12 Tazio Nuvolari
Scuderia Nuvolari
Bugatti T35C

18 Cleto Nenzioni
C. Nenzioni
Bugatti T37A

20 Achille Varzi
Scuderia Nuvolari
Bugatti T35C

Nuvolari, Nenzioni and Borzacchini victorious at Tripoli

The 1928 season opened with the Tripoli Grand Prix on the old Tagiura circuit. The entry included 18 Italian drivers with racecars divided into three classes. The event suffered a great loss due to the unexpected withdrawal of the Italian Champion Emilio Materassi and Luigi Arcangeli with 1500 Talbots. The cause was the difference between the organizers and the drivers regarding the regulations. The third favorite, Nuvolari (Bugatti 2000), had practically won the race before it even had started after his two opponents had been eliminated from the start. In the 1500 cc class Vittoria (Maserati) held first place ahead of Nenzioni (Bugatti), but the latter won the class after Vittoria lost time near the end. Fagioli (Salmson) was leading the 1100 cc class until his engine broke and Borzacchini (Salmson) inherited first place in the class. Nuvolari won the race without being challenged. Pastore (Bugatti 2000) crashed while Aymini's Delage 2000 was ill prepared and motorcycle racer Varzi (Bugatti 2000) was driving in only his second automobile race. Half of the 16 cars that started were able to finish the race.

The fourth running of the Grand Prix outside Tripoli in the Libyan Desert comprised 16 laps around the fast 26.2 km Tagiura dirt road circuit Porta Tagiura - Suk el Giuma - Sidi ben Ali - Sghedeida - Sidi el Messri - Porta Tagiura. Libya had been under Italian rule as a colony since 1911 and the Tripoli Grand Prix was a national event, counting as the first race towards the 1928 Italian Automobile Championship. The Automobile Club di Tripoli organized the 419.2 km race for classes over 1500 cc and up to 1500 cc, while the 1100 cc cycle cars had to do only 14 laps or 366.8 km. The prize money amounted to 35,000 Lire.       Preceding the Gran Premio Tripoli there was the Touring Grand Prix from Tunis to Tripoli over 759 km, which attracted 21 entries. Three sports car classes took part in the race which was organized by the Tunisian AC and took place on the Wednesday before the race. The event ended with the victory of the Italian Trifoni with a 1500 Lancia in 12h01m58s followed by two other Lancias driven by Lattanzi and Notarbartolo.

Entries: There were 20 numbered entries comprising six cars in the class up to 1100 cc, nine in the class up to 1500 cc and six in the class over 1500 cc. At the end of 1927 the then Italian Automobile Champion, Emilio Materassi, had bought three Talbot 8C-1500 monoposto grand prix cars with spare parts from the STD combine in need of money. Two Italian engineers, Bertarione and Becchia, formerly with Fiat and then Sunbeam, had designed the Talbots in 1926 especially for the 1927 French Grand Prix but the cars had so far been unsuccessful. Left with two 2.3-liter Bugattis from 1927 and the three 1927 Talbots, Materassi formed his own team, the Scuderia Materassi. It was the first of all the other Scuderias which followed later. Alessandro Silva stated that STD agreed to detach two mechanics in Florence to help with the car rebuild. All of the numerous modifications done on the cars during 1928 and in later years were made in Materassi's shop with his mechanics Pasquino Ermini, Mecacci and the two Frenchmen in modifying these French cars, making them lighter and faster. A fourth car of 700 type was built from spares and a second 4-cyl engine of type 70 was later mounted on a Bugatti chassis. Besides Materassi, Luigi Arcangeli was hired and Antonio Brivio paid to drive the Talbot, as did Rosti and Comotti later. But Brivio did not appear at Tripoli.       Early in 1928, Tazio Nuvolari also formed his own racing team, the Scuderia Nuvolari and Tripoli was to be its first race. To raise money, Nuvolari had sold some land of the family farm. The wealthy Pastore, a friend of Nuvolari and an amateur race driver from Mantua (Mantova), had put extra money into the venture. They had purchased three 2-liter supercharged Bugatti T35C race cars, for Nuvolari, Pastore and Achille Varzi, a motorcycle champion but a novice with racecars. Varzi and Pastore paid for the purchase of their cars. Decimo Compagnoni, Nuvolari's mechanic took care of the cars preparation and repairs.       Another favorite was Giulio Aymini with a 2-liter, 12-cylinder 1925 grand prix Delage. The last entry in the class over 1500 cc was made by the Sicilian driver Zaita with a Fiat 14B/S57A, a car raced in the early Twenties.       In the race, Materassi and Arcangeli were the only ones to threaten the three Bugattis of the Scuderia Nuvolari. Aymini's Delage was considerably slower and certainly less well prepared with tires which were too small for the race. Nuvolari and his team mates were supposedly not overly concerned.       The class up to 1500 cc included two independent entries from Pietro Brunori and Giuseppe Vittoria, both with 1500 Maseratis. They would have to fight with the independent Bugattis of Cleto Nenzioni and Enrico Cracchi. During practice Fagioli had an accident with his new 1500 Maserati when his drive shaft universal joint broke and the car could not be repaired in time for the race. He took over the 1100 Salmson of his brother Ermini who then assisted as his mechanic. A complete list of the 20 numbered entries is shown the beginning of this report.

