Seaman takes his ten year old Delage to victory.

Seaman's old Delage was challenged by nine ERAs on the narrow and bumpy Isle of Man track. Earl Howe initially led the race but was soon passed by Seaman. The works ERAs struck trouble. Howe had to retire with high air pressure splitting the fuel tank and Mays was out with a transmission failure. So privateers Bira and Paul had a fight about second position but they never had a chance against Seaman, who apart from being faster also could do the race distance non-stop while the ERA cars had to make a stop for fuel.

After having run the Isle of Man race in two classes on a street circuit for three years R.A.C. moved the Douglas race outside the city creating a new road circuit based on the motorcycle T.T. circuit and retricted the event to a voiturette race. The result was a four sided bumpy and narrow circuit with some very difficult sections.       The start and the pits were the same as used by the motor cycle TT. After a short straight the course turned sharply right and then went up hill along Ballarano Road. Then followed a difficult section with sharp and blind corners with high banks and hedges on both sides. After the harpin bend named Cronk-ny-Mona the course was slightly easier through still full of bends. After a right turn the course joined the main road with only real straight. The length of the circuit was approx 4 miles.

Entries: The main interest was how good Seaman in his rebuilt 1927 GP Delage would be. Seaman had won two minor races at the British Empire Trophy at Donington on 4 April with the car but this was the first big test against hard opposition as he was challenged by no less than 9 ERA's. That included works entries for Marcel Lehoux (R3B) Raymond Mays (R4B), Patrick Fairfield (R4A) and Earl Howe (R8B), Fairfield's and Howe's cars having been repainted from white and dark blue to the ERA green when joining the works team.       Private ERAs were entered by Cyril Paul (R7B - white), William Everitt (R6B - bright green ), Prince Bira (R2B - blue), Reggie Tongue (R11B - green, black/silver stripe) and Gerard Manby-Colegrave (R1B - green). Teddy Rayson entered a Maserati and Charlie Dodson raced the interesting new white colored little 0.7 litre ohc Austin. A number of cars of different types filled the rest of the field all of them, except Humber's Bugatti, supercharged. Philip Jucker's Frazer Nash was gold colored.

Practice: First practice started 5 a.m. on Tuesday in fine weather and 18 cars took part. Bira (ERA) and Paul (ERA) were fastest, both doing a lap of 3m23s. Everitt (ERA) and Dixon (Riley) made 3m27s laps, Lehoux (ERA) 3m27s and Dodson (Austin) and Fairfield (ERA) 3m28s. Wednesday the weather was cludy. Bira did 3m19s and Seaman 3m20s. Lehoux was sent out to beat those times in Howe's car and he did fastest during practice with a time of 3m16s. However as Lehoux had made his fast lap in car 16 instead of car 15 the pole position went to Earl Howe while Lehoux found himself back in the fifth row. Dodson did 3m21s with his Austin and works ERA drivers mays and Faiffield made 2m22s and 3m23s.       Freddy Dixon was unable to do a time better than 3m41 with his Riley. He criticized strongly the new course that he considered dangerous and he decided not to take part in the race but went fishing instead!       Bira on the other hand criticized the race length rather than the course itself. With the current race length he ERAs were forced for stop for fuel while there were rumors that Seaman's Delage with its bigger tank would might to try to it non-stop. Bira recommended a race length where all cars made an equal number of stops.

Race: On Thursday afternoon a cold wind was blowing but the May sun was shining brightly and record crowds were reported on the stands and around the track. At 2 p.m. the 18 cars were lined up in the grid and the red Isle of Man flag was dropped.

16 Howe ERA 3m16s 17 "B Bira" ERA 3m19s 9 Seaman Delage 3m20s 6 Dodson Austin 3m22s 14 Mays ERA 3m21s 10 Fairfield ERA 3m23s 11 Paul ERA 3m23s 12 Everitt ERA 15 Lehaux ERA Rest of grid unknown.

