A bold von Morgen defeates the works Alfa Romeos at their last appearance.

The inaugural event at Czechoslovakia's new 29.142 km Masaryk-Ring was the first big circuit race ever held in the country. Thirty international entries were split into two groups, racecars above 1500 cc and up to 1500 cc, which raced concurrently. This event turned out to be quite exciting and did not lack any dramatic moments. Caracciola's Mercedes-Benz took an early first place pursued relentlessly by the Bugatti of von Morgen, who later took the lead. Soon thereafter Caracciola's engine broke. Doré flipped his 1500 Bugatti in a very serious crash. When difficulties arose with the engine of von Morgen's Bugatti, he exchanged cars with teammate Leiningen. As a result, Morgen lost a full lap while Leiningen, in Morgen's car, would keep the lead for a long time. After Nuvolari's Alfa Romeo broke down, he took over teammate Borzacchini's car and was able to gain first place only after Leiningen retired von Morgen's worn out Bugatti. Nuvolari then held a comfortable lead but the Alfa was overheating. In a heroic drive von Morgen outfoxed everyone and finished first in Leiningen's car, which was made easy when Nuvolari's Alfa ran out of water just nine kilometers from the end. The Italian finally crawled over the finish line in fourth place with a steaming car. After seven successful years it was the swan-song for the Alfa Romeo P2. The Bugattis of Burggaller and Count Hardegg finished second and third.

After organizing various hill climb events since 1920 in Czechoslovakia, it was impossible to predict if these once so popular short mountain events would survive in the 1930s. The trend of the times and natural development led in the direction of closed road circuits. The brief visibility of the cars in hill climbs was no longer satisfactory and spectators were losing interest and demanding more. So the new Masaryk Circuit replaced the traditional Brno-Sobesice hill climb, which was held for the last time in 1929. The intent was to be on the same level as other famous races like Le Mans, Spa, San Sebastian or Nürburgring. Czechoslovakia would have its own Grand Prix like France, Italy, Belgium, Spain or Germany.       The inaugural race on the Masarykuv okruh (Masaryk Circuit) was successfully organized by the CAMS or Ceskoslovensky Automobilovy Klub pro Moravu a Slezsko (Czechoslovakian Automobile Club for Moravia and Silesia) with offices in the large town of Brno. The circuit, first called Brno-Ring, was named after Czechoslovakia's popular first Minister-President, Thomas Garrigue Masaryk. Because the challenge trophy carried Masaryk's name, the event gained significance of the highest order and was the greatest motor sport event the Czechoslovakian Republic had ever seen. The circuit was just outside the borders of Brno and went counterclockwise. The first 18 km up to the village of Ostrovacice were formed primarily of winding, hilly, rather narrow district roads, leading through forested areas and four other villages. From there the circuit turned back and the last 11 km were almost all wide, straight state roads and not at all romantic which allowed driving at top speed.       In January 1930, the circuit length was stated as 29.212 km but after being re-measured in June, the CAMS fixed the length at 29.142 km (Note 1). The improvements and preparation of these roads had taken more than a year and had cost millions of Koruny. The old dusty thoroughfares in Novy Liskovec, Pisarky outside Brno, Kohoutovice and Zebetin were paved. These district roads received the greatest changes. They were widened to almost 7 m and to 9 m in the dangerous corners. The circuit, with 36 left-hand corners and 47 to the right, was in excellent, dust free condition with a maximum incline of 7% and a maximum decline of 9.5%. Special grandstands were built, from which the drivers could be seen up to 7 km away. In June, when the circuit was still under construction, the experts estimated that the more powerful cars should be able to attain an average of 100 km/h. The circuit had to be lapped 17 times, bringing the total length of the race to 494.414 km.       The overall winner was to receive 80,000 Koruny, the second 40,000, and the third 20,000. Additionally, for the first three in each group, there were prizes of 15,000, 10,000 and 5,000 Koruny. Besides these high monetary awards a great number of special prizes were donated. One was the Junek Memorial Prize for the best seventh lap time, another, the CAMS prize for the best race time of the cars up to 1100cc.

Entries: In June the organizers announced that the official race numbers would be determined in the order of entries received. The race classes were in accordance with AIACR regulations: Group A up to 1500cc and group B over 1500cc. The final entry consisted of 19 large and 21 small cars. It was hoped that all of them would arrive for the race. Three additional entries did not appear, Lukáš Oto driving a "Z", the Berliner Hans Simons with a DKW and from Austria Prince Ferdinand Andreas von und zu Liechtenstein in a Bugatti.       Local hero Dr. Otakar Bittmann was a famous gynecologist, living close to the circuit in Brno. He had acquired his Bugatti T35C after Vincenz Junek's 1928 fatal accident. Following this event, Bittmann planned to retire from racing. The good looking Tunal Karel Divišek, owner of a Brno driving school, was particularly popular with the ladies. He was a member of the "Z"-team, which was part of a large Brno armaments factory, building also cars. Divišek was entrusted with one of their 1096cc four-cylinder supercharged two-stroke racing cars. It was also planned to race their latest design, another two-stroke but with a 1492cc eight-cylinder engine. Actually, it was a double piston four-cylinder with advancing suction piston, similar to the Zoller principle. This car, however, was so badly crashed on the last day of practice, that it had to be withdrawn. That left only the four-cylinder for Divišek, but on the day of the race it was Ernst Procházka at the start with Divišek as reserve driver. From Prague started "Hýta", who in reality was the wealthy Prince Georg Christian Lobkovicz, and Miloš Bondy, both in Bugattis. The Prager Tagblatt reported that Bondy overturned his car during Saturday practice and was lucky to escape uninjured though the car required repair. The excellent technician Jindřich Knapp, also from Prague, arrived with a 3.3-liter six-cylinder Walter. The Walter factory in Prague manufactured motorcycles, automobiles and aero-engines. They had their own racing team, but from the three cars entered, only Knapp's arrived at the start. The Masaryk Circuit race was to end Josef Veřmiřovský 's long career as the top driver for Tatra. His Type 52 was a new design, with a previously seen central tubular frame and a new air-cooled 2-liter flat four-cylinder engine. The car looked similar to the successful two-cylinder racing cars and raced with its headlights in place. It was so slow that it had absolutely no chance against the Bugattis or Alfas. Of the six Wikov cars entered in the small class, four made the start. These were heavy with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and were driven by the factory drivers Adolf Szczyzycki and Jaroslav Konečnik. Other Wikov drivers were Georg Kremel and the engineer Jiři Weinfurter. A team of three Belgian Impéria cars was also entered. The engineer Jiři Tacheci was the local representative for this company, driving a factory racing car with a 2-liter six-cylinder slide-valve Knight-engine. Another local was the independent Ján Kubiček with the Ex-Junek/Ex-Horak Bugatti T35B, which he had acquired in 1929. His car equipped with four cycle-type wings over the wheels.       Daimler-Benz entered their contracted driver Rudolf Caracciola with the fast Mercedes-Benz SSK. He had a good chance of winning and was one of the favorites. The weekend before, Caracciola had won the sports car class at the Swab hill climb in Hungary. For the Brno race the car was changed over to race car trim but the hill climb gear ratio was not altered. The newly formed German Bugatti Team arrived complete, with Heinrich Joachim von Morgen, Prinz Hermann zu Leiningen and Ernst Günther Burggaller. Another German, the 40 year old engineer Kurt Volkhart, was to race his white 1.5-liter Bugatti for the last time. He was well known ever since he had demonstrated a rocket car at the Nürburgring in 1929. The Masaryk race would conclude his short racing career. The DKW engineer Gerhard Macher from Berlin arrived with the fragile 1000 cc DKW two-stroke racing car. Albert Kandt concluded the German delegation. He was leading a team of four tiny 743 cc BMW Wartburgs. These cars were given an additional 60 minutes to complete the race once the overall victor had passed the finish line, while 45 minutes time allowance was granted for all other cars.       There were three Austrian drivers. The young Count Maximilian "Miki" zu Hardegg von Settenberg raced his yellow 1.5-liter Bugatti. Engelbert Count von Arco-Zinneberg drove his supercharged Amilcar while his famous older brother Max took care of his pit business. Oskar Frankl from Vienna was the older brother of the better known Emil. He drove one of the tiny BMW's. Belgian Willy Longueville and Frenchman Michel Doré both drove 1.5-liter Bugattis. The champion Doré was now at the top of his career. With his Bugatti T37A he had been fifth in Monaco and third in the Marne Grand Prix. Both times he had placed his 1.5-liter among the big cars.       Last but not least were the Italians of the Scuderia Ferrari with two of the modified red Alfa Romeo P2's. Tazio Nuvolari was very well known and just his presence was assurance that the race would remain honest. His teammate Baconin Borzacchini was not as fast but better placements in the Coppa Ciano and Coppa Acerbo had made him the more successful driver. He had raced the P2 Alfa for the first time three weeks before at Monza.

