Fagioli saves his tyres to win in Berlin

The Avusrennen was divided into two five lap heats and a ten lap final. The German teams were out in full force with four cars each. Tyre wear proved to be a decisive factor. Stuck (Auto Union) dominated the first heat from Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) while novice Rosemeyer (Auto Union) survived a high speed puncture. Varzi (Auto Union) initially led heat two but when he and von Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) stopped for new tyres, Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) won the heat. Four Mercedes-Benz, two Auto Unions and two Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeos started in the final. Stuck took the lead soon to be grabbed by Varzi, but both suffered tyre troubles and made two pit stops each. Caracciola and Geier retired while von Brauchitsch slowed with tyre trouble. Fagioli drove a faultless race to win, followed by Chiron in an Alfa Romeo Bi-Motore, who did a nonstop race with Varzi finishing third.

The Avusrennen was again held to the free formula. The circuit itself was unchanged from 1934 but nearby hard work was done to finish the new Deutschlandhalle, which included a huge parking place.       The long race the year before had proved rather boring for spectators and the teams were worried about the tyre wear on the ultra-fast track. For this reason the race was split into two heats and a final, with the fastest 4 cars from each heat advancing to the final. The rules included a compulsory wheel change during the final. However, that rule was scratched after experience of tyre wear gained during the practice sessions.       Prizes for the heats were 2000, 1000, 600 and 400 RM for the top four finishers. In the final the top four finishers received 10,000, 5000, 2500 and 1000 RM.

Entries: Mercedes-Benz entered four cars for Rudi Caracciola, Manfred von Brauchitsch, Luigi Fagioli and Hanns Geier. The team arrived with three open cars and a former speed record streamliner, which had been used for record attempts at Gyon near Budapest in October 1934. It had been rebuilt with a lowered cockpit and front brakes were added. The closed cockpit could be opened only from the outside! Caracciola tried the car during practice before deciding on an open car with a small radiator cowl, similar to that on the streamliner. Fagioli had a similar car as Caracciola while von Brauchitsch raced a car with a normal radiator cowl. That left the streamliner to Hanns Geier. The team had turned down the boost of the superchargers, possibly to reduce wheelspin and tyre wear.       Auto Union arrived with five cars for their four drivers, two closed race limousines type "Lucca", two Grand Prix cars with closed front suspension and a spare car with open front suspension. After some persuasion the motorcycle racer Rosemeyer was promised to start at AVUS (Note 2).       Terrified by his Tripoli experience, Hans Stuck elected to drive an open car as did Achille Varzi. Rosemeyer, who had never before started in any kind of car race, made his racing debut at the world's fastest track in a streamlined 375 hp Auto Union race limousine. Prince Hermann zu Leiningen raced the other race limousine. There were slight differences between the cars, especially regarding the exhausts that could suggest the engines were of different types. It might be that Stuck and possibly also Varzi introduced the 5.6 litre engine already at this race and not at the French GP as usually believed. Stuck's car (#76013) had 8 exhausts on each side and had just one mirror which was on the left side. On Varzi's car (#76014) and on the spare car the exhaust pipes were connected 4 and 4 resulting in two rectangular exhausts visible on each side. Varzi's car had mirrors on both sides. The spare car with an external water pipe on the right side of the cockpit was tested by Rosemeyer during practice with race number 4 but in the race Rosemeyer used the race limousine. On both race limousines the exhaust pipes were connected 2 and 2 resulting in 4 pipes visible on each side. Rosemeyers's car (#76003) #4 had a slightly larger radiator than zu Leiningen's (#76004) #3 (Note 3). Since there were no weight limits the Auto Unions featured pneumatic internal jacks that could be connected by a hose to a compressed air tank in the pit.       Scuderia Ferrari entered two Alfa Romeo "Bi-motore", a 6.3 litre car for Tazio Nuvolari and a 5.8 litre car for Louis Chiron. René Dreyfus raced the ex-Moll Tipo B /P3 that had won the race last year. During transport of the cars and spare parts from Tripoli back to Modena, a box with important spare parts and gears sets got lost. For that reason the cars had to be raced at the Avus with unsuitable gear ratios that did not put the power of the engines to full use.       Scuderia Subalpina had their 6C-34 cars for Etancelin and Zehender, but on this fast track they never had a real chance to be competitive. The team also had a Maserati 8C for Eugenio Siena. Gruppo Genovese San Giorgio entered a Maserati for Renato Balestrero. Fernando Barbieri entered a TipoB/P3, owned either by Franco Sardi, a wealthy man from Genua, or by Swiss Carlo Gari.       Independent drivers Giuseppe Farina, László Hartmann, Pietro Ghersi, and Hans Rüesch entered Maseratis but Ghersi and Rüesch failed to appear. British driver Dudley Froy entered a T54 Bugatti, similar to the one that had won the race in 1933.

