
2.	Materassi (Itala Special)	2h57m47s	over 3000 cc	1 lap behind
3.	Minozzi/Ascari (Alfa Romeo)	2h57m48s	over 3000 cc	1 lap behind
4.	Lecot (Diatto)	3h02m49s	over 3000 cc	2 laps behind
5.	Rosa (OM)	3h07m37s	2000 cc	3 laps behind
6.	Tassara (Bugatti)	3h07m57s	1500 cc	3 laps behind
7.	Ginaldi (Alfa Romeo)	3h10m24s	3000 cc	3 laps behind
8.	Croce (Bugatti)	3h14m57s	1500 cc	4 laps behind
9.	Clerici (Salmson)	3h17m58s	1100 cc	4 laps behind
10.	Maserati (Diatto)	3h19m40s	2000 cc	5 laps behind
11.	Balestrero (OM)	3h22m01s	2000 cc	5 laps behind
12.	Platè (Chiribiri)	3h22m18s	1500 cc	5 laps behind
13.	Mazzotti (Bugatti)	3h26m52s	1500 cc	6 laps behind
14.	"Nino" (Chiribiri)	3h32m06s	1500 cc	7 laps behind
15.	Renzi (Aurea)	3h39m07s	1500 cc	8 laps behind
16.	Pigazzi (Salmson)	4h32m32s	1100 cc	way behind

On his 26th lap Ascari came at full speed along Via Cassia to the steep descent at Milvio Bridge and was about to lap the slower Bugatti of Maggi who was on his 23rd lap. Maggi was violently hit by Ascari, and the two cars entangled their wheels, continuing for about 100 meters until they reached the bend after the descent that precedes the Milvio Bridge. Unable to control their cars, they felled two telegraph poles, and both overturned. The drivers were flung from their cars, as were their mechanics. They escaped injury, except Maggi's mechanic, Angelo Rossi, who broke a chin bone. Count Maggi, the involuntary victim of the incident, walked back to his pit. As a result, the two drivers who could have won their respective categories disappeared from the race.
Tassara passed the pits in second position after Maggi's retirement. After 30 laps Masetti in first place had a time of 3h18.6s. He was followed by Lecot (Diatto) in second place in 3h38m and Materassi in third place 3h39m56s but was three laps behind. After lap 33 the 1500 category leader Tassara, who was three laps behind, retired his Bugatti on the circuit. Croce then took the lead in this category. Pigazzi (Salmson) was far behind and was no longer shown by the timekeepers. At the end of the race the officials stopped him with the other stragglers.
After 35 laps the field was down to 13 cars. Masetti who had gradually speeded up during the race again improved his average lap time for the last 10 laps to 6m22.1s. The times after 35 laps were:

1.	C. Masetti (Bugatti)	3h49m38s	2000 cc category
2.	Materassi (Itala Special)	4h14m53s	over 3000 cc	3 laps behind
3.	Rosa (OM)	4h20m52s	2000 cc	4 laps behind
4.	Ginaldi (Alfa Romeo)	4h21m00s	3000 cc	4 laps behind
5.	Croce (Bugatti)	4h29m40s	1500 cc	6 laps behind
6.	Lecot (Diatto)	4h30m11s	over 3000 cc	6 laps behind
7.	Balestrero (OM)	4h34m45s	2000 cc	7 laps behind
8.	Platè (Chiribiri)	4h37m24s	1500 cc	7 laps behind
9.	Mazzotti (Bugatti)	4h48m12s	1500 cc	9 laps behind
10.	Clerici (Salmson)	4h49m25s	1100 cc	9 laps behind
11.	"Nino" (Chiribiri)	4h51m54s	1500 cc	9 laps behind
12.	Maserati (Diatto)	4h53m58s	2000 cc	10 laps behind
13.	Renzi (Aurea)	5h11m38s	1500 cc	11 laps behind

The race was coming to an end and the positions remained unchanged. At 2.15 pm King Vittorio Emanuele and Queen Elena arrived to witness the penultimate lap. They were accompanied by the Crown Prince and the Princesses Mafalda and Giovanna. The notes of the Royal March were played. The Crown Prince and the Princesses took their seats in the Royal stand, while Carlo Masetti crossed the finish line as the winner. After 4h21m29.6s at an average speed of 97.287 km/h, he received lively applause. Masetti's average lap time for the last 5 laps was 6m22.1s. He had not stopped during the race and was more than 4 laps ahead of Materassi in second place.
The victor was summoned by the King to the Royal stand. Public applause greeted Count Carlo Masetti as he received congratulations from the Queen, the Prince and the King who presented him with a gold medal after which the Royal entourage soon left the circuit.
From the remaining six finishers, Clerici (1100 Salmson) who was in eighth place finished the race 1h17m17.6s after the winner. The race ended ½ hour after arrival of the first in each category. For this reason the following stragglers were stopped by the officials and were not classified: Lecot, Balestrero, Maserati, Renzi and Pigazzi, all of whom would have been technically able to carry on racing.

