Nuvolari wins the Monaco Grand Prix

This was the first time the Alfa Romeo works team started at Monaco, where they faced the teams from Bugatti and Maserati. After the favorite and early leader Chiron had left the field behind at a merciless pace, he made a rare error on lap 30 while lapping back markers, resulting in a serious accident with his Bugatti. Nuvolari then inherited first place, which he kept until the end. When the Bugatti of second placed Varzi dropped out on lap 57, Caracciola was still half a minute behind the leader. From there on the race was between Nuvolari and Caracciola in Alfa Romeos, followed by Fagioli's Maserati. These last 40 laps looked like an exciting battle between the two Alfas since the gap between Nuvolari and Caracciola was diminishing, both lapping the rest of the field at least twice except for Fagioli in third place. Caracciola declined to win when presented with the opportunity near the end and finished 2.8 seconds behind Nuvolari. From the 17 cars at the start only ten finished after 3˝ hours of racing.

On April 14, 1929 racecars had run for the first time through the streets of Monte Carlo. The response had surpassed all expectations and stood unparalleled in automobile sport history. At a single running the race had acquired international fame. In 1932 the event was held for the fourth time and could already be counted among the classic automobile races. The race was open for racecars over 1500 cc engine capacity and the 3.180 km circuit through the streets of Monte Carlo had to be lapped 100 times. The uneven streetcar tracks along the start/finish straight and up the steep incline to the casino were no longer visible and a new layer of tarmac was laid down, which should account for slightly faster lap times.       The winner of the fourth Grand Prix de Monaco was to receive the valuable, heavy and massive silver cup from the Prince of Monaco plus 100,000 French francs. The second-place finisher would receive 40,000 francs and the third 30,000 francs. The total prize money was 205,000 French francs. Additionally there were special prizes for fastest laps, for leading after every ten laps, and for establishing a new overall lap record. Further, there were valuable prizes, amongst them the Coupe Paloma for the most successful private driver.

Entries: As in previous years, the entry list was by invitation only. By limiting the entry to 19 first-class international drivers -27 names were on the 1931 list- the Monaco race attained the status of a special elite event. Six weeks before the race the organizer had published the entry list of the 19 competitors. The factory of Automobiles Ettore Bugatti from Molsheim, France, arrived with four of last year's 2.3-liter cars and one 5-liter four-wheel-drive machine for Louis Chiron, Achille Varzi, Albert Divo and Guy Bouriat. The 5-liter Type 53 was a brand new design, making its first race appearance at Monaco. This decision was influenced by its Italian design engineer Antonio Pichetto, who persuaded Ettore Bugatti that the twisty Monte Carlo course would be a good place to test the car since the Type 54 with the same 5-liter engine was known to be unreliable, especially its brakes.       Societá Anonima Alfa Romeo, located in Portello, Italy, entered the Monaco race for the first time. Their team manager Aldo Giovannini sent three specially prepared red 2.3-liter Alfa Romeo Monzas into battle for Tazio Nuvolari, Giuseppe Campari and Mario Umberto Borzacchini. There was a fourth car, a white Alfa Romeo Monza for the German Rudolf Caracciola, who was not yet part of the official factory team. Nevertheless, Caracciola had a contract to drive for Alfa Romeo in 1932, after Daimler-Benz had withdrawn from racing at the end of 1931. However, no love was lost between Nuvolari, Campari and Borzacchini, the closely-knit Italian drivers, and their new teammate from Germany. Legend has it that the three Italians had a brotherly agreement, pooling their start and prize money and then dividing it in three equal parts amongst themselves. They did not think that Caracciola would be fast enough in the light Alfa Romeo, which was new to him. Therefore the German was not part of the Alfa Romeo factory team and drove as an independent. However, the week before the Monaco Grand Prix Caracciola had raced in the Mille Miglia with a red painted factory Alfa Romeo because of insufficient time to paint his car white. While in the lead only 50 km before the finish at Brescia, Caracciola had to retire with a broken valve spring. His outstanding performance in this long race probably gained him already some respect from the three skeptical factory drivers.       