Practice: This was the first German race where practice times decided the grid position. The regulations assured that the teams were equally distributed in the heats. The Thursday practice session was from noon to 4 p.m., on Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.       The drivers had to drive five consecutive laps at race speed during Friday or Saturday practice. They had to notify the timekeepers in advance when they wanted to do a single qualifying attempt with standing start. Just one attempt was allowed.       During Thursday practice was not much action and only Auto Union put in some fast laps.       The practice on Friday suffered from bad weather. First out was Balestrero with his Maserati, followed by the Auto Unions and Mercedes-Benz. Balestrero stopped after an hour due to engine trouble while the German cars listed the following times: Varzi 4m55s, Caracciola 4m56s, von Brauchitsch 4m59s, Stuck 5m00s, zu Leiningen 5m08s, Fagioli 5m15s, Rosemeyer 5m20s and Geier 5m22s. Eventually the two Alfa Romeo Bi-motores took to the track with Chiron leading Nuvolari. The Scuderia Ferrari cars and Balestrero's Alfa Romeo used smooth tyres. The Bi-motore cars could only make a few uncompetitive laps before calling it a day while Dreyfus in his lighter P3 was able to continue practice . Before rain set in and put an end to practice, Stuck made a speculative 4m37s lap from a standing start.       On Saturday more than 10,000 spectators were present to watch practice. Stuck was in a class by itself with a lap of 4m31.3s (260 km/h). He did the first kilometer from a standing start in 21.4 seconds (168.224 km/h). That was faster than the world record of 163.445 km/h. Von Brauchitsch and Varzi achieved 4m47s and Rosemeyer 4m49s. Nuvolari did a lap of 4m51s before a part of the windscreen on his Bi-motore came loose and injured his right arm.       Other drivers set their times, Caracciola 4m52s, Fagioli and Prince zu Leiningen 4m53s, Geier 4m59s, Chiron 5m11s, Dreyfus 5m30s, Farina 5m32s, Siena 5m50s, Hartmann 5m55s and Barbieri 5m59s.

Heat 1: About 150,000 spectators surrounded the circuit. At 1 p.m. a motorcycle race took place and at about 1.45 p.m. it was time for the first heat. It had been raining earlier and the track was still damp. The cars, which had been waiting at the old start place, were moved opposite the pits and lined up two and two. The factory teams including Scuderia Subalpina had two cars each with the independent drivers Farina and Froy as two additional entries.

4 Rosemeyer Auto Union 4m50.2s 1 Stuck Auto Union 4m31.3s 7 Fagioli Mercedes-Benz 4m53s 9 Nuvolari Alfa Romeo 4m51.2s 20 Farina Maserati 5m32s 8 Geier Mercedes-Benz 4m59s 16 Siena Maserati 5m50s 11 Dreyfus Alfa Romeo 5m30s 15 Zehender Maserati 22 Froy Bugatti

Stuck immediately took the lead followed by Rosemeyer, Fagioli, Geier and Nuvolari. Stuck had decided to go flat out from the beginning as he had done in 1934. The veteran driver had no problem to open up a gap to his new teammate and led after the first lap with a few seconds over Rosemeyer. Fagioli in the Mercedes followed closely, while the rest of the field already had lost contact with the trio. The situation remained the same during the second lap. Stuck made the fastest lap of the day with a time of 4m32s. Siena was the first retirement with an engine problem on his Maserati. On the third lap the tyres, as had been feared, became a problem. A tyre burst on Geier's streamliner forcing him to make a pit stop, advancing Nuvolari to fourth but almost immediately afterwards he also had to stop for tyres.       On the fourth lap Rosemeyer, who had a good duel with Fagioli for second place, had a tyre failure at around 130 km/h in the Nordschleife and was lucky to stop his streamliner without crashing, but his debut was over. The tyre failure was unavoidable in a race where tyre wear was all important and Rosemeyer with no experience naturally had pushed too hard.       Fagioli started the chase after Stuck's leading Auto Union but was unable to close the distance. Zehender's Maserati retired with supercharger failure.       After five laps Stuck took the victory, having led the race from start to finish. The pace had been such that had the race gone on for a few more kilometers, Stuck would unofficially have beaten his own 100 km world record.       Fagioli finished second for Mercedes, beaten by more than half a minute, which equates to over 2 km on such a high speed circuit. Dreyfus finished third in the ex-Moll Alfa Romeo.       Farina was doing well but had to make a late stop, while Geier advanced to fourth position and a place in the final. Nuvolari, who made two pit stops with his Bi-motore, finished sixth and failed to reach the final. Froy was unable to cope with the Avus circuit and could not keep up with the faster cars. He was totally outclassed in a car that had won the event only two years earlier.       The cars were timed over a flying kilometre with interesting results: Fagioli 11.8s (305.1 km/h), Rosemeyer 12.4s (290.3 km/h) and Stuck 12.8s (281.3 km/h).

