2 Robert Benoist
Automobiles Delage
Delage 15 S8 1927

3 Edmond Bourlier
Automobiles Delage
Delage 15 S8 1927

4 Albert Divo
Automobiles Delage
Delage 15 S8 1927

Benoist wins the British Grand Prix

The second British Grand Prix -officially the RAC Grand Prix- took place during unpleasant weather with on-and-off drizzle and stormy cold winds. The new 1500 Fiats from Italy and the American Duesenberg did not appear while the British Alvis broke down in a pre-race test lap. That left nine French cars, comprising six Bugattis and three Delages, plus two English Thomas Specials for the start. Initially Materassi (Bugatti) held the lead but the Delage team of Divo, Bourlier and Benoist moved to the front after three laps. Before ten laps were over, Scott and Purdy in the Thomas Specials had retired, followed later by the Bugattis of Prince Ghica, Eyston/Davis and Campbell. The order in the procession-like race ended in a staged Delage hat-trick finish of Benoist - Bourlier - Divo, followed by Chiron in fourth place and Materassi fifth, both in Bugattis, while the Conelli/Williams Bugatti was still running but was too far behind to be classified. Brooklands was the last race of the 1.5-Liter formula.

The R.A.C. (Royal Automobile Club) staged the 1927 British Grand Prix on the 1st of October at Brooklands, southwest of London near Weybridge, Surrey it designated it the R.A.C. Grand Prix Race. It was the last event of the 1927 World Championship. The Brooklands outer circuit had been specially prepared for this race, 125 laps around the 2.616 miles circuit, totaling 327.0 miles. Compared to the 1926 race with 287 miles, the race distance was lengthened to 327 miles or 526.250 km. Strangely, and in common with the European Grand Prix, the distance was less than the 600 km minimum distance demanded by AIACR regulations. No explanation could be found.       The start was at the beginning of the railway straight where the course was wide enough for the eleven cars to line up in one row. The cars travelled anti-clockwise down the railway straight turning left around the inner circuit. As in the previous year sandbanks had been erected as chicanes on the Finishing Straight. There was a total of six sandbanks, divided in two groups. The first group consisted of three parallel sandbanks, a left, right, left chicane. After which the drivers passed under a bridge towards a sandbank placed in direction of traffic which had to be passed on the left side. The next sandbank was placed again transverse to the direction of traffic and had to be passed on the right and the third sandbank forced the drivers to remain sharp to the left.

Entries: Originally there were 16 entries of which only 11 cars started. The three Fiats for Nazzaro, Bordino and Salamano were withdrawn a week before the race under the pretext that their mechanics had to prepare the aero engines for Italy's Schneider Trophy water-planes and as a result could not finish the racecars. On September 25 L'AUTO reported that two 1500 Fiats were entered for Salamano and Bordino under the supervision of Felice Nazzaro. L'AUTO reported two days later that Fiat had withdrawn their entries. The Duesenberg of Souders was also withdrawn because its gearbox was unsuitable for track racing. The front-wheel-drive Alvis of Major Maurice Harvey broke its oil pump drive gears during the morning of the race and could not be repaired in time. The 11 cars that were to face the starter included three Delage works entries for Divo, Benoist and Bourlier with Morel and Sénéchal as reserve drivers. The Delages were fitted with streamlined mud shields behind the front wheels to keep the spray from the drivers' faces. In his book 'The Roaring Twenties' Cyril Posthumus mentioned the unique rule in Grand Prix racing at Brooklands in 1926 and 1927, regarding the compulsory use of exhaust silencers in the British events. The exhaust pipes were fitted with a 'Brooklands can', a square muffler, just ahead of the cockpit for the Delages and to the end of the pipe was attached a large flat Brooklands fishtail.       The Bugatti factory also sent three cars for Materassi, Conelli and Chiron. Three independent Bugattis started with Eyston and his reserve driver Sammy Davis in Baron d'Erlanger's car, Campbell and Prince Jean Ghica Cantacuzino, a Rumanian (# 4803). Finally, there were two English Thomas Specials for Scott and Purdy. A complete list of entries is at the beginning of this report.       The wearing of crash helmets during the race was mandatory for all drivers. However only six of the 13 drivers wore crash helmets of the approved pattern and four of them were British. During practice some days before, a Delage and a Thomas Special collided, but the damage was insignificant and could be completely repaired.