Race: Sunday, September 28 was cool and dry. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 spectators surrounded the long circuit. Loudspeakers were in place in the grandstand area to keep the crowd continuously informed about the changing situation of the race. A single driver change during the race was allowed under supervision of a sporting commissioner. In the small class Divišek's 8-cylinder "Z" broke down during practice and he was assigned as the reserve driver for Prochazka in the smaller "Z" two-stroke car. Zu Leiningen and von Morgen had agreed to be each other's reserve driver. Additionally Leiningen signed up as reserve for Burggaller. At the last moment Nuvolari and Borzacchini signed up as well to be each other's reserve driver. The cars assembled on the grid in order of the official race numbers. The starting grids have been verified with the help of five photographs. The odd placed number18 car was clearly shown on the right side of the grid. It could not be established accurately which of the drivers used a riding mechanic during the race. The official rules had barred riding mechanics since the year 1925. Photographs of the start don't show enough detail, but two occupants evidently were sitting in Bittmann's Bugatti. One picture shows Caracciola in the SSK, probably during practice, with an unidentifiable passenger, which could have been Alfred Neubauer. Another photo of the starting grid shows Nuvolari in his Alfa Romeo with possibly Alfredo Caniato next to his car as potential riding mechanic.

2 "Hýta" Bugatti 4 Bondy Bugatti 6 Bittmann Bugatti 8 Kubiček Bugatti 10 Caracciola Mercedes-Benz 12 Knapp Walter 22 Tacheci Impéria 18 Veřmiřovský Tatra 26 Burggaller Bugatti 28 von Morgen Bugatti 30 zu Leiningen Bugatti 32 Nuvolari Alfa Romeo 34 Borzacchini Alfa Romeo 36 Longueville Bugatti

The grandstand was filled to capacity. Opposite stood the huge scoreboards above the wooden pits. Nuvolari and Borzacchini with their Alfa Romeos were the favorites thereafter Caracciola with the Mercedes. Von Morgen in the Bugatti was given an outside chance.       At exactly 10 o'clock the 14 group one cars were sent away. Amid the din of the engines Caracciola stormed immediately into the lead. After three minutes the flag went down a second time for the 16 drivers of the small cars.

40 Weinfurter Wikov 44 Konečnik Wikov 46 Szczyzycki Wikov 50 Horák Amilcar 52 Procházka "Z" 54 Kremel Wikov 58 Doré Bugatti 60 Ostermuth Amilcar 62 Hardegg Bugatti 64 Arco-Zinneberg Amilcar 66 Macher DKW 68 Kandt BMW 70 Hausleutner BMW 72 Mach BMW 74 Volkhart Bugatti 80 Frankl BMW