Howe took the lead followed by Seaman, Paul, Bira, Mays and Dodson. Two cars were already out of the race, Humber with a flooding carburator and Rayson who had broken the supercharger drive at the start while Willaims had come to the start with a broken shock absorber on his M. G. and was struggling. Mays in the works ERA was struggling to keep the pace of Dodson's little but good handling Austin. Behind him Lehoux passed Fairfield and soon afterwards Lehoux found away past Mays as well. Jucker had stopped at the far side of the track with a broken car. Passing the main stand at the end of the fourth lap Seaman took the Delage up alongside Howe's ERA and went past at St. Ninian's church to take the lead. to pull away. Situation after 5 laps was thus: 1. Seaman (Delage) 17m11s 2. Howe (ERA) + 1s 3. Paul (ERA) + 6s 4. Bira (ERA) + 7s 5. Dodson (Austin) + 11s 6. Lehoux (ERA) + 15s After five laps Tongue gave up with a faulty magneto. A lap later Howe was in the pit. The air pressure of the fuel system was double to the correct one. The carburator was flooding and the fuel tank was bulging, interfering with the suspension. When Howe finally rejoined the race he had dropped from second to dead last. Lehoux made a pit stop as well for new goggles. Williams finally gave up his struggle with the broken shock absorber and Eccles called it a day as well as did Tongue and Cormack. Bira was now up to third and Dodson in his little Austin was able to hold on to fourth position until the 10th lap At 10 laps twelve seconds covered the top three races, Seaman slowly pulling away from Paul and Bira, the latter 1 seconds behind the leader. Behind the the three works ERA drivers were driving close together. After 20 laps Seaman's lead had increased to 15 seconds: 1. Seaman (Delage) 1h08m35s 2. Paul (ERA) + 15s 3. Bira (ERA) + 17s 4. Fairfield (ERA) + 40s 5. Mays (ERA) + 42s 6. Lehoux (ERA) + 50s On the 21st laps the air pressure split the fuel tank on Howe's ERA and he had to retire. On the same lap Bira, after an half an hour duel, finally managed to outbrake Paul at St. Ninain's corner to take second position. Taking any illusions away from the Siamese Price about catching the Delage, Seaman made the 25th lap in 3m21s followed by 3m20s on the 27th. Mays made a 40 seconds stop for 70 liter fuel followed by Lehoux 50 seconds stop for the same amount. On lap 29 Bira stopped for 50 seconds for 45 litre fuel, oil and water giving second position back to Paul. Fairfield also made his top but took the pit crew by surprise so his stop was a lengthy one. The order after 30 laps was: 1. Seaman (Delage) 1h42m28s 2. Paul (ERA) + 1m26s 3. Bira (ERA) + 1m38s 4. Mays (ERA) + 2m08s 5. Lehoux (ERA) + 2m29s 6. Fairfield (ERA) + 3m05s Dodson had to make a stop for fuel and because a flooding carburator. Then it was Paul's turn to make his stop, taking on 95 liter in 40 seconds and dropping to fourth. By now only Seaman had yet to make a stop and even if Seaman's team mcreated high piles of fuel churns in the pit it started to look more and more probably that Seaman, just as the opposition had feared, would do the race non-stop. Mays wes now closing in on Bira. After 32 laps the gap was 21 seconds, on the next laps 20 seconds, then 18 seconds. But then Mays slowed down and retired the works ERA with a broken transmission. The race situation 35 laps looked like this: 1. Seaman (Delage) 1h59m39s 2. Bira (ERA) + 1m33s 3. Lehoux (ERA) + 2m20s 4. Paul (ERA) + 2m58s 5. Fairfield (ERA) + 3m17s 6. Mays (ERA) + 3m44s The problems for the works ERA team continued on the 40th lap when Lehoux crashed into the sandbags at Onchan corner. After some pushing by the marshals he was able to return slowly to the pit where a bent radius rod was quickly hammered straight before Lehoux could rejoin the race in firth position. When it was realized that Seaman was on a nonstop strategy against ERA's one pitstop there were no doubt about the winner. With lots of fuel still in the tank Seaman took the ten year old Delage to a triumphant victory. Bira and Paul finished second and third with Fairfield being best works ERA driver of the day despite his bad pit stop folowed by his team mate Lehoux and ERA driven by the duo Manby-Colgrave and Featherstonhaugh. Everitt, who had had a long stop far from the pit, Dodson , who had made several pit stops and Briggs were still running but not classified.       After the race there was a scandal. Certain sums of prize money had been advertised but other, lower sums, were mentioned in the regulations. Several drivers made an appeal to the stewards to give out the prize money advertised but they were turned down. Only after a further appeal to R.A.C. on the advice of Oliver Bertram, who apart from being a racing driver and Brooklands specialist also worked as a barrister, the drivers finally received the full prize money sums.

M.G. wins a "Grand Prix"

Technically it was a Grand Prix race but in reality it was a voiturette race and one with a rather weak field. When Rüesch and Durand retired their Maseratis the field was open for Hertzberger to take the victory in a M.G. from the Bugattis of Fourny and Rose-Itier.

For the 11th time l'AMC de Beaumont-Chimay organized the Grand Prix des Frontières. The event included apart from the car race also 350 cc and 500 cc motorcycle races. Initially meant to be a Grand Prix race with cars of several categories taking part, the race in fact turned into a voiturette race when Austin Dobson withdraw the entry of his 3 litre Maserati. That meant that the only Grand Prix car left in the list was Arthur Legat's 2.3 litre Bugatti T35B. The organizers then pushed Legat to race a 1.5 litre Bugatti 37A instead.

Entries: Arthur Legat, who had taken part in all the Frontièrs GP races since 1929 was the only Belgian competitor with his Bugatti T37A. There were three French Bugatti entries, Anne-Cecile Rose-Itier and Claude Bossu (racing as "Barowski") with their 8-cylinder cars and Jean-Gilbert Fourny with a 4-cylinder T37A. French driver Henri Durand entered a Maserati and Swiss driver Hans Rüesch entered his Maserati 4CS (#1520) modified and rebodied with Dubonnet type independent front suspension. Dutch driver Harry Herkuleyns entered the same MG as in 1935 and his fellow countryman Eddie Hertzberger his orange MG K3 Magnette.

