10 R.Benoist/A. Divo
Automobiles Delage
Delage

14 L.Wagner/P.Torchy
Automobiles Delage
Delage

7 Giulio Masetti
Sunbeam Motor Car Co Ltd
Sunbeam

Robert Benoist wins after Ascari crashed to his death

Of the 17 entries only 14 made it to the start of the 1000 km race over 80 laps on the new specially built Montlhéry circuit. The Alfa Romeos of Ascari and Campari were faster than Wagner (Delage), Brilli Peri (Alfa Romeo), Masetti (Sunbeam), Benoist (Delage), Segrave and Conelli in Sunbeams and the five slow Bugattis without superchargers, which were at the tail of the field. After Divo (Delage) retired on lap eight, Conelli (Sunbeam) followed on lap 22 when it began to rain, making the course very slippery. On the 23rd lap Ascari left the track, overturned and was seriously injured. Campari then held the lead until lap 40 when it became known that Ascari had died on the way to hospital. Alfa Romeo then withdrew their cars, enabling the Delage of Benoist to take the lead from lap 41 until the end with relief from Divo. Segrave had retired on lap 32. Wagner with relief from Torchy came second in the other Delage. Masetti finished third, without a relief driver, in the only surviving Sunbeam, followed by Costantini, Goux, the Vizcaya brothers and Foresti in the much slower but reliable Bugattis.

Ever since 1906, the French Grand Prix had been staged on a closed road circuit but in 1925 it was held for the first time on the new artificial Linas-Montlhéry Autodrom, which had been built in 1924 and was situated 15 km south of Paris. The 1925 French Grand Prix was the third event counting towards the World Championship, which required a minimum distance of 800 km. But the ACF decided on a meaningless 1000 km for the 2-liter grand prix cars along one half of the Montlhéry Oval and the whole of the new road circuit. One lap was 12.500 km, so a total of 80 laps had to be completed. For the first time there were dust free roads like Monza for the French Grand Prix       Planned as the greatest event of the year, the Grand Prix did not attain its prewar importance when many nations were participating to fight for victory. After the Great War in 1921, the French Grand Prix had been transformed into an invitational race. As a result, German and Austrian cars and drivers could not participate since they were not invited. Although Germany had been readmitted to the International Association just two months before this race at the 1925 May congress of the AIACR, at the February CSI meeting German competitors were excluded from the World Championship. This was especially surprising since the racing circuit of Linas-Montlhéry had invited the German automobile industry to participate at the opening race in May. The ACF had limited their invitations to the same teams as in 1924, excepting Schmidt and Fiat who had retired from racing. A total of three nations were going to compete in 1925: France, Italy and England.       The winner would receive 150,000 francs in cash, from the ACF. The second received 30,000 and the third 20,000 francs.

Entries: Alfa Romeo arrived at Montlhéry as the favorites as they had won at Spa four weeks previously. Antonio Ascari, Giuseppe Campari and Gastone Brilli Peri were again the drivers with Carlo Sozzi, Giovonni Minozzi and Angelo Bruno as the reserves. The cars had been improved since 1924 with larger brakes and detailed engine modifications which helped to raise the engines' output from 145 hp to 155 at the same top 5500 rpm. The short Manx tail fitted at Spa was replaced by a long tail with three elongated vent holes at the rear edge to allow the air to escape.       Delage also arrived with three cars, their engines now reworked by Albert Lory after four of their cars had retired at the European GP due to breaking connecting rods. Since then, the Delage team chief and driver René Thomas had been dismissed by Louis Delage for pocketing the accessory money. Louis Wagner was appointed to replace him. Albert Divo and Robert Benoist were the other drivers with Paul Torchy and Robert Sénéchal as the reserves. The car's hood and cowl were 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. This boosted the power output to 190 hp, delivering an unheard of 95 hp per liter. The installation of a supercharger had given the French company an extra 87 hp compared with last year's car, enabling a top speed of 215 km/h.       Sunbeam arrived with three s/c six-cylinder cars which were largely the same as in 1924. A new item was the installation of a mechanical fuel pump driven off the inlet camshaft. This was necessary because a riding mechanic was no longer allowed, and he used to maintain air pressure in the fuel tank. The fuel consisted of 40 % of benzole and with a 9.5 psi boost the power output was increased to 150 hp. The drivers were Major Henry Segrave, and the Counts Giulio Masetti and Caberto Conelli. The reserve drivers were Edmond Bourlier and F. Conelli.       Ettore Bugatti entered five T35 grand prix cars, none of which were supercharged. Meo Costantini, Jules Goux, the de Vizcaya brothers Pierre and Fernand and Giulio Foresti were the drivers, while Ettore Bugatti, Ernst Friederich, Aymo Maggi and Jean de Vizcaya were named as the reserves.       Of the 17 cars entered only 14 made it to the start. According to Michael Müller, John Godfrey Parry-Thomas's did not start for unknown reasons. The Mathis with De Brémond as driver did not appear and Torchy's Delage was withdrawn just before the race. The regulations required a weight of 650 kg or more and the results of weight check before the race were the following: Wagner (Delage) 937 kg Benoist (Delage) 936 kg Divo (Delage) 918 kg Torchy (Delage) 877 kg Segrave (Sunbeam) 876 kg Conelli (Sunbeam) 822 kg Brilli Peri (Alfa Romeo) 818 kg Masetti (Sunbeam) 810 kg Ascari (Alfa Romeo) 793 kg Campari (Alfa Romeo) 786 kg F. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 745 kg Costantini (Bugatti) 740 kg P. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 739 kg Goux (Bugatti) 737 kg Foresti (Bugatti) 734 kg