Twelve minutes after the big cars had started the loudspeaker announced that Caracciola, Nuvolari and von Morgen had passed Ostrovacice almost simultaneously. The cars were now on the fast, 11 kilometer long, return leg of the circuit. Finally after 15m27.2s Caracciola blasted past the pits. Another 14.2 seconds later von Morgen came past with Nuvolari a further 14 seconds behind. There was a long interval of 47 seconds to Borzacchini and a similar gap to Burggaller, who was trailed by Leiningen, "Hýta", Longueville, Bondy, Bittmann, Knapp, Veřmiřovský, Kubiček and Tacheci. Just 25.3 seconds after Tacheci's Impéria, the French ace Doré appeared, leader of the small group, with a lap of 17m39.7s. That time would have been fast enough to position him in front of the sixth placed Bugatti of Leiningen, if they had started at the same time. The 1500 cc class, Group B, progress is mentioned at the end of this report while the order of Group A is shown at five laps intervals and also after the first three laps. 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 15m27.2s 2. Morgen (Bugatti) 15m41.4s 3. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 15m55.4s 4. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 16m42.4s 5. Burggaller (Bugatti) 17m26.8s 6. Leiningen (Bugatti) 17m39.9s 7. "Hýta" (Bugatti) 17m45.3s 8. Longueville (Bugatti) 18m16.9s 9. Bondy (Bugatti) 18m29.5s 10. Bittmann (Bugatti) 18m33.1s 11. Knapp (Walter) 18m41.5s 12. Veřmiřovský (Tatra) 19m38.7s 13. Kubiček (Bugatti) 20m10.1s 14. Tacheci (Impéria) 20m14.4s After the second lap the leading trio remained the same. Caracciola's white Mercedes-Benz SSK led Morgen's white Bugatti by 13.8 seconds pursued by Nuvolari's red Alfa Romeo another 9.2 seconds behind. Nuvolari had driven the fastest lap so far in 15m09.3s. There was an unbelievably long interval of over three minutes to the rest of the field, lead by Burggaller, then Leiningen, "Hýta", Bondy, Longueville, Bittmann, Knapp, then Doré in the little 1500cc Bugatti from Group B chased past and finally Borzacchini. He had fallen back since he was the first to stop briefly at the pits while the Alfa Romeo received new spark plugs and eventually rejoined in eleventh place. Tacheci, Kubiček, and Vermirovsky followed going into the third lap. The total times and lap times after two laps were as follows: 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 30m41.7s 15m14.5s lap time 2. Morgen (Bugatti) 30m55.5s 15m14.1s 3. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 31m34.7s 15m09.3s 4. Burggaller (Bugatti) 34m26.4s 16m59.6s 5. Leiningen (Bugatti) 34m44.8s 17m04.9s 6. "Hýta" (Bugatti) 35m04.2s 17m08.9s 7. Bondy (Bugatti) 36m11.1s 17m41.6s 8. Longueville (Bugatti) 36m20.5s 18m03.6s 9. Bittmann (Bugatti) 36m44.8s 18m11.7s 10. Knapp (Walter) 36m49.7s 18m08.2s 11. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 37m16.6s 20m34.2s 12. Tacheci (Impéria) 39m19.9s 19m05.5s 13. Kubiček (Bugatti) 39m34.6s 19m24.5s 14. Veřmiřovský (Tatra) 40m35.5s 20m56.8s On lap three Veřmiřovský had to retire his slow Tatra with a broken gearbox. The leaders were close together. While Caracciola had maintained his speed, the second and third cars had been driven faster than the leader. Von Morgen established a new lap record of 15m01.1s and was only 1.1 seconds behind the Mercedes as they passed the grandstand. Nuvolari also put in a very fast lap and was trailing von Morgen by only 10.4 seconds. After an interval of 5m05s Burggaller arrived leading the rest of the field, which started to separate. Dr. Bittmann brought his Bugatti into the pits to change spark plugs. He lost so much time that he fell back to last place. Veřmiřovský retired with a broken gearbox. Hausleutner stopped his tiny BMW at the pits with carburetor problems and returned to the race after a quick fix. Morgen's nimble Bugatti had the problem of overtaking Caracciola's heavy, unwieldy Mercedes. The times after three laps were: 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 45m56.3s 15m14.6s lap time 2. Morgen (Bugatti) 45m57.4s 15m01.1s 3. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 46m07.8s 15m03.1s 4. Burggaller (Bugatti) 51m12.8s 16m46.4s On lap four, Michel Doré crashed his Bugatti after leading the small class in superior style. In the village of Kohoutovice, just over three miles after the start, his car swerved in a corner, turned over and smashed into one of the many trees. The unconscious young Frenchman had to be rescued from the wreck and was transported to the Brno hospital. He remained there in life threatening condition with a broken pelvis and serious internal injuries. Several weeks later he recuperated and was eventually released from hospital in November. This accident practically ended Doré's driving career. Count Hardegg then took over the lead of Group B and maintained an even pace until the end. Longueville crashed his Bugatti, when his car did not make it through the very fast left hand bend near km 24. However, the Frenchman escaped without injuries.       At the end of the fourth lap there was still no change in the lead. For quite a while von Morgen had been trying to pass Caracciola who used the entire width of the road to make it around the corners. Both Germans were chased by Nuvolari's red Alfa Romeo, with Burggaller and Leiningen trailing behind.       Lap five brought two variations in the hot battle for the lead. Von Morgen finally found a way past the inflexible Caracciola. After five laps the Bugatti was 10.4 seconds ahead of the Mercedes. Nuvolari arrived 1m44s later, his Alfa now in trouble. Both car and driver were covered with oil from top to bottom. The P2 was eliminated with a cracked crank case and clutch problems. Then Burggaller came past the pits over eight minutes behind the leader. He was followed by Leiningen and Borzacchini who had been stuck in ninth place within a group of cars, but had worked himself up to sixth. Next arrived Bondy, Knapp, Tacheci, Kubiček and Bittmann. "Hýta" had fallen to last place because a magneto problem kept him stranded on the circuit for several laps. His predicament was not known at that time by the officials until he appeared again several laps later. "Hýta's" unique lap time could of course only be registered after his opponents had advanced several laps further on and his disappearance had been viewed as retirement. Burggaller had a lengthy pit stop which benefited Leiningen and Borzacchini. Von Morgen was steadily pulling away from Caracciola. The order after five laps was: 1. Morgen (Bugatti) 1h16m14.2s 15m02.9s lap time 2. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 1h16m24.6s 15m14.7s 3. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 1h18m08.6s 16m50.4s 4. Burggaller (Bugatti) 1h24m46.0s 16m38.4s 5. Leiningen (Bugatti) 1h25m46.4s 16m49.3s 6. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 1h28m37.8s 15m32.3s 7. Bondy (Bugatti) 1h29m33.1s 17m47.1s 8. Knapp (Walter) 1h29m49.5s 17m40.7s 9. Tacheci (Impéria) 1h35m36.9s 18m41.4s 10. Kubiček (Bugatti) 1h37m36.8s 18m58.9s 11. Bittmann (Bugatti) 1h43m15.1s 18m01.0s 12. "Hýta" (Bugatti) 2h53m37.9s 1h44m05.7s After six laps von Morgen was still leading Caracciola and Leiningen. No changes took place during the seventh lap but at the end of lap seven, Morgen lost five minutes when he stopped at his depot for new wheels and gasoline. He told his crew that his engine no longer worked properly. The order on lap six and seven remained the same: 1. Morgen (Bugatti) 2. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 3. Leiningen (Bugatti) 4. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 5. Burggaller (Bugatti) 6. Bondy (Bugatti) 7. Knapp (Walter) 8. Tacheci (Impéria) 9. Kubiček (Bugatti) 10. Bittmann (Bugatti) 11. "Hýta" (Bugatti) At the beginning of lap eight, Caracciola gained first place while Morgen lost five minutes in the pits. The Mercedes would definitely have to stop for tires next time around but Caracciola did not get that far. AUTOMOBIL-REVUE stated that in one of the many corners his car swerved suddenly and the heavy SSK turned over and Caracciola got away without a scratch. After a brief investigation at the scene of the accident he had to give up and parked the car at a branch-road intersection. (This sounds as if he didn't catch it just in time! But would it cause the car to 'swerve suddenly'? It sounds as if driver error was the specific cause of retirement rather than engine failure.) A-Z Motorwelt instead reported that Caracciola had used the same mountain gear ratio with which he had won the Svab hill climb in Hungary the week before and therefore over-revved the engine on the long straights of the Masaryk Circuit to stay ahead of von Morgen's hounding Bugatti. The engine finally expired. In a telegram to Untertürkheim the following day Alfred Neubauer gave bearing failure as the reason for retirement.       After eight laps Morgen was leading Borzacchini by eight minutes, followed by Leiningen, Burggaller, Bondy, Knapp, Tacheci, Kubiček, Bittmann, and "Hýta". The leader briefly stopped at the pits, as did Borzacchini. In the Alfa Romeo pit there was excitement and shouting. White steam from the car was evidence that the Alfa Romeo was running hot. Most others stopped now at mid-race. After eight laps the order was: 1. Morgen (Bugatti) 2. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 3. Leiningen (Bugatti) 4. Burggaller (Bugatti) 5. Bondy (Bugatti) 6. Knapp (Walter) 7. Tacheci (Impéria) 8. Kubiček (Bugatti) 9. Bittmann (Bugatti) 10. "Hýta" (Bugatti) At the completion of the ninth lap, Morgen was leading Leiningen by over two minutes followed by Borzacchini, now four minutes behind the leader. In fourth place came the steady Burggaller with almost a five minute gap to Bondy, followed by Knapp, Tacheci, Kubiček, and Bittmann. "Hýta" had fallen several laps behind with no chance to be counted. With nine laps completed, the situation was as follows: 1. Morgen (Bugatti) 2h29m45.8s 20m49.0s lap time 2. Leiningen (Bugatti) 2h31m53.2s 16m07.9s 3. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 2h33m37.8s 18m39.6s 4. Burggaller (Bugatti) 2h36m01.5s 17m04.8s 5. Bondy (Bugatti) 2h40m54.1s 18m03.8s 6. Knapp (Walter) 2h41m46.4s 17m44.1s 7. Tacheci (Impéria) 2h49m10.8s 18m21.0s 8. Kubiček (Bugatti) 2h54m52.2s 19m07.5s 9. Bittmann (Bugatti) 2h58m02.1s 22m03.8s 10. "Hýta" (Bugatti) 4h04m50.9s 18m16.8s Besides the 10 large cars there were still 13 of the small group running. At the end of lap nine, Morgen stopped again at his pit. No work was done to the car, instead there was a brief exchange of words and he rejoined the race. His lap time of over 20 minutes on the previous lap was very much slower than before. Then two minutes later Leiningen pulled up with his Bugatti for new wheels and fuel. The car was ready to go but Leiningen made no attempts to continue and then sat relaxed on the pit counter. When Borzacchini arrived, he stopped at his pit to quickly fill up with water while columns of steam emitted from the radiator. All this happened with much shouting and excitement. He joined the race in second place since Leiningen had still not got into his car. Soon the loudspeakers announced that Borzacchini had made another stop on the circuit. As time passed on, Leiningen was still not moving and spectators thought he had given up.       