Varzi wrestles Monza victory from Arcangeli, both in Maseratis

The 1930 Monza Grand Prix was held in place of the Italian Grand Prix with the top European drivers present. The series of five short races on a new circuit layout began with heat 1 for 2000 cc cars, in which eight cars finished from ten starters. Etancelin won ahead of von Morgen and Minozzi all with Bugattis. In heat 2 for 3000 cc cars, ten cars started and eight completed the race. Arcangeli (Maserati) finished first and Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) was second ahead of Fagioli and Varzi both with Maseratis. Nuvolari and Campari in their Alfa Romeos lost time due to tire repairs. Heat 3 for cars over 3000 comprised five starters. Ernesto Maserati easily won in the 16-cylinder Maserati, followed by Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) and Stapp (Duesenberg). The repêchage included just five starters, enabling Nuvolari and Campari in their Alfa Romeos to advance to the final. The race for 1100 cc voiturettes consisted of 16 starters of which ten cars finished. Premoli (Salmson) won ahead of Scaron (Amilcar) and Klinger (Maserati).       In the final only ten cars finished from 15 starters. Arcangeli (Maserati) held the lead followed by Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo), Varzi (Maserati), Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo), Fagioli, Maserati and Campari. After seven laps the three Alfa Romeos were withdrawn due to tire failures. On lap 12 Varzi lost time in the pits, which dropped him to sixth place. In a relentless drive Varzi regained positions by driving with unflagging determination, passing first Caracciola, then Etancelin and Minozzi. On lap 33 he overhauled Maserati in the 16-cylinder car and caught his teammate Arcangeli just before the finish to accomplish one of his greatest victories ever, winning by 1/5 of a second.

The 1930 Monza Grand Prix was again held as an international event for racecars without weight or engine capacity restrictions. On the same day the Gran Premio Vetturette also took place. The Commissione Sportiva des RACI (Reale Automobile Club d'Italia) and the Società Autodromo di Monza carried out the organization under the supervision of Conte Vincenzo Florio, President of the RACI Sporting Commission, and Renzo Castagneto, the Race Director. The Monza Grand Prix on September 7, 1930 was the most important Italian event to be held on a motor racing circuit in 1930.       The organization of the race including the agenda was practically the same as in 1929 with eliminating heat races and a final. The heat races went over 14 laps or 96.054 km while the final comprised 35 laps or 240.135 km. The first four finishers of heat 1, 2 and 3 were allowed to advance to the final, but only two from the Voiturette Grand Prix. A repêchage over seven laps gave drivers who had been unable to qualify in one of the heat races a second chance to do so. The heat races were carried out separately in four categories divided by engine capacity, up to 1100 cc, up to 2000 cc, up to 3000 cc and over 3000 cc. The races took place on the new 6.861 km Florio circuit, which consisted of the greater part of the 5.5 km asphalt circuit and connected with the oval circuit on the back straight where the new Florio Link had been built. It consisted of a sharp left turn leading via a short straight to the oval circuit where a sharp right turn led towards the South Curve of the oval just before the finish.       The prize fund of the Monza Grand Prix was very good with a total of 500,000 Lire. The winner of each category received 30,000 lire, the second 20,000, the third 15,000, the fourth 10,000 and the fifth 5,000. The winner of the final received 70,000 lire, the second 30,000, the third 25,000, the fourth 20,000, the fifth 15,000, the sixth 10,000 and the seventh 5,000 lire. Apparently there were no prizes for the repêchage.

Entries: The spectators were looking forward to the Monza Grand Prix with great expectation because it promised a decisive battle between Alfa Romeo, Bugatti and Maserati.       The Alfa Romeo factory was represented by Scuderia Ferrari which arrived with three of the modified Alfa Romeo P2 models. Their 2-liter engines had been bored from 1987 cc to 2006 cc, which promoted them to the 3000 cc class.       The Maserati factory arrived with the proven 2500 cc 26M to be driven again by Arcangeli and Fagioli plus Varzi, who came from Alfa Romeo and had joined the Bologna stable at the Coppa Acerbo, which he had won. Ernesto Maserati was assigned the very fast V4 type, with a 3,961 cc 16-cylinder engine. Klinger received works support for his 1079 cc 26C, while Alfieri Maserati drove a similar car.       The Bugatti factory did not send their works team and instead was represented by a large group of independent drivers with 2-liter and 2.3-liter cars.       Daimler-Benz and Caracciola were invited to participate by the race promoters. The heavy 7.1-liter Mercedes-Benz SSK sports car in race trim with its 310 hp engine was suited to a fast circuit like Monza. The strongest opponent was the Maserati V4 with very much the same power output. Much attention was given to the American Babe Stapp in a 4.2-liter Duesenberg, but he was not one of the leading drivers in the American AAA series. Altogether there were 66 entries, which are listed at the beginning of this report.