Race: It was raining as the eight cars lined up in the grid as seen below and flagged away for their 20 lap race at 2:30 p.m.

10 Rüesch Maserati 4m55s 2 Rose-Itier Bugatti 24 Durand Maserati 6 Legat Bugatti 12 "Barowski" Bugatti 8 Fourney Bugatti 14 Hertzberger MG 22 Herkuleyns MG

Rüesch took the best start followed by Itier and Legat. At the end of the first lap Rüesch held the lead followed by "Barowski", Hertzberger, Legat, Itier, Fourny and Herkuleyns. Durand made a pit stop. He returned to the race only to retire his Maserati on the third lap. On the fifth lap leader Rüesch retired his Maserati at Salles. "Barowski" took over the lead but Hertzberger was close behind him. The rainy conditions made it possible for the nimble MG to challenge the more powerful Bugatti and on the sixth lap Hertzberger passed "Barowski" for the lead, setting the fastest lap of the race at the same time. Legat was some two minutes behind the duo in third position and the rest of the field was far behind. On the seventh lap "Barowski", trying to retake the lead and blinded by the water thrown up by the front wheels, overdid it and crashed at Thiérissart near Robechiers. The Bugatti rolled over several times ending up upside down and badly damaged but the driver, who was thrown out during the first roll, escaped uninjured.       Halfway through the race Hertzberger was leading Legat with 2m41s. They were followed by Fourny, Itier and Herkuleyns. Fortunately for drivers and spectators alike the rain started to decrease.       When Legat on the 15th lap retired his Bugatti at Salles because of an engine failure there were just four cars left in the race. In the end Hertzberger and his Magnette took an overwhelming win to give M.G. its only Grand Prix victory. Jean-Gilbert Fourny finished second, Mme. Rose-Itier third and Herkuleyns fourth.

Nuvolari supreme - First victory for the 12-cylinder Alfa Romeo

Under normal conditions, the Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union racecars could not be beaten in 1936. In spite of that, Tazio Nuvolari in an inferior machine succeeded in being victorious over the German cars on four occasions. The Italian's victory in the Penya Rhin Grand Prix impressed much more than his lucky 1935 win at the Nürburgring, where he won the Grand Prix against the German onslaught. Here in Barcelona Nuvolari beat four superior German cars in perfect condition. Chiron led the first lap, Caracciola the next five and then he was passed by Nuvolari's 12-cylinder Alfa Romeo. Rosemeyer lost much time with repairs in the pits. Varzi declined to drive. Instead, new man von Delius carefully drove the second Auto Union in his first grand prix race. Chiron, in the second Mercedes, was just not up to speed. The race-long battle between Caracciola and Nuvolari ended in the Italian's favor. The German had to deal with the handling problems of the short wheelbase Mercedes. In the last quarter of the race, Caracciola was able to close the gap to Nuvolari to 3.4 seconds due to the poor condition of the Alfa's tires. Caracciola finished second with only one pit stop versus Nuvolari's two. Farina in an older 8 cylinder Alfa was third ahead of von Delius and Rosemeyer in Auto Unions, Chiron (Mercedes-Benz), Sommer and Villapadierna in old Alfas while Brivio, Etancelin and Wimille retired.

After a three week break the teams headed to Barcelona at the beginning of June. It was not peaceful in the days before the outbreak of the civil war on July 18, 1936. The Barcelona city workers were on strike as was the railroad. The VII Gran Premio Penya Rhin on June 7 and simultaneously the IV Copa Barcelona took place on the previous year's circuit at Montjuich Park and was restricted to cars of the international 750 kg formula. The 3.79 km road course in Barcelona twisted up and down around the base of the Montjuich hill, crested by the national museum and the 1929 world exhibition buildings. The surface alternated between cobbles and asphalt and the city streets sections required the cars to cross streetcar tracks. The course, where one corner followed another with no straight worth mentioning, had to be lapped 80 times, a total of 303.2 km. It called for continuous gear shifting and the lower gears were used most of the time. The race finished five minutes after the arrival of the first car to complete the distance had crossed the finish line. The following cars had to stop even if they had not completed the required distance.       The prizes awarded were 15,000 pesetas for the winner, 8,000 for second, 5,000 for third, 3,000 for fourth and 2,000 for the fifth finisher. In addition 1,000 pesetas went to the leading driver with a car constructed in Spain

