Nuvolari defeated nine superior German grand prix cars.

The 1935 German Grand Prix will always be remembered as Tazio Nuvolari's greatest race. In a monumental drive, the Italian beat nine superior German Silver Arrows with an inferior red Alfa Romeo. This year's German string of eight victories was suddenly interrupted at the Nürburgring after a race with many position changes, producing the greatest upset that the Germans had ever received. The race was lost by von Brauchitsch and Daimler-Benz. Caracciola led the first nine laps. Nuvolari held second place after lap one but fell back after he spun his car. He then fought his way back to the top and led for two laps at mid race. Through no fault of his own, Nuvolari lost over one minute at the pit stop and dropped down to sixth place. At that time Fagioli held first place for one lap until Brauchitsch as of lap 13 held the lead. Persistent fast driving brought Nuvolari again close to von Brauchitsch after lap 19. The German had to pay the prize for his tire-murdering driving style, when the left rear tire came apart on lap 22, only nine km from the finish. Nuvolari passed von Brauchitsch's stricken Mercedes, heading towards a well-deserved victory for Alfa Romeo. Stuck (Auto Union) finished second ahead of Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz), Rosemeyer (Auto Union) with von Brauchitsch's Mercedes on the rim in fifth place.

The VIII German Grand Prix in 1935 was considered the most important of the big races and was the annual climax. The ONS (Oberste Nationale Sportbehörde) had organized the eighth German Grand Prix, but the DDAC (Der Deutsche Automobil-Club e. V.) and the NSKK (National-Sozialistische Kraftfahr-Korps) were charged with the execution of this race. The German Grand Prix was to be run over 22 laps of the 22.810 km Nordschleife. Two drivers could be entered for every car. Only racing cars complying with the present 750 kg formula were admitted. At close of entries on June 28, a total of 22 grand prix cars, from six nations and six manufacturers were to do battle. Altogether there were 43,000 Reichsmark in prize money. Besides the Preis des Führer's, the victor received 20,000 RM, second 10,000 RM, third 6,000, fourth 4,000, fifth 2,000, and sixth 1,000 RM. Additionally, all drivers finishing received a valuable memorial prize.

Entries: The Auto Union team was back for the German GP after having missed Barcelona and Spa in order to cure their engine problems. They had Hans Stuck, Achille Varzi, Bernd Rosemeyer and Paul Pietsch registered as drivers with Hermann Prinz zu Leiningen as reserve driver.       Daimler-Benz did not spare their efforts either and was present in full force with seven cars for Rudolf Caracciola, Luigi Fagioli and Manfred von Brauchitsch. In addition they entered rebuilt 1934 cars for their junior drivers Hanns Geier together with Hermann Lang besides one extra 1934 car for practice. The 1936 prototype supposedly also was brought along to be tested during practice but this could not be confirmed. The team had done 1000 km tests on the track the weeks before and was confident.       Scuderia Ferrari brought three red Type B Alfa Romeos with the proven 3.2-liter engine and new Dubonnet independent front suspension for Tazio Nuvolari, Louis Chiron and Antonio Brivio with René Dreyfus as the reserve driver.       Scuderia Subalpina had planned to come with their new V8-cylinder Maseratis but withdrew the cars two days before the race. Instead they arrived with the old red 6C 34 cars for Geoffredo Zehender and Philippe Etancelin and an 8CM for Pietro Ghersi. Benato Balestrero, a private entry was officially entered by Gruppo San Giorgio with an older Alfa Romeo but in the race he drove a 3-liter Maserati. Two more independent Maserati entries completed the field; one was the red, silver and green 8CM from Hungarian Laszlo Hartmann and the other a red and silver 8CM of the Swiss Hans Rüesch. Italian Luigi Soffietti's Maserati with Pietro Ghersi at the wheel did not appear for the race. Antonio Brivio replaced Dreyfus who had become ill. Piero Taruffi drove the only Bugatti, a blue T59 with 3.3-liter engine from Automobiles Ettore Bugatti, Raymond Mays arrived from England with two green ERA Voiturette cars equipped with 2-liter engines. The larger engines made the cars eligible to race with the grand prix cars. Ernst von Delius was driving the second car.

Practice: Official practice started on Wednesday and took place daily from 9:00 to 12:00 AM and from 3:00 to 6:00 PM except on Saturday only from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The acceptance test, the last check and weighing of the cars took place on Saturday from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM in the paddock.       Auto Union had encountered inexplicable engine maladies at the Eifelrennen and the French Grand Prix. They withdrew from the next races at Barcelona and Spa in order to cure their engine problems. Since July 11 they had rented the Nürburgring for one week to test the latest engine improvements to curb engine oil being pumped up to the combustion chambers. At the end of the week, Stuck and Rosemeyer drove a 32 lap race simulation with two cars to test the durability of their improvements. Their average speed was higher than Stuck's winning average the previous year and Rosemeyer, who had been driving a racecar for only two months, completed the distance almost as fast as Stuck. During Thursday practice Rosemeyer drove some very fast laps dressed in shorts and not wearing a cloth helmet.       Alfa Romeo accomplished only a few laps when they found a defect in their brake system which they corrected in a local garage. Their times were nothing earthshaking but it was apparent that in the twisty up and down parts of the circuit the Alfas were faster than the Mercedes and Auto Unions. During Saturday practice Nuvolari tested Brivio's Alfa Romeo and was surprised that this car was much better than his own. For the race on Sunday they exchanged cars.       The ERA of Mays had an engine with a new set of pistons, which had to be carefully run in. Von Delius drove too aggressively and crashed his ERA on Friday practice in the Junek turn after Breitscheid when he skidded off over the embankment and hit a pine tree, which stopped the car from falling down a steep slope. Luckily, Delius was not injured, but the car needed a new rear axle, which arrived by special flight. After its installation it was realized that the chassis was distorted too much, so it was decided to start with only one car, using the already run in engine from von Delius' car installed in the undamaged chassis and that Mays would drive it.       Since Soffietti's Maserati did not show up, the entry was down to 20 cars. Because practice times were not officially announced, only unofficial practice times were given for Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) and Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 10m32s, Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 10m35s and Pietsch (Auto Union) 10m47s.       Nothing exciting happened during practice besides the Delius crash, but then on Saturday afternoon the excitement became far greater at the acceptance test of the grand prix cars. When the cars had to be weighted, it turned out that almost all German cars and a few foreign ones exceeded the regulatory 750 kg weight limit. Caracciola's car was first on the scale and Team Manager Neubauer was unpleasantly surprised. When the Auto Union cars were weighed again, inconsistencies showed up as well. Finally it proved that the scale was faulty and in the end everything was all right.