Results

Pos.	No.	Driver	Entrant	Car	Type	Engine		Laps	Time/Status	Diff

1.	16	Carlo Masetti	Count C. Masetti	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8	40	4h21m29.6s
2.	3	Emilio Materassi	E. Materassi	Itala Special		5.8	S-4	40	4h48m53.0s	+ 27m23.4s
3.	7	Guido Ginaldi	G. Ginaldi	Alfa Romeo	RLTF24	3.0	S-6	40	4h56m30.0s	+ 35m00.4s
4.	36	Pasquale Croce	P. Croce	Bugatti	Brescia	1.5	S-4	40	5h07m00.0s	+ 45m30.4s
5.	35	Luigi Platè	L. Platè	Chiribiri	Monza S	1.5	S-4	40	5h13m13.0s	+ 51m43.4s
6.	29	Franco Mazzotti	F. Mazzotti	Bugatti	T13/22	1.5	S-4	40	5h27m19.0s	+ 1h05m49.4s
7.	37	"Nino"	Dr. G. Cirio	Chiribiri	Monza S	1.5	S-4	40	5h30m32.4s	+ 1h09m02.8s
8	43	Abele Clerici	A. Clerici	Salmson	AL 3	1.1	S-4	40	5h30m47.2s	+ 1h09m17.6s
DNC	5	François Lecot	F. Lecot	Diatto Spl	Hispano Suiza	5.9	S-4	~34	flagged
DNC	22	Renato Balestrero	R, Balestrero	OM	665	2.0	S-6	~33	flagged
DNF	14	Archimede Rosa	A. Rosa	OM	665	2.0	S-6	~31
DNC	23	Ernesto Maserati	E. Maserati	Diatto	20S	2.0	S-4	~30	flagged
DNF	33	Filippo Tassara	F. Tassara	Bugatti	T13/22	1.5	S-4	30
DNC	26	Cesare Renzi	C. Renzi	Aurea	400SC	1.5	S-4	~29	flagged
DNF	1	Minozzi/Ascari	G. Minozzi	Alfa Romeo	RLTF24	3.6	S-6	25	crash with Maggi
DNC	39	Ruggero Pigazzi	R. Pigazzi	Salmson		1.1	S-4	~20	flagged
DNF	25	Aymo Maggi	Count A. Maggi	Bugatti	T13/22	1.5	S-4	22	crash with Ascari
DNF	15	Christian Werner	C. Werner	Mercedes	TF 1924	2.0	S-8	21	crash
DNF	20	Giuseppe Morandi	G. Morandi	OM	665	2.0	S-6	~19
DNF	18	Domenico Antonelli	D. Antonelli	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8	19
DNF	27	Roberto Serboli	R. Serboli	Chiribiri	Monza S	1.5	S-4	16
DNF	11	Augusto Nardi-Pelagalli	A. Nardi-Pelagalli	Alfa Romeo	RLTF23	3.0	S-6	14
DNF	10	Gino De Grandis	G. De Grandis	Fast		3.0	S-4	~13
DNF	8	Giulio Ranza	G. Ranza	Diatto	35	3.0	S-4	13
DNF	4	Anselmo Cesaroni	A. Cesaroni	Mercedes	Grand Prix 1914	4.5	S-4	12	spark plugs
DNF	40	Massimiliano Lancellotti	M. Lancellotti	Salmson		1.1	S-4	~9	gearbox
DNF	30	Luigi Spinozzi	L. Spinozzi	Bugatti	T13/22	1.5	S-4	~8
DNF	28	Giovanni Negro	G. Negro	Chiribiri	Monza S	1.5	S-4	~8
DNF	31	Luigi Tattini	L. Tattini	Fiat	501S	1.5	S-4	~7
DNF	12	Silvio De Vitis	S. De Vitis	Itala Special	50	3.0	S-4	7	engine
DNF	6	Gastone Brilli-Peri	G. Brilli Peri	Ballot	Indy 1919	4.9	S-8	6	gearbox or differential
DNF	2	Vittorio Foroni	V. Foroni	Itala Special		5.8	S-4	~4
DNF	24	Amedeo Silliti	A. Silitti	Bianchi	18	2.0	S-4	4
DNF	9	Angelo Ruggeri	A. Ruggeri	Alfa Romeo	RLTF23	3.0	S-6	3
DNF	42	Augusto Vallecoccia	A. Vallecoccia	Amilcar		1.1	S-4	~1

Fastest lap over 3000 cc: E. Materassi (Itala Spl.) on lap 25 in 6m13s at 102.5 km/h (63.7 mph). Fastest lap 3000 cc: Nardi-Pelagalli (Alfa Romeo) on lap 10 in 6m42.6s at 95.0 km/h (59.0 mph). Fastest lap 2000 cc: C. Masetti (Bugatti) on lap 35 in 6m13.6s at 102.4 km/h (63.6 mph). Fastest lap 1500 cc: Luigi Spinozzi (Bugatti) on lap 8 in 6m35.4s at 96.7 km/h (60.1 mph). Fastest lap 1100 cc: A. Clerici (Salmson) on lap 6 in 7m30s at 85.0 km/h (52.8 mph). Winner's speed over 3000 cc, Materassi: 88.1 km/h (54.7 mph). Winner's speed 3000 cc, Ginaldi: 85.8 km/h (53.3 mph). Winner's speed 2000 cc, Masetti: 97.3 km/h (60.4 mph). Winner's speed 1500 cc, Croce: 82.9 km/h (51.5 mph). Winner's speed 1100 cc, Clerici: 76.9 km/h (47.8 mph). Weather: warm, dry.