Entries: Almost the entire elite of drivers had turned up in Barcelona. A few cars had been shipped from Tunis directly to Spain since there were just three weeks between races. The Mercedes team manager, Alfred Neubauer, arrived by plane on Thursday while earlier in the week the Daimler-Benz team had turned up with their own fuel truck, spares and two W25 grand prix cars for Rudolf Caracciola and his friend Louis Chiron. Herman Lang was reserve driver as quoted by El Mundo Deportivo.       Auto Union appeared at Barcelona for the first time, having missed the previous two years. The new team Manager for 1936, Dr. Karl Otto Feuereissen, had Achille Varzi and Bernd Rosemeyer as drivers with Ernst von Delius as reserve. Hans Stuck was at the rainy Shelsley Walsh hill climb. Technical director August Jacob and chief mechanic Wilhelm Sebastian were also present. The Spanish railroad workers strike had begun to collapse but the Auto Union team was worried about their overdue racecars which were due to come by railroad from Portbou at the border. Ludwig Sebastian and Ulrich Bigalke from Auto Union searched for their cars at every station along the line until they found them in a railway siding. Only through their persistence and determination were the railroad cars brought to Barcelona, where the Auto Union staff unloaded their racing cars at night, illuminated by the headlamps of their road cars. At Achille Varzi's suggestion, Auto Union had built a car in which the regular 291 cm wheelbase used in 1935 had been reduced. The short car was made ready for Barcelona for Varzi to drive, while the other car had the longer wheelbase.       Scuderia Ferrari entered the new independently sprung 12C 1936 Alfa Romeo for Tazio Nuvolari, who had recovered from injuries received in his Tripoli practice crash, when his Alfa overturned and he was thrown from the cockpit. They also entered a pair of faithful 8C 1935 cars for Count Antonio Brivio and Giuseppe Farina, who had recuperated from his Monza test accident, while Francesco Severi was present as reserve driver. Italy's hopes and pride were based on this new 4.1-liter 12-cylinder grand prix Alfa Romeo which had shown great stamina, improved road holding and increased power of 370 hp.       Automobiles Bugatti entered a T59 with a 50B1 engine for Jean-Pierre Wimille. Wealthy French privateer Raymond Sommer drove an old 3.2-liter Alfa Romeo Type B. So did Spanish Count José de Villapadierna whose Escuderia Villapadierna entered an 3.2-liter Alfa Romeo Type B. Philippe Etancelin drove a Maserati V8 RI and "Raph", the pseudonym for R. B. de las Casas, in another V8 RI did not appear.

Practice: The first practice session was held on Thursday afternoon from four to seven and aroused enormous interest. Before the announced time, a large crowd had accumulated in the stands and other places around the circuit, to experience first impressions of the main participants. The German teams from Mercedes and Auto Union were already in Barcelona on Wednesday, including Lang, Caracciola and Chiron. The independent Spaniard, Villapadierna, was also present, while Etancelin, Sommer and Raph had indicated their arrival on Wednesday but it was not reported that they practiced the following day. Scuderia Ferrari arrived on Thursday. The increase already seen in the speeds of the 1936 cars, made it likely that the lap record would be beaten in the first practice session. The present lap record was held by Caracciola, Nuvolari and Fagioli from last year with 2m02s at 111,800 km/h. The German teams of Mercedes and Auto Union were the first to make an appearance on the track. The sensitive road holding of the new short Mercedes was more noticeable on the twisting Montjuich Park circuit. The 1936 W25 had a 246 cm wheel base compared with 272 cm of the 1935 model. The drivers were not happy with the handling and found the rapid pitching motion of the short car troublesome. Caracciola went around in 2m05s. Rosemeyer on his first practice lap held back, but raised his speed on the following lap. Accelerating out of Font del Gat, a banked left hand corner, he lost it under full throttle. Instead, the car went straight on, hit and uprooted a lamp post at the exit of the corner, which was protected by sandbags. The front of the Auto Union was badly damaged and Rosemeyer arrived at his pits limping with a slightly injured knee. His slashed bleeding nose was attended to by the First Aid team. Rosemeyer resumed practice with the short wheelbase car and within just two laps his best time was 2m04s. His mechanic, Ludwig Sebastian, in the meantime repaired the damage on the other car. Practice continued with Caracciola, Chiron and Nuvolari who were progressively improving their times. Caracciola achieved a lap of 2m03.6s while Nuvolari's best with the new 12-cylinder Alfa Romeo was 2m05.0s. Chiron and von Delius times were somewhat slower. Varzi, arrived late for practice and achieved times similar to those of Caracciola and Nuvolari.       Friday's official practice session was also from 4 to 7 pm. While Thursday's practice had a very limited number of drivers, Friday's practice was expected to include the 8-cylinder cars from Scuderia Ferrari, the Maseratis of Etancelin and Raph, the older Alfa Romeos of Sommer and Villapadierna and perhaps the Bugatti of Wimille, whose arrival was announced at the border in the early hours of Friday morning. Nuvolari and Farina achieved excellent practice times in their shorter Alfa Romeos; their speed was right amongst the German cars. The 8-cylinder Maserati of Etancelin and the Alfa of Villaperdierna also participated in the session. The short wheelbase Auto Union had been made ready for Barcelona at Achille Varzi's suggestion, but it proved to handle badly. As a result, Varzi categorically demanded to drive Rosemeyer's long wheelbase car, as Bernd was still the junior driver at this time. The Italian was so unwilling during practice that he could only be persuaded albeit reluctantly to drive some practice laps in the short car to communicate technical results. An exchange of cars between Varzi and Rosemeyer was not possible because of the German's light knee injury. Rosemeyer could not drive the short car as it required sitting with the knees bent. Although Varzi was fully aware of this situation, he stated that he was not going to drive the short car in the race, even though it was explained to Varzi by Auto Union that he would be in breach of his contract. Regardless, the Italian did not drive and by this time he alleged that due to poor health he was not in a position to drive. A medical examination, arranged by the German team doctor, Dr. Gläser, proved that Varzi was fit to drive. On account of Varzi's refusal the reserve driver Ernst von Delius was assigned the second Auto Union in his first grand prix race. The official reason given for Varzi's replacement was due to injuries he had received in his horrific crash at Tunis 3-weeks earlier, where in fact he was unbelievably lucky to have escaped serious injuries when thrown from an overturning car at a speed of over 200 km/h. Not surprisingly, this episode, besides his airs and graces, triggered the end of Varzi's career at Auto Union; his contract was not renewed for 1937. According to the official timing, the best laps were: Caracciola 2m01.6s, Nuvolari 2m02s, Chiron 2m05s, Rosemeyer 2m05s, Brivio 2m06s, Varzi 2m06s, Farina 2m07s, Villapadierna 2m14s, Etancelin 2m17s, Severi 2m28s.       At the last practice session on Saturday from 8:30 to 11:00 am, Jean-Pierre Wimille appeared with the Bugatti and made his best time in 2m03.4s. The Spanish Count José de Villapadierna drove his fastest lap in 2m12s. Rosemeyer's fastest lap was 2m05s while Delius' best was 2m09s. Brivio with the Alfa Romeo did 2m07s and Sommer 2m09s. Etancelin's practice laps in the Maserati did not impress at all.