Race: It rained hard on Saturday morning. A crowd, estimated at around 18.000, attended the race during the awful cold rainy weather. The eleven cars drove to the beginning of the railway straight which was wide enough for them to line up abreast. The start was hard to see from the paddock area on the opposite side of the race track.

14 Ghica Bugatti 12 Chiron Bugatti 11 Conelli Bugatti 10 Materassi Bugatti 7 Purdy Thomas 6 Scott Thomas 5 Campbell Bugatti 4 Divo Delage 3 Bourlier Delage 2 Benoist Delage 1 Eyston Bugatti

All cars started their engines except the Delage of Bourlier and three mechanics were frantically pushing it to get its engine started. Just before the flag dropped the engine sprung to life but Bourlier waited until the others had started. At 12:00 PM during heavy rain which lasted more or less during the entire race, the famous Brooklands starter A.V. "Ebby" Ebblewhite dropped the red starting flag and Materassi's blue Bugatti shot into the lead which the Autocar described: "The way Materassi jumped into the lead at the start was quite electrifying. He left all other cars virtually standing still". The Italian held on to first place with Divo's Delage right behind him and the others passing the pits after the first lap in the following order: 1. Materassi (Bugatti) 2. Bourlier (Delage) 3. Campbell (Bugatti) 4. Eyston (Bugatti) 5. Divo (Delage) 6. Benoist (Delage) Bourlier's Delage was leading after the second lap with Divo right behind, followed by Materassi and Benoist racing side by side through the corner, ahead of Campbell, Eyston and Conelli. After three laps the three Delages were in the lead, leaving the Bugattis more and more behind. Eyston headed for the pits with a misfiring engine for the first of many plug changes. Scott retired his Thomas Special complaining about lack of power and a slipping clutch after he had completed eight laps. His teammate Purdy followed on the next lap with gearbox trouble after having stopped three times to replace oiled plugs. This left the battle between Delage and Bugatti. Divo held the lead at an average speed of 85.61 mph with the first six cars in the following order after 10 laps: 1. Divo (Delage) 2. Bourlier (Delage) 3. Benoist (Delage) 4. Chiron (Bugatti) 5. Conelli (Bugatti) 6. Campbell (Bugatti) After 20 laps the order had not changed, but Divo's average speed had increased very slightly to 85.75 mph. After 30 laps, about one quarter distance, Conelli had passed Chiron for fourth place and Divo was leading at an average speed of 86.08 mph with the order as follows: 1. Divo (Delage) 2. Bourlier (Delage) 3. Benoist (Delage) 4. Conelli (Bugatti) 5. Chiron (Bugatti) 6. Campbell (Bugatti Prince Ghica's Bugatti seemed to lack speed and after 28 laps he retired with the intake manifold disintegrating. Materassi was delayed by a leaking radiator joint and had to stop three times to replenish water. After 44 laps Divo stopped to refuel, top up with oil and change one front wheel, dropping from the lead to third place one lap behind Bourlier, the new leader. Benoist was timed in the measured kilometer at 102.61 mph, Bourlier and Divo at 101.5 mph. Bourlier held the lead at an average race speed of 87.05 mph with the positions as follows after 50 laps and remained so after 60 laps and at half distance. 1. Bourlier (Delage) 2. Benoist (Delage) 3. Divo (Delage) 4. Conelli (Bugatti) 5. Chiron (Bugatti) 6. Campbell (Bugatti After around half distance, most drivers headed for their pits to refuel. Bourlier stopped on lap 69 to add fuel, top up with castor oil and changed goggles, all in 1m36s. In the meantime, Benoist had taken the lead. Conelli, who held fourth place, ran out of fuel on lap 65 due to a carburetor problem and was stranded on the circuit. He pushed the car unaided over one-and-one-half miles from the Byfleet banking, two-thirds of a lap. He was accompanied by a motorcycle with sidecar following behind his Bugatti. With wind and lashing rain it took him about half an hour to reach the pits where he collapsed completely exhausted. After the faulty carburetor was repaired, the reserve driver Williams had to take over and continued with a great time loss. As a result, Chiron, Campbell and Materassi had improved their positions after a troublesome first third of the race. Chiron made his refueling stop on lap 63. Eyston made about eight stops for spark plugs in the first half of the race and was relieved by Davis. Benoist made his refueling stop on lap 72 where he also changed tires and had the brakes adjusted, all in 2m22s. During his stop he was passed by Divo and Bourlier. On lap 89 Divo stopped at the pits to have his tires examined. Chiron in fourth place was nearly 16 miles behind the leader at three quarter race distance when Divo held the lead at 85.52 mph average speed with the cars in the following order: 1. Divo (Delage) 2. Bourlier (Delage) 3. Benoist (Delage) 4. Chiron (Bugatti) 5. Campbell (Bugatti) 6. Materassi (Bugatti) Davis in Eyston's Bugatti had to make a pit stop on lap 95 when his supercharger seized. Campbell retired on lap 97 with a stuck valve which could not be freed. The Motor reported: At this stage there seemed to be a three-cornered fight between Benoist, Bourlier and Divo, the three members of the Delage team. Indeed, to those unfamiliar with team tactics there was plenty of excitement, in watching Benoist gain gradually on the other Delages, passing them dramatically after sitting on their tails through the chicanes. In actual fact, Monsieur Louis Delage wanted the cars to finish in numerical order - 2, 3, 4 - which, as later events proved, they did to perfection. And it was in order to let Benoist pass him that Divo came into the pits on the somewhat flimsy pretext that he wished to examine the tires. Divo showed this sudden interest in his tires on the 108th lap, which enabled him to drop, unobtrusively, from first to third place, while Benoist, who had been running third, passed Bourlier and took the lead. After lap 110 the positions did not change. 1. Benoist (Delage) 2. Bourlier (Delage) 3. Divo (Delage) 4. Chiron (Bugatti) 5. Materassi (Bugatti) At the end of 125 laps Benoist crossed the finish line as victor at 85.59 mph average speed. Benoist had, like no other driver before him, won all the European Grands Prix of the season. He was victor with his Delage in the Grands Prix of France, Spain, Europe and now Britain. Bourlier in the second Delage was 100 yards behind with Divo in the third Delage one-and-a-quarter laps behind. The Motor reported: Sénéchal, who was there as reserve driver, was so carried away with excitement that he rushed out to stop Divo a lap too soon. As the Frenchman stopped there were sudden, alarmed cries of "Extincteur!" Yellow tongues of flame were shooting through the bonnet louvres. However, after a second or two the flames ceased, of their own accord, Divo was just getting out of the car when an official rushed up and told him he must do another lap. Hence the rather longer interval at which he finished.       Chiron followed in fourth place, seven laps behind the leader, and kept driving to complete the full distance of 125 laps. However, he stopped at the end of his 124th lap under the impression that his race had ended. Subsequently he was informed of his error and was permitted to cross the finishing line under power to finish fourth. As soon as he had passed the finish line, the race was officially declared to be at an end and the race was stopped. All other places were calculated on the number of laps completed. Materassi who was still running when the race ended was fifth with 118 laps, but Conelli/Williams with 106 laps were too far behind to be classified. The Bugattis of Campbell, Eyston/Davis and Ghica retired as had both Thomas Specials of Purdy and Scott.