The third works team came from Officine A. Maserati in Bologna, Italy. As a result of the recent death of their popular leader Alfieri Maserati, his brother Ernesto had taken over the direction of the factory. He entered Luigi Fagioli, René Dreyfus and Amedeo Ruggeri in their two 8C 2800 cars, which were already raced the previous year at other circuits, plus an old 26M, an 8-cylinder 2.5-liter machine. AUTOMOBIL-REVUE reported that the wheelbase of the Maseratis was specially reduced by 12 cm for the race in Monte Carlo.       Independent entries came from Philippe Etancelin and Goffredo Zehender with Alfa Romeo 2.3-liter Monzas. Three Englishmen, Clifton Penn-Hughes, "Williams" and Earl Howe entered their Bugattis, as did Marcel Lehoux and Count Stanislas Czaykowski. The Chilean Juan Zanelli, winner of the 1931 European Mountain Championship, appeared with a 3-liter Nacional Pescara, a car of Spanish origin.       A special attraction was the presence of the famous British world record driver Sir Malcolm Campbell, who would drive the opening lap. A very early entry list by AUTOMOBIL-REVUE had shown two additional drivers, which were not part of the final 19. One was the Italian Pietro Ghersi to be entered by the Scuderia Ferrari in one of their Alfa Romeo Monzas but neither the car or its driver appeared . Likewise, the German Heinrich-Joachim von Morgen had intended to start with his 5-liter Bugatti T54, but since he had returned it to Molsheim following its disappointing performance in the Tunis Grand Prix, he was without a car for Monaco. After the Monaco race the German would be given Varzi's Bugatti painted white and ready for him to race the following week in Rome.

Practice: This year for the first time practice was officially timed and the best times of each driver were announced. The record for the 3.18 km long circuit was established in 1930 by Dreyfus at 2m07s, at an average speed of 90.14 km/h. Chiron, Fagioli and Varzi achieved the same time in 1931 but failed to break the record. The first day of practice was on Thursday for just one hour. Before sunrise and ahead of the six o'clock start, the town was already experiencing the noisy and busy activity of spectators, police, officials and photographers. Heavy traffic from out of town cars blocked the side streets.       Exactly at six in the morning the engines started thundering. Accentuated by the siren-like wail of their superchargers, they sent their morning song across Monaco Bay and up the rocky cliffs of Monte Carlo. The main interest centered around last year's winner Chiron. Caracciola's white Alfa Romeo stood out from the team's red Alfas. The German appeared to be just as familiar with his new white machine as the experienced Alfa Romeo drivers. It was a surprise for everyone to see that Caracciola was not an official part of the Alfa Romeo team, even though in the Mille Miglia he had driven a red Alfa.       After about 30 minutes of practice the bunch of cars slowly melted away while busy activity was beginning at the pits. Penn-Hughes crashed his Bugatti into the outside sandbag wall at the Station Hairpin corner or into the wall along the sea front, depending which report you prefer to believe. Helpers pulled Penn-Hughes out of his car with slight head injuries and a broken ankle. Dreyfus crashed his Maserati at the corner on the hill leading to the Casino, as he stated in his memoirs. When pressing the brake pedal nothing happened and he tried to slow the car with the gearbox. The car spun and came to a stop by clouting a small private grandstand. In the last 15 minutes of practice all drivers except the injured Penn-Hughes returned to the circuit, trying to go faster than before. In the