At the end of lap ten Morgen was back with a surprisingly good lap time. He jumped out of his car straight into Leiningen's waiting Bugatti and rushed away. Morgen had left his leading car for his friend, Prince zu Leiningen, who chased right after him. The Prince had only seven laps to do in Morgen's Bugatti whilst Morgen in Leiningen's car had to cover eight laps. Von Morgen knew that the murderous pace had left its mark on his Bugatti. He realized that his apparently weakened engine would not make it to the end. Therefore, he had switched cars, so much for his 'present' to his friend. In spite of a one-lap handicap against an overheating Alfa Romeo, he figured he had a chance to win. A fierce fight for the lead had started, which was to last till the end of the race. The entire field of cars showed signs of severe wear. Bittmann's Bugatti, already one lap behind, had been in for a messy fuel stop at his depot. He started to hasten away when the car began to backfire from under the hood. After a few yards, the Bugatti came to a stop still backfiring, a flame ignited the fuel fumes, jumped from the carburetor to the fuel soaked tail and the car was on fire. Bittmann and his riding mechanic jumped out of the burning car and after a moment of absolute inactivity, fire extinguishers were brought into action, one after the other. After the smoke clouds had drifted away, it then became evident that the fire department had done such an 'efficient' job that the car was rendered useless and Bittmann retired.       With the completion of 11 laps, Leiningen drove past the pits with a lap time of 19m08.7s. Next to arrive was second placed Borzacchini, who stopped at the depot. Nuvolari wanted to drive again, so he approached Borzacchini and asked him if he could take over. Borzacchini could not deny his friend and the fresh and rested Nuvolari rushed away in Borzacchini's Alfa Romeo to attack Leiningen in the ailing Bugatti, who was now six minutes ahead of him. The smooth driving Burggaller was over three minutes behind Nuvolari. Morgen in fourth place was more than eight minutes behind the Italian Champion. Morgen's lap time of 16m44.0s was faster than that of Nuvolari. He had made up over one minute on the Alfa. With only six laps to go, would it be possible for Morgen to catch the Alfa Romeo? These four leading drivers were followed by the first Czechoslovakian car, which was Knapp's Walter. Tacheci, Kubiček, and Bondy, already lapped came next. "Hýta" in a hopeless position for any prize was last. At the end of lap 11 Morgen was now almost a quarter of an hour - the best part of a whole lap - behind Leiningen! 1. Leiningen in Morgen's (Bugatti) 3h04m24.2s 19m08.7s lap time 2. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 3h10m11.8s 18m06.7s 3. Burggaller (Bugatti) 3h13m34.6s 17m06.2s 4. Morgen in Leiningen's (Bugatti) 3h18m25.8s 16m44.0s 5. Knapp (Walter) 3h21m42.3s 21m59.2s 6. Tacheci (Impéria) 3h28m50.9s 18m27.7s 7. Kubiček (Bugatti) 3h37m22.6s 19m00.5s 8. Bondy (Bugatti) 3h42m13.7s 42m33.7s 9. "Hýta" (Bugatti) 4h45m39.5s 18m57.2s On lap 12 it seemed that Morgen was catching up with the leader. His time on the previous lap had been about 2 minutes 25 seconds faster. Leiningen was still driving at a good speed while Nuvolari did not drive very fast. At the end of the twelfth lap, Knapp retired his 3.3-liter Walter with a broken oil line while in fifth place. This heavy car had been the fastest Czechoslovakian machine.       After 13 laps, Leiningen was still over five minutes ahead of Nuvolari, who caught up a bit by doing a lap in 15m38.5s. In third place was Burggaller just over four minutes behind the Italian. Morgen had lost valuable time by replacing his brake shoes and had fallen ten minutes behind Nuvolari and was still almost a quarter of an hour behind Leiningen! Tacheci's Impéria and Kubiček's Bugatti had been lapped once, Bondy's Bugatti lapped twice and "Hýta" was way back. At the end of lap 13 the order was: 1. Leiningen in Morgen's (Bugatti) 3h38m34.6s 17m14.1s lap time 2. Nuvolari in Borzacchini's (Alfa Romeo) 3h43m55.3s 15m38.5s 3. Burggaller (Bugatti) 3h48m02.9s 17m15.4s 4. Morgen in Leiningen's (Bugatti) 3h53m25.4s 19m40.9s 5. Tacheci (Impéria) 4h05m42.6s 18m20.8s 6. Kubiček (Bugatti) 4h17m23.8s 20m44.2s 7. Bondy (Bugatti) 4h20m42.1s 19m19.3s 8. "Hýta" (Bugatti) 5h24m21.4s 19m17.1s On lap 14, Nuvolari was able to maintain his speed but had to stop again for water. Morgen made a good lap in 15m08s which enabled him to make up another minute. But it was not enough with only three laps remaining and there was now little chance for the German to catch the Alfa Romeo.       At the end of the next lap, Leiningen was still out in front just over five minutes ahead of Nuvolari. The German wanted to give up but his team in the pits convinced him to carry on. Nuvolari also made a short stop to top up water for his ailing Alfa Romeo. Between the Italian and the third car of Burggaller was a gap of over three minutes. Despite time gained by the Alfa's pit stop and another murderous lap of 15m10.6s, von Morgen was still 4¾ minutes behind Nuvolari. Tacheci, already one lap behind the leader, retired his Impéria with a defective cooling fan. Thus Kubiček and Bondy gained fifth and sixth place, respectively, with "Hýta" last. With 15 laps completed the situation looked as follows: 1. Leiningen in Morgen's (Bugatti) 4h13m48.0s 17m30.8s lap time 2. Nuvolari in Borzacchini's (Alfa Romeo) 4h19m00.2s 18m57.6s 3. Burggaller (Bugatti) 4h22m29.7s 17m15.3s 4. Morgen in Leiningen's (Bugatti) 4h23m44.3s 15m10.6s 5. Tacheci (Impéria) 4h43m16.6s 19m42.2s 6. Kubiček (Bugatti) 4h55m42.1s 19m06.3s 7. Bondy (Bugatti) 5h00m49.6s 20m57.8s On the 16th and second to last lap, Leiningen finally gave up when the worn-out Bugatti broke down. Morgen's foreboding six laps prior had then really proved true. The Alfa Romeo was now in the lead followed by Burggaller's Bugatti. Von Morgen, driving at his fastest possible pace, caught up with Burgaller and passed him to take second place. After 16 laps Nuvolari led von Morgen by 4m11.3s. The screaming crowd in the grandstand was carried away in excitement when they saw the Italian champion still in the lead. Although the Alfa's lap time of 15m45.5s was not as fast as the Bugatti's of 15m12.7s, it was obvious that von Morgen could not make up the Alfa's 4m11.3s advantage in one lap. It looked as if an Italian victory was now certain. The smooth driving Burggaller in third place had fallen one minute behind von Morgen and was trailed by the lapped Bugattis of Kubiček, Bondy, and "Hýta" many laps behind. 1. Nuvolari in Borzacchini's (Alfa Romeo) 4h34m45.7s 15m45.5s lap time 2. Morgen in Leiningen's (Bugatti) 4h38m57.0s 15m12.7s 3. Burggaller (Bugatti) 4h39m51.9s 17m22.2s 4. Kubiček (Bugatti) 5h14m39.9s 18m57.8s 5. Bondy (Bugatti) 5h19m41.2s 18m51.6s The last lap was truly dramatic. Since the Alfa's radiator was boiling, Nuvolari drove with an open hood. The Italian could not have felt assured of victory because he did not take the time at the end of lap 16 to top up his water. Instead he drove past the pits at high speed. The loudspeaker announced that near km 12, past the village of Zebetin, Nuvolari had a problem driving up the hill and came to a standstill. Here, he received assistance to get his Alfa moving again. Nuvolari must have been aware that Morgen's white Bugatti was relentlessly closing in. Both of them drove at the fastest pace possible. After a while another announcement came through the loudspeakers that the Alfa had just passed km 18 at Ostrovacice. Now there were only 11 km of straight road left to the finish. Tension was building up. Could Nuvolari keep the fast approaching Morgen at bay? Then an announcement was made that the overheated Alfa Romeo had broken down, because it was out of cooling water and a broken water pump. It was at km 20 near the tiny place of Vodojam, only nine km from the finish. The news caused great commotion in the grandstand, where the triumphal finish of the Italian car was already expected. Nuvolari must have been desperate. People were running for water to cool the steaming Alfa and supposedly a cylinder cracked during the hurried refill. One by one three Bugattis passed the forlorn Nuvolari as he was limping to the finish.       Von Morgen crossed the finish line in first place, after almost five hours of racing. He had done the last lap in 15m16.9s, a truly magnificent drive. Leiningen, with reserve driver von Morgen, won the challenge trophy of the president of the Czechoslovakian Republic. The Junek Memorial Prize for the best seventh lap went to von Morgen with a lap time of 15m23.5s. The German flag was hoisted and homage was paid to the victor before he sank exhausted into a deck-chair. Burggaller finished second with a gap of 2m56.2s. He had driven the last lap in 17m17.9s at the same steady pace he had done all other laps. It seemed that he had not the slightest inkling how close to victory he had been. With 145,000 Koruny, the German Bugatti Team took the largest chunk of the prize money. The Austrian flag was hoisted for the victor in Group B, Count Max Hardegg, who received 25,000 K. In his yellow 1.5-liter Bugatti he was also third fastest overall. Then at last Nuvolari appeared, crawling at snail's pace at the finish line in Borzacchini's damaged Alfa Romeo with white clouds of steam emitting from its radiator. The car was 32 minutes behind von Morgen in fourth place. Two certain rule violations did not turn into protests and the Alfa Romeo was classified third in Group A, with 5,000 K in prize money. This proved to be the last appearance and the demise of the Alfa Romeo P2. Kubiček in his Bugatti, fastest of the Czechoslovakian drivers, was the fifth car across the line. Sixth overall and second car in the small class was Macher with his 1000 cc DKW. He collected 10,000 K and in addition gained the special prize of honor, for the best car with a two-stroke engine. He also received the honor prize of the CAMS for the best qualified car up to 1100cc. Bondy's Bugatti was seventh overall, just within 16.3 seconds of the allowable time limit.