64 Tazio Nuvolari
T. Nuvolari
Bugatti T35

10 Ferdinando Minoia
F. Minoia
Bugatti T37A

52 A. Masperi / A. Rosa
A. Masperi
OM 665

Nuvolari and Minoia win their classes at the Garda Circuit

A field of 24 cars appeared at this minor event over 25 laps where most drivers started with Bugattis. From the beginning Maggi and Nuvolari in 2000 Bugattis battled for the lead, followed by Minoia and Bona in Bugattis, Borzacchini and Tonini in Maseratis, plus Zampieri's fast Amilcar. After five laps seven cars had retired and after 10 laps five more had disappeared including the leader Maggi with a sick engine and Bona who crashed without serious consequences. Thereafter Nuvolari dominated the remaining 15 laps unchallenged ahead of Minoia's small Bugatti, the Masperi/Rosa (OM), Nenzioni (Bugatti), Zampieri (Amilcar), Franchini (AlfaRomeo), B. Ferrari (Fiat), the Tonini Maserati with the constructor Alfieri as relief driver, Donna d'Avanzo (Maserati), Maganzini (Bugatti), Munari (Fiat) and Martinelli (Bugatti), which was the order in which these 12 cars finished. The 12 retirements included Borzacchini in the latest version of the 2000 Maserati for which there had been great expectations.