Practice: Unofficial practice at Monza took place over one week before the race. Every day various cars were tested around the track, preparing for one of the greatest circuit races of Europe. On Saturday Alfieri Maserati was one of the first to practice and Fagioli also tested the new circuit layout. Ernesto Maserati drove the 16-cylinder and did a lap in 2m58s, an average speed of about 139 km/h. Varzi (Maserati) and Lehoux (Bugatti) were also practicing as were Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo), Babe Stapp (Duesenberg), Dafarra (Bugatti) and Premoli (Salmson).       On Monday, the 16-cylinder Maserati was driven to new fastest laps in 2m55s and later 2m48s, an average speed of 147 km/h. The Algerian Lehoux in the 2300 Bugatti did a lap in 2m52s and later improved to 2m50s, an average speed of about 145 km/h. At the close of practice on Monday Ernesto Maserati in the 16-cylinder car had achieved the fastest lap in 2m46s, an average of about 150 km/h.       On Thursday Campari in the Alfa Romeo P2 completed a lap in 2m40s, at an average speed of about 155 km/h. Borzacchini in another P2 drove laps of 2m42s, 2m40s, 2m38s and eventually 2m36s, equal to an average speed of 158.330 km/h, while Nuvolari got down to 2m39s. Brivio was also practicing in his 2-seater Talbot. Biondetti in the Talbot monoposto drove laps of 2m53s and 2m52s. Lehoux' best time was 2m47s with his Bugatti.       On Friday the Swiss-Italian Pedrazzini drove a 1500 Maserati with help of its constructor Alfieri Maserati. Ernesto Maserati did a lap in 2m33s at about 161 km/h. Arcangeli in the 2500 Maserati did a 2m36s lap while Nuvolari was timed at 2m38s and 2m36s and finally at 2m35s. Borzacchini registered a time of 2m37s, 257.322 km/h, while Campari's fastest lap was 2m39s at 155,343 km/h. The German von Morgen practiced in a 2-liter Bugatti while his compatriot, Burggaller, drove a 2300 version.       By Saturday Caracciola had already completed his practice. He knew that he would not have an easy time with his heavy stripped sports car against the light racecars. Von Morgen had entered for both the 2000 cc and 3000 cc classes and decided to drive the 2-liter car. Burggaller had encountered problems with one cylinder which was porous, letting coolant water onto the piston, and he was unable to repair it. The Germans Macher and Simons with their 2-stroke DKWs would have a hard time against the Amilcar, Salmson and 1100 Maserati. Simons started with last year's Nürburgring winning car, while Macher had the new low type DKW, but with a similar 1000 cc engine. Nuvolari was reported to have driven the fastest lap during practice with the Alfa Romeo P2 at an average speed of 159 km/h, although Ernesto Maserati had done a lap in 2m33s at about 161 km/h the day before.

Heat 1, Class over 1100 up to 2000 cc: The day had started with beautiful weather, sunshine and blue sky. An immense crowd, estimated at over 100,000, dispersed around the course a long time before the actual race started. Heat 1 for 2-liter cars was the curtain raiser. At 9:45 AM the drivers with their cars and mechanics paraded along the track in front of the grandstands towards the starting line. The German von Morgen started with a 2-liter Bugatti, which he had borrowed from his teammate Prince zu Leiningen. Varzi's regular riding mechanic, Tabacci, also drove a 2-liter Bugatti, most likely with race #14, but #15 was also mentioned. Etancelin had originally been allocated race number 24 and was later assigned number 11 when starting in heat 1. Since Toti with his Maserati did not appear, only 10 cars lined up on the grid as described by La Stampa.

4 A.Sartorio Maserati 6 Brivio Talbot 8 Avattaneo Bugatti 10 Pedrazzini Maserati 11 Etancelin Bugatti 12 Biondetti Talbot 14 Tabacci Bugatti 16 von Morgen Bugatti 18 Fourny Bugatti 20 Minozzi Bugatti