Heat 2: After a 15 minutes break it was time for heat 2. There were again two Auto Unions and two Mercedes cars including Chiron's Bi-motore, Etancelin for Scuderia Subalpina and Balestrero for Gruppo San Giorgio. The independent drivers Barbieri and Hartmann were also taking part.

6 Brauchitsch Mercedes-Benz 4m49.4s 2 Varzi Auto Union 4m47.3s 3 Leiningen Auto Union 4m53s 5 Caracciola Mercedes-Benz 4m52s 18 L Hartmann Maserati 5m55s 10 Chiron Alfa Romeo 5m01s 19 Balestrero Maserati 12 F. Barbieri Alfa Romeo 5m59s 14 Etancelin Maserati

Varzi took the lead closely followed by von Brauchitsch and Caracciola but soon von Brauchitsch fell back.       After the first lap Varzi led Caracciola by two seconds followed by zu Leiningen, von Brauchitsch and Chiron, who stopped at his pit with a stuck gear lever which was corrected in a few seconds and Chiron rejoined the race. Caracciola was passed by Leiningen for second position.       After three laps Varzi, zu Leiningen, Caracciola and von Brauchitsch remained in a tight group. But the Prince's Auto Union engine could not stand the pace and zu Leiningen had to retire with radiator damage. Balestrero stopped his Maserati at the south curve and retired (sources give different reasons: radiator defect, supercharger, crash).       On the fourth lap Caracciola took the lead as Varzi had to do a 50 seconds stop for a tyre change (Note 4). Von Brauchitsch also stopped for tyres. Chiron had fallen far behind the three German cars while Varzi managed to rejoin in second position. There were no changes during the last lap so Caracciola took the victory in the second heat from Varzi and von Brauchitsch.       Chiron made a fine race, carefully driving the tyre-eating Bi-motore to finish fourth, 2 1/2 minutes behind the winner, without any tyre change. The top 4 cars qualified for the final. Etancelin finished fifth followed by Barbieri and Hartmann, who both had been lapped by the winner during the five lap race.       The second heat had been over a minute slower than the first despite the fact that the track now was completely dry.

Final: After a motorcycle race, at about 4 p.m. it was time for the 10 lap main event. The grid consisted of four Mercedes, two Auto Unions and two Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeos:

5 Caracciola Mercedes-Benz 1 Stuck Auto Union 2 Varzi Auto Union 7 Fagioli Mercedes-Benz 6 Brauchitsch Mercedes-Benz 11 Dreyfus Alfa Romeo 10 Chiron Alfa Romeo 8 Geier Mercedes-Benz