Elimination: At scrutineering, 19 competitors were present. The expected duel between Materassi and Nuvolari, which was the central topic of the Tripoli Grand Prix, failed at the last moment due to a matter of the regulations. The journalist Giovanni Canestrini in La Gazetta dello Sport described the unfortunate situation before the race, involving the Talbots of Materassi and Arcangeli. Nuvolari pointed out that regulation number 4 of the Tripoli Grand Prix stated clearly that each car had to have two people on board at a minimum weight of 120 kg. Since the Talbots of Materassi and Arcangeli were single-seaters, they had to carry extra ballast of 60 kg in place of a second person. However there was no physical room inside the Talbot to carry ballast. In the end it would be up to Materassi to concede defeat and withdraw. However, the international regulations allowed cars with only one seat. So, one of the directors of the Automobile Club of Tripoli demanded the repeal of the article of the RACI Sports Commission and, in its place, the application of the international regulation that allowed only one person on board without ballast. But the RACI Sports Commission telegraphed back that the Tripoli AC had to apply article number 4. It was a shame that the first interesting battle of the new season did not hold what it had promised. Giovanni Canestrini commented that we cannot approve of the Italian Champion Materassi ignoring the rules of the race, but we judge it to be unsporting, albeit legal, for Nuvolari to insist on the strict application of the race regulations.

Race: On Sunday the weather was beautiful. As the race cars lined up for the start, the two monoposto Talbots were surprisingly amongst them. Refusing to abide by the ruling, Emilio Maserati possibly hoped for a change of mind at the last moment. The 18 cars lined up in order of their engine size with the six slower cycle cars forming the rear of the grid, as shown in Valerio Moretti's Tripoli book.

12 Nuvolari Bugatti 10 Pastore Bugatti 24 Aymini Delage 20 Varzi Bugatti 28 Zaita Fiat 8 Platè Chiribiri 4 Materassi Talbot 22 Arcangeli Talbot 18 Nenzioni Bugatti 34 Brunori Maserati 32 Cracchi Bugatti 38 Vittoria Maserati 6 Fagioli Salmson 2 Borzacchini Salmson 16 Biondetti Salmson 14 Riccioli Fiat 40 Giovanardi Giovanardi 30 Ghersi Derby