Race: During the whole night thousands of spectators had arrived from all directions on bicycles, cars, trucks, and buses. The morning fog was very visible in valleys and on hilltops with a fine misty rain and a cool wind. An estimated 250.000 spectators had assembled around the ring plus those in the grandstands. They were not aware that they would witness a classic, one of the most famous Grand Prix races of all time. The most expensive tickets for numbered grandstand seats cost 20 RM (Reichsmark) and unnumbered seats were 15 RM. At the South Turn it cost 3 RM and tickets in general admission were 1 RM.       The promoter had planned to determine the order of the starting grid for the first time by an acceleration test. The idea was to avoid a slower car holding up the faster competitors at the start of the Grand Prix. The driver would embark at the regular start line through the Südschleife and finish at the extended start line on the back straight, a total of about 1.4 km. This concept was opposed by the drivers who stated that the end line was too close to the following left Nordkurve and drivers would have to brake before reaching the line. They feared that some eager drivers trying to obtain a good starting position might brake too late and consequently spin over the embankment of the turn. The promoter had to accept their reasoning and the starting positions were then determined by ballot as usual. As the 11:00 AM starting time approached on Sunday morning, it was raining hard. The 20 cars lined up in eight rows:

11 Balestrero Maserati 12 Nuvolari Alfa Romeo 1 Stuck Auto Union 7 Brauchitsch Mercedes-Benz 16 Zehender Maserati 14 Chiron Alfa Romeo 5 Caracciola Mercedes-Benz 17 Etancelin Maserati 10 Mays ERA 21 Rüesch Maserati 6 Fagioli Mercedes-Benz 3 Rosemeyer Auto Union 2 Varzi Auto Union 4 Pietsch Auto Union 20 L Hartmann Maserati 23 Taruffi Bugatti 9 Lang Mercedes-Benz 18 Ghersi Maserati 15 Brivio Alfa Romeo 8 Geier Mercedes-Benz