After the incidents in the heats there was some concern about the tyres. However Fagioli felt confident with his tyres and started the final with the same set that he had used in the heat.       When NSKK Korpsführer Hühnlein dropped the flag, Stuck was again the first away. He was followed by Fagioli, Caracciola, Varzi, von Brauchitsch, Chiron, Geier and Dreyfus. Varzi soon passed Caracciola and Fagioli to make it an Auto Union 1-2.       Stuck finished the first lap in 4m48s with Varzi 5 seconds behind, chased by the three Mercedes of Fagioli, Caracciola and von Brauchitsch, all within 15 seconds of the leader. Near the end of lap two Fagioli started to charge and passed Varzi in the Nordkurve. Geier had to make a pit stop after only two laps to change a tyre.       After three laps Stuck held an 11 seconds lead over Fagioli. The German cars were still fairly close together while there was a 45s gap to Chiron in sixth position. Geier retired his Mercedes at the pits with a carburettor problem.       On the fourth lap Stuck experienced a scary moment when the left rear tyre burst at 290 km/h and was lucky to control the car and bringing it to the pits. Both rear tyres were changed in 45 seconds. He was followed by von Brauchitsch, who made a 38 seconds stop to change a destroyed right rear tyre.       After five laps, halfway through the race, Fagioli was leading with a gap of only one second to Varzi, followed by Caracciola a further 3 seconds behind. Stuck had dropped to fourth place after his pit stop.       After six laps Caracciola abandoned the race due to supercharger failure and Varzi made a 35 seconds pit stop for a tyre change. Fagioli was now leading comfortably from Varzi with Chiron in third place, who once again raced careful watching the tyre wear on the Bi-motore.       Stuck made another pit stop after 7 laps. Varzi took up the chase on the leading Mercedes but the usually calm Varzi overdid it this time and had to come in for another stop after eight laps. Fagioli, still in the lead, kept on going with his old tyres with Chiron now in second position 1m25s behind. Varzi was ordered to go flat out and after nine laps he was just 20 seconds behind Chiron but in the rush he destroyed his third set of tyres and had to cruise to finish losing a further 20 seconds to Chiron.       Fagioli took the checkered flag for his second victory of the year. Chiron, finishing the race with his tyres in shreds, and gave the Ferrari team a far better result than they had hoped for after the heats. Only Fagioli and Dreyfus had done the race nonstop.

Benoist victorius with a works Bugatti

The field was of an uneven quality and there were several early retirements. Benoist in a works Bugatti dominated the race. Only Howe (Bugatti) was able to challenge him but the British driver had to make two long pit stops and fell back a lap but still managed to finish second. Sommer finished third with his Alfa Romeo.

While the Germans and Italians were racing in Berlin, many of the French drivers were gathering at Péronne for the Picardie Grand Prix. The triangular 9.765 kilometer course had to be lapped for 40 times for a total distance of 390.8 km. Because of fatal accidents in the 1933 race, for 1935, just like in 1934, the circuit had been slowed down, this time by building two chicanes, each consisting of three straw barriers.

Entries: The race was considered a bit of amateur event so when the Bugatti works team entered a T59 to be raced by Robert Benoist it must have created a bit of stir among the other competitors. A second works entry for Wimille failed to appear.       Earl Howe entered his private Bugatti T59. There were also T51 Bugattis by Belgian driver Willy Longueville, Jean Delorme and Ann-Cecile Itier.       Raymond Sommer appeared with his blue private Alfa Romeo Tipo B/P3 and Mlle "Hellé-Nice" in her familiar two-shade blue Alfa Romeo Monza.       The rest of the field consisted of 8CM Maseratis. Ecurie Braillard entered two cars (#3009 and #3015) for Robert Brunet and Benoit Falchetto. Armand Girod entered his ex-Etancelin Maserati (#3010) and Luigi Soffietti his own car (#3016?) while count de Villapadierna failed to arrive.       No one was surprised when the SEFAC once more failed to appear.

Practice: Practice sessions were held on Friday and Saturday between 5 and 7 in the morning. Grid positions were decided during practice where each driver had to make a timed standing start lap.       During Friday practice Falchetto's 4m27s lap record from 1934 was beaten by Benoist, Sommer and Howe, all three making 4m24s laps.       During Saturday practice Sommer again drove a lap in 4m24s. This time was exceeded, first by Howe with a time of 4m18s and then by Benoist, who took pole position with a time of 4m17s.       At the beginning of Saturday's practice session Itier's T51 Bugatti, at that moment run by her mechanic and reserve driver Rocati, went wide in the first chicane. The car left the road, rolled over several times and ended up on a field. The driver was thrown out of the car but escaped the crash with bruises. The damaged car as of no use and Itier had to arrange for her 1.5 litre T51A to be sent to Péronne instead,

Race: The skies were grey on the race day and there was concern of rain. The start was scheduled for 1.30 p.m. but was over an hour late. Itier had anxiously been waiting for her Bugatti, and when the carf eventually arrived she was able to join the grid. The cars were lined up three per row:

2 Sommer Alfa Romeo 4m24s 22 Howe Bugatti 4m18s 24 Benoist Bugatti 4m17s 28 Itier Bugatti 12 Delorme Bugatti 4 Brunet Maserati 6 Girod Maserati 16 Soffietti Maserati 14 "Hellé-Nice" Alfa Romeo 8 Longueville Bugatti 20 Falchetto Maserati