Category B up to 1500 cc: The 16 small cars were started just three minutes after the big cars had been released. So both groups raced concurrently. Horák (Amilcar) and Mach (BMW) had already retired before the end of the third lap but no details were known about their downfall. After three laps the small car progress looked as follows: 1. Doré (Bugatti) 1h08m16.3s 2. Hardegg (Bugatti) 1h09m44.0s 3. Volkhart (Bugatti) 1h12m45.0s 4. Arco-Zinneberg (Amilcar) 1h13m40.5s 5. Macher (DKW) 1h16m24.6s 6. Procházka ("Z") 1h21m42.5s 7. Ostermuth (Amilcar) 1h23m41.2s 8. Weinfurter (Wikov) 1h25m21.2s 9. Kremel (Wikov) 1h26m32.5s 10. Kandt (BMW) 1h26m42.4s 11. Konečnik (Wikov) 1h27m38.2s 12. Szczyzycki (Wikov) 1h32m46.8s 13. Frankl (BMW) 1h33m12.2s 14. Hausleutner (BMW) 2h38m48.9s When the leader Doré crashed on lap four, the Austrian Hardegg inherited first place. At some time Divišek relieved Procházka driving the "Z". Arco-Zinneberg in his Amilcar completed just nine laps before retiring with engine problems, while Szczyzycki disappeared with his Wikov on lap 12 when the small car progress looked as follows: 1. Hardegg (Bugatti) 3h34m34.5s 2. Volkhart (Bugatti) 3h51m23.8s 3. Macher (DKW) 3h51m36.2s 4. Procházka/Divišek ("Z") 4h12m00.0s 5. Konečnik (Wikov) 4h17m24.5s 6. Kandt (BMW) 4h18m50.7s 7. Kremel (Wikov) 4h19m16.7s 8. Weinfurter (Wikov) 4h20m16.2s 9. Ostermuth (Amilcar) 4h28m18.7s 10. Frankl (BMW) 4h37m28.6s 11. Hausleutner (BMW) 4h45m02.8s The order changed of course over the next five laps. Hausleutner retired his little Wartburg on lap 14. Volkhart disappeared when his Bugatti had an engine defect after completing 14 laps. Weinfurter in the Wikov and Ostermuth with his Amilcar were flagged off. Both of them together with Wikov drivers Kremel and Konečnik as well as Procházka/Divišek ("Z") had exceeded the time limit and were not classified. Frankl (BMW) crashed on lap 17, having driven into a ditch. The cars finished the race in the following order: 1. Hardegg (Bugatti) 5h07m42.8s 2. Macher (DKW) 5h34m20.4s 3. Procházka/Divišek ("Z") 5h59m37.7s 4. Konečnik (Wikov) 6h01m36.3s 5. Kandt (BMW) 6h04m29.2s 6. Kremel (Wikov) 6h08m00.4s