In retrospect:
Ascari blamed Materassi for blocking him and filed a protest after the race. Materassi raced in the same category and won with his Itala Special. He had blocked Ascari for six laps and had not allowed room for Ascari's Alfa Romeo to pass. Ascari referred to the level roads where he could not pass him since his car was set up for rain with a lower final ratio and had always followed him a few seconds behind. He claimed that he could have easily passed his opponent on the hills. The Rome AC Sporting Commission approved the complaint and proposed to the ACI Sporting Commission that there should be a punishment for Materassi.

Masetti's speed with the winning Bugatti was beyond comprehension. His average lap time, calculated from the intermediate times, decreased continuously. After ten laps his average was 6m45s, then 6m36s, 6m31s, 6m25s, 6m22.1s and in the last 5 laps his lap average remained at 6m22.1s. While the other drivers were in slower cars or were hindered by car ailments or simply retired, Masetti continued driving at a furious pace. He did not let up but went ever faster until the very end, all the time passing slower cars, never stopped, and put every other driver at least three laps down. This is beyond comprehension why he put the car and a potential win at risk, when a slower pace would have been a more intelligent strategy.

Primary sources researched for this article:
Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung, Berlin
Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung, Wien
AUTOMOBIL-REVUE, Bern
Automobil-Welt, Berlin
El Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona
ENGLEBERT Magzine, Belgium
La Gazzetta dello Sport, Milano
La Stampa, Torino
L'Auto Italiana, Milano
Österreichischer Motor, Wien
Stadium, Barcelona
Special thanks to:
Alessandro Silva
Giuseppe Prisco
Michael Müller
Jo Quadt

10 Henry Segrave
Automobiles Talbot
Talbot

11 Caberto Conelli
Automobiles Talbot
Talbot

17 Marcel Vidal
M. Vidal
Bugatti T35

GRAND PRIX DE PROVENCE

Circuit de Miramas - Marseille (F), 8 March 1925.
100 laps x 5.050 km (3.138 mi) = 505.0 km (313.8 mi)

No.	Driver	Entrant	Car	Type	Engine		Remarks

	1st category 1100cc:
1	Pierre Bac	P. Bac	Salmson	VAL	1.1	S-4
2	Orello	Orello	Amilcar	CGS	1.1	S-4
3	Louis Didier	L. Didier	Salmson		1.1	S-4
4	Fernand Casellini	F. Casellini	Majola		1.1	S-4
5	Laisne	Laisne	Pelletier		1.1	S-4	DNA - did not appear
	Boisson	Boisson	Lalane		1.1	S-4

	2nd category 1500cc:
7	Henny de Joncy	H. de Joncy	Rally		1.5	S-4
8	Henri Matthieu	Henri Matthieu	Bugatti	T22	1.5	S-4
9	Jouan	Jouan	Corre-la-Licorne		1.5	S-4
10	Henry Segrave	Automobiles Talbot	Talbot	s/c	1.5	S-4
11	Caberto Conelli	Automobiles Talbot	Talbot	s/c	1.5	S-4
12	George Duller	Automobiles Talbot	Talbot	s/c	1.5	S-4
13	Francois de Brémond	F. de Brémond	Mathis	RRC	1.5	S-4
14	Andrea Negri	A. Negri	Chiribiri	12/16	1.5	S-4	DNA - did not appear
15	Grunenwald	Grunenwald	X		1.5	S-4	DNA - did not appear
38-	Robert Savon	R. Savon	Bugatti	T22	1.5	S-4
39	Dufour	Dufour	Bugatti	T22	1.5	S-4
40-	Marcel Magnier	M. Magnier	Bugatti	T22	1.5	S-4
	Béchard	Béchard	Bugatti		1.5	S-4	DNA - did not appear
42	Marcel Lehoux	M. Lehoux	Bugatti	T22	1.5	S-4
	Rancaldo	Rancaldo	Chiribiri	12/16	1.5	S-4	DNA - did not appear

	3rd category 2000cc:
16	Frédéric Thelusson	F. Thelusson	Bugatti	T30	2.0	S-8
17	Marcel Vidal	M. Vidal	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8
	Hughes Ollivier	H. Ollivier	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8	DNA - did not appear
	Masson	Masson	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8	DNA - did not appear
	Pierre Malleveau	P. Malleveau	Ansaldo	4CS	2.0	S-4	DNA - did not appear
21	Glen Kidston	G. Kidston	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8
22	René Cozette	R. Cozette	Bignan	B	2.0	S-6
23	Gubernatis	Gubernatis	Bignan	B	2.0	S-6
24	Jean Martin	J.. Martin	Bignan	B	2.0	S-6
	Lannay	Lannay	Ansaldo		2.0	S-4	DNA - did not appear
26	François Lecot	F. Lecot	Diatto	20S	2.0	S-4
27	Jean De Marguenat	J. De Marguenat	Rolland-Pilain	A22	2.0	S-4
28	Vladimir Racowski	V. Racowski	Rolland-Pilain	A22	2.0	S-4	also Rachewsky
	Julio de Ségovia	J. de Ségovia	Delage	2LCV	2.0	S-4	DNA - did not appear

	4th category 3000cc:
30	Antoine Massias	A. Massias	Alfa Romeo	RL SS	3.0	S-6
	Giulio Foresti	G. Foresti	Fast		3.0	S-4	DNA - did not appear
	Grosson	Grosson	Turcat Méry		2.4	S-4	DNA - did not appear
	Notin	Notin	Turcat Méry		2.4	S-4	DNA - did not appear
	Lacouture	Lacouture	Turcat Méry		2.4	S-4	DNA - did not appear
36	Charles Flohot	C. Flohot	Ariès		3.0	S-6