The dispute between Nuvolari and Materassi continued on the grid. Since it was not possible to reach an agreement between the two contenders, the journalist Giovanni Canestrini in his assigned function as Race Marshall had the unpleasant task of instructing Materassi to remove his cars from the starting grid. Materassi eventually withdrew his Talbot and that of Arcangeli because each monoposto had to carry 60 kg ballast but there had not been sufficient time before the start to install and distribute the ballast safely on the Talbot's chassis.       The start had been planned for 12:15 in the afternoon but was delayed by the arguments and the removal of the two Talbots. Somewhat late then, the Duchess of Apulia gave the starting signal for the sixteen cars. Nuvolari took an early lead followed by Varzi. Pastore in the third of the large Bugattis was immediately put out of action with an accident at the Sidi el Messri curve on the first lap during which Pastore and his mechanic were slightly injured and were taken to hospital.       On the second lap, Platè retired the 1500 Chiribiri. Although this was disappointing, Giovanni Canestrini stated that Platè had presented his car totally unprepared as had become his habit.       On lap three two cars disappeared. One was Ghersi who retired his 1100 Derby with a broken cylinder head, the other one was Zaita in the 4.9-L Fiat, who was slower than everyone else and abandoned the race.       On the following lap two other cars vanished from the scene. Aymini retired the 1925 Delage with axle bearing failure. In his three laps he had proved to have enough to handle the fast car, but his Delage was equipped with tires that were too small with too thin sections. He also had a lubrication problem with one cylinder. The other car retiring belonged to Giovanardi who abandoned on the fourth lap due to lack of lubrication. His Giovanardi with a 500 cc s/c engine left a good impression.       After five laps, Pastore, Aymini and Zaitta had retired from the race, leaving just two well-prepared cars in the over 1500 cc class, the Bugattis of Nuvolari and Varzi, which were driving at a fast pace. Tripoli was only Varzi's second race in a car. The year before he had solely raced motor cycles and was a celebrated motorcycle champion. Varzi appeared safe, fast and unspectacular, leaving the impression that he would have a splendid season. During the race Nuvolari stopped twice at the pits giving Varzi the opportunity to lead the race but Nuvolari was able to pass him later with ease. Nuvolari won the race and drove the fastest lap but he did not beat the circuit record.       On the sixth lap Fagioli passed Vittoria, who had been leading the 1500 class. Luigi Fagioli was driving his brother Erminio's 1100 Salmson, proving once again how fast he was by staying ahead of the strong Borzacchini in another 1100 Salmson. Alessandro Silva declared that according to La Nuova Italia, an Italian daily in Tripoli, Erminio Fagioli actually drove a bit of the race.       The main interest was however focused on the fight in the 1500 class where Vittoria and Nenzioni were having a great battle with Varzi's larger Bugatti certainly part of it. An explanation why Varzi ended up in third place instead of second could not be found in the available reports. Vittoria in his Maserati held his lead for 12 laps ahead of Nenzioni's Bugatti. He then made a late stop to refuel his Maserati and lost over a minute. That opened the door for Nenzioni who went ahead with his Bugatti and took the lead in the 1500 class. Vittoria was now second in class and chased after Nenzioni to regain the class lead. Vittoria had on several laps exceeded the prior lap record in the class but on lap 13 he established the fastest lap of the 1500 category in 12m36s at 124.662 km/h and beat the old record of Alfieri Maserati that was 13m10.2s at 119,362 km/h. On the 14th and 15th laps the two opponents were still fighting, but then Vittoria had a slight accident on the last lap, also the electrical system caused him to lose so much time that he no longer had a chance of regaining first place. Brunori's 1500 Maserati was delayed with several stops for spark plugs. He stopped on his twelfth lap because he had exceeded the time limit. Cracchi did what he could with his 1500 Bugatti and was just not fast enough but still ended up in fifth place overall and third in his class.       Borzacchini, who had been second in the 1100 cc class throughout the race, owed his victory to the retirement of Fagioli's Salmson on the penultimate lap when his engine broke down. The latter had led his class until lap13 when he had a 10 minutes lead. The winner Borzacchini settled for a new class record and Fagioli had established a new lap record. Biondetti in the third Salmson finished in second place while the supercharged Fiat 509 of Riccioli ended the race in third place in excellent condition but it was not quite fast enough. Giovanni Canestrini observed that Riccioli might have been closer to his opponents if he had had a more professional mechanic.

