6 Baconin Borzacchini
Officine Alfieri Maserati
Maserati 26B

42 Angelo Giusti
A. Giusti
Bugatti T37A

50 Salvatore Marano
S. Marano
Maserati 26

Borzacchini wins the Coppa Etna with Maserati

Marcel Lehoux
M. Lehoux
Bugatti T35C

Louis Joly
L. Joly
Bugatti T35T

Guy Cloître
G. Cloitre
Amilcar C6

Marcel Lehoux wins the first Tunis Grand Prix

14 Emilio Materassi
Scuderia Materassi
Talbot 700

6 Bruno Presenti
B. Presenti
Alfa Romeo 6C-1500

8 Enzo Ferrari
E. Ferrari
Alfa Romeo 6C-1500 SS

Materassi victorious at Mugello, wins the Targa Giulio Masetti

24 Louis Chiron
L. Chiron
Bugatti T35C

14 Gastone Brilli Peri
G. Brilli Peri
Bugatti T35C

56 Emilio Materassi
Scuderia Materassi
Talbot 700

Chiron wins the Royal Rome Grand Prix

Since 1925 the Rome Grand Prix had been won every year by Bugatti despite all attempts by the Italians to win their own race. At the fourth running of the event only the official teams from Maserati and Amilcar were present. The international 23-car field comprised 11 Bugattis, 8 Maseratis, 2 Talbots, 4 Amilcars, 2 Delages and one each of Alfa Romeo, Diatto and Tracta. Brilli Peri (Bugatti) led the first 12 laps during a fierce battle with Chiron (Bugatti). Thereafter Chiron took the lead and never looked back. He finished first, followed by Brilli Peri, Materassi (1500 Talbot) and Minoia (1500 Bugatti) in fourth place ahead of Fagioli (1500 Maserati) and Lepori (2300 Bugatti). Materassi and Lepori were category winners while Morel (Amilcar) won the 1100 class. There were 12 finishers. Nuvolari in his Bugatti held third place during the early part of the race. When his engine broke down he retired two laps from the end. Varzi in his 2000 Delage retired early in the race as did Ernesto Maserati in a new 1700 car.

The Reale Premio di Roma was held for the first time in 1925, organized by the Automobile Club di Roma and the Commissione Sportiva del R.A.C.I. (Reale Automobile Club d'Italia). The race was held this year for the 4th time and a new course was selected at the 13.05 km Circuito Tre Fontane, which was also known as Circuito Ostiense. The race went over 30 laps, a total of 391.5 km. The course was a few kilometers to the south of Rome in slightly hilly terrain and was roughly triangular in shape with three sharp turns. The start, opposite the grandstand, was at the northern end of Via Ostiense, which ran northerly between the River Tevere (Tiber) on the west and alongside the railroad to the east. After more or less one km there followed the first sharp right-hand turn, where the road immediately passed under a railroad bridge and through a wide left-hand turn onto the roughly one km uphill stretch of Via Tre Fontane. Next there was a wide right-hander which led south for around four km onto the twisting up and down section of Via Laurentina which ended at the second sharp right turn. At this point the road, Bonifica No. 9, headed west for approximately four km through wide downhill turns, crossing a small rivulet. From here the road proceeded along the flat fast turns of Via di Decima and near its end passed under the second railroad bridge, and was immediately followed by the slowest right-hand turn towards the finish on Via Ostiense. The dirt road sections had been well tarred and despite this coating the dust that was created during the race was a problem for the drivers.       The Reale Premio di Roma brought together many international competitors and had the importance of a Grand Prix because almost all the top Italian drivers and some of the best known French race drivers met to do battle.       All cars were to start together from a grid but in addition to the overall results there were also three categories, the first for cars over 2000 cc, the second over 1500 up to 2000 cc and the third for cars up to 1500 cc. For the 1100 cc cars, as in the other races, the results of the Royal Prix of Rome counted towards this category in the Italian championship, which at that time was led by Riccioti who had three points. The A.C. di Roma had a total prize money fund amounting to 110,000 lire, 50,000 for the first and 35,000 to each of the category winners.