Race: Sunday was a beautiful summer day and a huge crowd, estimated of 80-100,000 spectators, assembled around the course. Grid positions had been decided by ballot and the cars lined up as follows:

2 Rosemeyer Auto Union 4 Nuvolari Alfa Romeo 6 Chiron Mercedes-Benz 10 Wimille Bugatti 12 von Delius Auto Union 14 Brivio Alfa Romeo 16 Caracciola Mercedes-Benz 18 Etancelin Maserati 20 Farina Alfa Romeo 22 Sommer Alfa Romeo 24 de Villapadeira Alfa Romeo

The start was planned at 4:00 PM but the starting flag fell shortly after five in the afternoon. To the roar of the engines Chiron and Caracciola went immediately into the lead, followed by Nuvolari, Rosemeyer, Brivio, Farina, Wimille, Delius, Etancelin, Sommer and Villapadierna. At the end of the first lap Chiron held the lead ahead of Caracciola and Nuvolari, who was followed by Rosemeyer, Brivio, Farina and Wimille. On the second lap, Caracciola and Nuvolari were able to pass Chiron. Delius, who had made a bad start, went past Wimille into seventh place. After three laps, the leading pair of Caracciola and Nuvolari were having their own battle, continually pulling away from the next duel between Chiron and Rosemeyer. The positions remained the same on lap four except for Wimille who stopped for about two minutes at his pit and dropped to last place. On the fifth time round, Caracciola equaled the old lap record of 2m02s, while Sommer moved up two places to eighth position. Rosemeyer stopped on lap six after the vent pipe of the reserve tank broke and the main fuel tank had come loose. While in the pits, he was lapped by the leaders and soon joined the race in tenth place.       On lap seven, Nuvolari passed Caracciola's Mercedes and drove a new fast lap of 2m01s at 112.779 km/h. Brivio stopped his Alfa with a mechanical problem on the high side of the circuit and walked back to the pits, while Etancelin retired his Maserati with a fuel leak. On the following lap Wimille again stopped at the pits to retire the Bugatti with a gearbox problem. The spectators were following the exciting duel of the two champions in front. At the end of lap 10, Nuvolari and Caracciola were half a lap ahead of Chiron, Farina and Delius, who were followed by Sommer, Rosemeyer and Villapadierna. Brivio, Etancelin and Wimille had retired. The field was down to eight cars in this order: 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 20m28.7s 2. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 20m30.5s 3. Chiron (Mercedes-Benz) 21m13.3s 4. Farina (Alfa Romeo) 21m35.6s 5. von Delius (Auto Union) 21m53.7s 6. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 22m15.0s 7. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 22m25.2s 8. Villapadierna (Alfa Romeo) 22m27.1s Nuvolari set a new lap record on lap 15 in 2m00s, which placed him four seconds ahead of Caracciola. However, after 20 laps the gap had decreased and Nuvolari was now only two seconds ahead. Rosemeyer's car had been repaired and served him well to climb from seventh place to fifth. 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 40m40.6s 2. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 40m42.6s 3. Chiron (Mercedes-Benz) 42m20.9s 4. Farina (Alfa Romeo) 42m34.2s 5. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 43m30.6s 6. von Delius (Auto Union) 43m40.5s 7. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 44m25.9s 8. Villapadierna (Alfa Romeo) 44m46.9s On lap 23, Nuvolari improved on his previous lap record with a lap of 1m59s. Farina had passed Chiron for third place on lap 24, when Chiron lost some time, while Rosemeyer, von Delius and Sommer followed in the next places. By lap 26, Nuvolari had increased his advantage over Caracciola to seven seconds, but on lap 27, the German again reduced the gap. Nuvolari answered this on lap 28 with another record lap in 1m58s, a speed at 115.646 km/h, which was to stand as the fastest lap of the race. All the cars had now been lapped at least once by the leading duo. After 30 laps the standings were as follows: 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 1h00m32.9s 2. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 1h00m48.5s 4. Farina (Alfa Romeo) 1h03m24.8s 3. Chiron (Mercedes-Benz) 1h03m40.5s 5. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 1h04m22.1s 6. von Delius (Auto Union) 1h05m11.5s 7. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 1h06m22.5s 8. Villapadierna (Alfa Romeo) 1h06m49.8s Just before half distance on lap 39, Nuvolari made a quick pit stop, refueled and changed his rear tires in only 40 seconds. On the same lap, Rosemeyer stopped at his pits after the reserve tank had broken loose again. The tank was removed and Rosemeyer fell back to last place once more. After 40 laps Caracciola was leading Nuvolari by 28 seconds. Nuvolari most likely made up some time between lap 31 and 40 to be only 28 seconds behind Caracciola after the Italian's pit stop. Farina was one lap behind, Chiron and Delius two, Sommer and Villapadierna three and Rosemeyer four. The order at half distance was: 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 1h20m59.7s 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 1h21m27.7s 3. Farina (Alfa Romeo) 1h24m12.4s 4. Chiron (Mercedes-Benz) 1h25m21.0s 5. von Delius (Auto Union) 1h26m37.0s 6. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 1h28m33.3s 7. Villapadierna (Alfa Romeo) 1h28m35.6s 8. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 1h30m25.9s Caracciola maintained his fast pace driving laps of 2m0s but Nuvolari was able to maintain the gap behind the German at 28 seconds by lap 50. He did so despite the fact that his Alfa Romeo was heavier with a full fuel tank while Caracciola's lighter Mercedes was low on fuel. The standing after 50 laps was: 1. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 1h41m04.6s 2. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 1h41m32.8s 3. Farina (Alfa Romeo) 1h46m03.6s 4. Chiron (Mercedes-Benz) 1h47m22.5s 5. von Delius (Auto Union) 1h47m42.1s 6. Villapadierna (Alfa Romeo) 1h50m22.3s 7. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 1h51m06.8s 8. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 1h51m23.0s On lap 52, Farina made his pit stop for fuel and tires. On the following lap, a piece of one of Caracciola's tires flew off as he passed the stadium section. As a result he lost valuable time when he had to slow for the last third of lap 53 to reach his pits. Refueling and changing both rear tires went faster at the Mercedes pit, but Nuvolari had now regained the lead and was 40 seconds ahead of Caracciola, followed by Farina, Delius and Chiron. Villapadierna changed tires on lap 54 and Chiron made his pit stop on lap 57. On lap 60, Nuvolari made a quick pit stop to change one defective front tire without losing the lead. When he rejoined the race, his advantage to Caracciola was still 27 seconds. Rosemeyer, in the meantime, was moving rapidly and had passed Sommer for sixth place. On the same lap a dog crossed the straight in front of the grandstands and was just missed by Farina and Rosemeyer. After 60 laps the order was: 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 2h02m12.0s 2. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 2h02m38.2s 3. Farina (Alfa Romeo) 2h07m54.8s 4. von Delius (Auto Union) 2h08m54.8s 5. Chiron (Mercedes-Benz) 2h10m32.3s 6. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 2h12m11.0s 7. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 2h13m02.4s 8. Villapadierna (Alfa Romeo) 2h13m19.0s Caracciola was signaled by his pits to speed up. Lap after lap, Nuvolari's advantage shrank by about one second per lap. On lap 67 Caracciola was 24 seconds behind and 21 seconds on lap 69. On lap 70, Nuvolari was 17 seconds ahead of Caracciola while Rosemeyer was ready to pass Chiron for fifth place. 1. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 2h22m37.5s 2. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 2h22m56.3s 3. Farina (Alfa Romeo) 2h29m08.8s 4. von Delius (Auto Union) 2h30m02.6s 5. Chiron (Mercedes-Benz) 2h32m40.2s 6. Rosemeyer (Auto Union) 2h32m41.9s 7. Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 2h34m59.5s 8. Villapadierna (Alfa Romeo) 2h35m22.3s Nuvolari ignored his pit signals to change his worn rear tires. The Italian knew that a pit stop would cost him the victory, so he waved off his pit signals. Caracciola repeatedly received pit signals from Neubauer to drive faster and by lap 74 the German had reduced the gap to 16 seconds. After lap 76 the gap was down to 14 seconds and after lap 78, Nuvolari's advantage was only 10 seconds. The Alfa's rear tires were in poor shape. Nine seconds was the Italian's advantage as they went into the last lap. Nuvolari's tires lasted, but they were totally shredded, and he finished a mere 3.4 seconds ahead of Caracciola's Mercedes with hardly any fuel left. Farina in the other Alfa Romeo was third, three laps back, followed by von Delius four laps behind, Rosemeyer and Chiron five laps down, Sommer and Villapadierna six laps back.       El Mundo Deportivo reported the fastest laps of each driver. Nuvolari had established the fastest lap of the race in 1m58s, Caracciola was second best with 1m59s, Rosemeyer 2m01s, Farina 2m02s, Chiron, Wimille and von Delius 2m05s, Villapadierna 2m09s and Sommer 2m10s.       A few weeks later the Spanish civil war started on July 18 and lasted until April 1939. That was followed by World War II, which began in September that year. Motor racing in Spain was suspended for 10 years until 1946.