	5th category 4000cc:
37	M. Giraud	M. Giraud	Voisin	M1	3.5	S-6

Segrave wins the Provence Grand Prix and Hartford Cup

by Hans Etzrodt

The 1925 Grand Prix de Provence attracted an entry of 41 cars which were divided into 5 categories. From the opening lap the race was a Talbot-Bugatti duel, in which the 1500 Talbots of Segrave and Conelli gained the upper hand. Duller, in a third Talbot, also held the lead at one stage, as did Kidston with a 2000 Bugatti while Vidal in a similar car was second on some laps. After nearly four hours the Talbots of Segrave and Conelli finished ahead of Vidal's Bugatti, Duller's Talbot and Kidston's Bugatti. There were eight other further finishers, the best of which was Massias' 3000 Alfa Romeo, which was 44 minutes and 15 laps behind the winner. The two 1100 Salmsons of Didier and Bac deserve special praise as the only finishers in the 1100 class having completed the full race distance of 505 km.

The AC de Marseille used the Miramas circuit as its venue. Situated north-west of the large seaport of Marseille, it was located just a few kilometers north of the town of Miramas. The race track had been built at great expense for the 1924 Provence Grand Prix but instead some rather minor races were held that year.
The flat 5.000 km oval track easily allowed speeds of up to 200 km/h. The wide corners were flat and only one was slightly banked but the rough concrete surface was hard on tires. The 1925 Grand Prix de Provence was the first running of the event. As a special feature for this race, at the end of the finishing straight there was a V-shaped serpentine turn, which increased the length of the lap from 5.000 km to 5.050 km. Cars arrived at this turn at top speed and had to brake hard and change gears. The Grand Prix was originally planned for 500 km, but it was increased to 505 km due to the addition of the 50-meter serpentine turn. The organization of the race left a great deal to be desired. There was only one access road on which everything moved under life threatening situations. Instead of stands there were only simple steps with boards on them, though there was one small grandstand near the Start and Finish line. There was no timing display and the timekeeping was less than accurate.
The trophy offered by the Hartford Company (the well-known manufacturer of friction shock absorbers) was a superb objet d'art. It became the permanent property of the manufacturer who won it twice (whether consecutively or not). The trophy was entrusted during the year to the manufacturer who had last won it, but it had to be returned to the Society of the Autodrome in the first days of the following year. In the event that this trophy was won by an amateur, it was the manufacturer of his car that would be the holder. The Grand Prix de Provence was also richly endowed with 80,000 francs in prize money.

Entries:
The Marseille AC received 41 entries, divided into 5 categories as shown at the beginning of this report.
1st category 1100cc: Salmson 2; Amilcar 1; Majola 1; Pelletier 1; Laisne 1, total of 6 cars.
2nd category 1500cc: Rally 1; Bugatti 6; Corre La Licorne 1; Talbot 3; Mathis 1; Chiribiri 2, total of 14 cars.
3rd category 2000cc: Bugatti 5; Ansaldo 2; Bignan 3; Diatto 1; Rolland-Pilain 2; Delage 1, total of 14 cars.
4th category 3000cc: Alfa Romeo 1; Fast 1; Turcat-Méry 3, Ariès, total of 6 cars.
5th category 4000cc: Voisin 1.
The 1500 Talbots were the same cars that had run at the 200-miles race at Brooklands in 1924.
Michael Müller provided information about the Mathis of Francois de Brémond. It was a type RRC, 4 cylinders 69 x 100 mm = 1495 cc, abt. 50 hp (u/s). This model was the successor of the type RRB, same engine dimensions, which first appeared in 1921 as voiturette.
Alex Nickerson informed us the Eftée stood for the initials F. T. or Frédéric Thelusson, who was quite active in French sports car racing in the 1920s. "Casellini" was the driver Fernand Casellini and small-time auto manufacturer Jean Majola, both were racing partners, including racing a rebodied Majola F in the 1925 24 Heures du Mans.

Race:
Only 28 drivers appeared for the race. They lined up in their cars on the track about 1500 meters before the start line where they received precise instructions from Mr. Walthausen of the Hartford Company. Mr. Rousset, President of the Marseille AC was in the large Hispano of Sadi-Lecointe, which served as the pilot car. Then François Repusseau, the major financial contributor of the Hartford Trophy, approached the finish line to fulfil his starter duties. He lowered his starting flag, at 10:45 AM and the race began. Immediately it was a fight between the 2-liter Bugattis and the 1500 Talbots.
After the first lap, the Talbot of Segrave was in the lead by a hundred meters from Kidston's Bugatti, which was followed by Vidal, Duller, de Brémond and Conelli. The main obstacle of the circuit was the sharp V-shaped serpentine bend after the finish line. It consisted of three hairpins and required powerful and safe braking.
The 1500 Bugattis of Savon and Dufour retired during the first ten laps, as did the Bignan of Martin and de Marguenat's Rolland-Pilain. This reduced the field to 24 cars after 50.5 km. The fastest lap was made by Kidston in a 2000 Bugatti in 2m14s at 135.669 km/h and his average lap time was 2m19s for the first 10 laps. At the end of ten laps Kidston led Segrave by 10 seconds with the third car of Duller over one minute behind when the field was in the following order:

1.	Kidston (Bugatti)	23m10s	2000 cc category
2.	Segrave (Talbot)	23m20s	1500 cc
3.	Duller (Talbot)	24m16s	1500 cc
4.	Conelli (Talbot)	24m27s	1500 cc
5.	Massias (Alfa Romeo)	25m51s	3000 cc	1 lap behind
6.	Vidal (Bugatti)	26m28s	2000 cc	" "
7.	Gubernatis (Bignan)	27m39s	2000 cc	" "
8.	Lehoux (Bugatti)	28m23s	1500 cc	2 laps behind
9.	Magnier (Bugatti)	28m40s	1500 cc	" "
10.	Giraud (Voisin)	28m42s	4000 cc	" "
11.	Mathieu (Bugatti)	28m45s	1500 cc	" "
12.	Racowski (Rolland-Pilain)	28m50s	2000 cc	" "
13.	Flohot (Ariès)	28m56s	3000 cc	" "
14.	Cozette (Bignan)	29m09s	2000 cc	" "
15.	Didier (Salmson)	30m03s	1100 cc	" "
16.	De Brémond (Mathis)	31m27s	1500 cc	3 laps behind
17.	Jouan (Corre-La-Licorne)	31m58s	1500 cc	" "
18.	Henny De Joncy (Rally)	31m58s	1500 cc	" "
19.	Orello (Amilcar)	32m12s	1100 cc	" "
20.	Bac (Salmson)	33m01s	1100 cc	4 laps behind
21.	Casellini (Majola)	33m01s	1100 cc	" "
22.	Boisson (Lalane)	33m01s	1100 cc	" "
23.	Thelusson (Bugatti)	---	2000 cc	" "
24.	Lecot (Diatto)	33m51s	2000 cc	" "

At the end of 20 laps Kidston still held the lead now 45 seconds to Segrave with Duller over two minutes behind in third place. Conelli, Massias and Vidal followed next. Kidston's average lap time for the last 10 laps was 2m8.8s. Between laps 10 and 20 the 1500 Bugatti of Lehoux retired, as did the 1100 cc Majola of Casellini (though the Majola firm later claimed that Casellini completed 78 laps) and the 1100 cc Lalane of Boisson, leaving only 21 cars after 101 km. On the twentieth lap the timekeepers gave a similar race order to the one ten laps earlier. The famous French sports journalist Paul Meyan claimed that he could see that the three Talbots were in the lead, and the official order was therefore wrong in his opinion. It was a failure of human timing that prevented the timekeepers producing the correct order. Paul Meyan suspected that some of the times up to lap 30 may have been flawed but as of lap 40 they were ok but he provided no other details. These were the only official times published in L'Auto. Paul Meyan attributed the spectators' boredom to the lack of exact information from the timekeepers and a display that was somewhat primitive. The 21-car field was in the following order after 20 laps:

1.	Kidston (Bugatti)	45m38s	2000 cc category
2.	Segrave (Talbot)	46m23s	1500 cc
3.	Duller (Talbot)	48m02s	1500 cc	1 lap behind
4.	Conelli (Talbot)	48m12s	1500 cc	" "
5.	Vidal (Bugatti)	50m36s	2000 cc	2 laps behind
6.	Massias (Alfa Romeo)	54m48s	3000 cc	4 laps behind
7.	Cozette (Bignan)	55m09s	2000 cc	" "
8.	Racowski (Rolland-Pilain)	55m20s	1500 cc	" "
9.	Magnier (Bugatti)	57m06s	1500 cc	5 laps behind
10.	Thelusson (Bugatti)	57m25s	2000 cc	" "
11.	Mathieu (Bugatti)	57m40s	1500 cc	" "
12.	Flohot (Ariès)	57m42s	3000 cc	" "
13.	Gubernatis (Bignan)	58m13s	2000 cc	" "
14.	Didier (Salmson)	59m17s	1100 cc	6 laps behind
15.	Henny De Joncy (Rally)	1h00m43s	1500 cc	7 laps behind
16.	Giraud (Voisin)	1h01m38s	4000 cc	" "
17.	Bac (Salmson)	1h01m41s	1100 cc	" "
18.	Orello (Amilcar)	1h02m04s	1100 cc	" "
19.	Jouan (Corre-La-Licorne)	1h02m32s	1500 cc	" "
20.	De Brémond (Mathis)	1h05m00s	1500 cc	9 laps behind
21.	Lecot (Diatto)	-----	2000 cc

Conelli moved from fourth position and was the new leader, having overtaken Duller, Segrave and Kidston. Kidston, the race leader for the first 20 or more laps had now dropped to fifth, having been overtaken by Conelli, Segrave, Vidal and Duller. At the end of 30 laps Conelli was leading Segrave by 63 seconds with Vidal over two minutes behind in third place followed after 8 seconds by Duller. Kidston must have experienced some sort of a problem because he dropped from the lead two laps behind. The 1100 category was still led by Didier ahead of Bac and Orello. Conelli's average lap time for the last 10 laps was 2m21.5s. When Gubernatis in the 2000 Bignan retired between lap 20 and 30, the field was down to 20 cars after 151.5 km. According to Paul Meyan, on the 35th lap it was easy thanks to scores made outside the timer's stand to restore the regular order of classification. The 20-car field was in the following order after 30 laps:

1.	Conelli (Talbot)	1h11m47s	1500 cc category
2.	Segrave (Talbot)	1h11m50s	1500 cc
3.	Vidal (Bugatti)	1h13m59s	2000 cc
4.	Duller (Talbot)	1h14m07s	1500 cc
5.	Kidston (Bugatti)	1h18m14s	2000 cc	2 laps behind
6.	Cozette (Bignan)	1h20m54s	2000 cc	3 laps behind
7.	Flohot (Ariès)	1h23m02s	3000 cc	4 laps behind
8.	Massias (Alfa Romeo)	1h23m05s	3000 cc	" "
9.	Magnier (Bugatti)	1h25m05s	1500 cc	5 laps behind
10.	Mathieu (Bugatti)	1h25m53s	1500 cc	" "
11.	Didier (Salmson)	1h26m50s	1100 cc	6 laps behind
12.	Racowski (Rolland-Pilain)	1h27m39s	1500 cc	" "
13.	Jouan (Corre-La-Licorne)	1h30m36s	1500 cc	7 laps behind
14.	Thelusson (Bugatti)	1h31m10s	2000 cc	8 laps behind
15.	Giraud (Voisin)	1h31m37s	4000 cc	" "
16.	Henny De Joncy (Rally)	1h32m53s	1500 cc	" "
17.	De Brémond (Mathis)	1h35m06s	1500 cc	9 laps behind
18.	Bac (Salmson)	1h35m19s	1100 cc	" "
19.	Orello (Amilcar)	1h39m23s	1100 cc	11 laps behind
20.	Lecot (Diatto)	1h41m45s	2000 cc	12 laps behind

At the end of 40 laps Duller had passed into the lead ahead of Conelli by 54 seconds with Segrave over four minutes behind in third place. The Bugattis of Vidal and Kidston followed next. Duller's average lap time for the last 10 laps was 2m06.8s. After Orello in 1100 Amilcar retired between lap 30 and 40, also Thelusson in the 2000 Bugatti and Giraud in the 4000 Voisin, the field was down to 17 cars after 202 km in the following order after 40 laps:

1.	Duller (Talbot)	1h35m15s	1500 cc category
2.	Conelli (Talbot)	1h36m09s	1500 cc
3.	Segrave (Talbot)	1h39m35s	1500 cc	2 laps behind
4.	Vidal (Bugatti)	------	2000 cc
5.	Kidston (Bugatti)	------	2000 cc
6.	Cozette (Bignan)	------	2000 cc
7.	Flohot (Ariès)	------	3000 cc
8.	Massias (Alfa Romeo)	------	3000 cc
9.	Magnier (Bugatti)	1h55m57s	1500 cc	9 laps behind
10.	Jouan (Corre-La-Licorne)	1h58m40s	1500 cc	11 laps behind
11.	Didier (Salmson)	1h59m50s	1100 cc	" "
12.	Racowski (Rolland-Pilain)	------	1500 cc
13.	Mathieu (Bugatti)	2h04m13s	1500 cc	13 laps behind
14.	De Brémond (Mathis)	2h05m40s	1500 cc	14 laps behind
15.	Bac (Salmson)	2h06m13s	1100 cc	" "
16.	Henny De Joncy (Rally)	2h07m01s	1500 cc	15 laps behind
17.	Lecot (Diatto)	2h18m44s	2000 cc	20 laps behind

At the end of 50 laps Conelli was again in the lead, 29 seconds ahead of Segrave with Vidal 49 seconds behind in third place. Duller was fourth and Kidston fifth. Conelli's average lap time for the last 10 laps was 2m23.2s. After Racowski in the 1500 Rolland-Pilain retired between lap 40 and 50, there were still 16 cars on the track after 252.5 km in the following order after 50 laps:

1.	Conelli (Talbot)	2h00m01s	1500 cc category
2.	Segrave (Talbot)	2h00m30s	1500 cc
3.	Vidal (Bugatti)	2h00m50s	2000 cc
4.	Duller (Talbot)	2h01m24s	1500 cc
5.	Kidston (Bugatti)	2h04m37s	2000 cc	1 lap behind
6.	Massias (Alfa Romeo)	2h16m14s	3000 cc	6 laps behind
7.	Cozette (Bignan)	2h16m55s	2000 cc	7 laps behind
8.	Magnier (Bugatti)	2h23m28s	1500 cc	9 laps behind
9.	Bac (Salmson)	2h30m07s	1100 cc	12 laps behind
10.	Didier (Salmson)	2h30m21s	1100 cc	" "
11.	Flohot (Ariès)	2h31m15s	3000 cc	13 laps behind
12.	Mathieu (Bugatti)	2h34m29s	1500 cc	14 laps behind
13.	De Brémond (Mathis)	2h35m26s	1500 cc	" "
14.	Henny De Joncy (Rally)	2h35m38s	1500 cc	" "
15.	Jouan (Corre-La-Licorne)	2h40m36s	1500 cc	17 laps behind
16.	Lecot (Diatto)	2h52m53s	2000 cc	22 laps behind

At the end of 60 laps Segrave now led Vidal by 58 seconds with Conelli over two minutes behind in third place. Duller was still fourth and Kidston fifth. Segrave's average lap time for the last 10 laps was 2m18.9s. There were no retirements. After 303 km the field was in the following order after 60 laps:

1.	Segrave (Talbot)	2h23m39s	1500 cc category
2.	Vidal (Bugatti)	2h24m37s	2000 cc
3.	Conelli (Talbot)	2h25m45s	1500 cc
4.	Duller (Talbot)	2h27m19s	1500 cc	1 lap behind
5.	Kidston (Bugatti)	2h28m25s	2000 cc	2 laps behind
6.	Massias (Alfa Romeo)	2h46m37s	3000 cc	9 laps behind
7.	Cozette (Bignan)	2h51m37s	2000 cc	12 laps behind
8.	Magnier (Bugatti)	2h54m45s	1500 cc	13 laps behind
9.	Didier (Salmson)	2h59m18s	1100 cc	15 laps behind
10.	Mathieu (Bugatti)	2h59m41s	1500 cc	" "
11.	De Brémond (Mathis)	3h04m47s	1500 cc	17 laps behind
12.	Flohot (Ariès)	3h05m33s	3000 cc	18 laps behind
13.	Henny De Joncy (Rally)	3h06m54s	1500 cc	" "
14.	Bac (Salmson)	3h12m39s	1100 cc	21 laps behind
15.	Jouan (Corre-La-Licorne)	------	1500 cc
16.	Lecot (Diatto)	3h29m01s	2000 cc

At the end of 70 laps Segrave was leading Conelli by over three minutes and third placed Duller by over four minutes. The Bugattis of Vidal and Kidston once again followed as fourth and fifth. Segrave's average lap time for the last 10 laps was 2m16.9s. Flohot in the 3000 Ariès retired between lap 60 and 70, reducing the field to 15 cars after 353.5 km in the following order after 70 laps:

1.	Segrave (Talbot)	2h46m28s	1500 cc category
2.	Conelli (Talbot)	2h49m36s	1500 cc	1 lap behind
3.	Duller (Talbot)	2h50m35s	1500 cc	" "
4.	Vidal (Bugatti)	2h52m50s	2000 cc	2 laps behind
5.	Kidston (Bugatti)	2h56m06s	2000 cc	4 laps behind
6.	Massias (Alfa Romeo)	3h15m22s	3000 cc	12 laps behind
7.	Cozette (Bignan)	3h20m05s	2000 cc	14 laps behind
8.	Magnier (Bugatti)	3h22m08s	1500 cc	15 laps behind
9.	Didier (Salmson)	3h30m43s	1100 cc	19 laps behind
10.	De Brémond (Mathis)	3h33m59s	1500 cc	20 laps behind
11.	Mathieu (Bugatti)	3h35m12s	1500 cc	21 laps behind
12.	Bac (Salmson)	3h37m42s	1100 cc	22 laps behind
13.	Henny De Joncy (Rally)	3h38m01s	1500 cc	" "
14.	Jouan (Corre-La-Licorne)	------	1500 cc
15.	Lecot (Diatto)	4h03m07s	2000 cc

At the end of 80 laps Segrave led Duller by 63 seconds and Conelli in third place by 68 seconds. The Bugattis of Vidal and Kidston still followed in the next places. Segrave's average lap time for the last 10 laps was 2m33.2s. Mathieu in the 1500 Bugatti and Lecot in the 2000 Diatto retired between lap 70 and 80, lowering the field to 13 cars after 404 km in the following order after 80 laps:

1.	Segrave (Talbot)	3h12m00s	1500 cc category
2.	Duller (Talbot)	3h13m03s	1500 cc
3.	Conelli (Talbot)	3h13m08s	1500 cc
4.	Vidal (Bugatti)	3h16m19s	2000 cc	1 lap behind
5.	Kidston (Bugatti)	3h20m51s	2000 cc	3 laps behind
6.	Massias (Alfa Romeo)	3h43m27s	3000 cc	12 laps behind
7.	Magnier (Bugatti)	3h50m02s	1500 cc	14 laps behind
8.	Cozette (Bignan)	3h56m28s	2000 cc	17 laps behind
9.	Didier (Salmson)	3h59m52s	1100 cc	18 laps behind
10.	De Brémond (Mathis)	4h02m48s	1500 cc	19 laps behind
11.	Henny De Joncy (Rally)	4h07m48s	1500 cc	21 laps behind
12.	Bac (Salmson)	4h10m22s	1100 cc	22 laps behind
13.	Jouan (Corre-La-Licorne)	4h15m36s	1500 cc	24 laps behind

At the end of 90 laps Segrave led Conelli by 55 seconds and Duller by 56 seconds in third place. Vidal and Kidston remained in the next places. Segrave's average lap time for the last 10 laps was 2m21.5s. There were no retirements. After 454.5 km the 13-car field was in the following order after 90 laps:

1.	Segrave (Talbot)	3h35m35s	1500 cc category
2.	Duller (Talbot)	3h36m31s	1500 cc
3.	Conelli (Talbot)	3h36m30s	1500 cc
4.	Vidal (Bugatti)	3h40m11s	2000 cc	1 lap behind
5.	Kidston (Bugatti)	3h45m11s	2000 cc	4 laps behind
6.	Massias (Alfa Romeo)	4h12m05s	3000 cc	15 laps behind
7.	Magnier (Bugatti)	4h17m38s	1500 cc	17 laps behind
8.	Didier (Salmson)	4h28m51s	1100 cc	22 laps behind
9.	Cozette (Bignan)	4h30m25s	2000 cc	23 laps behind
10.	De Brémond (Mathis)	4h31m45s	1500 cc	" "
11.	Henny De Joncy (Rally)	4h39m07s	1500 cc	26 laps behind
12.	Bac (Salmson)	4h40m01s	1100 cc	27 laps behind
13.	Jouan (Corre-La-Licorne)	4h46m07s	1500 cc	29 laps behind