late morning the cars were inspected for compliance with the regulations. Some drivers were represented by their mechanics. Thursday's best practice times: Campari (Alfa Romeo) 2m08s out of 16 laps Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 2m08s 13 Dreyfus (Maserati) 2m08s 18 Bouriat (Bugatti) 2m09s 7 Chiron (Bugatti) 2m09s 7 Zehender (Alfa Romeo) 2m10s 11 Earl Howe (Bugatti) 2m11s 6 Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 2m11s 10 Etancelin (Alfa Romeo) 2m12s 15 Caracciola (Alfa Romeo) 2m14s 14 Divo (Bugatti T53) 2m18s 7 Czaykowski (Bugatti) 2m19s 6 Lehoux (Bugatti) - 4 Penn-Hughes (Bugatti) - crash (leg injury) Fagioli, Ruggeri, Varzi, "Williams" and Zanelli did not practice. Friday practice was again for just one hour, starting, as before, at six in the morning. Divo as the strongest driver of the Bugatti equipe, had been assigned to drive the new 5-liter four-wheel-drive T53, which was physically demanding to drive. The lap times Divo reached with the car during the first two days of practice reflect the problems he encountered with the heavy car. He eventually decided to continue practicing with the well proven 2.3-liter T51 on Saturday and use it for the race. René Dreyfus recalled the Bugatti T53 practice at Monaco in his memoirs 'My Two Lives' "...-at Monaco of all places- the services of relief driver Albert Divo, physically the strongest man available to Molsheim, were called upon. The result in practice was a car that overheated, brakes that worked none too well, and a driver who was dead tired after only a few laps. Divo didn't even attempt the race." Varzi and several other drivers lowered the current record, which Dreyfus had established in 1930 at 2m07s. Penn-Huges had injured himself in Thursday's crash and could no longer take part. Ruggeri was the only other driver who did not appear on Friday. The day's best practice times were: Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 2m05s out of 22 laps Varzi (Bugatti) 2m06s 14 Etancelin (Alfa Romeo) 2m06s 22 Dreyfus (Maserati) 2m06s 14 Fagioli (Maserati) 2m06s 9 Caracciola (Alfa Romeo) 2m07s 13 Chiron (Bugatti) 2m07s 18 Lehoux (Bugatti) 2m07s 9 "Williams" (Bugatti) 2m07s 19 Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 2m07s 18 Campari (Alfa Romeo) 2m09s 11 Earl Howe (Bugatti) 2m10s 7 Bouriat (Bugatti) 2m10s 13 Czaykowski (Bugatti) 2m11s 17 Zehender (Alfa Romeo) 2m15s 9 Divo (Bugatti T53) 2m19s 6 Zanelli (Nacional Pescara) 2m29s 8 Saturday's one hour practice was curtailed to half an hour, according to Christian Moity's report. Chiron lowered the fastest lap time to 2m04s and Campari followed with 2m05s. AUTOMOBIL-REVUE reported that a spring broke on Zanelli's Pescara on Saturday morning and he had to abandon the start. This was no great loss since the Nacional Pescara was the slowest car during practice. Divo had abandoned the difficult 4WD Bugatti T53 and instead practiced with the 2.3-liter T51 for the race. Saturday's best practice times were: Chiron (Bugatti) 2m04s out of 22 laps Campari (Alfa Romeo) 2m05s 12 Varzi (Bugatti) 2m06s 9 Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 2m07s 9 Caracciola (Alfa Romeo) 2m07s 13 Lehoux (Bugatti) 2m07s 5 "Williams" (Bugatti) 2m07s 13 Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 2m07s 11 Zehender (Alfa Romeo) 2m07s 15 Fagioli (Maserati) 2m08s 16 Ruggeri (Maserati) 2m08s 16 Bouriat (Bugatti) 2m10s 23 Divo (Bugatti T51) 2m11s 13 Czaykowski (Bugatti) 2m11s 11 Zanelli (Nacional Pescara) 2m17s 13 No times available for Earl Howe, Etancelin or Dreyfus.

Race: The sky on Sunday was overcast, but it remained dry during the race. An enormous crowd of 70,000 had taken possession of all vantage points around the circuit. World record holder Sir Malcolm Campbell drove the opening lap in a beautiful Rolls-Royce to the great applause from the crowd. Since Penn-Hughes was injured and Zanelli's car was unable to start, only 17 cars appeared on the grid. Despite the fact that all cars had been timed throughout practice, the order of the starting grid was still decided by ballot. However, the following year Monaco would be the first race in Europe where the cars started according to their practice times.