1 Louis Chiron
L. Chiron
Bugatti T35C

Dimitri Djordjadze
Prince D. Djordjadze
Bugatti T37A

Frank Tallet
F. Tallet
Delfosse Cime

Louis Chiron wins Esterel Plage at Saint Raphaël

4 Tazio Nuvolari
Scuderia Nuvolari
Bugatti T35C

22 Aymo Maggi
Giuseppe Vittoria
Maserati 26

10 Abele Clerici
A. Clerici
Salmson GSS

Nuvolari, Maggi and Clerici victorious at Pozzo Circuit

At the 1928 Pozzo Circuit 18 drivers started, but only four of them raced in the grand prix car class while the others comprised 1500 and 1100 cc race cars. Bordino with a Bugatti 2000 led the first lap and then Nuvolari with a Bugatti 2000 passed him. Alverà and Bona also with Bugatti 2000s had a more difficult time with the endless rain and mud of the softened dirt circuit. Bona retired early while Alverà eventually finished 6th. Bordino fell one lap behind with a punctured tire. After further pit stops to clean his goggles and windscreen from the mud, Bordino eventually gave up when over two laps behind. Maggi lost much time changing twice plugs on his Maserati 1500 but after over two hours of hard driving and other cars retiring, he ended up in second place behind the outstanding Nuvolari who won at Pozzo, his second victory of the year after Tripoli two weeks earlier. The excellent Clerici with the fast little 1100 Salmson achieved third place, followed by Giorgio Faggioli (Bugatti), Cattaneo (Amilcar), Alverà (Bugatti), Luigi Fagioli (Maserati), Saccomani (Amilcar), while Lasagni (Marino) exceeded the time limit and was flagged off. The nine retirements included the disappointing 1500 Talbot, alternately driven by Rosti and Brivio while Testi's Maserati 1500 caused a big scare at the start and near the end of the race he drove over two carabinieri standing on the race track.

The races on Circuito del Pozzo south off Verona had taken place since 1926 and had both been won by Bugatti. The first winner was Cosonni while Bona was victorious in 1927. The l'Automobile Club di Verona succeeded in holding its third edition of the Pozzo Circuit, which after Tripoli counted as the second event towards the 1928 Italian Automobile Championship. The fast triangular 12.342 km road circuit started in Verona at Fort Tomba, immediately made a wide right turn, the Parabolica, from which it headed south for several kilometers along the Via Palezzina straight to San Giovanni Lupatoto. Here, there was a right turn leading to nearby Pozzo and San Gaetano where the course made a sharp right turn, heading back north onto the long straight of Via Cesare Battisti, which became Via Legnano further on towards Verona, to the tip of the triangular course, where another right turn led to the start and finish. The drivers had to complete 25 laps, a distance of 308.550 km. The Pozzo Circuit, which was amongst the fastest in Italy between the super-fast Cremona and Tripoli (an Italian colony since 1911), did not present great difficulties for the drivers. It did not require the special skills of mixed road circuits, but demanded the courage and ability to drive for two hours at speeds very close to 150 km/h on the two narrow straights, which were dirt roads, where the cars reached their top speed.       The circuit had undergone reconstruction at the parabolic curve at Fort Tomba and the length was now exactly 12,342 km. Added to that was improving and construction of spacious comfortable grandstands, installed at the height of the central Giuliari water channel with the finish line, new pits for supplies and various installations like mobile radio equipment. The two wonderful straights San Giovanni Lupatoto and Borgo Roma, both about 5.5 km on which drivers should be able to reach a higher speed than in 1927. The week before the race a small army of about one-hundred road workers along the whole 12 kilometer long circuit had labored to remove the snow and painstakingly fixed the road surface by filling every pot hole of the dirt road. The road course was perfectly prepared for the cars to be driven at top speeds on the straights, which were now connected by sweeping turns. The turn in San Giovanni Lupatoto remained unchanged which followed the wide piazza of the town, while the right angle turn in Pozzo and the tip of the triangle at Forte di Tomba were both drastically improved and covered with bitumen.       The organizer had set aside 80,000 lire prize money. The first finisher of each category received 10,000 lire, the second 5,000 lire and the third 3,000 lire. The overall winner received an additional 40,000 lire. The driver who made the fastest lap was to receive 2,000 lire. The existing 1927 lap record was established by Balestrero with a 2000 cc Bugatti at 141.492 km/h.