Practice: Thanks to Giuseppe Prisco who on my request researched La Gazzetta dello Sport to find out more about when Brilli Peri rolled his Alfa Romeo. In the morning of the 10th July, Ascari, Campari and Brilli Peri arrived in Paris. The three Alfa Romeo drivers immediately proceeded to Montlhéry where their cars from Spa had already arrived for early practice. In the afternoon the three Italians began the tests by completing several laps at a modest pace, especially to inspect the course when Brilli Peri had a slight accident. During the tests he abruptly approached the Fay curve causing the car to overturn. Fortunately, the Milanese driver managed to get away without any harm, and neither was the car damaged.       A very similar accident happened to Sozzi in an Alfa Romeo on the first day of the second official practice period on Monday the 20th July. While Ascari was timed with laps between 6m06s and 6m11s and Campari in 5m52s, at an average of about 128 km/h, a third Alfa Romeo was driven by Sozzi. He was the former Wagner mechanic, and now one of Alfa Romeo's reserve drivers. In a left turn before Les Biscornes, the car rolled but without great damage to either, the driver or the car. The accident was due to a defect in the road that was flanked by a soft strip of soil which the car unfortunately sank into, causing it to overturn. This accident, like that of Brilli Peri, happened on curves where the smoothness of the road and oil from the cars, made spins very easy. Divo, who at the time of the Sozzi incident stopped to help the Italian, had a backfire that he managed to extinguish but, jumping from the car, he was slightly burned on one hand. The Delage of Divo and the Alfa Romeo, driving close together, stopped in front of the pits. Sozzi was immediately taken to the infirmary where Dr. Richard attended to a bruised left upper arm, other bruises and abrasions and a large cut on the face caused by the glass of his broken goggles.       The second to last practice phase on Thursday was particularly active because on Friday at noon the circuit was due to be closed. Alfa Romeo was the first to start from 9.30 AM to 1:00 PM with Ascari, Campari, Brilli Peri, Minozzi and Bruno, alternately driving the two training cars. Drivers worked on the precise set-up of their cars. Ascari first and then Campari accompanied by the mechanics Bazzi and Siena finished the respective cars and completed their preparation for the race. Except for the incidents of Brilli Peri and Sozzi, everything went according to plan and the cars and drivers were ready. Segrave from Sunbeam was also on the track with his car #1 and made some laps at a rather slow pace. Delage arrived about midday with a practice car and Divo's new car. Wagner and Torchy drove without extending the cars. Divo worked on improving his car. Bugatti was represented by Count Maggi, a reserve driver, who made four laps to learn the course which completed his practice.       On Friday the entire Bugatti team was to practice in the morning. They had arrived the evening before from Molsheim. Masetti also appeared briefly on the circuit with the #7 Sunbeam.       The evening before the race there was a dispute between Ettore Bugatti and the ACF Sporting Commission. Because the new regulations did not allow riding mechanics on board but still required a second seat, Bugatti had extended the hood of his cars by means of a cowl, covering the empty mechanic's seat. Apparently, this infringed the regulations and there was concern about a possible withdrawal of the Bugattis. This would not only have severely reduced the field but would also have taken away Ettore Bugatti's success, since all of his five cars were to finish the race. Alfa Romeo and Delage had asked the ACF earlier about these cowls but their request had been rejected, although the regulations did not state that cowlings could not be used. The organizer threatened to scratch the Bugattis and only at the last minute did Ettore Bugatti agree to cut the cowlings back.