At the end of 100 laps Segrave won the race 46 seconds ahead of Conelli and by 2m15s to Vidal's Bugatti in third place. Duller had dropped behind in fourth place and Kidston's Bugatti fifth. There followed eight other finishers which were many laps behind. To the applause of the crowd, the winner, Segrave, immediately got out of the car, walked to the stand of honor to receive from Mr. Repusseau, the Hartford Challenge Cup, which would be kept by the Talbot Company for one year.
After the race on his lap of honour Marcel Vidal overturned his Bugatti in the serpentine turn and was seriously bruised. He was brought immediately to the first aid station, where his injuries were limited to a serious concussion and a tear of the scalp. His mechanic Rudolphe escaped with minor injuries.

Results, race cars

Pos.	No.	Driver	Entrant	Car	Type	Engine		Laps	Time/Status	Diff

1.	10	Henry Segrave	Automobiles Talbot	Talbot	s/c	1.5	S-4	100	3h58m55.8s
2.	11	Caberto Conelli	Automobiles Talbot	Talbot	s/c	1.5	S-4	100	3h59m42.6s	+ 46.8s
3.	17	Marcel Vidal	M. Vidal	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8	100	4h01m11.6s	+ 2m15.8s
4.	12	George Duller	Automobiles Talbot	Talbot	s/c	1.5	S-4	100	4h07m50.8s	+ 8m55.0s
5.	21	Glen Kidston	G. Kidston	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8	100	4h10m50.8s	+ 11m55.0s
6.	30	Antoine Massias	A. Massias	Alfa Romeo	RLSS	3.0	S-6	100	4h42m46.0s	+ 43m50.2s
7.	40	Marcel Magnier	M. Magnier	Bugatti	T22	1.5	S-4	100	4h44m48.8s	+ 45m53.0s
8.	3	Louis Didier	L. Didier	Salmson		1.1	S-4	100	4h59m46.0s	+ 1h00m50.2s
9.	13	Francois de Brémond	F. de Brémond	Mathis	RRC	1.5	S-4	100	5h01m07.0s	+ 1h02m11.2s
10.	22	René Cozette	R. Cozette	Bignan	B	2.0	S-4	100	5h03m08.0s	+ 1h04m12.2s
11.	1	Pierre Bac	P. Bac	Salmson	VAL	1.1	S-4	100	5h10m31.0s	+ 1h11m35.2s
12.	7	Henny de Joncy	H. de Joncy	Rally		1.5	S-4	100	5h12m45.0s	+ 1h13m49.2s
13.	9	Jouan	Jouan	Corre-la-Licorne		1.5	S-4	100	5h17m33.0s	+ 1h18m37.2s
DNF	26	François Lecot	F. Lecot	Diatto	20S	2.0	S-4	70 +
DNF	8	Henri Mathieu	H. Mathieu	Bugatti	T22	1.5	S-4	70 +
DNF	36	Charles Flohot	C. Flohot	Ariès		3.0	S-4	60 +
DNF	28	Vladimir Racowski	V. Racowski	Rolland-Pilain	A22	2.0	S-4	40 +
DNF	16	Frédéric Thelusson	F. Thelusson	Bugatti	T30	2.0	S-8	30 +
DNF	37	M. Giraud	M. Giraud	Voisin	M1	4.0	S-4	30 +
DNF	2	Orello	Orello	Amilcar	CGS	1.1	S-4	30 +
DNF	23	Gubernatis	Gubernatis	Bignan	B	2.0	S-4	20 +
DNF	42	Marcel Lehoux	M. Lehoux	Bugatti	T22	1.5	S-4	10 +
DNF		Boisson	Boisson	Lalane		1.1	S-4	10 +
DNF	4	Fernand Casellini	F. Casellini	Majola	F	1.1	S-4	10 +
DNF	24	Jean Martin	J. Martin	Bignan	B	2.0	S-4	0 +
DNF	27	Jean de Marguenat	J. de Marguenat	Rolland-Pilain	A22	3.0	S-4	0 +
DNF	38	Robert Savon	R. Savon	Bugatti	T22	1.5	S-4	0 +
DNF	39	Dufour	Dufour	Bugatti	T22	1.5	S-4	0 +

Fastest lap: Glen Kidston (Bugatti) in 2m14s = 135.7 km/h (84.3 mph). Winner's average speed: 126.8 km/h (78.8 mph). Weather: cloudy but no rain


In retrospect: The final classification times published in newspapers and magazines deviated often by large amounts between the different sources. We hope that we have selected the correct times published by L'Auto.

Primary sources researched for this article:
Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung, Berlin
Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung, Wien
AUTOMOBIL-REVUE, Bern
La Presse, Paris
L'Auto, Paris
L'Echo de Paris, Paris
L'Eclaireur de Nice, Nice
Le Figaro, Paris
Le Miroir des sports, Paris
Le-Petit-Marseillais, Marseille
Le Siècle, Paris
Omnia, Paris
Special thanks to:
Michael Müller
Vladislav Shaikhnurov
Alex Nickerson


PREVIOUS	1925 INDEX	NEXT
	MAIN INDEX

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

1925 SEASON LINEUP

IN MEMORIAM