Entries: The Verona AC received a total of 32 entries, 9 cars of 1500 cc or more, 15 of 1500 cc cars and 8 1100 cc cars. The Veronese driver Alverà was driving a Bugatti in the large class, as were Bordino, Nuvolari and Bona. Another 5 entries did not appear. According to Michael Müller Bordino raced a Bugatti T35C (#4866) he had picked up at Molsheim on 14 March and had driven via St. Louis and Chiasso to Torino. Umberto Pugno. Overall, there were 14 Bugatti entries against four Maserati 1500s for Testi, Fagioli, Tonini and Maggi. It was hoped to have Maggi appear behind the wheel of the new 1700 Maserati but since it was not yet ready, he drove the 1500 Maserati of Vittoria who was feeling unwell. Disappointingly only one of the three 1927 Talbot 1500 grand prix cars which had been entered actually appeared. Giorgio Faggioli (Bugatti) was not related to Luigi Fagioli (Maserati). Varzi, who at this time was still a rookie automobile race driver, did not appear for unknown reasons. He was an accomplished motorcycle champion rider and the 1928 Tripoli Grand Prix had been only his second automobile race. A complete list of entries is shown at the beginning of this report. The existing lap record of 5m20.0s from 1927 was expected to be broken during the race.

Race: On Sunday with a gray sky, a large crowd attended the Pozzo triangular circuit despite continuous rain. What was supposed to be in essence the fastest race of the season developed into a grueling fight against the rain and mud. The daring drivers were prepared for a wet circuit and 18 starters from 28 numbered entries had appeared. Class II, over 1500 cc, was to start first, with two cars per row in numerical order.

3 Bordino Bugatti 1 Alverà Bugatti 6 Bona Bugatti 4 Nuvolari Bugatti

The start was given at exactly 14:25 by Vittorio Raffaldi, the Mayor of Verona. Nuvolari, who was in the second row, passed Bona and Alvera but the experienced Bordino had got away first and led the small group of four cars. In the meantime, the cars of class I up to 1500 lined up on the grid, waiting for the signal to go.

10 Clerici Salmson 9 Saccomani Amilcar 13 Beccaria Bugatti 11 Maganzini Bugatti 19 Nenzioni Bugatti 18 G. Faggioli Bugatti 21 Rosti Bugatti 20 L. Fagioli Maserati 23 Tassara Derby 22 Maggi Maserati 26 Chiampan Bugatti 24 Testi Maserati 28 Lasagni Marino 27 Cattaneo Amilcar