Race: Sunday was an overcast day and a rather small crowd of about 50,000 spectators attended the race including the French President Gaston Demergue. Poor traffic conditions from Paris by road and train were partly to blame for this meager turn out. Ticket sales of the day amounted to 779,000 francs, with 485,000 francs received at the ticket counters and 294,000 francs for advance bookings. Grid positions had been decided by ballot and the cars lined up as follows:

5 P. de Vizcaya Bugatti 3 Campari Alfa Romeo 1 Segrave Sunbeam 8 Ascari Alfa Romeo 7 Masetti Sunbeam 6 Divo Delage 11 Conelli Sunbeam 10 Benoist Delage 9 Goux Bugatti 14 Wagner Delage 13 Costantini Bugatti 12 Brilli-Peri Alfa Romeo 17 Foresti Bugatti 15 F. de Vizcaya Bugatti

The large number of people on the track at the start was cleared and only officials and journalists remained. Eight o'clock was approaching with the 14 cars waiting behind the two pilot cars to begin the race. The rolling start took place at 8 AM at the drop of the flag but was bungled by the crawling gait of the two pilot cars carrying ACF banners. They were André Boillot, driving his winning Peugeot saloon from the week before to lead the grand prix cars to the entrance of the road circuit and a Mathis saloon, preventing a proper start of the cars. Ascari stormed away into the lead after squeezing between Segrave and Campari. Campari had a bad start when his car was still on the grid being cranked by his mechanic while the other cars took off.       It soon became obvious that the Italians were far superior in speed. Ascari, who led from the first lap, increased his advantage continuously and Campari caught up. By lap three he was in second place. Divo in the fastest Delage was able to almost keep up with Ascari but fell back on lap four, when he stopped at his pit for over five minutes changing plugs. He then rejoined but in last place, one lap behind. On the second and fifth lap Ascari drove fast laps in 5m51s at 128.205 km/h average speed. Ascari's average lap time during the first five laps was 5m54.8s. After 62.5 km, 5 laps, the 14 car field was in the following order: 1. Ascari (Alfa Romeo) 29m34s 2. Campari (Alfa Romeo) 31m06s 3. Wagner (Delage) 31m34s 4. Brilli Peri (Alfa Romeo) 31m50s 5. Masetti (Sunbeam) 32m04s 6. Benoist (Delage) 32m06s 7. Segrave (Sunbeam) 32m22s 8. Conelli (Sunbeam) 32m50s 9. P. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 34m20s 10. P. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 34m27s 11. Costantini (Bugatti) 34m36s 12. Goux (Bugatti) 35m01s 13. Foresti (Bugatti) 35m12s 14. Divo (Delage) 38m24s 1 lap behind It was hoped that Divo would move to the front but he visited his pits again on lap six. He rejoined the race but retired at his pits on lap eight with supercharger problems. All five Bugattis drove very regularly but were just not as fast as the rest, lacking the additional power of a supercharger.       During the early part of the race, top speeds were measured over a 900 meter straight section of the circuit. Ascari's speed was 216 km/h, Campari 213 and Brilli-Peri 202. Of the Delage drivers, Benoist reached 212 km/h, Wagner 209 and Divo 208. In Sunbeams, Masetti had 205 km/h, Segrave and Conelli 202. None of the Bugattis exceeded 200 km/h. Costantini and the Vizcaya brothers reached 191, Goux 187 and Foresti 181.       While Ascari distanced himself from the others, Campari, Benoist and Masetti with only seconds between them, followed in the next three places. Brilli-Peri who was fourth on lap five, had fallen to twelfth place on lap seven due to plug problems and on lap 9 stopped at the pits to change plugs. After ten laps, Ascari was leading Campari in second place by two minutes, followed by Wagner, Masetti, Benoist, Segrave and Conelli. Ascari had already lapped the entire Bugatti team and his teammate Brilli Peri as well.       