Finally at 2.45 p.m. M. Remy, president of the Automobile Club de Picardie, dropped the flag and the 11 cars went away. Benoist immediately took the lead followed by Earl Howe and Sommer. The trio pulled away from the rest of the field on the first lap. Falchetto stopped at the Brie corner on the very first lap. There were numerous other retirements as well during the early laps so that by lap 6 the field was down to only six cars. The situation after five laps: 1. Benoist (Bugatti) 22m05s 2. Earl Howe (Bugatti) 22m08s 3. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 22m16s 4. Delorme (Bugatti) 24m17s 5. "Hellé-Nice" (Alfa Romeo) 25m12s 6. Itier (Bugatti) 25m40s On lap 7 Sommer had to pit for new plugs, putting him back to the bottom of the field. The spectators lost interest because of the many retirements and the huge difference between participants. Only Howe was able to challenge Benoist, the other drivers had fallen far behind.       Benoist made the first ten laps in 43m54s (133.5 km/h). Howe was still second, about 14 seconds behind. Delorme in third position was already lapped. The British driver took over the lead on the 18th lap as Benoist made a 1m40s long pit stop for fuel and brake adjustments. After 20 laps Howe led Benoist by 36 seconds.       Then the situation changed back as Howe made a lengthy pit stop on lap 22. After fuel replacement and tyre adjustments the car failed to start. The failure was traced to the carburettors, which were affected by the fact that the pits were not on even ground. When Howe finally rejoined the race he had lost a lot of time to Benoist who did 25 laps with a time of 1h51m39s. Howe was 2m45s behind with Sommer following just 8 seconds behind. "Hellé-Nice" was fourth. When Howe had to make another stop for brake adjustments he fell a lap behind. On the 32rd lap Howe equalled Benoist's fastest lap, set earlier, of 4m20s.       Benoist made a minor mistake in the chicane, sliding wide and touching the straw bales but apart from that he drove a faultless race to take the victory. This was the old master's last success in a Grand Prix race, but he would go on to win the Le Mans 24h race in 1937.       Howe's private car finished second, some sources say a lap behind and other claim he was 10 minutes behind. He might have been the latter and then been flagged off before doing the 40th lap. Sommer, who had advanced through the field after his pit stop, finished third. Mlle "Hellé Nice" was fastest in the lady category and fourth overall followed by Delorme and Itier.

Oldies but goodies

A dark and rainy event

Brian Lewis' Hat-Trick

Shuttleworth in his monoposto Alfa Romeo held an early lead until he had to retire on lap 13 with transmission problems. The roughness of the roads took its toll on the car's transmissions. Lewis in his T59 Bugatti then took the lead and held it to the end. Martin with the sister car finished second while Eccles in the third T59 had to retire with a broken universal joint. Mays in a 2-litre ERA had to retire with the same problem as Eccles on the very last lap, leaving third position to Fontes (Alfa Romeo Monza).

The course had been changed a little bit since 1934 with the main straight extended a further 200 yards along the promenade and then after a hairpin led back to the bottom of Broadway Hill. The new circuit measured just 4 miles. Surface was distinctly rough especially at Broadway, Summer Hill and Bray Hill.

Entries: There were three Bugatti T59s present to be raced by Charles Martin, Lindsay Eccles and Brian Lewis, the latter entered by Earl Howe and Noel Rees. Their main opponent was Dick Shuttleworth in his green Alfa Romeo Tipo B/P3 (#5007). Independent Alfa Romeo Monzas were entered by Luis Fontes (with car Lewis had won the Mannin Moar in 1933), Anthony "Ginger" Hamilton, Dick Wilkins and Austin Dobson.       Humphrey Cook had entered two of the works ERAs, a 2-litre car (R3A) for Raymond Mays and a normal 1.5-litre voiturette (R1A) for himself. The ERAs were not able to challenge the GP cars for the outright win but the team hoped for some good positions with luck. They also tried to obtain information how to improve the reliability of their new cars, as this was the first long distance race for the 2-litre engine.       Three older Bugattis were driven by Charles Brackenbury racing Charles Martin's second entry (T51), Jock Leith (T35B) and Teddy Rayson (T35C equipped with a pre-selector gearbox). Tim Rose-Richard entered a Maserati 8C (#3002 - ex Bernard Rubin / Noel Rees).

Practice: Not much is known about the practice sessions that decided the grid positions other than that Martin took pole position with a time of 3m08s.

Race: Special ships had brought spectators over from England to the Isle of Man on Thursday night for the main event. The number of spectators was a disappointment, at least for Motor Sports's reporter. The people inthe pits there were a bit worried that the sea breeze would throw water in over the main straight and pits.