38 Ruggeri Maserati 30 Etancelin Alfa Romeo 22 "Williams" Bugatti 18 Czaykowski Bugatti 26 Campari Alfa Romeo 12 Chiron Bugatti 34 Dreyfus Maserati 24 Borzacchini Alfa Romeo 20 Lehoux Bugatti 28 Nuvolari Alfa Romeo 10 Bouriat Bugatti 4 Howe Bugatti 2 Caracciola Alfa Romeo 16 Varzi Bugatti 36 Fagioli Maserati 32 Zehender Alfa Romeo 14 Divo Bugatti

When Faroux dropped the starter's flag at 1:30 PM, the battle for the lead began immediately. Chiron had started from the second row and was in the lead as they raced up the hill. At this early stage he was already opening a gap to his pursuers. Behind Chiron, "Williams" and Lehoux followed, and then Ruggeri. After five laps the order changed to Chiron, "Williams", Lehoux and Nuvolari, who had already passed seven cars. Caracciola had worked his way through the field from the second to last row and on lap six passed Campari into eighth position. Chiron established a new lap record on lap six at 2m05s, equal to an average speed of 91.584 km/h and only one second slower than his fastest practice lap. "Williams" remained in second place for eight laps, followed by Lehoux and Nuvolari, who had worked himself systematically to the front and passed both of them. The order after ten laps was as follows: 1. Chiron (Bugatti) 21m10s 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 21m27s 3. "Williams" (Bugatti) 21m29s 4. Lehoux (Bugatti) 21m33s 5. Varzi (Bugatti) 21m34s 6. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 21m38s 7. Dreyfus (Maserati) 21m40s 8. Caracciola (Alfa Romeo) 21m42s 9. Fagioli (Maserati) 21m47s 10. Campari (Alfa Romeo) 21m48s 11. Ruggeri (Maserati) 21m52s 12. Czaykowski (Bugatti) 21m58s 13. Howe (Bugatti) 22m00s 14. Bouriat (Bugatti) 22m04s 15. Zehender (Alfa Romeo) 22m05s 16. Etancelin (Alfa Romeo) 22m07s 17. Divo (Bugatti) 22m09s Despite Nuvolari's speed, he was unable to catch Chiron at this stage of the race but Nuvolari set a new fastest time with 2m04s on lap 12. Ruggeri had to stop on lap 13 at his pits. After several tries he got his car going, but then had to retire his Maserati out on the circuit. Varzi, who had started from the second to last row, had succeeded in working himself into third place. While trying to keep up with those ahead, Varzi established a new record on lap 19 of 2m02s, which was five seconds below the old record. Caracciola, who had also started from the rear next to Varzi, had improved his position slowly. These early skirmishes brought some position changes and the order after 20 laps was: 1. Chiron (Bugatti) 41m59s 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 42m15s 3. Varzi (Bugatti) 42m20s 4. "Williams" (Bugatti 42m36s 5. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 42m38s 6. Caracciola (Alfa Romeo) 42m39s 7. Fagioli (Maserati) 42m42s 8. Lehoux (Bugatti) 42m49s 9. Dreyfus (Maserati) 42m51s 10. Campari (Alfa Romeo) 43m08s 11. Czaykowski (Bugatti) 43m31s 12. Etancelin (Alfa Romeo) 43m35s 13. Bouriat (Bugatti) 43m37s 14. Howe (Bugatti) 43m38s 15. Divo (Bugatti) 43m43s 16. Zehender (Alfa Romeo) 43m44s Gradually the leading trio pulled away from the rest of the field with Chiron in the lead, followed about 20 seconds later by Nuvolari and Varzi who were not far apart and who held the pace set by the leader. The advantage of these three progressively grew so large that Chiron caught up with the tail-enders on lap 26, when he passed Divo and Zehender. He had lost some time and soon the next group consisting of Bouriat and Czaykowski had to be lapped, where Chiron lost again valuable time. Nuvolari, now in attack mode, was closing and catching up with Chiron on lap 30. Both had just lapped Bouriat and right in front of Chiron was Czaykowski as a moving hurdle. This bunch of four cars went through the Station Hairpin bend and a moment later as they came out of the tunnel, Chiron tried to get past a sliding Czaykowski in the chicane. Chiron's Bugatti probably hit a sandbag, suddenly spun round, toppled over several times and came to rest slightly damaged at the sandbag barrier along the pier, which prevented the car from falling into the sea. The driver in the meantime was ejected from the