A short time before the start it stopped raining. The old starting method of a waved flag was for the first time replaced by light signals. First the red light came on for Attention and Stop. Then yellow lit up meaning the start would take place within 15 seconds and at the green the race was started. Nuvolari from the first row shot immediately into the lead, but Caracciola from the third row caught up with him as they passed the pits and led into the Südkurve. Last to get away were the Auto Unions of Stuck and Pietsch which had both stalled on the grid. Stuck's car in the first row had rolled forward slightly when the engine was started two minutes before the start and first gear was engaged. The car had to be rolled back and that's when the engine stalled. Stuck raised both arms and his mechanic Rudolf Friedrich came to Stuck's aid and walked next to the Auto Union to help, which was not allowed and was also very dangerous. When the cars started seconds later, the mechanic was still standing there and three Maseratis went around the stalled Auto Union. Varzi in row five, accelerating through the oil smoke, heavy rain and water spray, just missed Stuck's stranded car but grazed the mechanic, who was knocked to the ground and lay there unconscious. Friedrich was brought to the nearby Adenau Hospital with concussion and fractured skull, his memory of the last hour before the accident completely erased. He remained in hospital for four weeks before being released. After the field was gone, the cars of Stuck and Pietsch were finally push-started and had a hard time passing the other cars. Lap 1 - It stopped raining. After more than 12 minutes, the cars appeared with Caracciola in the lead with a lap average of 122.4 km/h. He was 12 seconds ahead of Nuvolari's red Alfa, who was followed very closely by the Silver Arrows of Fagioli, Rosemeyer and von Brauchitsch. Further behind trailed the two Alfas of Chiron and Brivio, then Varzi's Auto Union, Taruffi's Bugatti, then the Mercedes cadet drivers Lang and Geier and Stuck and Pietsch with their Auto Unions. Geier tried to get around Lang without success and Stuck who had caught up with Geier's Mercedes lost a lot of time because he was unable to pass him due to the water spray. The five Maseratis and the ERA formed the tail end of the field. They were simply not fast enough while Balestrero did not complete the lap; he spun off the road in his Maserati and crashed. Etancelin stopped at the pits to change plugs on his Maserati. The order at the end of the first lap was as follows: 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 12m07.4s lap time 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 12m19.8s 3. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 12m21.0s 4. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 12m23.0s 5. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 12m24.4s 6. Chiron (Alfa Romeo) 12m29.2s 7. Brivio (Alfa Romeo) 12m37.2s 8. Varzi (Auto Union) 12m40.6s 9. Taruffi (Bugatti) 13m02.0s 10. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 13m03.4s 11. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 13m05.0s 12. Stuck (Auto Union) 13m06.6s 13. Pietsch (Auto Union) 13m10.2s 14. Zehender (Maserati) 13m34.2s 15. Rüesch (Maserati) 13m36.2s 16. Hartmann (Maserati) 13m53.8s 17. Ghersi (Maserati) 14m07.8s 18. Etancelin (Maserati) 14m18.6s 19. Mays (ERA) 14m19.0s Lap 2 - Nuvolari had been able to keep up with Caracciola on the rain-soaked circuit, and while trying to close up to the German on the second lap, he spun his Alfa at the Bergwerk turn, a sharp uphill right turn, ending backwards on the berm. The car was pointing towards the oncoming cars, so he drove it downhill in the wrong direction and then turned it round. Altogether he had lost 25 seconds, enabling Fagioli, Rosemeyer, Brauchitsch and Chiron, who had all been within 10 seconds of him, to pass the stranded Alfa. Next Rosemeyer and Brauchitsch both passed Fagioli, consequently by the end of lap two Caracciola led Rosemeyer by over 12 seconds, followed by Brauchitsch, Fagioli, Chiron and Nuvolari, who was now in sixth place. Varzi was seventh ahead of Lang, Taruffi's Bugatti, Geier, and the Auto Unions of Stuck and Pietsch. Stuck had a hard time getting passed Geier through the water spray. Hartmann and Etancelin (again) stopped at the pits to change spark plugs on their Maseratis. Brivio failed to finish the second lap as the Alfa's differential broke. The order after the second lap was: 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 24m04.2s 11m56.8s lap time 2. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 24m16.8s 11m53.8s 3. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 24m27.8s 12m03.4s 4. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 24m31.6s 12m10.6s 5. Chiron (Alfa Romeo) 24m35.8s 12m06.6s 6. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 24m46.4s 12m26.6s 7. Varzi (Auto Union) 24m53.0s 12m12.4s 8. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 25m29.6s 12m26.2s 9. Taruffi (Bugatti) 25m34.0s 12m32.0s 10. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 25m34.4s 12m29.4s 11. Stuck (Auto Union) 25m35.0s 12m28.4s 12. Pietsch (Auto Union) 25m37.0s 12m26.8s 13. Zehender (Maserati) 26m22.6s 12m48.4s 14. Rüesch (Maserati) 26m24.8s 12m48.6s 15. Hartmann (Maserati) 27m29.4s 13m35.6s 16. Ghersi (Maserati) 27m44.8s 13m37.0s 17. Mays (ERA) 27m59.0s 13m40.0s 18. Etancelin (Maserati) 28m17.2s 13m58.6s Lap 3 - Caracciola's lead over Rosemeyer had come down to 7 seconds on a drying circuit, because the Auto Union driver was making fastest laps. Fagioli had passed Brauchitsch for third place. It took Stuck until lap three to find a way around the two Mercedes cadet drivers and Taruffi's Bugatti. At that time Stuck was almost two minutes behind the the leader Caracciola. The order after the third lap was as follows: 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 35m52.4s 11m48.2s lap time 2. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 35m59.2s 11m42.4s 3. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 36m22.6s 11m51.0s 4. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 36m23.8s 11m56.0s 5. Chiron (Alfa Romeo) 36m32.6s 11m56.8s 6. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 36m51.4s 12m05.0s 7. Varzi (Auto Union) 36m54.6s 12m01.6s 8. Stuck (Auto Union) 37m42.2s 12m07.2s 9. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 37m44.2s 12m14.6s 10. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 37m48.4s 12m14.0s 11. Pietsch (Auto Union) 37m56.8s 12m19.8s 12. Taruffi (Bugatti) 37m59.8s 12m25.8s 13. Zehender (Maserati) 39m06.6s 12m44.0s 14. Rüesch (Maserati) 39m07.4s 12m42.6s 15. Ghersi (Maserati) 41m01.0s 13m16.2s 16. Mays (ERA) 41m28.2s 13m29.2s 17. Hartmann (Maserati) 41m59.4s 14m30.0s 18. Etancelin (Maserati) 43m34.0s 15m16.8s Lap 4 - As the road dried, Rosemeyer in second place broke the lap record in 11m35.6s which placed him just 4 seconds behind Caracciola. Chiron's Alfa Romeo picked up pace and passed Brauchitsch's Mercedes for fourth place. Etancelin's Maserati in last place was lapped by the five front runners. The order after four laps was as follows: 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 47m30.8s 11m38.4s lap time 2. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 47m34.8s 11m35.6s 3. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 48m01.4s 11m38.8s 4. Chiron (Alfa Romeo) 48m16.0s 11m43.4s 5. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 48m17.6s 11m53.8s 6. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 48m40.0s 11m48.6s 7. Varzi (Auto Union) 48m44.4s 11m49.8s 8. Stuck (Auto Union) 49m36.8s 11m44.6s 9. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 49m54.8s 12m10.6s 10. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 50m03.4s 12m15.0s 11. Pietsch (Auto Union) 50m16.6s 12m19.8s 12. Taruffi (Bugatti) 50m23.8s 12m24.0s 13. Rüesch (Maserati) 51m32.2s 12m24.8s 14. Zehender (Maserati) 51m55.8s 12m49.2s 15. Ghersi (Maserati) 54m08.2s 13m07.2s 16. Mays (ERA) 54m49.6s 13m21.4s 17. Hartmann (Maserati) 54m56.6s 12m57.2s 18. Etancelin (Maserati) 60m18.6s 16m44.6s Lap 5 - The battle for the lead continued but Rosemeyer was unable to close the gap to Caracciola. For the third time Etancelin changed plugs on his Maserati. Taruffi in the slow Bugatti retired after lap 4 with a broken connecting rod. After five laps Caracciola held the lead at 115.8 km/h average speed with the field in the following order: 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 59m04.8s 11m34.0s lap time 2. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 59m10.0s 11m35.2s 3. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 59m49.2s 11m47.8s 4. Chiron (Alfa Romeo) 59m52.4s 11m36.4s 5. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 60m02.8s 11m45.2s 6. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 60m16.2s 11m36.2s 7. Varzi (Auto Union) 60m25.2s 11m40.8s 8. Stuck (Auto Union) 61m22.0s 11m45.2s 9. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 62m00.6s 12m05.8s 10. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 62m10.2s 12m06.8s 11. Pietsch (Auto Union) 62m44.2s 12m27.6s 12. Rüesch (Maserati) 64m06.0s 12m33.8s 13. Zehender (Maserati) 65m23.2s 13m27.4s 14. Ghersi (Maserati) 67m02.8s 12m54.6s 15. Hartmann (Maserati) 68m04.4s 13m07.8s 16. Mays (ERA) 68m10.4s 13m20.8s 17. Etancelin (Maserati) 72m58.2s 12m39.6s Lap 6 - Everyone expected Rosemeyer to appear close to Caracciola on lap six but instead he arrived 28s behind the Mercedes with a wobbling rear wheel. In his chase after Caracciola, Rosemeyer had spun off and slid into the ditch at Breidscheid. He bent a rear wheel and collected so much grass and mud in the engine compartment that the linkage jammed and caused the throttle to stick. At the end of lap six Rosemeyer headed for his pits after his off-track excursion. Even with a jammed throttle, Rosemeyer kept ahead of Fagioli who was third followed by Brauchitsch, but Chiron retired at the concrete North turn with a broken piston. The only Alfa Romeo now left in the race was that of Nuvolari who was now in fifth place with the departure of Chiron. After six laps the order was: 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 1h10m42.6s 11m37.8s lap times 2. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 1h11m10.2s 12m00.2s 3. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 1h11m31.0s 11m41.8s 4. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 1h11m49.4s 11m46.6s 5. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 1h11m57.8s 11m41.6s 6. Varzi (Auto Union) 1h12m14.4s 11m49.2s 7. Stuck (Auto Union) 1h13m07.2s 11m45.2s 8. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 1h14m14.6s 12m14.0s 9. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 1h14m25.2s 12m15.0s 10. Pietsch (Auto Union) 1h15m36.8s 12m52.6s 11. Rüesch (Maserati) 1h16m54.2s 12m48.2s 12. Zehender (Maserati) 1h18m20.0s 12m56.8s 13. Ghersi (Maserati) 1h20m14.8s 13m12.0s 14. Hartmann (Maserati) 1h21m31.0s 13m26.6s 15. Mays (ERA) 1h21m38.2s 13m27.8s 16. Etancelin (Maserati) 1h26m15.8s 13m17.6s Lap 7 - At the beginning of lap 7, Rosemeyer stopped at his pits where he received a new right rear wheel and had his accelerator linkage repaired, all of which dropped him back to fifth place. At the end of lap 7, Caracciola led Fagioli by 33 seconds, followed by Nuvolari, Brauchitsch, Rosemeyer, Varzi and a distant Stuck in seventh place ahead of Lang, Geier, Pietsch, Ruesch and Zehender. The remaining drivers, Mays, Hartmann, Ghersi and Etancelin were lapped. Hartmann changed the plugs on his Maserati for the second time. Ghersi also changed plugs on his Maserati, losing two positions. As the circuit dried lap times tumbled, especially those of the more powerful German cars. Nuvolari also made up time and was fastest in the winding and downhill sections, where the higher engine power of the German cars was ineffective. The flying Mantuan had made up eight seconds on Brauchitsch and in a bold move went past the German on the outside of the Karussell. At start and finish line he was four seconds ahead of Brauchitsch, a total of 12 seconds in one lap taken away. At the end of lap 7, Varzi in sixth place stopped at his pit and explained that he could no longer drive as he was very concerned about the condition of the mechanic that he had accidently run into at the start. After seven laps the order was as follows: 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 1h22m37.8s 11m55.2s lap time 2. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 1h23m10.2s 11m39.2s 3. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 1h23m25.8s 11m28.0s 4. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 1h23m29.0s 11m39.6s 5. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 1h23m37.4s 12m27.2s 6. Varzi (Auto Union) 1h24m21.0s 12m06.6s 7. Stuck (Auto Union) 1h24m46.2s 11m39.0s 8. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 1h26m26.0s 12m11.4s 9. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 1h26m36.2s 12m11.0s 10. Pietsch (Auto Union) 1h29m27.4s 13m50.6s 11. Rüesch (Maserati) 1h29m31.6s 12m37.4s 12. Zehender (Maserati) 1h31m05.8s 12m45.8s 13. Mays (ERA) 1h34m53.8s 13m15.6s 14. Hartmann (Maserati) 1h35m55.2s 14m24.2s 15. Ghersi (Maserati) 1h37m02.8s 16m48.0s 16. Etancelin (Maserati) 1h41m32.0s 15m16.2s Lap 8 - At the end of lap eight on the almost dry road three Mercedes were in front, Caracciola, Fagioli and von Brauchitsch, who had regained third place after repassing Nuvolari at the long straight before the Döttinger Höhe. At the finish line he was more than three seconds ahead of the Alfa with a new lap record of 11m16.6s. Nuvolari's lap time was 11m23.2s, but he knew that his Alfa was capable of more. Rosemeyer followed five seconds behind in fifth place with a distant Stuck now in sixth place after he had passed Varzi during his pit stop. The Mercedes duo of Lang and Geier followed next, ahead of Pietsch, Ruesch and Zehender. After eight laps the field was in the following order: 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 1h34m14.0s 11m36.2s lap time 2. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 1h34m40.8s 11m30.6s 3. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 1h34m45.6s 11m16.6s 4. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 1h34m49.0s 11m23.2s 5. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 1h34m54.0s 11m16.6s 6. Stuck (Auto Union) 1h36m12.4s 11m26.2s 7. Varzi (Auto Union) 1h37m44.2s 13m23.2s 8. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 1h38m33.8s 12m07.8s 9. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 1h38m40.2s 12m04.0s 10. Pietsch (Auto Union) 1h42m07.0s 12m39.6s 11. Rüesch (Maserati) 1h42m11.4s 12m39.8s 12. Zehender (Maserati) 1h43m54.0s 12m48.2s 13. Mays (ERA) 1h48m12.0s 13m18.2s 14. Hartmann (Maserati) 1h48m52.4s 12m57.2s 15. Ghersi (Maserati) 1h49m32.2s 12m29.4s 16. Etancelin (Maserati) 1h53m39.0s 12m07.0s Lap 9 - The tension was increasing. Caracciola was still in the lead but Fagioli had fallen to fifth place when he was passed by Nuvolari, Brauchitsch, and Rosemeyer. Nuvolari having made up almost half a minute on Caracciola by making the fastest lap of the race so far in less than 11 minutes and was now less than eight seconds behind the German. Von Brauchitsch was third, eight seconds ahead of Rosemeyer and Fagioli followed a further 10 seconds behind. The first four were now close together, only 17 seconds covering them. Rüesch changed plugs on his Maserati. Zehender in twelfth place had now been lapped by the six leading drivers. Quite out of the blue, Etancelin in last place, made a sub-12 minutes lap, which was faster than the six cars immediately ahead of him, one of which was Pietsch's Auto Union. After nine laps the field was in the following order: 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 1h45m39.4s 11m25.4s lap time 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 1h45m46.8s 10m57.8s 3. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 1h45m48.6s 11m03.0s 4. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 1h45m56.6s 11m02.6s 5. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 1h46m07.0s 11m26.2s 6. Stuck (Auto Union) 1h47m28.4s 11m16.0s 7. Varzi (Auto Union) 1h49m19.6s 11m35.4s 8. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 1h50m22.6s 11m48.8s 9. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 1h50m30.2s 11m50.0s 10. Pietsch (Auto Union) 1h54m07.2s 12m00.2s 11. Rüesch (Maserati) 1h55m50.8s 13m39.4s 12. Zehender (Maserati) 2h00m12.0s 16m18.0s 13. Mays (ERA) 2h01m26.2s 13m14.2s 14. Hartmann (Maserati) 2h01m38.8s 12m46.4s 15. Ghersi (Maserati) 2h01m41.6s 12m09.4s 16. Etancelin (Maserati) 2h05m34.4s 11m55.4s Lap 10 - There was great excitement at the end of lap 10 because Nuvolari in the old Alfa Romeo had passed Caracciola and was in the lead, while Rosemeyer in third place crossed the line almost side by side with Caracciola, attacking the Mercedes ahead and von Brauchitsch was in their slipstream, less than a second behind Rosemeyer. But the major excitement was that the first four cars were covered by just over 10 seconds and the three silver arrows were separated by a few meters. The Swiss Ruesch with the Maserati in eleventh place was now also lapped. After ten laps Nuvolari held the lead at 117.3 km/h average speed ahead of the German armada in the following order: 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 1h56m42.2s 10m55.4s lap time 2. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 1h56m51.4s 11m12.0s 3. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 1h56m51.8s 10m55.2s 4. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 1h56m52.6s 11m04.0s 5. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 1h57m20.8s 11m13.8s 6. Stuck (Auto Union) 1h58m35.4s 11m07.0s 7. Varzi (Auto Union) 2h00m49.8s 11m30.2s 8. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 2h01m57.0s 11m34.4s 9. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 2h02m09.2s 11m39.0s 10. Pietsch (Auto Union) 2h06m18.4s 12m11.2s 11. Rüesch (Maserati) 2h08m08.4s 12m17.6s 12. Zehender (Maserati) 2h12m37.2s 12m25.2s 13. Ghersi (Maserati) 2h13m58.2s 12m16.6s 14. Hartmann (Maserati) 2h14m21.2s 12m42.4s 15. Mays (ERA) 2h14m57.8s 13m31.6s 16. Etancelin (Maserati) 2h17m44.6s 12m10.2s Lap 11 - There was even bigger excitement at the end of lap 11, when the leading three cars stopped practically simultaneously, first Nuvolari, then 3 seconds later Rosemeyer and one second behind him Brauchitsch who had passed Caracciola during the eleventh lap. They were followed 19 seconds later by Caracciola who had fallen to fourth place. In the grandstand the crowd excitedly stood up in their seats, gesticulating and shouting wildly while mechanics changed rear wheels and refueled the waiting cars in the shortest possible time. Finally, after only 47 seconds, Brauchitsch left first, next Rosemeyer 1m15s, then Caracciola 1m07s while the Alfa was still standing there after 1m27s. In the excitement Nuvolari's mechanics broke the refueling pump handle and then reverted to pouring the fuel from churns through a large funnel. Nuvolari jumped out of his car like a flash and was understandably upset and shouted at his mechanics to hurry up, walking and jumping around. Eventually, after 2m14s the unlucky Nuvolari left to begin his chase. Not only had he lost the lead but he also lost1m27s to his contenders and had fallen to sixth position. Lang and Geier also made their pit stops. Zehender changed plugs on his Maserati while Hartmann's Maserati retired. Here is the order after 11 laps but before the pit stops: 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 2h07m37.6s 10m55.4s lap time 2. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 2h07m40.8s 10m49.0s 3. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 2h07m41.4s 10m48.8s 4. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 2h08m00.8s 11m09.4s 5. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 2h08m28.6s 11m07.8s 6. Stuck (Auto Union) 2h09m38.6s 11m03.2s 7. Varzi (Auto Union) 2h12m27.2s 11m37.4s 8. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 2h13m46.6s 11m49.6s 9. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 2h14m09.0s 11m59.8s 10. Pietsch (Auto Union) 2h18m30.4s 12m12.0s 11. Rüesch (Maserati) 2h20m10.8s 12m02.4s 12. Zehender (Maserati) 2h24m58.8s 12m21.6s 13. Ghersi (Maserati) 2h26m19.8s 12m21.6s 14. Mays (ERA) 2h28m32.6s 13m34.8s 15. Etancelin (Maserati) 2h29m37.2s 11m52.6s 12 - Fagioli had taken the lead, but he stopped at the end of lap 12 for rear wheels and fuel. Brauchitsch, who was driving flat out, now took first place. Rosemeyer and Caracciola followed after about 40 seconds. Stuck was next but he also stopped for fuel and tires. With a light fuel load - and a dry track Stuck completed his first sub 11-minute lap. In sixth place was the flying Nuvolari, who was trying to close up to the leaders. Pietsch in tenth place also pitted. Delius had taken over Mays ERA, but the car developed a misfire and was finally retired after 12 laps when the order had become as follows: 1. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 2h19m42.6s 11m14.0s lap time 2. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 2h19m48.8s 12m07.4s 3. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 2h20m27.2s 12m46.4s 4. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 2h20m32.8s 12m32.0s 5. Stuck (Auto Union) 2h20m37.2s 10m58.6s 6. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 2h20m51.8s 13m14.2s 7. Varzi (Auto Union) 2h23m47.2s 11m20.0s 8. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 2h26m36.2s 12m49.6s 9. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 2h26m59.0s 12m50.0s 10. Pietsch (Auto Union) 2h30m35.8s 12m05.4s 11. Rüesch (Maserati) 2h32m12.8s 12m02.0s 12. Zehender (Maserati) 2h37m06.0s 12m07.2s 13. Ghersi (Maserati) 2h38m38.0s 12m18.2s 14. Mays/Delius (ERA) 2h42m23.8s 13m51.2s 15. Etancelin (Maserati) 2h45m13.8s 15m36.6s 13 - Brauchitsch was leading, 1m09s ahead of Rosemeyer with Caracciola and Nuvolari close behind. Fagioli and Stuck followed at a distance. Pietsch in tenth place was lapped by the four front runners. Brauchitsch's lap in 10'33.8" was the fastest so far. Fagioli lost three minutes while stopping at his pits to have the friction shock absorbers tightened. The order after 13 laps was as follows: 1. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 2h30m22.6s 10m33.8s lap time 2. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 2h31m32.0s 11m04.8s 3. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 2h31m33.6s 11m00.8s 4. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 2h31m41.6s 10m49.8s 5. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 2h32m19.6s 12m37.0s 6. Stuck (Auto Union) 2h32m43.0s 12m05.8s 7. Varzi (Auto Union) 2h35m27.8s 11m40.6s 8. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 2h38m17.0s 11m40.8s 9. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 2h38m38.8s 11m39.8s 10. Pietsch (Auto Union) 2h44m00.0s 13m24.2s 11. Rüesch (Maserati) 2h44m11.6s 11m58.8s 12. Zehender (Maserati) 2h49m13.8s 12m07.8s 13. Ghersi (Maserati) 2h53m42.0s 15m04.0s 14. Etancelin (Maserati) 3h00m47.4s 15m33.6s 14 - At the beginning of lap 14, Rosemeyer stopped at his pit to attend to the accelerator linkage, which was still binding. That stop not only dropped him to fifth place but he was no longer a contender for victory. Brauchitsch was still going flat out and drove the fastest lap of the race in 10m32s at 130 km/h average speed. He was leading Caracciola by 1m30s with Nuvolari only six seconds behind. Stuck held fourth place after he had passed Rosemeyer. Fagioli was sixth ahead of Varzi who pitted at the end of lap 14 for reserve driver Leiningen to take over. Disturbed about the accident with Stuck's mechanic, Varzi did not want to continue. Varzi, a sensitive driver, had clearly been disturbed by the incident with the mechanic, and had driven a lustless race. The order then was: 1. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 2h40m54.6s 10m32.0s lap time 2. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 2h42m24.6s 10m51.0s 3. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 2h42m30.2s 10m48.6s 4. Stuck (Auto Union) 2h43m38.4s 10m55.4s 5. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 2h44m16.4s 12m44.4s 6. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 2h46m02.0s 13m42.4s 7. Varzi (Auto Union) 2h47m45.6s 12m17.8s 8. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 2h49m48.2s 11m31.2s 9. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 2h50m22.2s 11m43.4s 10. Pietsch (Auto Union) 2h56m08.6s 12m08.6s 11. Rüesch (Maserati) 2h56m15.6s 12m04.0s 12. Zehender (Maserati) 3h01m28.8s 12m15.0s 13. Ghersi (Maserati) 3h05m51.8s 12m09.8s 14. Etancelin (Maserati) 3h13m30.4s 12m43.0s 15 - On lap 15, Brauchitsch and was 1m37.4s ahead of Nuvolari, who had overtaken Caracciola. Both were driving at an incredible pace. From the pits Neubauer signed to Brauchitsch to slow down. The first five were all cutting laps under 11 minutes and Rosemeyer - after his throttle was fixed - was only three seconds slower than Nuvolari. Caracciola, Stuck, and Fagioli could not keep up the pace of the two drivers in the lead but Rosemeyer could with a lap of 10m46.4s. After 15 laps von Brauchitsch held the lead at 119.7 km/h average speed when the order was as follows: 1. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 2h51m36.4s 10m41.8s lap time 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 2h53m13.8s 10m43.6s 3. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 2h53m15.4s 10m50.8s 4. Stuck (Auto Union) 2h54m29.8s 10m51.4s 5. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 2h55m02.8s 10m46.4s 6. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 2h57m10.8s 11m08.8s 7. Varzi/Leiningen (Auto Union) 3h01m23.4s 13m37.8s 8. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 3h01m23.4s 11m35.2s 9. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 3h01m56.6s 11m34.4s 10. Pietsch (Auto Union) 3h08m09.4s 12m00.8s 11. Rüesch (Maserati) 3h09m52.8s 13m37.2s 12. Zehender (Maserati) 3h13m42.8s 12m14.0s 13. Ghersi (Maserati) 3h18m09.2s 12m17.4s 14. Etancelin (Maserati) 3h25m23.6s 11m53.2s 16 - Brauchitsch was now 1m26.8s ahead of Nuvolari, who had gained 10.6 seconds in one lap. The Mercedes crew held pit sign for Brauchitsch to slow down. There was no change in the order except Rosemeyer made another pit stop and Lang slowed down before retiring after the sixteenth lap. The order then was: 1. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 3h02m33.6s 10m57.2s lap time 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 3h04m00.4s 10m46.6s 3. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 3h04m02.6s 10m47.2s 4. Stuck (Auto Union) 3h05m22.8s 10m53.0s 5. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 3h05m51.2s 10m48.4s 6. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 3h08m10.8s 11m00.0s 7. Varzi/Leiningen (Auto Union) 3h13m16.4s 11m53.0s 8. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 3h13m31.8s 11m35.2s 9. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) 3h16m00.8s 14m37.4s 10. Rüesch (Maserati) 3h21m55.6s 12m02.8s 11. Pietsch (Auto Union) 3h21m58.8s 13m49.4s 12. Zehender (Maserati) 3h25m39.8s 11m57.0s 13. Ghersi (Maserati) 3h30m28.4s 12m19.2s 14. Etancelin (Maserati) 3h37m31.6s 12m08.0s 17 - Brauchitsch was still in the lead, but was now only 1m13.2s ahead of Nuvolari. The Italian had gained 13.6 seconds in this lap. As was later reported by reliable corner workers, Nuvolari drove with a vengeance. At certain corners he tore entire grass berms to shreds, skidded and side-slipped, straightened out the car again but indeed matched the speed of the German leading group. On lap 17 he not only matched their speed, but he was faster than them. Since lap 14, when Brauchitsch drove the fastest lap, Neubauer had given him repeatedly signs to slow down. Caracciola was third, followed by Stuck, Rosemeyer and Fagioli, while Geier, Varzi/Leiningen, Rüesch and Pietsch were already lapped. The order after 17 laps was as follows: 1. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 3h13m32.2s 10m58.6s lap time 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 3h14m45.4s 10m45.0s 3. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 3h15m04.6s 11m02.0s 4. Stuck (Auto Union) 3h16m13.8s 10m51.0s 5. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 3h16m41.6s 10m50.4s 6. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 3h19m33.8s 11m23.0s 7. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 3h24m55.4s 11m23.6s 8. Varzi/Leiningen (Auto Union) 3h25m12.2s 11m55.8s 9. Rüesch (Maserati) 3h33m53.8s 11m58.2s 10. Pietsch (Auto Union) 3h34m26.0s 12m27.2s 11. Zehender (Maserati) 3h37m43.0s 12m03.2s 12. Ghersi (Maserati) 3h42m40.6s 12m12.2s 13. Etancelin (Maserati) 3h49m22.0s 11m50.4s 18 - Brauchitsch lead had shrunk to just 47 seconds over of Nuvolari. Nuvolari made up 17 seconds in a single lap. Unless Brauchitsch was deliberately to preserve his car, it looked as if Nuvolari might be able to regain the lead in the few remaining laps. The order remained the same, except that Rosemeyer had passed Fagioli. The order after 18 laps looked like this: 1. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 3h24m43.0s 11m10.8s lap time 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 3h25m30.0s 10m44.6s 3. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 3h26m09.4s 11m04.8s 4. Stuck (Auto Union) 3h26m56.6s 10m42.8s 5. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 3h27m31.4s 10m49.8s 6. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 3h30m59.6s 11m25.8s 7. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 3h36m22.6s 11m27.2s 8. Varzi/Leiningen (Auto Union) 3h37m18.8s 12m06.6s 9. Rüesch (Maserati) 3h46m14.0s 12m20.2s 10. Pietsch (Auto Union) 3h46m56.6s 12m30.6s 11. Zehender (Maserati) 3h49m44.0s 12m01.0s 12. Ghersi (Maserati) 3h54m53.2s 12m12.6s 13. Etancelin (Maserati) 4h01m12.2s 11m50.2s 19 -Brauchitsch had gained momentum and was now 53.2 seconds ahead of Nuvolari, who drove at an incredible pace and had made up 42.4 seconds since lap 14. With the very real threat of Nuvolari, Brauchitsch suddenly put in a fast lap, after he had slowed down, adhering to pit signs shown to him. There was a gap of 59.4s to Caracciola in third place, followed by Stuck, Rosemeyer and Fagioli. Pietsch was handicapped with a faulty fourth gear and could only use third and fifth gears on his Auto Union. Despite this problem he was able to pass Rüesch in the fastest Maserati. Since the second lap Etancelin in his Maserati had been driving at the very end of the field and when he retired after the19th lap, he had already been lapped twice and had only completed 17 laps. The order after 19 laps was as follows: 1. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 3h35m31.2s 10m48.2s lap time 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 3h36m24.4s 10m54.4s 3. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 3h37m23.8s 11m14.4s 4. Stuck (Auto Union) 3h37m44.2s 10m47.6s 5. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 3h38m25.6s 10m54.2s 6. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 3h42m10.8s 11m11.2s 7. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 3h47m42.4s 11m19.8s 8. Varzi/Leiningen (Auto Union) 3h49m10.0s 11m51.2s 9. Pietsch (Auto Union) 3h59m24.8s 12m28.2s 10. Rüesch (Maserati) 3h59m29.2s 13m15.2s 11. Zehender (Maserati) 4h01m59.0s 12m15.0s 12. Ghersi (Maserati) 4h07m02.0s 12m08.8s 13. Etancelin (Maserati) 4h13m14.8s 12m02.6s 20 - Brauchitsch drove the twentieth lap in 10m58s while Nuvolari's time was 10m47.2s. Nuvolari had chiseled a further 11s from Brauchitsch's lead, which was now down to only 42.4 seconds. When Brauchitsch passed the pits, he pointed to his rear tires; he had seen the breaker strip. Neubauer interpreted the gesture to mean that Brauchitsch would stop on the following lap to have the rear wheels changed. Accordingly, Neubauer made arrangements for the mechanics to be ready waiting with spare wheels, jack and copper hammer. Stuck had caught up with Caracciola and passed him into third place, which was the only position change during lap 20. Caracciola who was the only one of the leading drivers running laps at over 11 minutes was shown pit signals to go faster. The order after 20 laps was now: 1. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 3h46m29.2s 10m58.0s lap time 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 3h47m11.6s 10m47.2s 3. Stuck (Auto Union) 3h48m25.4s 10m41.2s 4. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 3h48m29.2s 11m05.4s 5. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 3h49m19.0s 10m53.4s 6. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 3h53m23.0s 11m12.2s 7. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 3h59m15.0s 11m32.6s 8. Varzi/Leiningen (Auto Union) 4h01m01.2s 11m51.2s 9. Pietsch (Auto Union) 4h11m47.6s 12m22.8s 10. Rüesch (Maserati) 4h12m22.2s 12m53.0s 11. Zehender (Maserati) 4h14m43.2s 12m44.2s 12. Ghersi (Maserati) 4h19m29.4s 12m27.4s 21 - Brauchitsch lapped even faster than before. He did not stop at the pits as expected by his shocked team waiting in suspense. All drivers had fallen further behind including Nuvolari, who was now 45.2s behind Brauchitsch, who was signaled from his pit, to slow down. They were obviously aware of a tire problem, having also seen the visible breaker strip on the left rear tire. Pietsch, Rüesch, Zehender and Ghersi were all two laps behind, meaning they were still on their 19th lap and therefore are no longer shown with those drivers on lap 21: 1. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 3h57m13.4s 10m44.2s lap time 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 3h57m58.6s 10m47.0s 3. Stuck (Auto Union) 3h59m24.6s 10m59.2s 4. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 3h59m52.2s 11m23.0s 5. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 4h00m20.2s 11m01.2s 6. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 4h04m33.4s 11m10.4s 7. Geier (Mercedes-Benz) 4h11m47.8s 12m32.8s 8. Varzi/Leiningen (Auto Union) 4h15m35.6s 14m34.4s 22 - On the last lap at the Karussell the track radio announcer reported that Nuvolari was only ten seconds behind Brauchitsch. Minutes full of tension faded away and then Nuvolari's flying red Alfa appeared, taking the checkered flag first to a dead silence from the grandstands, such was the disappointment of the stunned crowd. But then the Italian was met by tremendous cheers from the crowd. What had happened to the nine German racing cars, all of them superior machines? The great little man from Mantua had beaten them all with an outstanding driving performance. The victorious Nuvolari was followed 1m38.6s later by Stuck in the Auto Union, who came second in a fantastic drive from one of the last places at the start. Caracciola finished third followed by Rosemeyer's Auto Union and finally von Brauchitsch who had fallen to fifth place. As his Mercedes went into the Karussell the left rear tire raptured. Von Brauchitsch had continued on the rim only to see the Alfa Romeo pass and win. With half a kilometer to go the right rear tire burst as well and Brauchitsch had to see three more cars pass his hobbling car. He slowly crossed the line on the left rear rim with the right rear tire flat and in shreds. He drove past his pits, not to show his disappointment and was so depressed, he was weeping. Geier's Mercedes and the Auto Union of Varzi/Leiningen were one lap behind and were flagged off. The order after 22 laps was as follows: 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 4h08m40.2s 10m51.6s lap time 2. Stuck (Auto Union) 4h10m18.8s 10m54.2s 3. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 4h11m03.2s 11m11.0s 4. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 4h12m51.0s 12m30.8s 5. Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) 4h14m17.8s 17m04.4s 6. Fagioli (Mercedes-Benz) 4h15m58.6s 11m25.2s Nuvolari’s victory was honored by raising the Italian flag on the victory mast and the Italian national anthem was sounded. It was of course the "Marcia Reale", not the post-war "Fratelli d'Italia, l'Italia s'è desta". Brauchitsch received of course the most applause.

