24 Jules Goux
utomobiles E. Bugatti
Bugatti T39A

Goux wins the French Grand Prix for Bugatti

The 11th Grand Prix of the AC de France promised to become a giant battle between Talbot, Bugatti, Delage and the two-stroke Sima-Violets, 12 entries in all. But by the day before the race nine of the entries had withdrawn which left only the three supercharged 1500 Bugattis to race over 100 laps around the Miramas speed oval. In the morning's race Goux ran trouble free for the 100 laps, Costantini was flagged off after 85 laps and did not classify while Vizczya retired after 46 laps. The 1926 Grand Prix is seen as the worst fiasco in racing history. The afternoon's Grand Prix des Voiturettes was won by Casse (1100 Salmson), while Zubiaga (Austin) won the 750 class and Enders Jack (Sima-Violet) was first of the 500 cc cars.

The Miramas circuit had been made more difficult for this event by installing a second hairpin bend located at the north turn. There was now one hairpin bend at the end of each straight of the 5 km oval, in order to reduce the speeds. With these two bends the circuit now measured 5095.6 meters. The 60 cm added were publicized in all seriousness but showed a totally brainless decision to add 60 cm to a 5 km long circuit. Such behavior simultaneously displayed how far removed the ACF was from reality.       Several weeks before the race the ACF knew that of the four manufacturers which had made entries, two of them would not be there, because they were the first cars being built for the new 1500 formula and were not yet ready. Weeks before the race informed circles in Paris knew that Delage and Sima-Violet would not be ready. So at best the ACF could have had only six cars for their race and they were aware of that. Why the ACF insisted on staging the event under these conditions became known one week before the event. The race had to be held even if only one car appeared because the ACF forgot to include in their regulations a clause that the race would be cancelled unless a certain number of cars started. The prize money provided the winner with 100,000 francs, second 30,000 and third 20,000 fr.

Entries: The opening entries included three flat-4-cylinder 2-stroke Sima-Violets for Marcel Violet, Michel Doré and Max Fourny. The Talbot team with Henry Segrave, Albert Divo and Jules Moriceau was added before entries closed at the end of February at the normal fee of 5,000 francs per car. With only six entries for this year's Grand Prix, the prestige of the greatest French race had to be saved. Accordingly the ACF's Sporting Commission invited the press to a banquet where they talked about the destiny of the Grand Prix. The President of the Commission, Baron René de Knyff, berated the press as the main culprit, blaming them for the paucity of entries. He maintained that the ACF did not have run after the constructors and that the ACF was actually too noble to start negotiations with American constructors as had been done the year before by the director of the Monza Circuit. The next speaker was Count de Voguë, President of the ACF, who tried to mitigate the deteriorating situation. He was followed by Franz Reichel who declared that the press had done everything that could have been asked of it.       By mid-March Delage decided to take part in the Grand Prix. Then by the middle of May, shortly before the time of the final closing of entries, Bugatti also entered. The ACF decided at that time to use only even racing numbers, thereby eliminating uneven numbers like the ominous 13, which some drivers viewed with superstitious fears. Before June 14, the rumor that Talbot would not start was officially confirmed. Delage's start was by no means assured, leaving just three Bugattis and three Sima-Violets confirmed. Under these conditions the question surfaced in the press, if it would not be appropriate to cancel the race completely this year. It would be better than ending up with an inevitable fiasco. Then, a few days before the race, a rumor surfaced that Delage and Sima-Violet would not start; the small Violet Company had run out of money. A list of the 12 entries is at the beginning of this report.       In the end there were just the three s/c 8-cylinder 1500 Type 39A Bugattis, looking very much the same as their larger 2-liter cars. Since the engines were now supercharged the cars had a vent hole on the upper right side of the hood for the manifold relief valve. The radiators were enlarged and moved slightly forward and the cars now had glass windscreens replacing the earlier gauze ones.