The Garda Circuit race near Salò at the western shores of Lake Garda was important because this year it counted towards the Italian Automobile Championship. The Reale Automobile Club Brescia organized this seventh race on Circuito del Garda, 25 laps over a 12.236 km course, a total of 305.900 km. The event was first held in 1921. With the start in Salò the circuit headed south, snaking up the curves of the Zette hill reaching Cunettone after 4.3 km. From here the twisting course headed north-west past Villa for 4.5 km to Tormini, where the road dropped leading east back to Salò after 3.4 km. Before the race a specialized company had resurfaced the more worn out sections of the dirt roads. The grandstand, which had previously been in Salò, was now in Cunettone because for the 1927 race the Brescia AC had changed the start from Salò to Cunettone. This was all part of the ongoing arguments and conflict between the organizers, the Brescia AC and the Garda Committee including financing.       The regulations divided the entries into two classes, one up to 1500 cc and the other over 1500. The 1100 cc cars had to fight with the 1500s for the class win. However, there was a special prize for the first 1100 car finishing, which would result in a fight between the smallest. The timekeeping service was performed by the unparalleled great Ottolini and Radice, solicitors, Messi and Mazier.       The prize money was the same for the class up to 1500 and over 1500 cc: first place 10,000 lire, second 5,000 and third 3,000. A large gold medal was awarded to the driver who established the fastest lap during the race.

Entries: Over 30 entries were received from Italian drivers since the race was the last one counting towards the 1927 Italian Championship. The main contenders included the Bugatti drivers Maggi, Minoia and Nuvolari. The latter still raced motorcycles with a Bianchi contract. Maggi had won the race in 1925 and 26 while Minoia and Nuvolari had prior experience with good finishes at Garda. Minoia was considered a serious contender even though he raced a slower supercharged 1500 Bugatti. As a contracted driver for the Bugatti works, it is likely that he started with strong factory support. Maserati entered the latest version of their 2-liter type 26B for Borzacchini and Baroness Maria Antonietta d'Avanzo drove a 1500 Maserati which she had bought from Conte Diego De Sterlich. The 2000 OM of Masperi was shared in the race by Archimede Rosa. A complete list of the numbered entries is at the beginning of this report.

Race: A large crowd had come to witness the outcome of the duel between the most famous drivers, Maggi and Nuvolari. Enthusiasts occupied all the seats of the new grandstand in Cunettone's attractive valley. The finish line was near the curve that connected two main roads. There was a special stand for the authorities, including the Prefect of Brescia, comm. Siragusa, the Federal Political Secretary of Brescia, comm. Dugnani, Count Gallenga the Vice-President of the ACI, and many others. At 11:20 AM Franco Mazzotti and Count Gallenga began a tour of one lap closing the circuit. Ten minutes later the drivers moved their cars onto the grid. From 32 entries, only 24 cars appeared for the start. The 1500 class which included the 1100 cc cars was to start first, lined up in pairs.

6 Avanzo Maserati 2 Biondetti Salmson 8 Testi Maserati 4 Serboli Chiribiri 12 Valpreda Chiribiri 10 Minoia Bugatti 18 Nenzioni Bugatti 16 Tonini Maserati 22 Ferrari Fiat 20 Zampieri Amilcar 30 Maganzini Bugatti 28 Martinelli Bugatti 34 Romano Bugatti 32 Arrivabene Bugatti 38 Munari Fiat 36 Togni Bugatti 44 Bona Bugatti 42 Sansoni Bugatti 52 Masperi OM 50 Maggi Bugatti 58 Franchini Alfa Romeo 54 Pastore Bugatti 64 Borzacchini Maserati 62 Nuvolari Bugatti