An Argentine 1-2 in Brazil

Scuderia Ferrari entered two stripped sports cars for Pintacuda and Marinoni. Pintacuda took control of the race but Marinoni retired with differential trouble on the first lap. While leading comfortably Pintacuda also had to retire with differential trouble on lap 21, giving over the lead to Brazilian champion Manuel de Teffé. But de Teffé had to make a late pitstop for a new tyre and had to see the Argentine driver Victório Coppoli in a Bugatti pass and take the victory with fellow Argentine Ricardo Carú second.

Because of the fatal accident to the 1934 race winner Irineu Corrêa at the 1935 race and the criticism that followed it, Automóvel Clube do Brasil had to take some precautions before the 1936 race to get permission from the City Council of Rio de Janeiro to arrange the race. Engines remained free but some simple rules like mandatory four wheel brakes and rear view mirrors and driver protection sorted out the worst cars. Maximum wheelbase was 2.90m and minimum weight 500 kg. Also it was decided that to qualify a driver had to do a lap less than 10 minutes during practice. Also, on the drivers' demand, this year the grid order was to be decided by the practice results.       With the support of Sabbado D'Angelo, owner of a tobacco company, the club got the financial means to tempt some Europeans to take part in the race. After some negotiations Scuderia Ferrari sensationally promised to send two cars and drivers.       Prize money was 60,000 Rs$ for the winner while second to fifth received 20,000, 10,000, 5,000 and 5,000 Rs$. The driver with the fastest lap was awarded a watch. There were a huge number of extra prizes from cash to costumes and watches. For example Auto Union Brazil, represented in the race by Hans Stoffen in a Wanderer, offered a small motorcycle to the leader of the 15th lap.

Entries: The 1936 Rio Grand Prix had a good entry list. In total there were 67 entries. Scuderia Ferrari sent two Alfa Romeo 2900A stripped sports cars for Carlo Pintacuda and Attilio Marinoni. From France came Mlle. Hellé-Nice with her blue Alfa Romeo "Monza" and Georges Hardy, who raced under the pseudonym "Marcedady", with a Talbot. Two Portuguese Bugatti drivers were entered, Henrique Lehrfeld and José de Almeida Araújo, but the latter was a non entry and was replaced by Felipe Rueda in a Hispano Suiza. (Rueda then either was a non starter or took over Segadas Viana's Chevrolet.) The Argentine drivers Ricardo Carú (Fiat), Vittorio Rosa (Hispano Suiza), Arthuro Kruse (Plymouth), Augusto McCarthy (Chrysler) and Vittorio Coppoli (Bugatti T37A or T35C ) completed the foreign entries.

Practice: Free practice started as early as 17 May. On 27 May Dante Palumbo, driving the same Ford as Irineu Corrêa in his fatal 1935 race, had a fatal crash at the Avenida Bartolomeu Mitre curve and again the Automóvel Clube do Brasil had to work hard to convince the authorities to give permission to go ahead with the race.       Qualifying started on 31 May. The drivers had three attempts with the best time determining the grid position. The grid was restricted to 41 cars. Pintacuda proved to be fastest with his Ferrari taking pole position with a time of 8m49.6s. At the end of qualifying 32 drivers had succeeded to make a lap faster than10 minutes. Arthuro Kruse and Mlle. Hellé-Nice had guaranteed grid positions and the last six positions were given to Brazilian drivers according to their previous results in local events. Of them Julio de Moraies did not take up the invitation and he was replaced by Henrique Ré. Also Benedito Lopes who had qualified third failed the medical examination and was forbidden to race. He was replaced by Henrique Casini. As a gesture from the organizers Mlle. Hellé-Nice took over his grid position in the first row.