When the Italian Leader of Sports, Augusto Turati, raised the checkered flag at 10:00 AM, the German von Morgen took the lead with his white Bugatti from the second row. Pedrazzini's Maserati was last. On the third lap, von Morgen drove a lap in 2m43s at an average speed of 151.530 km/h. After five laps Pedrazzini had worked himself up to fifth place by setting a new lap record with his Maserati in 2m41.6s, an average speed of 152.843 km/h. After five laps von Morgen and Etancelin were fighting for the lead and were only one second apart. 1. von Morgen (Bugatti) 13m54.0s 2. Etancelin (Bugatti) 13m55.0s 3. Tabacchi (Bugatti) 13m59.4s 4. Minozzi (Bugatti) 14m10.0s 5. Pedrazzini (Maserati) 14m12.4s 6. Brivio (Talbot) 14m20.0s 7. Sartorio (Maserati) 14m44.8s 8. Biondetti (Talbot) 14m45.0s 9. Fourny (Bugatti) 14m53.4s 10. Avattaneo (Bugatti) 15m12.8s After the fifth lap, the exciting battle between von Morgen and Etancelin continued unabated and on the eighth lap Etancelin, driving a blue Bugatti, passed von Morgen for first place but the German would not have any of that and was leading again the following round. Although Pedrazzini had set the fastest time on his fifth lap, by the tenth round he had lost more time towards the front running Bugattis, which were faster than his Maserati. After ten laps or 68.610 km the order was: 1. von Morgen (Bugatti) 27m33.0s 2. Etancelin (Bugatti) 27m33.4s 3. Minozzi (Bugatti) 27m58.0s 4. Tabacchi (Bugatti) 28m11.6s 5. Pedrazzini (Maserati) 28m28.6s 6. Brivio (Talbot) 28m33.8s 7. Biondetti (Talbot) 28m54.8s 8. Sartorio (Maserati) 29m06.2s 9. Fourny (Bugatti) 29m47.8s 10. Avattaneo (Bugatti) 29m52.8s Brivio retired his Talbot on the eleventh lap. At the twelfth round the lead changed once more, when Etancelin overtook von Morgen again. This time he was able to pull away and finished two seconds ahead of the German. There were no close finishes among the remainder of the field. Tabacchi arrived at his pit and retired on lap 13. The first four finishers qualified for the final, while those in fifth to eighth positions could still take part in the repêchage. Amazingly, Pedrazzini, in the voiturette, made the fastest lap, faster than either von Morgen or Etancelin who must have been going all out in their frantic race for the lead.

Heat 2, Class up to 3000 cc: By now the drivers of the 2001 - 3000 cc class were ready for heat 2. The spectators had a greater interest in this race because the official teams from Maserati and Alfa Romeo had their first clash and were driven by the most skillful and leading drivers of Europe. As the drivers and mechanics paraded their cars in front of the grandstands towards the starting line, the excited crowd cheered in a frenetic way, as only the tifosi can, admiring their Italian heroes. A total of 10 cars lined up in numerical order as described by LA STAMPA.

22 Lehoux Bugatti 26 Varzi Maserati 28 Burggaller Bugatti 30 Arcangeli Maserati 32 Nuvolari Alfa Romeo 34 Fagioli Maserti 36 Dafarra Bugatti 38 Stefanelli Bugatti 42 Borzacchini Alfa Romeo 46 Campari Alfa Romeo

At the 11:15 AM start, which was again flagged by Turati, Varzi grabbed the lead shadowed by Arcangeli. After the first lap as they passed the finish line Arcangeli had passed Varzi and they were followed by Nuvolari and Borzacchini, all within less than two seconds, then Fagioli, Lehoux, Campari, Burggaller, Dafarra and Stefanelli last who retired his Bugatti at the pits. On the second lap Varzi took the lead again ahead of Nuvolari, Arcangeli and Borzacchini. Burggaller headed for the pits and retired due to the engine defect which he had already encountered during practice. Arcangeli completed the third lap in 2m29.0s at an average speed of 165.194 km/h. After five laps Varzi was leading at a speed of 156.922 km/h while Nuvolari and Arcangeli crossed the line in a dead heat. 1. Varzi (Maserati) 13m07.0s 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 13m08.4s 3. Arcangeli (Maserati) 13m08.4s 4. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 13m18.2s 5. Fagioli (Maserati) 13m26.6s 6. Campari (Alfa Romeo) 13m45.6s 7. Lehoux (Bugatti) 14m03.2s 8. Dafarra (Bugatti) 14m39.2s Arcangeli and Nuvolari had a fierce battle for second place. On the sixth lap Arcangeli drove another fast lap of 165 km/h, which took him past Nuvolari and Varzi and back into the lead. On the seventh lap Nuvolari moved into second position and after ten laps he had overtaken Arcangeli again and was leading at an average speed of 158.290 km/h. The two leaders were separated by a mere fifth of a second as they crossed the line. This duel was becoming as exciting as the battle between Etancelin and von Morgen in the first heat. 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 26m00.4s 2. Arcangeli (Maserati) 26m00.6s 3. Varzi (Maserati) 26m17.8s 4. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 26m33.2s 5. Fagioli (Maserati) 26m44.2s 6. Campari (Alfa Romeo) 26m58.2s 7. Dafarra (Bugatti) 28m48.2s 8. Lehoux (Bugatti) 28m35.8s On lap 12 Nuvolari's tenure of the lead came to an end when the left rear tire tread separated from the canvas and he needed to stop at the pits for a replacement. Varzi had to deal with the same problem which was caused by the terrific pace when his left rear tire burst. Arcangeli was now in the lead once more, followed by Borzacchini, Fagioli, Campari and Varzi. On lap 13, Arcangeli was still first, ahead of Borzacchini, Fagioli and Varzi while Nuvolari in fifth place tried to catch fourth position. On the same lap Campari stopped at the pits after his tire thread separated from the canvas, losing one minute to change wheels. At the finish it was Arcangeli first, ahead of Borzacchini, Fagioli and Varzi, who were ready to advance for the final race. Nuvolari, Dafarra, Lehoux and Campari had still another chance in the repêchage.       Scuderia Ferrari had realized during practice that their Pirelli tires would be too unreliable to race and declared they would withdraw their cars. When this was brought to the attention of the highest leadership in Rome, a Government Authority intervened in writing and Alfa Romeo changed their mind. Maserati like many others used Dunlop tires.