Varzi wins with Maserati after leaving his opponents by the wayside.

The Grand Prix of San Sebastian took place in ideal weather in front of the Spanish Royal Couple on the circuit at Lasarte. The only serious opposition to the factory Maseratis of Varzi and Maggi came from a horde of private Bugattis driven by Etancelin, Lehoux, Dreyfus, Zanelli, de Maleplane, Fourny, Van Hulzen and de l'Espée. Varzi held first place until he made his mid-race fuel stop, when Lehoux became the leader until his driveshaft broke. The Bugattis of Etancelin, van Hulzen, de l'Espée, Zanelli and Dreyfus one by one were eliminated in separate incidents and crashes. Achille Varzi then won effortlessly in a new record time followed by his Maserati teammate Count Aymo Maggi. Surprisingly, the two five-year old Peugeots of Stoffel and Ferrand were in third and fourth place ahead of two Bugattis. The race concluded the 1930 racing season.

The automobile sport week at San Sebastian, which took place at great expense the previous year, was not to be repeated in 1930. The eighth Grand Prix of San Sebastian on July 25 and the planned Spanish Grand Prix for sports cars on July 27 were both canceled due to the bad economic situation following the Wall Street crash in October 1929. However, at the end of August the King of Spain intervened and the eighth running of the Grand Prix of San Sebastian was finally assured. The A.I.A.C.R. granted permission to the Royal Spanish Automobile Club to hold this largest Spanish automobile race on the famous Lasarte circuit near San Sebastian on October 5, 1930. It was organized by the Real Automóvil Club de Guipúzcoa, and supervised by Racing Director Juan Montojo, President of the club's Sporting Commission. The 1930 San Sebastian Grand Prix was the most important automobile race in the country but was not the Spanish Grand Prix as it was wrongfully named in various publications. A fuel formula was not planned and it promised to be a brilliant ending to the 1930 European motor sport season. The race went counter clockwise over 30 laps of the 17.315 km Lasarte circuit, a total of 519.450 km. Art objects and cash prizes were waiting for the winners. The victor was to receive the Coupe of His Majesty The King of Spain and 15,000 Pesetas. Prize for second place was 6000 Pesetas, third place 4000 and fourth 2000. For the fastest laps in the different classes extra awards of 500 Pesetas were offered.