7 Lewis Bugatti 3 Shuttleworth Alfa Romeo 10 Martin Bugatti 9 Eccles Bugatti 5 Fontes Alfa Romeo 11 Brackenbury Bugatti 15 Mays ERA 6 Rose-Richards Maserati 14 Cook ERA 16 Rayson Bugatti 2 Wilkins Alfa Romeo 1 Hamilton Alfa Romeo 8 Leith Bugatti 4 A Dobson Alfa Romeo

Albert Victor "Ebby" Ebblewhite, Brooklands' famous time-keeper and handicapper, dropped the flag. Lewis took the start to lead into the new hairpin but Shuttleworth came round on the outside. The cars came out on the straight side by side and Shuttleworth, with his better position, took over the lead in the left hander leading to Broadway. They were followed by Martin, Eccles, Mays and Fontes. Rose-Richards retired from the race with a broken universal joint on the Maserati.       When entering Broadway Wilkins made a 360 degrees spin with his Monza right in front of Leith, who tried in vain to avoid the crash. The rear of the Bugatti hit the Monza and while the latter escaped unharmed, the chassis of the Bugatti was damaged and Leith had to retire at the pit after two laps.       Shuttleworth was trying to pull away from Lewis, doing the fifth lap in 3m13s to pull up a 200m lead. Behind Martin in third position there was a good duel between the Bugatti of Eccles and Mays and the ERA driver managed to pass the Bugatti for fourth position in front of the Grand Stand on lap 8. Behind them Fontes followed in sixth position.       Lewis was struck between the eyes by a flying stone but that did not hinder him from continuing the chase on Shuttleworth.       After 9 laps Hamilton touched a curb stone, lost control of the Alfa Romeo in front of Cook's ERA and crashed tail first into a wall at the end of Broadway Hill. The Monza rolled end over end and came to halt across the road and Cook just managed to avoid a collision. Officials and spectators rushed to the site only to notice that Hamilton luckily had escaped with only minor abrasions. The situation after 10 laps: 1. Shuttleworth (Alfa Romeo) 32m21s 2. Lewis (Bugatti) 32m24s 3. Martin (Bugatti) 32m32s 4. Mays (ERA) 33m08s 5. Eccles (Bugatti) 33m10s 6. Fontes (Alfa Romeo) 33m33s The leading Alfa Romeo began sounding ailing and going down Summer Hill Road towards the Promenade Lewis took over the lead of the race with his Bugatti. On the next lap Martin passed Shuttleworth as well for second position and on the 14th lap Shuttleworth came to the pit and retired with transmission problems.       On lap 15 Lewis made the fastest lap of the race, setting a time of 2m06s. Martin was 19 seconds behind with Mays now up to third, 1m15s behind the leader. They were followed by Eccles, Fontes and Cook.       Halfway into the race it was time for refueling. Brackenbury, who had passed Cook for sixth position, was first into the pits but the stop took 4 minutes. Mays came in to the pits on lap 25. The ERA team made a good job to refuel the car in 57 seconds but Mays had lost positions to Eccles and Fontes.       Two laps later Mays pitted again because of an open radiator cap. His team mate Cook had refuelled as well but then suffered plug problems after the stop. The trouble was corrected only after a second pit stop and several slow laps.       Brackenbury experienced his seat collapsing at Bray Hill and the driver found himself sitting on the prop shaft. The lagging around the spare tank began to burn but was rapidly extinguished and Brackenbury could return to the pit for repairs.       After 30 laps Cook had to retire with broken oil scavenge pump. The race order was: 1. Lewis (Bugatti) 1h35m03s 2. Martin (Bugatti) 1h36m21s 3. Eccles (Bugatti) 1h38m15s 4. Fontes (Alfa Romeo) 1h39m20s 5. Mays (ERA) 1h41m33s 6. Rayson (Bugatti) 1h47m45s On the 32nd lap Eccles overshot the corner at Broadway Hill and ran up the escape road, breaking a universal joint when he tried to stop the car.       Martin made a pit stop for 16 gallons of fuel and Fontes made his refueling stop as well soon afterwards giving over third position to Mays. On the 38th or 40th lap Lewis was the last to make his refueling stop, taking on 4 gallons in 37 seconds and returning to the race still in the lead with Martin second and Mays third. The radiator cap of the ERA came loose again and Mays made a short pit stop to fix the problem without losing his position. He was pulling away with 2 seconds a lap from Fontes, who was suffering from brake problems. Rayson was fifth 14 1/2 minutes behind the leader with Dobson a further four minutes behind.       With three laps to go Mays signaled the pit that he had changed to the reserve tank. The ERA personnel started to be worried about the fuel situation.       After having done 50 laps in little over 2h 40 minutes Lewis took the chequered flag for his third Mannin Moar victory in a row. Martin followed 51 seconds later in second position. All expected Mays, about a lap behind the leader, to be the next one to take the flag, but on the top of Bray Hill the ERA came to a standstill with a broken universal joint, yet another victim of the bumpy roads. That took the organizers with such a surprise that they let Fontes do an extra lap before they flagged him in as third.       The time limit to do the 50 laps, after the winner had taken the flag, was 15 minutes and Rayson just managed to achieve that. Dobson, whose Monza had suffered from overheating and who had been forced to stop several times for water, was not classified. Neither was Wilkins, who had suffered from brake problems, nor Brackenbury who, dispite repairs, still suffered from a loose seat.