Heat 3, over 3000 cc: The spectators did not anticipate heat three with much interest although the biggest cars with unusually large capacity engines were about to do battle. Ernesto Maserati started with his 16-cylinder 300 hp Maserati, in which Borzacchini had won at Tripoli, a car capable of 255 km/h. From America there arrived a 4.2-liter Duesenberg, to be driven by the young Babe Stapp who had driven the car earlier at Altoona without success. There were two large 7.1-liter Mercedes-Benz sports cars, a two-seater SSK driven by Caracciola and a four-seater SS by Caflisch. Ruggeri arrived with an older ex Emilio Materassi Itala. The five cars lined up in one row.

48 E.Maserati Maserati 50 Stapp Duesenberg 52 Caracciola Mercedes-Benz 54 Caflisch Mercedes-Benz 56 Ruggeri Itala

At the 12:30 PM start Ernesto Maserati took an immediate lead. After the first lap it was Maserati in front at some distance from Caracciola and Stapp while further behind were Caflisch and Ruggeri. On the third lap Caracciola and Stapp passed Maserati because he had lost a lot of time after misjudging a corner. Motor Sport reported that Maserati's car left the track. However it was undamaged and was restarted by enthusiastic spectators pushing-starting it. As a result of this, Caracciola could have demanded Maserati's disqualification and thus have won the class, but the German driver with characteristic sportsmanship refused to appeal, an action which was much appreciated by everyone. After five laps Caracciola led at an average speed of 142.180 km/h. 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 14m28.4s 2. Stapp (Duesenberg) 14m43.0s 3. E. Maserati (Maserati) 14m55.2s 4. Caflisch (Mercedes-Benz) 15m29.8s 5. Ruggeri (Itala) 15m39.4s Maserati steadily closed up until he caught Stapp and did a lap in 2m42.4s at 152.090 km/h. On the eighth lap Maserati passed Caracciola to the thunderous applause of the tifosi and improved his previous record lap with a time of 2m41.4s. After the tenth lap Maserati led at 144.697 km/h average speed. In ten laps Maserati had converted a deficit of 27 seconds into a lead of 6 seconds, a time differential of six seconds a lap. 1. E. Maserati (Maserati) 28m27.2s 2. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 28m33.6s 3. Stapp (Duesenberg) 29m16.8s 4. Caflisch (Mercedes-Benz) 31m03.6s 5. Ruggeri (Itala) 31m09.8s The positions remained unchanged until the end, as Caracciola's heavy sports car could not keep up with the faster and better handling Maserati. The gap to Stapp's Duesenberg increased visibly while Caflisch and Ruggeri also fell further behind. Despite his large engine, Maserati's time was slower than the first three cars in the 2-liter race and the first five in the 3-liter race. Slower than two cars which were dispatched to the repêchage! Caflisch and Ruggieri were slower than any of the finishers in the other heats, yet Caflisch went straight into the final. What a travesty!

Repêchage: The repêchage turned out to be a very relaxed matter, with less interest for the spectators who preferred to spend the noon hours taking a lunch break. The race was over seven laps or 48.270 km and gave those drivers a second chance after they had recovered from their problems experienced in one of the prior heat races. Only the fifth to eighth positions in each heat were allowed to participate in the repêchage and from the repêchage itself only the first two finishers would advance to the final. Five cars lined up in numerical order as described by "Tutti in Automobile".