Private driver beats Scuderia Ferrari

The race was run in two 10 lap heats which in fact were unnecessary as all competitors went on to the 5 lap final. Sommer in his private Alfa Romeo won the first heat as Scuderia Ferrari driver Chiron got a puncture. Chiron's team mate Comotti won the second heat. In the final the Scuderia Ferrari drivers immediately got in trouble with Comotti retiring and with Chiron dropping so far back that despite being fastest on the track he could only reach fourth position in the end. Lehoux led until lap five when Sommer passed him to go on to take the victory. Lehoux' Maserati run out of fuel just before the finish line and "Raph" and Hartmann in their private Maseratis passed him to finish 2nd and 3rd.

For 1935 l'Automobile Club du Midi had changed the format of the race. Instead of the 35 laps done in 1933 and 1934 it was now to be run with two 10 lap heats plus a 15 lap final.       The following prizes were provided: 5000 Fr, 3000 Fr and 1000 Fr for the top three finishers in each heat. In the final the winner received 25,000 Fr, second 15,000 Fr, third 10,000 Fr, fourth 7,000 Fr, fifth 5,000 Fr, sixth 3,000 Fr and seventh 1000 Fr.

Entries: The race was held on the same day as the Coppa Ciano so naturally the entry list suffered a bit. The Scuderia Ferrari team once more divided their effort with four cars appearing at Livorno while they sent two Tipo Bs of the earlier type without independent front suspension to St. Gaudens for Gianfranco Comotti, who had won the 1934 event, and for Louis Chiron. In addition to that Tadini also raced a seventh Scuderia Ferrari Tipo B at the Grossglocker hillclimb the same weekend. Raymond Sommer entered his private Tipo B (#5003) as did "Raph" (#5006). Both cars were of the early narrow type with added bodywork added to follow the 1934 rules. It is not known if Raph's car was red or blue at that time. Sommer had a new engine after the old one had blown up during the Belgian Grand Prix. Motor Sport speculated that the new one might possibly be of a 3.2 litre type.       Once again the Scuderia Subalpina team, representing Maserati, was expected to show up with their new V-8RI cars and once again there was disappointment as Philippe Etancelin and Goffredo Zehender came with their old 6C-34s. The team almost failed to arrive as their lorry broke down twice on the way to St. Gaudens, first at Limoges and then at Cahors.       Count Villapadierna entered two yellow Maserati 8CMs for himself and for Marcel Lehoux while László Hartmann was to race his own Maserati 8CM. Mlle. Hellé-Nice entered her blue Alfa Romeo Monza and Mme. Itier raced a voiturette Bugatti T51 (#511142).       Jean-Pierre Wimille and possibly also Robert Benoist were present at St. Gaudens waiting, but Automobiles Bugatti failed to send a car for them.

Practice: Practice started on Friday afternoon. The two Scuderia Ferrari drivers were as expected fastest with Chiron making a lap of 4m09s, three seconds faster than Wimille's lap record from 1934, and Comotti doing 4m20s. Other practice times were: Lehoux 4m23s, Zehender 4m34s, Hartmann 4m57s, Raph 5m06s, Itier 5m49s and Hellé-Nice 5m27s. Sommer, who needed to run in his new engine, did not make any timed laps.       On Saturday all drivers bettered their times. Chiron went down to 4m03s reaching an average of 163 km/h to take pole position in heat 1. His team mate Comotti made the second fastest time of 4m11s for a pole position in heat 2. The rest of the drivers were assigned alternately to the heats according to their practice times, Sommer (4m12s) going to heat 1, Lehoux (4m16s) to heat 2 and so on. The Saturday practice times for all drivers can be seen on the heat grids below.

Heat 1: With just eleven cars present all participants had guaranteed a position in the final. So the heats were only about the prize money and for deciding the grid positions in the final.       The sun was obscured by mist that had descended from the surrounding mountains as the cars lined up at the bottom of the slope before the grand stand for the first race start at 2 p.m.