Entries: A total of 21 entries were received for this Formula Libre race. There were ten private Bugattis, two old Peugeots, two Montier-Specials, one 1.5-liter Delage and two private Maseratis against two fast factory 2.5-liter Maseratis. The Portello works had entered two of their successful type 26M for Achille Varzi and Luigi Fagioli. AUTOMOBIL-REVUE reported that when Fagioli became unavailable due to injury in September, Count Aymo Maggi was entered instead, driving his last serious race before retirement. Maggi was no newcomer to Maserati, as he ran for the Portello works in 1928 at Monza. In 1930 he drove for Alfa Romeo at the Targa Florio and also used his Bugatti. Two additional Maseratis, a 26R and a 26 for the independent Sartorio brothers, Arrigo and Filippo, had adjoining pits to Varzi's.       The official Bugatti Equipe did not enter in Spain but there was an independent group of ten Bugattis, comprising René Dreyfus, winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, Philippe Etancelin, the French Grand Prix winner, Max Fourny, who came second in the Bugatti Grand Prix, Jean de Maleplane, who captured seventh in the French Grand Prix, Baron Jean de l'Espée, who finished fifth in the French Grand Prix and Guy Daniel who retired in the French and Dieppe Grands Prix. Also entered was Claude Arthez, who had retired at Comminges, the Algerian Marcel Lehoux, winner at Dieppe and third in last year's San Sebastian Grand Prix, the Chilean Juan Zanelli, who lived in Spain, had won the last two Bugatti GPs and had placed third in the French Grand Prix. The last of the Bugatti drivers was Cor John van Hulzen from Holland, who had placed sixth in the Dieppe Grand Prix.       Henri Stoffel and René Ferrand started in 174S Peugeots, the same car that Stoffel had raced at Spa in July. The Peugeot had a updated 1914 chassis with an old-fashioned 4-liter 4-cylinder slide-valve Knight-engine. Robert Sénéchal showed up with his 1.5-liter 1927 Grand Prix Delage with which he had placed sixth in the French Grand Prix. Charles Montier, the father, and his son Ferdinand, arrived with two Montier-Specials from Paris, equipped with barrel fuel tanks at the rear, as seen at the European Grand Prix. Everyone had hoped to see Scuderia Ferrari arriving with two P2 Alfa Romeos for Tazio Nuvolari and Baconin Borzacchini but they did not appear.

Practice: All cars took part in practice. Amongst the fastest were Dreyfus, Zanelli, Lehoux in the 2300 Bugattis and Etancelin in the 2000 Bugatti against the Italians Varzi and Maggi in the 2500 Maseratis. Varzi drove one lap in 7m25s which was equivalent to 140.076 km/h average speed, while teammate Maggi averaged 137.502 km/h with a time of 7m33s. The Bugatti driver Zanelli did a really fast lap in 7m19s at 141.990 km/h which was faster than the official lap record for the Lasarte Circuit.

Race: On race Sunday, under a clear, warm autumn sun, a large crowd of visitors streamed to the long Lasarte circuit to see the cars speeding through the villages of Oria just after the start, Andoain after 5 km, Urnieta at half distance, Hernani after 11 km, and Lasarte only 1.3 km before the start and finish. The entire royal family with entourage, high government officials and military were present to watch the hard battles of the afternoon. The King of Spain personally had a brief conversation with each of the drivers before the start. The public was well informed of the race progress through loudspeakers mounted at the grandstands. The starting grid had been arranged in the traditional numerical order for this event. The numbers 13 and 17 had not been assigned due to widely held superstition of bringing bad luck to the driver whose car was carrying those numbers. Sénéchal, Borzacchini, Nuvolari, Daniel and Arthez did not appear. Filippo Sartorio withdrew his car and started in his brother Arrigo's #1 Maserati 26R which he shared with him during the race.       The flying start took place precisely at noon when the pilot car sped by before pulling off to the right, followed in short distance by the racing cars, three per row.

4 Etancelin Bugatti 2 Stoffel Peugeot 1 F. Sartorio Maserati 8 Varzi Maserati 7 Ferrand Peugeot 5 F. Montier Montier Ford 12 Maggi Maserati 10 de Maleplane Bugatti 9 C. Montier Montier Ford 18 de l'Espée Bugatti 15 Dreyfus Bugatti 14 Lehoux Bugatti 22 Fourny Bugatti 20 van Hulzen Bugatti 19 Zanelli Bugatti