Corręa crashes fatally, non-Brazilians at the front

There was a big crowd and a large entry. Apart from the local Brazilians, three Portuguese and three Argentinian drivers took part in the race. On the first lap the race took a dramatic turn when last year's winner Irineu Corręa crashed fatally into a canal. The race order changed throughout the 25 laps as drivers had to make pit stops or retired. The Brazilians Manuel de Teffé, Benedicto Lopes and Marques Porto and the Portuguese Henrique Lehrfeld took turns at the lead but in the end it was Argentinian Riccardo Carú in a Fiat who came across the field to take the win. From 38 starters only five made it all the way.

The Automovel Clube do Brasil organized the Grand Prix of Rio de Janeiro for the third time. Once again it was held on the twisty and dangerous Gávea road course, locally known as Trampolin Do Diablo (the devils springboard). The race had by now reached international fame as the most important automobile race in South America.

Entries: There were three Portuguese entries, José de Almeida Araújo and Henrique Lehrfeld, both with Bugattis, and Manoel Nunes dos Santos with a German Adler.       Three Argentinians were taking part, all of them Gávea veterans. Vittorio Rosa who had finished third in 1934 and Riccardo Carú who came fourth, were both racing a 1.5 litre Fiat, while Vittorio Coppoli was to race a voiturette Bugatti. Vittorio Rosa's entry however was in doubt as the Argentine Automobile Club had withdrawn his race license as punishment for an earlier offence and he was trying to regain it.       The rest of the huge field consisted of Brazilian drivers. There were some Fiats and Bugattis (there were no T37A in Brazil at that time but 4 x T37 and 10 x T35A 2 litre). However, most were racing rebuilt specials of American origin. Among the better known drivers were the 1934 winner Irineu Corręa and runner-up Domingos Lopes. Also present were Manuel de Teffé, Francisco "Chico" Landi, his brother Querino Landi and Benedicto Moreira Lopes while Rubem Abrunhosa was making his race debut.       The race numbers and grid order were decided by ballot with Portuguese Almeida Araújo having the luck to get race number #2 and thus pole position. Practice started as early as one week before the race.

Race: Before the start, the Portuguese riders laid a wreath at the site where Nino Crespi had crashed fatally during the 1934 race. The race was planned to start at 9 a.m. but already at 7 a.m. the entire area near the start at Avenida Visconde de Albuquerque was jammed by enthusiastic spectators.

2 Almeida Araújo Bugatti 4 Barcellos Bugatti 6 Viana Chevrolet 8 Enrico Chrysler 10 Q Landi Alfa Romeo 14 de Teffé Alfa Romeo 16 de Santis Ford 18 Santiago Adler 20 Lozano Ford 22 Teixeira Bugatti 24 D Lopes Hudson 26 Ferreira Souza La Salle 28 Carú Fiat 32 Corręa Ford 34 Stoffen Bugatti 38 Rueda Kissel 40 Coppoli Bugatti 44 Pereira Bugatti 50 Murce Ford 52 Nunes Adler 54 Casini Studebaker 56 Ré Alfa Romeo 58 Sant'Anna Fiat 60 Rosa Fiat 62 Sarmento Bugatti 64 C Landi Bugatti 66 B Lopes Ford 68 Hugo Ford 70 Silva Ford 72 Marques Porto Ford 74 Oliveira Jr Ford 76 Abrunhosa Hudson 78 Miranda Chevrolet 80 Pereira Dodge 82 Pires Bugatti 84 Sartorelli Ford 86 Lehrfeld Bugatti 90 C Lopez Ford