Finally, the officials' car returned having closed the circuit. The band played the Marcia Reale, the national anthem of the Italian Kingdom, with everyone standing. The deafening roar from the race cars' engines drowned out every other noise. Then at 11:50 the starter, the Federal Secretary of Brescia comm Dugnani, lowered the flag to release the first pair of drivers, Biondetti and Avanzo. The public applauded the lady dressed flamboyantly in red overalls. Biondetti immediately stopped and retired. After 30 seconds the next pair of Serboli and Testi started with the same gap to each following pair until Nuvolari and Borzacchini were the last to leave.       At the end of the first lap, Serboli's Chiribiri was the first to arrive ahead of Tonini, Nenzioni, Zamperi, Ferrari and Maganzini who took the bend in a skid. Maggi appeared next, who also skidded through the turn. Arrivabene had a brief stop at the pits while Togni and Pastore retired.       After lap two Maggi was leading the large field, followed by Nuvolari. On the road the cars were in the order: Serboli, Minoia, Valpreda and Tonini. Zampieri overtook Ms. Avanzo as they crossed the start line while Maggi was close behind both of them.       On the third lap Romano retired but the race positions remained the same. Minoia went past Serboli near the grandstand. Borzacchini had passed Nuvolari who tried to repass the fast Maserati on the straight. Borzacchini's best lap was 8m10s while Nuvolari could do no better than 8m15s. Due to the disparate starting procedure, this may have been the only genuine on-track duel for race position. Arrivabene retired with an engine problem.       On the fourth lap, Maggi extended his lead, looking like the winner. Testi retired on lap four. On the fifth lap, Borzacchini's race ended when he retired his Maserati at his pit with a broken gear that drove the camshafts. Maggi's average lap time for the first five laps was 7m50.8s. His lead over Nuvolari was two minutes and Minoia was a further two minutes behind Nuvolari when the order after five laps was as follows: 1. Maggi (Bugatti) 39m14s 2. Nuvolari (Bugatti) 41m10s 3. Minoia (Bugatti) 43m14s 4. Bona (Bugatti) 43m36s 5. Tonini (Maserati) 45m22s 6. Zampieri (Amilcar) 45m27s 7. Nenzioni (Bugatti) 45m45s 8. Masperi (OM) 46m32s 9. Franchini (Alfa Romeo) 46m36.6s 10. Serboli (Chiribiri) 47m03s 11. Ferrari (Fiat) 47m15s 1 lap behind 12. Maganzini (Bugatti) 47m45s 1 lap behind 13. Avanzo (Maserati) 49m00s 1 lap behind 14. Munari (Fiat) 50m46s 1 lap behind 15. Sansoni (Bugatti) 51m03s 1 lap behind 16. Martinelli (Bugatti) 51m51s 1 lap behind 17. Valpreda (Chiribiri) 55m23s 2 laps behind On lap seven Serboli retired. At the end of lap nine Maggi, who was by now several minutes ahead of Nuvolari, was about to start lap 10, but he took the curve slowly and toned down the engine before his pit since its beat was irregular. He made an impatient gesture to the mechanic and then Maggi jumped out of the car which was pushed inside the fence with a broken connecting rod. When Nuvolari learned from his pits about Maggi's demise, he slowed his pace since there were still many laps to go. Meanwhile Sansoni, who had stopped at the pits earlier, retired due to clutch failure. Nuvolari's average lap time for last five laps was 8m04.2s. The order was as follows after 10 laps: 1. Nuvolari (Bugatti) 1h21m31s 2. Minoia (Bugatti) 1h25m16s 3. Bona (Bugatti) 1h25m45s 4. Tonini (Maserati) 1h30m21s 1 lap behind 5. Zampieri (Amilcar) 1h30m54s 1 lap behind 6. Nenzioni (Bugatti) 1h32m05s 1 lap behind 7. Valpreda (Chiribiri) 1h32m10s 1 lap behind 8. Masperi (OM) 1h32m22s 1 lap behind 9. Franchini (Alfa Romeo) 1h32m55.6s 1 lap behind 10. Ferrari (Fiat) 1h34m00s 1 lap behind 11. Avanzo (Maserati) 1h36m00.2s 1 lap behind 12. Martinelli (Bugatti) 1h41m00s 2 laps behind 13. Maganzini (Bugatti) 1h41m17s 2 laps behind 14. Munari (Fiat) 3 laps behind After the tenth lap Minoia had to change a tire along the course and on the following lap he replaced the bad tire with one of the stock in his pit, falling further behind Nuvolari. On lap 11, Valpreda retired his Chiribiri at the pits. On the twelfth lap Masperi, who was aching from leg cramps, stopped and handed over the cockpit of the OM to Rosa, who immediately started to make up lost time.       