4 Sartorio Maserati 22 Lehoux Bugatti 32 Nuvolari Alfa Romeo 36 Dafarra Bugatti 46 Campari Alfa Romeo

After Turati flagged the start, Nuvolari took the lead followed by Campari, Lehoux, Dafarra and Sartorio. The Algerian Lehoux overtook Campari and Nuvolari, drove two fast laps in front of them who were battling for second place. On the fourth lap the Algerian left the track at one corner without serious consequences of an accident. Motor Sport reported that he went out with gearbox trouble. In the meantime the order changed to Nuvolari, Campari, Dafarra and Sartotio. Nuvolari won ahead of his teammate Campari, who was the only other driver advancing to the final.       Once Lehoux had dropped out, Nuvolari and Campari were under no threat and knew that they would reach the final as long as their cars had no problems. The average winning speed of 89 km/h indicates that they merely cruised to the finish, it was 4 km/h slower than Etancelin in Heat 1. Their only danger was those unreliable Pirellis, but in such a short race and at such a relatively slow speed they held out. If Lehoux had not retired, it would have been an interesting race.

Categoria veturette: The Voiturette Class up to 1100 cc was the last of the preliminaries, a race over 14 laps. The Italian Premoli was favorite with an ex-Morel straight 8-cylinder Salmson while Scaron raced his 6-cyliner Amilcar. Filippo Ardizzone was originally entered to drive the #84 Maserati 26C but in the race this car was driven by Ruggiero Bisighin. From the 27 entries only 16 lined up for the start in numerical order as described by "Tutti in Automobile".

60 Klinger Maserati 64 Macher DKW 66 Premoli Salmson 70 Clerici Salmson 72 Simons DKW 74 Pratesi Salmson 76 Romano Bugatti 80 A. Maserati Maserati 82 Gerardi Amilcar 84 Bisighin Maserati 86 Platè Lombard 88 Dourel Amilcar 92 Bucci Lombard 96 Decaroli Salmson 98 Scaron Amilcar 100 Carnevalli Rally

At the 2:00 PM start, the 16 cars shot away in wild thunder as Premoli took the lead with Clerici in tow. After the first lap Premoli had already established a clear lead ahead of Scaron, Decaroli, Clerici, Dourel, Klinger, Maserati and Carnevalli who stopped at the pits for repairs. Bucci also ran into trouble early on.       On the third lap Premoli was leading Scaron, Decaroli, Clerici, Maserati, Klinger, Dourel, Gerardi, Macher and Simons. Maserati went past Clerici for fourth position. Scaron maintained his second place. Premoli drove the third lap in 3m06.0s at an average of 132.793 km/h. The order remained the same on lap four except that Clerici dropped to seventh place. Carnevalli (Rally) and Bucci (Lombard) were early retirements. After five laps Premoli led at an average speed of 130.630 km/h. 1. Premoli (Salmson) 15m45.4s 2. Scaron (Amilcar) 15m51.6s 3. Decaroli (Salmson 16m30.4s 4. A. Maserati (Maserati) 16m39.2s 5. Klinger (Maserati) 16m41.8s 6. Dourel (Amilcar) 16m46.2s 7. Clerici (Salmson 16m50.8s 8. Macher (DKW) 17m44.8s 9. Platè (Lombard) 17m50.4s 10. Simons (DKW) 17m58.2s 11. Pratesi (Salmson) 18m17.6s 12. Gerardi (Amilcar) 18m36.0s 13. Romano (Bugatti) 18m39.4s 14. Bisighin (Maserati) 19m56.2s At mid-race after seven laps, Premoli led in 22 minutes at an average of 130.982 km/h. He completed the ninth lap in 3m4.2s at 133.945 km/h average, a new record for this class. On the same lap Klinger overhauled Maserati to gain third place. After ten laps Premoli led at 131.660 km/h. Apart from the two DKW's the field was fairly well strung out. 1. Premoli (Salmson) 31m16.0s 2. Scaron (Amilcar) 31m23.4s 3. Klinger (Maserati) 32m54.4s 4. A. Maserati (Maserati) 32m56.6s 5. Dourel (Amilcar) 33m08.2s 6. Clerici (Salmson 33m36.4s 7. Platè (Lombard) 35m02.0s 8. Simons (DKW) 36m00.4s 9. Macher (DKW) 36m00.6s 10. Pratesi (Salmson) 36m07.4s 11. Gerardi (Amilcar) 37m06.2s Before lap 14, Romano (Bugatti), Bisighin (Maserati), Decaroli (Salmson, and Pratesi (Salmson) had retired while Premoli remained in the lead with Scaron never far behind. The regulations provided for the first two voiturettes drivers to advance to the final, provided that they finished at an average above 120 km/h, which they did - easily.