Without losing his lead, Ascari stopped after lap 15, the pit stop taking 2m13s. "Don't drive so fast," he was told by Vittorio Jano, designer of the Alfa P2. "But I am only strolling," Ascari answered. At the same time Ascari asked for his oversized tires (Superflex) to be replaced by smaller ones for the rear wheels, to give him better acceleration out of corners. "If it does not work," Ascari said, "I will take the large ones at the next stop." After two laps, he made signals while passing the pits that the new tires did not work so well. From then on it was noticeable that the car did not go with the usual margin of safety. Brilli Peri stopped after 15 laps to change tires and plugs again. Campari lost second place to Benoist when he made his first stop on lap 19 to change tires, refuel and add water. Ascari's average lap time for the latest 10 laps was 6m10.4s. The 13 car field was in the following order after 20 laps: 1. Ascari (Alfa Romeo) 2h01m14s 2. Benoist (Delage) 2h04m54s 3. Campari (Alfa Romeo) 2h05m15s 4. Masetti (Sunbeam) 2h05m22s 5. Segrave (Sunbeam) 2h07m44s 1 lap behind 6. Conelli (Sunbeam) 2h09m41s 1 lap behind 7. Costantini (Bugatti) 2h12m44s 1 lap behind 8. F. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 2h13m53s 2 laps behind 9. Wagner (Delage) 2h14m37s 2 laps behind 10. Goux (Bugatti) 2h14m55s 2 laps behind 11. P. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 2h15m39s 2 laps behind 12. Foresti (Bugatti) 2h17m11s 2 laps behind 13. Brilli Peri (Alfa Romeo) 2h23m10s 3 laps behind On lap 20, after about two hours, it began to rain slightly. By this time Brilli-Peri was in last place, almost 22 minutes behind the leader. When Conelli stopped on lap 21 for 6m56s, he dropped from sixth to 12th place. Both rear wheels were jacked up suggesting a transmission problem. He retired the following lap with a problem in his servo-brake system. The second Sunbeam of Masetti was running a very regular race and held fourth place. Benoist stopped on lap 23 to refuel and Divo, who had retired earlier, took the seat in the #10 Delage.       On lap 23, at the slight left turn on the Straight of Saint Eutrope, Ascari appeared to have cut it too close when probably his rear wheels skidded. His left front wheel went off the road and grazed the light paling fence. The car was on soft ground and went out of control at a speed of around 180 km/h. It spun around and tore down 100 meter of the paling fence bordering the circuit. Then his Alfa ran nose first into the ditch and overturned twice, flying high through the air. At the second gyration Ascari was ejected from the car, which landed on its wheels and then rolled over his legs and stopped broadside on the track. (Pictures showing the car upside down in the ditch had been taken after the car was pushed in great haste off the road into the ditch where it overturned.) André Boillot, an eye witness, was the first to reach Ascari and helped to pick him up. With tears in his eyes he described that after the accident Ascari was fully conscious and he even managed to pull the gloves off his hands although he had broken his right arm. He had a strained leg, a part of his back was literally removed, and a section of his scalp, the size of a hand, was ripped away. Much time elapsed before medical help arrived and eventually an ambulance brought the now unconscious Ascari to the first aid station near the grandstand, where Dr. Richard attended to him. Ascari was bleeding from several head wounds and temporary dressings were applied. Beside him his mechanic Giulio Ramponi cried like a child and made an effort to help the doctor. There was nothing else to do than to take Ascari immediately to Paris. He died in the ambulance even before Linas was reached, and the body of the unfortunate driver was brought to the Alfa Romeo headquarters in that town.       Not-withstanding Ascari's crash, the race continued with Campari now leading after 23 laps. The order of the cars behind him changed frequently due to tire changes and fuel stops. After 25 laps, 312.5 km Campari held first place in 2h35m11s and led Masetti by 1m16s. Segrave was third ahead of Divo (now driving for Benoist). The remaining cars were already lapped, Costantini, Wagner, Goux, F. de Vizcaya, Foresti, Brilli Peri and P. de Vizcaya. After driving for 2 ˝ hours, Costantini stopped on lap 25 to refuel. Segrave and Masetti refueled and changed tires on lap 27.       After 30 laps Campari held the lead after 3h05m55s. His average lap time for the latest 5 laps was 6m01.2s. He was five minutes ahead of Divo (for Benoist) with Masetti a further minute behind on the same lap. The remainders were lapped at least twice, including Wagner, Segrave, Costantini, Goux, the Vizcaya brothers, Foresti and Brilli Peri. Segrave retired with a broken inlet valve after 31 laps.       