The 1500s, including the 1100 class, started close to each other, without a space between the rows to give competitors a chance to maneuver. The Commendatore Raffaldi released the 14 cars at 14:27 in pursuit of the others. The start was marred by an accident when the Talbot of Rosti remained stationary in the fourth row causing a tangle of cars. Testi moved his Maserati violently sideways to the roadside and with his front wheel knocked down a spectator, who luckily got away with a big fright and a few bruises. The Mayor of Verona was overcome by this unfortunate and unnecessary maneuver by Testi. Last to get away was Rosti's Talbot, which was pushed-started for a few meters to get away.       At the end of lap one, the arrival of the leader was awaited with excitement; would it be Bordino or Nuvolari? Then there was a quick pass by Bordino in first place, who had lapped in 5m50s, at 123.587 km/h. He was closely followed by Nuvolari with a gap of about half a minute to Alverà with Bona very close behind. Due to the wet surface of the dirt road the speeding cars kicked up quite a bit of mud, which made passing maneuvers tricky. Then came the 1500 cars with Beccaria holding the lead with the first lap in 6m22s, followed by Maggi 5 seconds later, then Testi, Clerici, Luigi Fagioli, Maganzini, Giorgio Faggioli, Saccomani and the rest. At the end of the lap Nenzioni was first to stop at the pits, arriving slowly and retiring.       On the second lap Nuvolari managed to pass Bordino on the inside of the Parabolica when his rival went wide on the outside. Nuvolari had prepared for the eventuality of bad weather with great care. He had the windshield of his Bugatti surrounded with a boxlike sheet metal frame to prevent mud being thrown onto it. His riding mechanic's duty was to keep the windshield and Nuvolari's goggles clean. Although this was just a small advantage, it enabled Nuvolari to maintain a faster pace than his opponents. Beccaria kept his lead in the1500 category and made the best time in 5m55.4s at 125.158 km/h, which was faster than Bordino's lap speed. His pursuer Maggi stopped to change spark plugs, while Bona headed for the pits to change a tire. Tassara also stopped at the pits. Testi, Fagioli and Clerici were now busy chasing after the fast Beccaria, who seemed to feel at ease among so much rain and mud.       On the third lap there was a surprise when the duel between Nuvolari-Bordino came to an end. After Nuvolari passed the finish at high speed, the second car arriving was not Bordino but the No. 1 Bugatti of Alverà. Shortly afterwards Bordino arrived slowly, making hand signs indicating that his right rear wheel was running on the ground. It should have been a quick stop at his pit to change a flat tire from a nail, but he lost about 7 minutes, which was more than a lap. Maggi stopped again for spark plugs, while Beccaria completed the third lap by improving his time with a 5m49s lap, an average of 127,310 km/h that constituted the record lap of the day for his class. But then Beccaria disappeared from the race after breaking the seal of a water pipe. Thus Luigi Fagioli automatically took the lead of the class, followed by Testi and the fast Clerici, who with his small Salmson 1100 had managed to pass many opponents of the larger displacement. Nenzioni, Beccaria, Chiampan and Bona had retired their Bugattis, the latter with engine problems. After five laps the field was down to 14 cars in the following order: 1. Nuvolari (Bugatti) 29m46.6s 2. Alverà (Bugatti) 33m25.4s 3. L. Fagioli (Maserati) 33m55.2s 4. Testi (Maserati) 34m06.2s 5. Clerici (Salmson) 35m41.8s 6. G. Faggioli (Bugatti) 36m31.4s 7. Cattaneo (Amilcar) 37m17.0s 8. Bordino (Bugatti) 37m45.6s 9. Maganzini (Bugatti) 38m33.4s 10. Saccomani (Amilcar) 39m09.6s 11. Rosti (Talbot) 39m15.0s 12. Maggi (Maserati) 40m55.6s 13. Tassara (Derby) 53m04.4s 14. Lasagni (Marino) 54m05.2s The race continued with no further variations of positions. Maggi was now in pursuit and gradually regained positions, one at a time; while Bordino was disheartened and stopped repeatedly to change his goggles due to the mud. Alverà had a flat tire on lap eight and Brivio replaced Rosti on the sixth lap. Brivio put him immediately under pressure by driving several laps in good times, obviously better than Rosti had done. Tassara stopped at his pit and retired on lap nine with supercharger trouble after several stops to the pits and the order of the 13-car field after 10 laps was as follows: 1. Nuvolari (Bugatti) 58m56.4s 2. L. Fagioli (Maserati) 1h05m43.6s 3. Testi (Maserati) 1h07m08.0s 4. Clerici (Salmson) 1h10m41.6s 5. Alverà (Bugatti) 1h11m12.2s 6. G. Faggioli (Bugatti) 1h11m47.4s 7. Maggi (Maserati) 1h12m46.4s 8. Cattaneo (Amilcar) 1h13m43.0s 9. Bordino (Bugatti) 1h14m48.0s 10. Saccomani (Amilcar) 1h18m17.4s 11. Brivio/Rosti (Talbot) 1h19m52.8s 12. Maganzini (Bugatti) 1h22m40.2s 13. Lasagni (Marino) 1h40m02.0s Bordino meanwhile, finishing his tenth lap, drove slowly towards the finish line and retired, declaring that he had no chance of victory and lamenting about the difficulties of visibility due to the mud and rain. The race became monotonous after the disappearance of one of the most fearsome competitors. Nuvolari and Alverà were the only ones left in class II.       