Race: The 1926 Grand Prix of the AC de France on the Miramas Circuit was a fiasco before it even started. The latest rumor days before the start proved to be true, Delage and Sima-Violet withdrew, leaving the entire race as a Bugatti walk-over. With only Bugatti at the start, the three cars lined up as follows:

24 Goux Bugatti 16 de Viscaya Bugatti 8 Costantini Bugatti

At the 10:00 AM start, Viscaya took an immediate lead followed by Costantini while Goux was delayed for a few seconds. But Goux caught up rather quickly and drove a new track record on lap two at 127.139 km/h, passing his team mates on lap four to take the lead. The times after 5 laps were as follows: 1. Goux (Bugatti) 13m40s 2. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 13m55s 3. Costantini (Bugatti) 15m11s Until now Bugatti had always used the British BP methanol fuel mixture and just lately had tried a fuel-benzol mixture, which however did not stand up to the test. Due to a mistake, a great part of fuel-benzol was transported to Miramas instead of BP. Consequently only Goux drove with BP while the tanks of Vizcaya and Costantini had been filled with fuel which had a high content of benzol. On lap nine Goux made the fastest lap of the race at 127.390 km/h average speed. The times after 10 laps or 50.95 km were: 1. Goux (Bugatti) 26m25s 2. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 27m42s 3. Costantini (Bugatti) 29m58s The times after 20 laps or 101.90 km were: 1. Goux (Bugatti) 52m35s 2. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 55m45s 3. Costantini (Bugatti) 59m52s After one hour Vizcaya and Costantini stopped one after another at the pits but both lost much time since their cars took a long time to restart. It was impossible to make up the lost time and after 25 laps Costantini in second place was already 10m20s behind Goux and de Vizcaya now in third place was more than an hour behind. The times after 30 laps or 152.85 km were: 1. Goux (Bugatti) 1h18m42s 2. Costantini (Bugatti) 1h52m38s 3. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 2h55m29s The times after 40 laps or 203.80 km were: 1. Goux (Bugatti) 1h43m14s 2. Costantini (Bugatti) 2h23m45s 3. de Vizcaya (Bugatti) 3h30m46s While Goux was completing his fiftieth lap, Costantini was on lap 38 and Vizcaya was stranded in his pit with supercharger problems and retired on lap 46 with a broken piston. The times after 50 laps or 254.75 km were: 1. Goux (Bugatti) 2h16m35s 2. Costantini (Bugatti) 2h54m12s It appeared as if Costantini suffered from the burning Mediterranean sunshine since he stopped every other lap at his pit to cool his head and soak his cap in cold water. The public did not realize that Costantini, a prudent and calculating driver, feared the same fate that had afflicted Vizcaya. Costantini knew that at a higher pace -like Vizcaya- he would not bring the Bugatti to the finish. Therefore he drove considerably slower and more carefully with the same problematic fuel mix used by Vizcaya. The times after 60 laps or 305.70 km were: 1. Goux (Bugatti) 2h43m50s 2. Costantini (Bugatti) 3h24m36s Goux turned his laps regularly without any problems from his engine. The times after 70 laps or 356.65 km were: 1. Goux (Bugatti) 3h11m05s 2. Costantini (Bugatti) 3h57m47s Goux maintained a modest pace but still drove his race as if he had rivals and gave the crowd something to watch while Costantini proceeded at a much lesser pace by of about 12 seconds per lap. The times after 80 laps or 407.60 km were: 1. Goux (Bugatti) 3h38m33s 2. Costantini (Bugatti) 4h27m51s The times after 85 laps or 433.07 km were: 1. Goux (Bugatti) 3h57m29s 2. Costantini (Bugatti) 4h43m13s The time after 90 laps or 458.55 km was: 1. Goux (Bugatti) 4h11m07s When Goux completed the last lap, Costantini was still driving, but was now 16 laps behind and was flagged off. The time after 100 laps or 509.56 km was: 1. Goux (Bugatti) 4h38m43s When Goux appeared from the south turn and crossed the finish line at full speed, M. Longuemare waved his flag. Goux made a lap of honor and stopped at the stand where the crowd rewarded the winner with a large ovation. There were flowers, photos, filming, accolades and congratulations. Goux came to the officials at the stand to receive the art object of the city of Marseille but the ceremony was postponed.       A prize of 5,000 francs was awarded to the car, with the best time over 250 kilometers. A Bugatti, that of Goux won this bonus. With his usual generosity, Ettore Bugatti offered this 5,000-franc bonus to the Miramas war widows. This was a very charming gesture by Bugatti, who probably also received the 150,000 francs in prize money.       It should be pointed out that all three drivers drove without a helmet; which was against the rules. Charles Faroux asked: "Who is responsible for this negligence?"

1 Emilio Materassi
E. Materassi
Italia Special

12 Baconin Borzacchini
B. Borzacchini
Salmson GSS

11 Luigi Fagioli
L. Fagioli
Salmson GSS

Materassi wins the Coppa del Marchese Ginori at the Cascine Circuit