After 35 laps, 437.5 km, Campari still held the lead with a time of 3h36m27s, just over four minutes ahead of Divo (driving for Benoist). Divo made a new lap record on the 37th lap, in 5m49s, at 128 km/h average beating Ascari's record during the first laps. On the 39th lap Divo bettered his record with 5m48s at 129.310 km/h. On the same lap Wagner stopped to refuel and was relieved by Torchy, the reserve driver. He was followed by the five Bugatti drivers and Brilli Peri who was in last place and stranded in the Alfa Romeo pits.       After four hours racing, at around noon, pouring rain began. At mid-race, 500 km, Campari held the lead just 2m13s ahead of the Divo (for Benoist). Masetti was third one lap behind. Campari's average lap time for the latest 10 laps was 6m09.3s with the order as follows after 40 laps: 1. Campari (Alfa Romeo) 4h07m28s 2. Benoist / Divo (Delage) 4h09m41s 3. Masetti (Sunbeam) 4h16m03s 1 lap behind 4. Costantini (Bugatti) 4h23m41s 2 laps behind 5. Wagner / Torchy (Delage) 4h25m47s 2 laps behind 6. Goux (Bugatti) 4h27m41s 3 laps behind 7. Foresti (Bugatti) 4h34m50s 4 laps behind 8. P. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 4h40m14s 5 laps behind 9. F. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 4h40m15s 5 laps behind 10. Brilli Peri (Alfa Romeo) 7 laps behind During lap 40, two hours after Ascari's accident, the loudspeakers announced that he had died on the way to the hospital. Thereupon, the Alfa management withdrew their two remaining cars in the race at the end of lap 40, Campari who was leading and Brilli-Peri who was in the pits for repairs, seven laps behind. On lap 40 Costantini stopped again to refuel. One lap later Divo stopped to refuel and Benoist took over the seat of his Delage. On lap 42 Pierre de Vizcaya stopped to refuel while Foresti did so two laps later.       Now there were only eight cars left in the race. After 45 laps Benoist's time was 4h45m20s. He was leading Masetti by 4m24s, but the Sunbeam was still on the same lap. Torchy, who was driving Wagner's car, was one lap behind, followed by the five Bugatti drivers. After 50 laps Benoist's time was 5h19m36s and he was leading Masetti by 5m33s, with both of them still on the same lap. Torchy (for Wagner) and the five Bugatti drivers were several laps down.       Masetti stopped on lap 57 to refuel, change tires and plugs. Foresti made a refueling stop on lap 59. After 60 laps the positions were the same, except for Foresti who had dropped to last place. Benoist's average lap time for the latest 10 laps was 6m59.3s. The times of the remaining eight cars were as follows after 60 laps: 1. Benoist / Divo (Delage) 6h29m29s 2. Masetti (Sunbeam) 6h43m31s 1 lap behind 3. Wagner / Torchy (Delage) 6h46m01s 2 laps behind 4. Costantini (Bugatti) 6h46m53s 2 laps behind 5. Goux (Bugatti) 6h56m06s 3 laps behind 6. F. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 7h02m23s 4 laps behind 7. P. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 7h09m15s 5 laps behind 8. Foresti (Bugatti) 7h18m48s 6 laps behind Benoist stopped on lap 63 to refuel but the positions remained the same with Benoist leading after 65 laps in 7h07m15s. After 70 laps the Wagner/Torchy Delage passed Masetti's Sunbeam for second place, however the five Bugatti remained in the same order. Benoist completed 70 laps, 875 km still in the lead, after 7h42m04s. There were no position changes during the last ten laps.       After almost nine hours Benoist and Divo in the Delage finished as popular victors because it was the first French Grand Prix win for France since the 1913 Grand Prix. In previous Grands Prix the sporting commission of the ACF had indicated the end of the race by showing a large yellow flag to the drivers. Since this had been the cause of misunderstandings, a movable wall was tried this time, which was also hardly noticeable so that Goux and Masetti drove another lap after completion of their eightieth lap. As a result, the sporting commission produced their old yellow flag, which was also done by several others so that at the end there were quite a number of yellow flags shown to the later finishers. None of the five Bugattis retired. Apart from insignificant ignition trouble on one car, all five Bugattis completed the 1000 km without the slightest fault, a rather remarkable result. After the honoring of the victors was completed, Benoist, Wagner and Masetti drove along the circuit to the spot where Ascari had crashed and laid their victory garlands down in respect of their fallen comrade Ascari, the greatest driver at that time.