Nuvolari was now headed towards a secure win, but instead of slowing down, he kept up his fast pace considering the poor state of the soaked roads. He drove laps at an average of 5m45s. Saccomani stopped after the 10th lap. It kept raining with an irritating persistency. In spite of the appalling conditions, the spectators always remained firmly in place. At the end of lap 15 after Bordino had retired, the field was down to 12 cars. By this time Nuvolari was almost two laps ahead of Fagioli in second place. 1. Nuvolari (Bugatti) 1h28m48.2s 2. L. Fagioli (Maserati) 1h39m58s 3. Testi (Maserati) 1h40m17.4s 4. Maggi (Maserati) 1h44m26s 5. Clerici (Salmson) 1h45m58s 6. G. Faggioli (Bugatti) 1h47m26s 7. Alverà (Bugatti) 1h47m29s 8. Cattaneo (Amilcar) 1h48m49s 9. Brivio/Rosti (Talbot) 1h52m21s 10. Saccomani (Amilcar) 1h57m39s 11. Maganzini (Bugatti) 2h10m35s 12. Lasagni (Marino) no time After 15 laps, the race continued without any change in the positions. Interestingly, now Maggi chased and attacked the remaining Maseratis. Simultaneously, Cattaneo in his Amilcar gradually improved his pace. Maggi stopped at the pits to refuel. Brivio stopped the Talbot at the pits and left the driving again to Rosti. But he retired on lap 17 due to constant problems with the spark plugs. Nuvolari was still leading the field after 20 laps, when Rosti and Maganzini were gone and the field was down to 10 cars in the following order: 1. Nuvolari (Bugatti) 1h58m36.2s 2. L. Fagioli (Maserati) 2h10m57.6s 3. Testi (Maserati) 2h13m09.2s 4. Maggi (Maserati) 2h14m09s 5. Clerici (Salmson) 2h20m29s 6. Alverà (Bugatti) 2h22m22.6s 7. G. Faggioli (Bugatti) 2h22m24s 8. Cattaneo (Amilcar) 2h22m49.4s 9. Saccomani (Amilcar) 2h34m39s 10. Lasagni (Marino) no time The cars continued under never ending rain. The drivers made enormous efforts not to swerve but some slips occurred with the smaller cars suffering the most from the bad road conditions. During one of the preceding laps, Testi had spun his Maserati in Curva Parabolica, luckily missing Clerici's Salmson. Earlier at the start, Testi had caused an accident involving a spectator, and now on lap 21 Testi caused a very tragic accident which knocked him out of the race. About half a kilometer before the grandstands, Testi's Maserati passed another car while holding second position overall. Testi arrived at high-speed nearing the finish line to complete the 21st lap, skidded to the edge of the road and ran over a soldier and two Carabinieri (policemen) who were acting as crowd marshals; Testi caught them with the rear wheel. Two of the injured were taken by ambulance to the Hospital and the soldier who was only slightly injured to the Military Hospital. The soldier was improving but both militiamen died.       Testi had driven up to the press grandstand, where he ended his drive in serious shock and pain in the right arm and shoulder with which he had hit one of the poor men involved. He abandoned of course and left immediately in a service car. The first investigation revealed that for unknown reasons the three were standing on the road about 1 ½ meters from the edge. They were considered as victims for their service duty, hence not as spectators. However, L'Arena reported the next day that nine spectators were also injured. The accident was of course an extremely serious matter. Later, Testi and the Chairman of the Verona A.C. were put on trial. They were acquitted. As stated by Saro Rolandi in his book, the defense attorney was Fascist Roberto Farinacci who was a very big shot in the government and in the fascist party. According to Alessandro Silva, Testi subsequently sold his Maserati to Guglielmo Sandri, the well-known motorcycle racer also from Bologna, who was riding with him at the Pozzo race. Testi resumed racing in the late 1930s in the Italian colonies of Africa, where he had brought an old 1100 Maserati with him.       With Testi now out of the race and Luigi Fagioli forced to slow his pace due to engine trouble with his Maserati, Maggi inherited the lead of his class. Nuvolari stopped on the 24th lap to refuel his Bugatti and to repair a damaged wheel. He had time to do this as he was two laps ahead of everybody else. While he completed the final lap, he was greeted with applause from the spectators. Immediately afterwards the crowd dispersed into the gray evening. It was still raining.