The 38 cars were sorted into a 4-4 grid with some effort and finally about 9.45 a.m. the flag was dropped and the cars with de Teffé in the lead rushed away along Avenida Visconde de Albuquerque towards the dangerous Avenue Niemeyer, which followed the seafront.       After having waited so long the drivers seemed determined to win the race on the very first lap and some were driving like possessed. Last year's winner Irineu Corręa was running in fourth position and when he tried to pass Joăo Enrico for third he was blocked and lost control of his Ford, which skidded violently up the sidewalk and at full speed into a tree. The wreck somersaulted twice down into a canal where it ended up with the wheels in the air and the driver trapped behind the steering wheel. A brave policeman immediately jumped into the water and released Corręa, but the driver had suffered two broken legs, broken ribs, a skull fracture and punctured lungs. Corręa succumbed soon after reaching hospital without regaining consciousness.       De Teffé was leading after the first lap with his Alfa Romeo. He was followed by Lehrfeld (Bugatti), who had made an incredible job to advance from his start position in the 10th row. Behind them followed de Santis (Ford), Almeida Araújo (Bugatti), Chico Landi (Bugatti) and Carú (Fiat). Pereira, Ré and Oliveira Júnior had already retired and were joined by Vittorio Rosa, who was flagged in by the race marshals as the Argentine Automobile Club had refused his appeal. Henrique Casini retired his Studebaker after one lap after having crashed with Pereira's Bugatti, possibly at the start.       On the second lap Joăo Enrico crashed into a tree but without any serious injury.       News about Corręas crash had reached the spectators via loudspeakers and had put a gloom on the event and the chances for a Brazilian victory fell further after the fifth lap when de Teffé, who was leading the race with about 20 seconds, had to retire into the pits with a broken differential. The demanding Gávea course was taking its toll with 17 drivers already being forced to retire after five laps, among them Argentinian Coppoli.       With de Teffé out of the race Lehrfeld took over the lead with his Bugatti chased by the Fords of Benedicto Lopes and de Santis. Behind them followed the Bugattis of Chico Landi and Almeida Araújo. At that time Carú was in 11th or 12th position after a bad start.       Lehrfeld held his lead for just one lap before he make a 2m40s pit stop for engine adjustments, dropping to sixth position and giving the lead to Benedicto Lopes with his Ford Special. De Santis moved up to second position, Landi was third and Marques Porto and Sartorelli had advanced to fourth and fifth with their Fords.       De Santis had to retire after seven laps and Chico Landi had to make a pit stop so after 10 laps Lehrfeld was back in second position behind Benedicto Lopes. Marques Porto and Sartorelli were third and fourth, Araújo fifth and Carú was up to sixth with his Fiat.       After fifteen laps the top trio remained the same with Carú having climbed to fourth. After 17 laps Benedicto Lopes made a refueling stop, rejoining the race in third position behind Lehrfeld and Marques Porto. Once again the Portuguese only managed to keep the lead for a single lap as he had to stop for a tyre change on lap 18. Marques Porto now led the race for the first time but had to stop on the next lap to change a tyre after suffering a puncture. Benedicto Lopes thus once more held the lead followed by Lehrfeld and Carú now in third place.       Lehrfeld made a mistake and lost time. He then make a second pit stop on the 21st lap and lost much time. With four laps to go Lopes had a secure lead of three minutes over Carú who was now second with Lehrfeld a further 1m50s behind.       But on the 22nd lap as Lopes was exiting a curve at Avenue Niemeyer, he was faced with Joăo Ferreira Souza, who had spun his La Salle special across the road. The cars crashed and both retired. Marques Porto retired on the same lap with engine failure. At this time the roads and pits were full of retired cars and with just six cars left in the race there was not a lot for the spectators to see.       On the last laps Lehrfeld closed the gap to the leader to just 11 seconds but Carú held on to take the chequered flag to win for Argentine followed by Portuguese drivers Lehrfeld and Almeida Araújo. It was hardly the result the local spectators had wished for. Miranda Santos was the best Brazilian driver in fourth position, Hugo finished fifth and Nunes sixth. The latter was unable to do the last lap because the spectators were blocking the road.       After the race it was reported that Carú and Lehrfeld intended to donate part of their prize money to the family of Irineu Correâ, who had died on the first lap.