Varzi in the second row gave chase for the lead right away. When the cars came past the grandstands after the first lap, Varzi was leading Maggi by nine seconds and had gained a 15 seconds advantage over the Bugattis of Lehoux, Etancelin, Dreyfus and Zanelli. The four Bugattis crossed the line within four seconds of each other. The times of the leading group after the first lap were: 1. Varzi (Maserati) 7m36s 2. Maggi (Maserati) 7m45s 3. Lehoux (Bugatti) 7m51s 4. Etancelin (Bugatti) 7m53s 5. Dreyfus (Bugatti) 7m54s 6. Zanelli (Bugatti) 7m55s When Maggi's Maserati fell behind, a fantastic battle for second place developed between the temperamental Lehoux and his old rival Dreyfus. The race speed increased and Lehoux established a new lap record on the fourth lap with 142 km/h, breaking Chiron's existing 1928 lap record at 7m20s at 141.764 km/h. Dreyfus beat his time the following lap with 142.4 km/h average speed. On lap five, Varzi still held the lead with Lehoux in second, followed by Dreyfus, Zanelli, Etancelin, Fourny and Maggi who had dropped five places to seventh. After 5 laps and 86.575 km Varzi led at an average speed of 140.8 km/h. 1. Varzi (Maserati) 36m53s 2. Lehoux (Bugatti) 37m08s 3. Dreyfus (Bugatti) 37m12s 4. Zanelli (Bugatti) 37m18s 5. Etancelin (Bugatti) 39m19s 6. Fourny (Bugatti) 39m34s 7. Maggi (Maserati) 39m40s 8. F. Sartorio (Maserati) 40m40s 9. van Hulzen (Bugatti) 41m14s 10. De Maleplane (Bugatti) 42m41s 11. Stoffel (Peugeot) 43m09s 12. De l'Espée (Bugatti) 43m19s 13. Ferrand (Peugeot) 43m21s 14. F. Montier (Montier) 48m40s 15. C. Montier (Montier) 49m03s On the eighth round Varzi established the fastest lap of the race in 7m05.3s at 146.500 km/h. Charles Montier retired his Montier Special on the ninth lap. Varzi led at a race speed of 142.710 km/h, which was faster than the old lap record, after 173.150 km or 10 laps: 1. Varzi (Maserati) 1h12m48s 2. Lehoux (Bugatti) 1h13m03s 3. Dreyfus (Bugatti) 1h13m05s 4. Zanelli (Bugatti) 1h13m33s 5. Etancelin (Bugatti) 1h15m53s 6. De Maleplane (Bugatti) 1h15m55s (Note 1) 7. Fourny (Bugatti) 1h18m38s 8. Maggi (Maserati) 1h18m59s 9. van Hulzen (Bugatti) 1h20m52s 10. F. Sartorio (Maserati) 1h21m02s 11. Stoffel (Peugeot) 1h25m01s 12. Ferrand (Peugeot) 1h25m04s 13. De l'Espée (Bugatti) 1h25m08s 14. F. Montier (Montier) 1h37m26s On the 11th lap Etancelin abandoned the race near Urnieta when a wheel of his Bugatti broke and the car overturned. He had uncanny luck to escape without any injury. He most probably had hit something because wheels don't just break. Near the middle of the race the drivers headed for the pits to refuel and change wheels. Varzi's superiority over his rivals lasted until his fuel stop, which resulted in a large loss of time for the Italian and enabled the Bugatti drivers to run triumphantly in the front. The Sartorio Maserati was driven by Filipo Sartorio until lap 11. After refueling, his brother Arrigo took over, driving the car till the end. After the first half of the race there were grounds for assuming that Bugatti would have a chance for possible victory since the Maseratis had fallen behind. After 15 laps, Lehoux's race speed was 140.800 km/h. 1. Lehoux (Bugatti) 1h49m28s 2. Dreyfus (Bugatti) 1h49m38s 3. Zanelli (Bugatti) 1h49m52s 4. Varzi (Maserati) 1h50m55s 5. Maggi (Maserati) 1h59m06s 6. van Hulzen (Bugatti) 2h02m25s 7. Fourny (Bugatti) 2h03m21s 8. Stoffel (Peugeot) 2h05m58s 9. De Maleplane (Bugatti) 2h06m17s (Note 1) 10. De l'Espée (Bugatti) 2h06m25s 11. Ferrand (Peugeot) 2h06m30s 12. A. Sartorio (Maserati) 2h08m44s 13. F. Montier (Montier) 2h23m00s Both Maserati drivers had fallen back but Varzi was now moving very rapidly to recover the lost time. On lap 16, a serious accident occurred to van Hulzen when he crashed his Bugatti in a turn against a parapet where the car turned upside down and caught fire. The driver was thrown from the car, suffering a fractured skull. Van Hulzen was helped and brought immediately to the hospital. On lap 18 de l'Espée's Bugatti came to a stop and he attempted to repair the engine but was not able to do so and retired. Varzi had quickly recovered from the fourth place which he had occupied since lap 15 to second position in less than five rounds. He was now only seven seconds behind the leader and closing fast. Lehoux held first place at an average speed of 140.040 km/h after 346.300 km or 20 laps. 1. Lehoux (Bugatti) 2h27m49s 2. Varzi (Maserati) 2h27m56s 3. Dreyfus (Bugatti) 2h32m23s 4. Zanelli (Bugatti) 2h33m19s 5. Maggi (Maserati) 2h42m05s 6. Fourny (Bugatti) 2h46m44s 7. Stoffel (Peugeot) 2h47m25s 8. Ferrand (Peugeot) 2h47m29s 9. De Maleplane (Bugatti) 2h50m43s 10. A. Sartorio (Maserati) 2h51m52s 11. F. Montier (Montier) 2h23m00s The leading Bugatti driver lost his advantage when Varzi regained the lead after passing Lehoux on lap 22. Shortly thereafter on the same lap Lehoux's race endet when the driveshaft of his Bugatti broke. On lap 25 Zanelli retired three kilometers after passing the grandstand near Recalte when his Bugatti crashed and knocked down a telegraph pole. When it fell down a woman spectator was injured, while Zanelli suffered a fractured leg. From this moment on after the retirement of five of the eight Bugattis, victory looked certain for Maserati. He was now a full six and a half minutes in front of the second placed Dreyfus. After 432.875 km or 25 laps Varzi was leading at an average speed of 140.960 km/h. 1. Varzi (Maserati) 3h04m15s 2. Dreyfus (Bugatti) 3h10m44s 3. Maggi (Maserati) 3h21m56s 4. Fourny (Bugatti) 3h27m49s 5. Stoffel (Peugeot) 3h27m56s 6. Ferrand (Peugeot) 3h28m48s 7. De Maleplane (Bugatti) 3h33m09s 8. A. Sartorio (Maserati) 3h37m18s 9. F. Montier (Montier) 4h13m30s Dreyfus retired on lap 26 after he had completed 25 rounds, a fact which most reports are in agreement with. While the Barcelona 'El Mundo Deportivo' wrote the day after the race that Dreyfus' Bugatti ran out of fuel, quoting also 'alleging lack of fuel', the Paris 'Omnia' magazine summarized weeks later that Dreyfus stopped without serious incident. The Paris 'Le Figaro' reported the Monday after the race that Dreyfus skidded at a bend and gave up injured. The London 'Motor Sport' reported several weeks after the race that Dreyfus overturned, and although not seriously injured, was removed to hospital. The German 'MOTOR UND SPORT' reported one week after the race that Dreyfus overturned and had to be brought to hospital with serious injuries. 'A-Z Motorwelt' quoted also one week after the race that Dreyfus overturned when he skidded in a corner, retired and was brought to a hospital with injuries. The Swiss 'AUTOMOBIL-REVUE' evidently knew a bit more than anyone else just five days after the race, something that could not be substantiated: "Dreyfus created one second of fearful tension to the grandstand spectators, his car spun around directly in front of the grandstand, went into a skid, but Dreyfus got the better of it, recovered from the fright, drove away, and a few moments later he was laying in the wild mess of his crashed car next to the road. He had to be taken immediately to hospital."       After the serious Bugatti contenders had dropped out of the race the Maserati victory was assured. When Varzi took the checkered flag, he had lapped everyone three times except his teammate Maggi, who had fallen 'only' 22 minutes behind. The race went on for a further 40 minutes so that the other drivers could complete the 30 laps required to be classified. Stoffel and Ferrand in the reliable old Peugeots had raced without stopping even once during the entire event and finished third and fourth respectively. Behind them qualified the last two Bugattis of Fourny and de Maleplane, with Arrigo Sartorio's Maserati in seventh place. Last was Ferdinand Montier, the son, whose Montier-Special was flagged off. The Maserati drivers were received with great applause, especially by the Italians present. The King congratulated Varzi and shook his hand. The two Italians took the last victory in a sequence of great Maserati successes during the 1930 season. It had been Maserati's best year since they started racing in 1926. Miraculously, Stoffel in the old Peugeot was less than four minutes behind Maggi's state of the art Maserati - after more than four unbroken hours at the wheel - but the first Bugatti home was over half an hour behind Varzi!