Entries: Above are listed the 30 entries for this race. Thirteen of the drivers had raced five weeks earlier at the Targa Florio and now met again to do battle in Rome: Varzi, Brilli Peri, Nuvolari, Minoia, Fisauli, Foresti, Borzacchini, E. Maserati, L. Fagioli, de Sterlich, also the Swiss Lepori, Chiron from Monaco and the German Countess von Einsiedel had participated in that race.       From a total of 11 Bugatti entries, eight cars in various configurations appeared for the start. The Bugatti racing team, managed by Meo Costantini supported the independently entered supercharged 2000 cc cars for Louis Chiron, Gastone Brilli Peri and a 2300 cc car for "Williams", though he did not appear, while Ferdinando Minoia was entrusted with a supercharged 1500 cc 8-cylinderT39A Bugatti. Other independent Bugatti entries were made by the Swiss Mario Lepori with a supercharged 2300 cc car and Giulio Foresti with a 2000 cc car. Tazio Nuvolari under his own Scuderia raced his supercharged 2000 cc Bugatti. He started with the same car he had raced at the Targa Florio and Coppa Messina after which his Bugatti actually needed a major overhaul. Two independent 1500 cc Bugattis arrived for the German Countess Margott von Einsiedel and the Italian Cleto Nenzioni.       Maserati was well represented with a total of six cars. For the first time they entered a brand new 1700 cc machine, which was intended as the 1928 grand prix car, the type 26R ("R" in reference to the new style roller bearing crankshaft). The 26R engine ended its dynamometer test only three days before the race and was fitted into a normal 26B chassis to be driven by Ernesto Maserati. Actually Aymo Maggi was supposed to drive the car but since his mother had recently died was replaced by his teammate Ernesto Maserati. The wealthy Mantua property owner Cesare Pastore who used to be partner of the Scuderia Nuvolari, had purchased a 1500 Maserati and had Baconin Borzacchini as his back-up driver. Fagioli drove a recently purchased 1500 Maserati tipo 26 as did Salvatore Marano and Carlo Tonini while de Sterlich raced a 2000 cc tipo 26B on loan from the Bologna factory.       Giulio Aymini drove one of the 2-liter 12-cylinder Delages, which were 1925 grand prix cars and another one was driven by Achille Varzi. Scuderia Materassi arrived with two 1.5-liter 8-cylinder Talbot grand prix cars from 1927 for Emilio Materassi and Giuseppe Morandi. Materassi was quite confident after his victory with the Talbot at Mugello the weekend before where he beat the Alfa Romeos, Maseratis and Bugattis. Bartolomeo de Bernardinis appeared in a modified Diatto with a 5.9-L Hispano Suiza engine.       In the 1100 category the fight was due to be between four Amilcars and one Tracta. This must have been one of the last appearances of the Amilcar Factory team, which arrived with three supercharged, 6-cylinder cars for André Morel, Jules Moriceau and C. Martin. The independent Alfonso Zampieri also raced a supercharged 6-cylinder Amilcar while Michele Baccoli with the 4-cylinder Tracta did not appear.

Race: On Sunday it was sunny and hot, 30 degrees Celsius (88ºF). A large crowd attended this long anticipated race. At 1:00 PM when there was already considerable activity on the circuit, the gun salute was given to indicate the closing of the circuit and clearing of the track. It was announced that some competitors had relinquished to start, namely "Williams" (Bugatti), Borzacchini (Maserati), Fisauli (Maserati), Saccomani (Bugatti), Bona (Bugatti), Forte (Alfa Romeo) and Baccoli (Tracta) while the indisposed Aymo Maggi (Maserati) was replaced by Ernesto Maserati.       The starting line-up was set for 2:30 PM when the 23 cars were pushed to the start in front of the grandstand at the Magliana railroad station. They lined up in rows of three in order of the official race numbers with the lowest number at the right of the front row. Only ten of the 23 cars and drivers could be matched reliably with their race number. Therefore from the grid of eight rows, only the first two rows can be shown here accurately as identified on film and photographs.