Final: The first four from the three preceding eliminating heats were eligible for the final race, including the first two from the repêchage and from the Gran Premio Vetturette, totaling sixteen cars. Premoli figured he had no chance with his voiturette, so he forfeited his start and there were just 15 cars forming a grid of three rows as shown in a photograph. The two front rows are accurate and von Morgen (Bugatti) in the third row is shown in correct position while the other four drivers have been placed randomly. The spectators were full of anticipation for the final 35-lap race over 240 km looking forward to the Alfa-Maserati battle.

32 Nuvolari Alfa Romeo 54 Caflisch Mercedes-Benz 46 Campari Alfa Romeo 20 Minozzi Bugatti 50 Stapp Duesenberg 52 Caracciola Mercedes-Benz 26 Varzi Maserati 48 E. Maserati Maserati 30 Arcangeli Maserati 10 Pedrazzini Maserati 42 Borzacchini Alfa Romeo 34 Fagioli Maserati 11 Etancelin Bugatti 16 von Morgen Bugatti 98 Scaron Amilcar

The engines came to life for a delayed start at 3:43 PM, then the exhaust roar increased in tone as the Italian Hereditary Prince of Piemont lowered the checkered flag and the 15 cars thundered away. Nuvolari and Campari snatched the immediate lead but at the end of the first lap it was Arcangeli in front, ahead of Nuvolari and Varzi. On lap two von Morgen stopped briefly at the pits. Arcangeli held on to a narrow lead. The rapid action amongst the front drivers caused intense excitement for the tifosi. Nuvolari finally passed Varzi for second place. After 5 laps Arcangeli held the lead at an average speed of 149.720 km/h. So far it was an exciting race as the first three cars were covered by a single second. Could Nuvolari's Pirelli tires possibly last at this speed? Further back, Maserati and Campari were embroiled in another wheel-to-wheel battle, with only a fifth of a second between them. 1. Arcangeli (Maserati) 13m39.0s 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 13m39.4s 3. Varzi (Maserati) 13m40.0s 4. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 13m49.0s 5. Fagioli (Maserati) 13m50.2s 6. E. Maserati (Maserati) 14m01.2s 7. Campari (Alfa Romeo) 14m01.4s 8. Minozzi (Bugatti) 14m09.0s 9. Etancelin (Bugatti) 14m19.0s 10. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 14m30.2s 11. Stapp (Duesenberg) 14m42.4s 12. Pedrazzini (Maserati) 14m54.0s 13. Caflisch (Mercedes-Benz) 15m40.6s 14. Von Morgen (Bugatti) 16m02.8s 15. Scaron (Amilcar) 16m18.6s On the sixth lap Nuvolari arrived at his pit skidding from left to right with his left rear tire having lost the thread section. While he stopped at the pits Campari arrived on lap seven with a shredded tire and then Borzacchini stopped the following lap at the pits with the left rear tire destroyed. As a result Scuderia Ferrari, contracted to race with Pirellis, withdrew their cars since they had no chance with tires that withstood not even a 40 km stretch at this speed and only endangered their drivers. No sooner were the Alfas gone, when von Morgen had a large thread section thrown from his right rear tire in front of the grandstand at top speed. Although the Alfa Romeos had retired, the race had lost little of its excitement and von Morgen also retired as a result of his tire problem. After 10 laps Arcangeli led with an average speed of 149.821. But he could not shake off Varzi who crossed the line almost level with him. With the withdrawal of the Alfas, Alfieri Maserati was now in third place and the race was led by a trio of Maseratis. 1. Arcangeli (Maserati) 27m28.6s 2. Varzi (Maserati) 27m29.0s 3. E. Maserati (Maserati) 27m52.2s 4. Minozzi (Bugatti) 28m19.0s 5. Etancelin (Bugatti) 28m38.4s 6. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 28m53.2s 7. Pedrazzini (Maserati) 29m12.0s 8. Fagioli (Maserati) 29m28.2s 9. Stapp (Duesenberg) 29m29.4s 10. Caflisch (Mercedes-Benz) 31m31.8s 11. Scaron (Amilcar) 32m28.2s On lap 12 Varzi lost 1m50s when he stopped to replace a spark plug, which moved Caracciola up to fifth place, though Varzi repassed him on lap 14. With the Alfas out of the race, Arcangeli slowed his pace down, which enabled Ernesto Maserati to close the gap on the leader from 23 seconds on lap 10 to only 3 seconds on lap 15. After 15 laps Arcangeli maintained first position with an average of 148.649 km/h. 1. Arcangeli (Maserati) 41m32.4s 2. E. Maserati (Maserati) 41m35.2s 3. Minozzi (Bugatti) 42m30.4s 4. Etancelin (Bugatti) 43m00.4s 5. Varzi (Maserati) 43m02.6s 6. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 43m18.8s 7. Pedrazzini (Maserati) 43m20.0s 8. Stapp (Duesenberg) 44m25.4s 9. Fagioli (Maserati) 44m36.2s 10. Caflisch (Mercedes-Benz) 47m25.4s 11. Scaron (Amilcar) 48m39.2s Varzi steadily moved closer towards the leading group, recouping lost time from his pit stop. On lap 17 the Swiss Pedrazzini lost his left rear wheel at high speed. Although he brought the car to a safe stop, his race was over. After the completion of 20 laps, more than half distance, Arcangeli had averaged 148.882 km/h. 1. Arcangeli (Maserati) 55m18.0s 2. E. Maserati (Maserati) 55m23.2s 3. Varzi (Maserati) 56m20.4s 4. Minozzi (Bugatti) 56m38.2s 5. Etancelin (Bugatti) 57m17.2s 6. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 57m46.4s 7. Fagioli (Maserati) 58m25.2s 8. Stapp (Duesenberg) 59m27.0s 9. Caflisch (Mercedes-Benz) 1h03m34.4s 10. Scaron (Amilcar) 1h05m41.0s The positions remained the same except that Fagioli overtook Caracciola, whose supercharger had quit working on lap 25. Fagioli and Caracciola had been lapped once while Stapp, Caflisch and Scaron had fallen several laps behind. After the twenty-fifth lap Arcangeli held the lead with an average speed of 149.281 km/h. Varzi continued to eat away at Arcangeli's lead. On lap 15 he had been a minute and a half behind, but in 10 laps he had cut this deficit in half. At that rate he would only need another 10 laps to catch the leader and there were exactly 10 more laps to be run. No doubt the more attentive spectators were beginning to get excited. 1. Arcangeli (Maserati) 1h08m56.4s 2. E. Maserati (Maserati) 1h08m59.8s 3. Varzi (Maserati) 1h09m41.2s 4. Minozzi (Bugatti) 1h10m54.4s 5. Etancelin (Bugatti) 1h11m34.4s 6. Fagioli (Maserati) 1h12m04.0s 7. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 1h12m42.4s 8. Stapp (Duesenberg) 1h14m32.2s 9. Caflisch (Mercedes-Benz) 1h19m45.4s 10. Scaron (Amilcar) 1h21m42.0s For the next five laps the procession of the ten remaining drivers did not change. But what now captured the attention of the spectators was Varzi's never stopping progress. He had been driving really fast, continuously catching up and after 30 laps was only 16 seconds behind Ernesto Maserati in the 16-cylinder car. Would Varzi be able to catch up with Maserati and possibly also with Arcangeli in first place? 1. Arcangeli (Maserati) 1h22m31.0s 2. E. Maserati (Maserati) 1h22m34.0s 3. Varzi (Maserati) 1h22m50.0s 4. Minozzi (Bugatti) 1h25m06.0s 5. Etancelin (Bugatti) 1h25m47.0s 6. Fagioli (Maserati) 7. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 8. Stapp (Duesenberg) 9. Caflisch (Mercedes-Benz) 10. Scaron (Amilcar) The suspense increased tremendously during the last laps while Varzi continuously reduced the advantage to Maserati and Arcangeli. In these last five laps Varzi demonstrated once more his great desire to win. On lap 33 he passed Maserati and moved into second place with only two more laps to go. On the last lap near the very end Varzi caught up with Arcangeli who had led since the beginning. The crowd went raving mad as the ruthless Varzi went past, beating Arcangeli by a few car lengths. The enthusiastic crowd climbed the barricades and invaded the course. Caracciola was the last to finish and only with strong braking maneuvers was he able to avoid the crowd. Babe Stapp was stopped one lap from the end. The track was crowded with tifosi and the last two finishers also had to be stopped. The tifosi celebrated the victorious Varzi, carried him on their shoulders, while Arcangeli, broken down, cried in terrible disappointment. One wonders if the Maserati pit was informing Arcangeli of Varzi's progress. If they weren't, he should have been venting his emotions on them.

Liefeldt wins minor event with an Austro Daimler

The first Lwów Grand Prix was a minor event with only local drivers taking part. Liefeldt (Austro Daimler) led most of the race to win followed by Potocki (Bugatti). Ripper (Bugatti) finished third despite three stops to fix the engine.