tumbling car and lay lifelessly on the ground of the promenade. Czaykowski's car just weaseled through the Chicane and Nuvolari and Bouriat only seconds behind also squeezed through the turmoil avoiding further trouble with their quick reactions. Fortunately Chiron was just dazed by the fall and recovered quickly. With exceptional luck he only received slight abrasions and contusions on his head and face. After treatment on the spot, an ambulance boat took him to the first aid station. Chiron later claimed that the accident was caused by Czaykowski, however without any intent and came to the inside of the turn at the same moment that Chiron moved forward to pass him. But in truth it was really Chiron who had made a rare error of judgment. If Nuvolari hadn't been catching up, Chiron would probably have waited for a more judicious point to overtake Czaykowski. Apart from that Chiron neglected to mention that the high-speed harbor chicane was not particularly suitable for passing maneuvers. In any event, Bugatti's greatest hope for victory was now wrecked and the likelihood of success for the Molsheim team had become doubtful. The lead now passed to Nuvolari and Alfa Romeo. With Ruggeri and Chiron out of the race the field was down to 15 cars. After completion of 30 laps the situation was as follows: 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 1h02m55s 2. Varzi (Bugatti) 1h03m01s 3. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 1h03m28s 4. Caracciola (Alfa Romeo) 1h03m36s 5. Fagioli (Maserati) 1h03m48s 6. Dreyfus (Maserati) 1h04m00s 7. "Williams" (Bugatti) 1h04m01s 8. Campari (Alfa Romeo) 1h04m24s 9. Etancelin (Alfa Romeo) 1h05m05s 1 lap behind 10. Czaykowsky (Bugatti) 1h05m08s 1 lap behind 11. Bouriat (Bugatti) 1h05m12s 1 lap behind 12. Lehoux (Bugatti) 1h05m13s 1 lap behind 13. Howe (Bugatti) 1h05m18s 1 lap behind 14. Zehender (Alfa Romeo) 1h05m21s 1 lap behind 15. Divo (Bugatti) 1h05m31s 1 lap behind Now Alfa Romeo was predominantly in the lead withVarzi's Bugatti a mere six seconds behind and Fagioli's Maserati having only an outside chance. The heavy burden for the Bugatti team now rested on Varzi, who was fully aware of the situation. But Varzi inexplicably slowed down and his slower pace allowed Nuvolari to relax a little, whilst still increasing his lead. Between laps 30 and 40 Varzi lost more than 20 seconds and Nuvolari did not speed up. Gradually the strain on the cars became apparent and the first pit stops began. First Etancelin made a brief stop with fading brakes, followed by Lehoux with a long stop to fix his car, which was losing oil and overheated. Divo who was in last place had trouble losing oil. After 40 laps the order was: 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 1h23m54s 2. Varzi (Bugatti) 1h24m22s 3. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 1h24m34s 4. Caracciola (Alfa Romeo) 1h24m45s 5. Fagioli (Maserati) 1h24m58s 6. Dreyfus (Maserati) 1h25m15s 7. "Williams" (Bugatti) 1h25m23s 8. Campari (Alfa Romeo) 1h25m52s 9. Bouriat (Bugatti) 1h26m40s 1 lap behind 10. Czaykowsky (Bugatti) 1h26m49s 1 lap behind 11. Zehender (Alfa Romeo) 1h26m57s 1 lap behind 12. Howe (Bugatti) 1h27m03s 1 lap behind 13. Etancelin (Alfa Romeo) 1h29m25s 2 laps behind 14. Lehoux (Bugatti 1h32m05s 3 laps behind 15. Divo (Bugatti) 1h34m51s 5 laps behind Up to lap 50 the positions of the leading cars remained the same. Nuvolari maintained his slower pace, enabling Varzi, Borzacchini and Caracciola to reduce the gap to the leader. Nonetheless, Nuvolari was still leading Varzi by 17 seconds and appeared to be well in control of the race. Etancelin and Czaykowski had to retire on lap 49 with gearbox problems, reducing the field to 13 cars. The order at mid race was: 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 1h45m06s 2. Varzi (Bugatti) 1h45m23s 3. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 1h45m40s 4. Caracciola (Alfa Romeo) 1h45m49s 5. Fagioli (Maserati) 1h46m13s 6. Dreyfus (Maserati) 1h46m32s 7. "Williams" (Bugatti) 1h47m00s 8. Campari (Alfa Romeo) 1h47m22s 1 lap behind 9. Zehender (Alfa Romeo) 1h48m31s 1 lap behind 10. Bouriat (Bugatti) 1h48m50s 1 lap behind 11. Howe (Bugatti) 1h48m51s 1 lap behind 12. Lehoux (Bugatti) 1h53m35s 4 laps behind 13. Divo (Bugatti) 1h58m07s 6 laps behind The field shrank further with the retirement of Etancelin, who had spent much time in the pits. Lehoux remained in his pit for five minutes to repair an oil leak and refill the oil he had lost. For half the race Borzacchini was the second Alfa Romeo, ready to take over the team's lead if anything happened to Nuvolari's car. Throughout this time he was ahead of Caracciola and even pulled away from the German. Then his brakes started to fade and Caracciola caught and passed him on lap 57. Then Varzi encountered a problem with his Bugatti on lap 57. The mechanics worked feverishly on his car but it was in vain. With the retirement of Varzi's Bugatti, the race turned to a fight between the two Alfa Romeos. Fagioli's Maserati trailed over a minute behind and had never shown the speed of the Alfas or Bugattis either in practice or the race. Then Dreyfus' race ended on lap 58 when the axle shaft broke and the left rear wheel came off while rounding the Gasometer hairpin turn on the brake drum. The gap between Nuvolari and Caracciola had shrunk from 43 seconds to 30. This was not due to increased speed on the part of the German, but sensible relaxation on the part of the Italian. Now that the Bugatti threat had evaporated, there was no need for Nuvolari to stress his car or take risks overtaking backmarkers, as an Alfa Romeo victory was virtually guaranteed. The reduction of Nuvolari's advantage had added significance, because without it, Caracciola might not have been in a position to challenge Nuvolari at the end. Nuvolari effectively allowed Caracciola to get closer. In doing so he behaved like a mature team leader, rather than the all-or-nothing daredevil as he was normally characterized. With the retirement of Varzi and Dreyfus the field was down to 11 cars. The sixtieth lap presented a significantly altered picture: 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 2h06m20s 2. Caracciola (Alfa Romeo) 2h06m50s 3. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 2h06m58s 4. Fagioli (Maserati) 2h07m27s 5. "Williams" (Bugatti) 2h08m46s 1 lap behind 6. Campari (Alfa Romeo) 2h09m03s 1 lap behind 7. Zehender (Alfa Romeo) 2h10m12s 1 lap behind 8. Howe (Bugatti) 2h10m42s 2 laps behind 9. Bouriat (Bugatti) 2h11m09s 2 laps behind 10. Lehoux (Bugatti) ? 4 laps behind 11. Divo (Bugatti) 2h21m31s 7 laps behind When Borzacchini stopped at the pits, his advantage over Fagioli reduced precariously. Campari had stopped several times to replace plugs and had never been a factor in the race. He had now fallen to the end of the field. "Williams" fell further behind with lengthy pit stops. Caracciola, who had held back in the first half of the race without straining his machine, found himself in second place after lap 57. Nuvolari was 30 seconds ahead of the German who maintained his pace, which was characterized by enormous consistency. Caracciola even slowed towards the end, but this may have been due to all the oil on the track. The gap between Nuvolari and Caracciola diminished further, due to Nuvolari taking it easy, not to Caracciola leaving his foot on the throttle longer and braking later. However, to the spectators it appeared differently and gave the impression that Caracciola was chasing after Nuvolari. So, the crowd expected a clash of the two giants and watched with great enthusiasm how the gap between them continuously dwindled, while both were lapping the rest of the field. But the positions in the front of the field remained the same up to lap 70: 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 2h27m54s 2. Caracciola (Alfa Romeo) 2h28m03s 3. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 2h28m38s 4. Fagioli (Maserati) 2h28m46s 5. Zehender (Alfa Romeo) 2h31m46s 1 lap behind 6. Howe (Bugatti) 2h32m38s 2 laps behind 7. Lehoux (Bugatti) 2h37m51s 4 laps behind 8. "Williams" (Bugatti) 2h38m37s 5 laps behind 9. Bouriat (Bugatti) 2h42m14s 5 laps behind 10. Divo (Bugatti) 2h45m41s 8 laps behind 11. Campari (Alfa Romeo) ? Bouriat, the third man of the Bugatti team hit trouble when his car left the road at the Station hairpin. He lost a lot of time extracting his car from the protective wall of sandbags and then stopped at his pit to change a damaged wheel. Then Campari made a lengthy pit stop. On lap 71 Fagioli gained third position when he succeeded in getting past Borzacchini, whose brakes were fading fast. By Caracciola still driving at his relatively moderate pace and Nuvolari also taking it easy, the Italian's advantage shrunk to just eight seconds. After 80 laps the order was: 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 2h49m05s 2. Caracciola (Alfa Romeo) 2h49m13s 3. Fagioli (Maserati) 2h50m20s 4. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 2h50m52s 5. Zehender (Alfa Romeo) 2h53m25s 2 laps behind 6. Howe (Bugatti) 2h54m44s 2 laps behind 7. Lehoux (Bugatti) 3h00m07s 5 laps behind 8. "Williams" (Bugatti) 3h00m46s 5 laps behind 9. Bouriat (Bugatti) 3h04m22s 7 laps behind 10. Divo (Bugatti) 3h09m16s 9 laps behind 11. Campari (Alfa Romeo) ? The Alfa Romeo duo was leading the field with a large gap to the third man, Fagioli in the Maserati. The rest of the field, at least two laps behind, was spread out. After lap 85 Borzacchini stopped at his pit and retired with the brake problems, which had delayed his progress. Due to the constant lapping of the slower back markers the gap between the first two cars moved up and down but it appeared that Caracciola was slowly gaining. The first three places remained the same while Zehender and Earl Howe had moved forward after Borzacchini's retirement. The order on lap 90 was: 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 3h10m27s 2. Caracciola (Alfa Romeo) 3h10m34s 3. Fagioli (Maserati) 3h12m14s 4. Zehender (Alfa Romeo) 3h16m48s 3 laps behind 5. Earl Howe (Bugatti) 3h17m17s 3 laps behind 6. Lehoux (Bugatti) 3h22m41s 5 laps behind 7. "Williams" ? 5 laps behind Earl Howe's position was especially remarkable as he had started at the back of the grid. Solely by driving with irrepressible regularity he gradually gained positions whenever other drivers dropped out of the race or lost time due to car trouble. He was up to fifth place by lap 90. The last ten laps brought unexpected excitement for the crowds of spectators. In his early tussle with the Bugattis of Chiron and Varzi, Nuvolari had been forced to go much faster than the Alfa Romeo team had expected. In turn, this meant that he used more fuel than they had calculated. A few laps from the end Nuvolari's car began to suffer from fuel pick-up problems and, as a result Caracciola was able to catch him. It is quite likely that Caracciola could have passed Nuvolari in the last few laps, but he decided to stay behind. Caracciola's gentlemanly conduct in this race was characteristic of his demeanor throughout his career. Caracciola was particularly anxious to move his second place car as close as possible to the leader but while trying to work himself around a group of lapped cars, the German became separated by a greater distance from Nuvolari. Eventually, once past the pack, Caracciola driving now at a desperate pace, succeeded near the end in once more closing the gap to Nuvolari. Both passed the finish, a mere 2.8 seconds apart to enormous cheering.       Incidentally, the reason Caracciola did not suffer similar fuel problems was that, since he was not the team leader, he was free to drive at a more constant pace throughout the race using less fuel. It was Nuvolari who effectively destroyed the Bugatti challenge single-handedly, so it would have been a harsh reward to have finished second.       Fagioli, already lapped in third place, had to do another lap to complete the full distance and the remaining drivers also kept on until they were flagged off. After the race the 'Flying Mantuan' spontaneously walked up to Rudi and silently pressed the German's hand for keeping up such a hard chase. Once again a wave of thunderous applause accompanied both drivers as they completed the lap of honor, decorated with large flower bouquets. After returning to the finish line the distribution of prizes took place and Nuvolari was presented with the wonderful trophy.