6 Nuvolari Bugatti 4 Lepori Bugatti 2 Bernardinis Diatto 16 de Sterlich Maserati 14 Brilli Peri Bugatti 8 E. Maserati Maserati 26 Varzi Delage 24 Chiron Bugatti 18 Aymini Delage 36 Zampieri Amilcar 32 Minoia Bugatti 30 Morel Amilcar 42 Pastore Maserati 40 Moriceau Amilcar 38 Fagioli Maserati 50 Tonini Maserati 48 Martin Amilcar 46 Einsiedel Bugatti 56 Materassi Talbot 54 Marano Maserati 52 Foresti Bugatti 60 Morandi Talbot 58 Nenzioni Bugatti

At 3:00 PM Baroness Avanzo lowered the checkered flag to start the 23 roaring cars. Brilli Peri, "the Lion of Florence" took the immediate lead chased by Chiron from row three and Nuvolari. Two of the cars had a delayed start, one of which was Nenzioni who had an oil pipe break on his Bugatti at the start, which was repaired at his pit after he completed one lap.       During the first lap, the red Bugatti of Brilli Peri maintained the lead, chased by the thundering bunch of Chiron's light blue Bugatti, the red Bugattis of Nuvolari and Minoia ahead of Materassi's light blue Talbot. Brilli Peri steadily pulled away from his pursuers gradually increasing his advantage. At the end of lap one, after just over six minutes the characteristic metallic howl of "Bugatti" was heard and felt down the straight towards the start and finish. After a few moments Brilli Peri passed the grandstand at full speed, with a 6m30.8s lap time at 120.399 km/h average speed, chased by the determined Nuvolari, Chiron and Minoia who were close to each other, the group already slightly detached from the leader. The shortness of the circuit kept the public's attention alive because cars passed by frequently.       On the second lap it was again Brilli Peri in the lead, chased closely by Chiron, who had managed to overtake Nuvolari. Minoia (Bugatti) was leading the 1500 cc category, followed by Materassi in the Talbot, Fagioli in the 1500 Maserati and Zampieri's Amilcar. Moriceau in his Salmson had been involved in a crash with another car and retired on the second lap.       On the third lap the leading positions did not change. The duel between Brilli Peri and Chiron was magnificent to watch. The Florentine maintained the lead, chased by the French driver, with an ever increasing pace.       On lap four Brilli Peri was leading Chiron by 18 seconds while the former cluster of following cars had separated. At this time countess Einsiedel stopped briefly at her pit to have the left rear tire changed in 10 seconds.       On the fifth lap the Frenchman closed the gap to Brilli Peri and on the sixth round Chiron lapped in 6m10s, an average of 126,972 km/h. This was the fastest lap at that time and placed Chiron no more than eight seconds behind the Florentine champion. Two drivers retired on lap five, first Tonini with a broken gasket on his 1500 Maserati, next Varzi with a broken pipe on his Delage. Brilli Peri finished his sixth lap in 6m14s, an average speed of 125 km/h. After six laps the order was: 1. Brilli Peri (Bugatti) 38m03.0s 2. Chiron (Bugatti) 38m10.8s 3. Nuvolari (Bugatti) 39m21.6s 4. Minoia (Bugatti) 39m53.0s 5. Materassi (Talbot) 40m36.2s 6. Lepori (Bugatti) 42m26.4s 7. Morel (Amilcar) 42m52.0s 8. De Bernardinis (Diatto) 44m38.6s There followed the 2000 cc cars of Maserati, Aymini, Foresti, de Sterlich and the smaller cars of Fagioli, Morandi, Pastore, Martin, Marano, Einsiedel, Zampieri and Nenzioni. Moriceau, Tonini and Varzi, had already retired, reducing the field to 20 cars.       After Nenzioni's repair at the beginning of the race, he retired his Bugatti on lap seven with bearing damage. At this point Brilli Peri improved his pace and completed the eighth lap in 6m09s, increasing his advantage to nine seconds. His ninth lap was even faster at 6m8.6s. But then lap by lap, Chiron moved closer to Brilli Peri, eventually in his sight, next he was just a few meters behind the leading Bugatti. The Frenchman must have been going faster to catch up, so his lap times must have been new records, but those lap speeds were not published. In the meantime Materassi's Talbot in the 1500 category tried to gain the lead from Minoia's Bugatti and came seriously close, while Countess von Einsiedel had moved on lap eight into sixth position in her category due to other retirements. On lap nine, Diego de Sterlich retired his large Maserati after changing spark plugs. On the tenth lap Brilli Peri drove another lap record in 5m58.8s at 130.956 km/h average speed. On the same lap Ernesto Maserati decided to quit with the new 1700 Maserati since he felt that the car was not reliable enough to continue. However the new engine was mounted into an old two-liter chassis and this engine was intended for a new chassis that would make its appearance in Cremona on June 24. On lap ten Morandi also retired his Talbot with a broken valve after he had changed plugs. After the tenth lap, Materassi became the leader of the 1500 category. At that time Nenzioni, De Sterlich, Maserati, and Morandi had retired.       