On lap 15, Alfieri Maserati, the car's designer, relieved the indisposed Tonini at the steering wheel. On the same lap it was learned that Bona had crashed his Bugatti at Villa. While overtaking another car, Bona slammed into an iron trellis, crushing the big bars with the front of his Bugatti. The accident could have had serious consequences due to the violence of the crash but it ended with only a slight wound to the driver's nose and a fractured rib of the mechanic. Rosa who had taken over Masperi's O.M. did some determined driving and worked the car from eighth to fourth place within four laps. Nuvolari's average lap time for last five laps was 8m24.2s with the order after 15 laps as follows: 1. Nuvolari (Bugatti) 2h03m32s 2. Minoia (Bugatti) 2h07m07s 3. Zampieri (Amilcar) 2h15m46s 1 lap behind 4. Masperi/Rosa (OM) 2h18m05s 1 lap behind 5. Nenzioni (Bugatti) 2h18m16s 1 lap behind 6. Franchini (Alfa Romeo) 2h18m48s 1 lap behind 7. Ferrari (Fiat) 2h21m30s 2 laps behind 8. Avanzo (Maserati) 2h23m31s 2 laps behind 9. Maganzini (Bugatti) 2h27m48s 2 laps behind 10. Tonini/Maserati (Maserati) 2h30m39s 3 laps behind 11. Munari (Fiat) 2h32m52s 3 laps behind 12. Martinelli (Bugatti) On lap 19 Nuvolari who led Minoia by 4m13s, made a quick pit stop. When Zampieri's Amilcar dropped two places, Rosa and Nenzioni were able to advance. Alfieri Maserati gained ground in Tonini's car by moving past Maganzini's Bugatti into ninth position. Minoia stopped on lap 20 for fuel and water. Nuvolari's average lap time over the last five laps was 8m21s. The order after 20 laps was: 1. Nuvolari (Bugatti) 2h45m17s 2. Minoia (Bugatti) 2h51m36s 3. Masperi /Rosa (OM) 3h01m45s 1 lap behind 4. Nenzioni (Bugatti) 3h02m50s 2 laps behind 5. Zampieri (Amilcar) 3h03m21s 2 laps behind 6. Franchini (Alfa Romeo) 3h05m39s 2 laps behind 7. Ferrari (Fiat) 3h10m42s 3 laps behind 8. Avanzo (Maserati) 3h10m55s 3 laps behind 9. Tonini/Maserati (Maserati) 3h15m48s 3 laps behind 10. Maganzini (Bugatti) 11. Munari (Fiat) 12. Martinelli (Bugatti) With a lead of more than six minutes, the fight was now settled between Minoia and Nuvolari, who made another pit stop at the end of lap 21. Since Nuvolari started four and a half minutes after Minoia, Nuvolari must have overtaken him, quite possibly during Minoia's last pit stop. The demoralizing effect of this meant that at the beginning of the last lap Minoia slowed his pace considerably causing him to fall one lap behind.       After 25 laps, Nuvolari crossed the finish line, eleven minutes ahead of Minoia's 1500 Bugatti and was greeted by the Giovinezza, the Fascist national anthem. The records from the 1926 race were all broken. Rosa in Masperi's OM finished a further five minutes behind, followed by Nenzioni's 1500 Bugatti and Zampieri's fast 1100 cc Amilcar in fifth place. Minoia and Masperi/Rosa were both one lap down. Nenzioni, Zampieri and Franchini were two laps behind, while Ferrari, Tonini and d'Avanzo had fallen three laps back. Maganzini, Munari and Martinelli were four laps behind. The officials actually stopped Munari and Martinelli and accredited them respectively with 4h11m36s and 4h12m58s. A group of sports fans carried Nuvolari in triumph. There was also much celebration for Minoia, Zampieri and Donna Avanzo.

6 Malcolm Campbell
Captain M. Campbell
Bugatti T39A

23 André Morel
V. S. Balls
Amilcar C6

22 Vernon Balls
V. S. Balls
Amilcar C6

Campbell wins the 200 Mile race