6 Etancelin Maserati 4m17s 28 Sommer Alfa Romeo 4m12s 2 Chiron Alfa Romeo 4m03s 18 Raph Alfa Romeo 4m36s 38 Hartmannn Maserati 4m29s 34 Itier Alfa Romeo 5m13s

The cars climbed up the slope past the grand stand with Chiron in the lead. Chiron made the first lap in 4m16s and he was followed by Sommer, Etancelin, Hartmann, Raph and Itier. It was expected that the Scuderia Ferrari driver would dominate the event so it came as a huge surprise when Chiron stopped after the second lap because of a puncture on the left rear tyre. Sommer was now in lead followed by Etancelin, Raph and Hartmann. After a tyre change that lasted 34 seconds Chiron returned to the race in fifth position, 1m07s behind the new leader. The order after three laps: 1. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 13m01s (152.2 km/h) 2. Etancelin (Maserati) 3. Raph (Alfa Romeo) 4. Hartmann (Maserati) 5. Chiron (Alfa Romeo) 6. Itier (Bugatti) At the fourth lap Sommer passed the stand with a fair gap to Etancelin, then followed Raph and Hartmann. Then there was a bigger gap before Chiron arrived while Itier was last. Chiron had taken up the chase on Hartmann and made the fourth lap in 4m14s.       On the fifth lap Chiron passed Hartmann for fourth. Chiron gained another 17 seconds on Sommer during that lap but the latter was in no danger, having made 5 laps in 21m37s keeping up an average speed of 152.7 km/h.       Chiron still increased his pace and made the sixth lap in 4m10s passing Raph to gain third position.       On the eighth lap Raph lost his fourth position as well as he was passed by Hartmann. Chiron closed in further on the leader making the fastest lap of the race with a time of 4m09s (159.1 km/h) but it was clear that unless something unexpected happend he would not be able to reach neither Sommer nor Etancelin.       The race continued the two last laps without incidents. So the first heat was won by Sommer from Etancelin and Chiron.

Heat 2: There were only five competitors in the second heat that started 30 minutes after the finish of heat 1.

8 Zehender Maserati 4m22s 24 Lehaux Maserati 4m16s 4 Comotti Alfa Romeo 4m11s 36 Hellé-Nice Alfa Romeo 4m56s 26 Villapadierna Maserati 4m32s

Zehender took the lead of the start but by the end of the first lap Comotti had taken control of the race making the first lap from a standing start in 4m16s, the same time that Chiron had done in the first heat. After Comotti made lap 2 in 4m15s he immediately got a pit signal to take it easy. He was followed by Lehoux and Zehender while Villapadierna and Hellé-Nice already were far behind. Comotti pulled away from Lehoux by a few seconds a lap. Halfway through the race after five laps the situation was as follows: 1. Comotti (Alfa Romeo) 21m25s (154.2 km/h) 2. Lehoux (Maserati) 21m46s 3. Zehender (Maserati) 22m10s 4. Villapadierna (Maserati) 23m09s 5. Hellé-Nice (Alfa Romeo) 24m45s There were no changes in the order and the heat victory went to Comotti followed by Lehoux and Zehender. (Note 1)

Final: The 15 lap final started at 4.45 p.m.

6 Etancelin Maserati 4 Comotti Alfa Romeo 28 Sommer Alfa Romeo 24 Lehoux Maserati 2 Chiron Alfa Romeo 18 Raph Alfa Romeo 8 Zehender Maserati 38 Hartmann Maserati 36 Helle-Nice Alfa Romeo 26 Villapadierna Maserati 34 Itier Bugatti (Note 2)

Etancelin took the lead followed by Lehoux, Comotti, Zehender, Sommer, Raph and Hartmann but during the first lap both Etancelin and Comotti had car troubles and fell back. So at the end of the lap the order was: 1. Lehoux (Maserati) 4m18s (153.6 km/h) 2. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 4m21s 3. Zehender (Maserati) 4. Etancelin (Maserati) 5. Raph (Alfa Romeo) 6. Hartmann (Maserati) 7. Villapadiera (Maserati) 8. Chiron (Alfa Romeo) 9. Hellé-Nice (Alfa Romeo) 10. Itier (Bugatti) Already Scuderia Ferrari's chances to win the event had decreased dramatically. Comotti retired with a broken drive axle and Chiron's engine was misfiring and he had to make a 2m45s stop to change plugs and returned to the race in last position.       Just like in the first heat Chiron found himself chasing the rest of the field. He made the third lap in 4m08s. On the next lap he passed both Itier and Hellé-Nice for eighth position.       Lehoux continued in the lead but soon the Maserati driver could see Sommer's blue Alfa in his mirror. After a fierce duel in which the drivers were banging wheels Lehoux had to see Sommer get past to take the lead on the fifth lap. The race order after five laps: 1. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 21m15s (154.3 km/h) 2. Lehoux (Maserati) 21m24s 3. Zehender (Maserati) 21m40s 4. Raph (Alfa Romeo) 22m10s 5. Etancelin (Maserati) 22m14s 6. Hartmann (Maserati) 7. Villapadierna (Maserati) 8. Chiron (Alfa Romeo) 9. Hellé-Nice (Alfa Romeo) 10. Itier (Bugatti) Chiron went still faster and made the fifth lap in 4m06s. On the sixth lap Etancelin, who had struggled with engine problems, made a long stop and dropped down the order. Then Chiron lost everything he had gained as he was forced to make another pit stop for adjustments and he found himself once again in last position. The race order after seven laps: 1. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 2. Lehoux (Maserati) 3. Zehender (Maserati) 4. Raph (Alfa Romeo) 5. Hartmann (Maserati) 6. Villapadierna (Maserati) 7. Hellé-Nice (Alfa Romeo) 8. Itier (Bugatti) 9. Etancelin (Maserati) 10. Chiron (Alfa Romeo) On the eighth lap Etancelin and Chiron gained two positions by passing the lady duo. Chiron made the lap in 4m04s and that proved to be the fastest lap of the race. On the next lap he passed Etancelin for seventh position. The situation after ten laps: 1. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 42m24s (155.7 km/h) 2. Lehoux (Maserati) 42m34s 3. Zehender (Maserati) 42m59s 4. Raph (Alfa Romeo) 44m12s 5. Hartmann (Maserati) 45m15s 6. Villapadierna (Maserati) 46m17s 7. Chiron (Alfa Romeo) 8. Etancelin (Maserati) 9. Hellé-Nice (Alfa Romeo) 10. Itier (Bugatti) At the front Lehoux was unable to keep the pace of Sommer, who started to pull away by a few seconds a lap. Chiron had passed Villapadierna but he had lost his earlier speed and he found himself struck behind Hartmann. Zehender made a short stop and Raph moved up to third. The race order after 13 laps was like this: 1. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 2. Lehoux (Maserati) 3. Raph (Alfa Romeo) 4. Zehender (Maserati) 5. Hartmann (Maserati) 6. Chiron (Alfa Romeo) 7. Villapadierna (Maserati) 8. Etancelin (Maserati) 9. Hellé-Nice (Alfa Romeo) 10. Itier (Bugatti) Zehender retired on the fourteenth lap so Hartmann moved up to fourth and Chiron to fifth. After 15 laps Sommer, who had made a brilliant race, took the chequered flag to win the Comminges Grand Prix. The spectators then started to wonder what had happened to Lehoux. Finally he appeared, but he was cruising at 30 km/h and at the bottom of the slope before the grand stand the Maserati came to a standstill out of fuel. A frustrated Lehoux tried in vain to push his Maserati uphill to the finish line less than 200 meters further on while he had to see one car after another pass him. So it was the day of the privateers with Sommer, "Raph" and Hartmann on the top, while Chiron finished fourth, five seconds behind Hartmann.