The lead changed on lap 13 when Chiron forced his Bugatti into first place by driving a lap in 5m54 s at 132.711 km/h average, passing Brilli in front of the grandstands. Bernardinis had retired his Diatto Special with a broken radiator after 13 laps, which meant that at mid-race, 15 laps, the field was down to 15 cars. At that time Chiron passed the grandstands alone, while Brilli Peri stopped at his pit and lost 3m30s changing tires, refilling fuel and adding cooling water, which shot up three meters into the air when the radiator cap was opened. The spectators spurred him on for a courageous chase. Chiron also had to stop and was able to do so in only 2m34s so that he held a two minute advantage. When Materassi stopped at the pits, he was passed by Minoia and then eagerly attempted to regain the lead in his category. Countess Einsiedel maintained her sixth position in her category, even after she made another pit stop in 1m28s, complaining about the incredible heat and joined the race to lively applause from the grandstand crowd. Here is the order after 20 laps: 1. Chiron (Bugatti) 2h05m16.0s 2. Brilli Peri (Bugatti) 2h06m56.4s 3. Materassi (Talbot) 2h12m58.4s 4. Minoia (Bugatti) 2h13m55.4s 5. Nuvolari (Bugatti) 2h15m34.0s 6. Fagioli (Maserati) 2h19m43.2s 7. Morel (Amilcar) 2h20m36.0s 8. Pastore (Maserati) 2h21m03.0s 9. Aymini (Delage) 2h22m41.0s 10. Einsiedel (Bugatti) 2h22m56.0s There followed in undisclosed order Foresti, Lepori, Martin, Zampieri and Marano, altogether 15 cars were left in the race.       Martin retired his Amilcar after 23 laps. Brilli Peri was unable to catch up with the leading Chiron and gradually the crowd also grasped the dilemma and waited in resignation for the end of the race.       On lap 25 Countess Einsiedel was involved in an accident, which luckily was not too serious. Supposedly two Maseratis in front of her did not want to let her pass. Regardless, the fact is that when her car went into a spin, the countess was thrown out of the car and was left lying on the ground unconscious. Eventually with the help of her riding mechanic, Arthur Wolff, she slowly drove the car back to the pits with a badly bent left front axle. Countess Einsiedel, the only female driver, withdrew from the race but she had been brave and combative. Without her accident she would have ended in a good position, reconfirming her fine race in Sicily.       On lap 28 a great surprise occurred when Nuvolari in third place in his category, after a change of spark plugs, broke a piston on his Bugatti and retired. On the same lap Brilli-Peri stopped once more to change tires and lost 35 seconds. Just after he had left, Chiron passed the grandstand to start his last lap. At that moment a gun salute announced the imminent end of the race.       At the end of lap 30, Chiron passed the finish line at top speed in first place, yet he drove another lap at full speed. He arrived at the grandstand after Brilli Peri had just arrived in second place and was receiving a great ovation from the grandstand crowd, but the Italian appeared to be discontented. An Italian victory was however assured by Materassi, who won the 1500 category with his Talbot, finishing third overall and was followed by Minoia in the small Bugatti. The first Italian car was Fagioli's 1500 Maserati in fifth place. Lepori in sixth position had to change only two tires during the race. As had been expected, he also became victorious, as he was the only one in his category. Aymini who finished in seventh place, did not have an easy task since his Delage was not one of the fastest in the race. Not being a modern car, his 12-cylinder Delage was not easy to set up. The other Delage of Varzi remained in the race for a few laps and then was put out with a broken pipe. Foresti in eighth place took part without much expectation in a Bugatti that already had a respectable career and finished just after Aymini's Delage. Pastore in ninth position had to change plugs on his Maserati. He retired because of illness and was relieved by Borzacchini who later encountered gearbox problems. Morel who finished tenth, changed plugs and had a broken valve. Zampieri in eleventh place also lost many minutes at the pits changing spark plugs and also broke a valve on his Amilcar. Marano finished in twelfth and last position and only lost time with a change of spark plugs.