The first Lwów Grand Prix for cars and motorcycles was arranged by the Małopolski Klub Automobilowy (MKA) in Lwów. Apart from the Grand Prix the event included motorcycle races as well as road races for cars and motorcycles. A 3.041 km long circuit was selected in the center of the city that would be a combination of long and short straights and fast and tight curves. The start/finish line was at the Pełczyńska Street. After some 600 m the track took a double right turn at Świętej Zofii square, then continued upwards through the winding Stryjska Street, turned in on Kadecka Street and continued downwards and then after a sharp bend returned to Pełczyńska Street. The difference between the lowest and highest point of the track was 55 m. There were 19 curves, 8 left and 11 right-handers. The largest turn radius was 425 m, the tightest only 10 m. Parts of the streets had tram rails.       While without experience for arranging such an event the organizers put a great effort to get everything right: ambulances, fire brigade, communications, loudspeakers, parking places, time keeping, even a car with a magneto to pick up nails from the streets! As the course was bordered by houses, lamp-posts and trees, 322 tons of sand was used for the protecting sand bags. Seven posts and nine telephones were installed at the most dangerous places for immediate communication in case of any accidents. Aware of the fatal crash during the Dauphine GP the organizers tried to reduce the threat of wheels slipping on the tram rails by pouring an asphalt mixture over the tram rails for each session and then removing it again once the session was over.       A grand stand for 3000 spectators was built on Pełczyńska Street and opposite it another one for 500 people. A spectator bridge across the road was also built.       7,000 zloty was awarded to the winner of the racing car class. The entry fee for the participants was 40 zloty and the last entry time 6 p.m. on September 6th.

Entries: There were hopes that Hans Stuck would take part with his Austro Daimler but in the end the German hill climb champion decided to take part at the Ecce-Homo hill climb at Sternberg instead.       In the end the entry list for the race class included only five local drivers, 1927 and 1928 Polish champion Henryk Liefeldt with an ex-Stuck race model of the Austro Daimler ADM and four Bugatti drivers: Antoni Heller with a T35B (#4925), a former 1928 works car owned and entered by Edward Zawidowski, Count Maurycy Potocki (who had become Polish champion on 7 September by winning the road race) with a T35B (#4932), ex Stanislaw Szwarcsztajn, 1929 Polish champion Jan Ripper in a T37A (#37329) and Franciszek Mycielski also with a T37A (#37281).

Practice: Practice was at 4 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Despite the early time some 5000 spectators turned up for the Saturday session making it a challenge for the organizers, who had to call up additional security measures. Only seven cars in total for the three classes took part in the session. With Liefeldt and Ripper not yet present the fastest Saturday time in the race class went to Potocki followed by Heller, and Mycielski. At 7 p.m. in the evening the race numbers and grid positions were drawn.       The results of Sunday practice are not known. The rest of that morning was dedicated to the Miedzynarodowy Wyscig Szosowy we Lwowie road race for motorcycles and cars.

Race: The event was opened at 1:40 p.m. and at 2 o'clock the first race, a 7 lap race for touring cars, was flagged away. It was won by Marja Kozmianowa in an Austro-Daimler. At 2:40 p.m. it was time for the race class with its five competitors lined up like this:

3 Mycielski Bugatti 2 Ripper Bugatti 1 Liefeldt Austro Daimler 5 Potocki Bugatti 4 Heller Bugatti

Potocki made the best start from the second row to take lead of the race followed by Liefeldt, Ripper, Heller and Mycielski. However halfway through the lap Liefeldt already passed Potocki to take over the lead. Liefeldt's second lap proved to be the fastest in the race with a time of 2m12.1s. At the end of the second lap Ripper due to engine trouble made an over two minute long pit stop, possibly to change plugs and hellback to fifth position. On the seventh lap Heller crashed his Bugatti against a cast iron lamp pillar at Stryjska Street. Heller was unharmed, but a damaged wheel forced him to abandon the race. Race order: Liefeldt, Potocki, Mycielski, Ripper       Liefeldt, who already had opened up a 10 second gap to Potocki, continued to put in laps around 2m15s. Ripper made a second pit stop while Mycielski was really struggling, having already been lapped by race leader Liefeldt as well as by Potocki.       Ripper made a third fast stop. He had been lapped by Liefeldt and Potocki. On the 12th lap Aacording to Atoyan's book Ripper went wide after the downhill section at Kadecka Street and missed the right turn to Pełczyńska Street, having to turn round at Kopernika Street losing another 8.5 seconds. Still a lap table (with thanks to A. Jakubaszek) shows that he had managed to pass Mycielski for third position during that lap.       On the last laps Liefeldt and Potocki lapped Mycielski for a second time. Liefeldt took the flag to win the race 13.55s in front of Potocki with Ripper third and Mycielski last.       The race was followed by motor cycle races and a 10 lap sports car race won by Tadeusz Skolimowski (Alfa Romeo 6C-1750).