Race: Early in the morning the streets were already full of spectators trying to find a good place along the course. With late driver changes the newspapers messed up the driver lists badly. The three troublesome entries were #54 Mário Valentim - Santo, #62 Virgílio Castilho - J. Santos Soeino and # 84 Segadas Viana - Filipe Rueda. In this report we have used the first mentioned names. Also to make the report even harder to follow one paper used Geraldo S. Pedro's nickname "Raio Negro" and used "Alagoano" for Gaspar Ferrario.       Joaquim Sant'Anna announced in the public information system that his car had broken down and that he was a non-starter. It meant that 39 cars were lined up on Rua Marques de São Vicente for the start as seen below. Correiro da Manhã claimed Pereira made a similar announcement as Sant'Anna. Journal de Brazil on the other hand had Pereira listed in the first lap results. The first six rows in the grid should be correct. Guede's position is from the Journal de Brazil's race report and contradicts the newspapers' post practice grid lists, making the rest of the grid a bit of a guess.

22 de Teffé Alfa Romeo 9m01.1s 2 Hellé-Nice Alfa Romeo - 6 Marinoni Alfa Romeo 8m54.5s 4 Pintacuda Alfa Romeo 8m49.6s 36 Braga Bugatti 9m11.7s 12 Coppoli Bugatti 9m10.1s 34 de Santis Ford 9m07.9s 38 Nascimento Ford 9m24.1s 66 Jung Ford 9m23.0s 46 Ferrario Ford 9m18.6s 14 Carú Fiat 9m13.6s 48 Campos Ford 9m30.5s 20 McCarthy Chrysler 9m29.7s 8 Lehrfeld Bugatti 9m25.8s 64 Porto Ford 9m38.1s 54 Valentim Ford 9m37.1s 50 Abrunhosa Studebaker 9m37.0s 52 Tavares Moraes Plymouth 9m33.3s 62 Castilho Ford 9m41.9s 28 "Marcedady" Talbot 9m48.8s 44 Sarmento Ford 9m40.6s 58 Stoffen Wanderer 9m45.2s 24 C Landi Fiat 9m45.0s 68 Hugo Bugatti 9m44.3s 70 Guedes Ford 56 Ferrario Ford 9m48.5s 26 Q Landi Bugatti 9m46.5s 60 Farias Chrysler 9m45.8s 82 Bins Ford 9m57.1s 40 Sartorelli Sacre 9m54.0s 16 Rosa Hispano Suiza 9m53.3s 42 Lopes Hudson 9m50.6s 76 Pedro Hudson 10m44.6s 80 Ré Marmon 10m30.7s 18 Kruse Plymouth 10m03.2s 84 Viana Chevrolet 72 Pereira Bugatti 30 Casini Studebaker 74 Oliveira Ford 12m08.2s

In the presence of Brazil president Getúlio Vargas the flag was dropped half an hour late at 9.38 a.m. to start the event. Pintacuda took the best start and had already opened up a small gap as he disappeared on the curve of Avenue Niemeyer followed by de Teffé, Hellé-Nice, Coppoli, D Lopes, Nascimento, Lehrfeld and the others. Marinoni was already in trouble as the differential on the Alfa Romeo broke at the start and he slowly cruised to the pit to retire.       After eight minutes and 35 seconds Pintacuda crossed the finish line first. The gap to second positioned de Teffé was already huge. This was the race order: 1.   4 Pintacuda (Alfa Romeo) 2. 22 de Teffé (Alfa Romeo) 3.   8 Lehrfeld (Bugatti) 4. 42 D. Lopes (Hudson) 5.   2 Hellé-Nice (Alfa Romeo) 6. 38 Nascimento Jr (Ford) 7. 34 de Santis (Ford) 8. 12 Coppoli (Bugatti) 9. 20 McCarthy (Chrysler) 10. 66 Jung (Ford) 11. 48 da Silva Campos (Ford) 12. 14 Carú (Fiat) 13. 46 G. Ferrario (Ford) 14. 50 Abrunhosa (Studebaker) 15. 52 Tavares Moraes (Plymouth) 16. 36 Alfredo Braga (Bugatti) 17. 16 Rosa (Hispano Suiza) 18. 44 Moraes Sarmento (Ford) 19. 68 Hugo (Bugatti) 20. 76 S. Pedro (Hudson) 21. 54 Valentim (Ford) 22. 58 Stoffen (Wanderer) 23. 64 Marques Porto (Ford) 24. 26 Q. Landi (Bugatti) 25. 56 E Ferrario (Ford) 26. 24 C. Landi (Fiat) 27. 30 Casini (Studebaker) 28. 62 Castilho (Ford) 29. 18 Kruse (Plymouth) 30. 28 "Marcedady" (Talbot) 31. 82 Bins (Ford) 32. 60 Farias (Chrysler) 33. 70 Guedes (Ford) 34. 74 Oliveira Jr (Ford) 35. 84 Viana (Chevrolet) 36. 80 Ré (Marmon) 37. 72 Pererira (Bugatti) After the second lap Pintacuda held an almost two minute lead over de Teffé with Lehrfeld still in third position and Coppoli now up to fourth. Chico Landi retired his Fiat because of a broken rear axle suspension. Sartorelli and Pedro were other early retirements. Domingos Lopes probably made a pit stop as he dropped to the end of the field.       On the third lap the order in the front remained the same but the gaps got wider. De Teffé was now pulling away from Lehrfeld while Coppoli in fourth position was chased by Nascimento Jr, McCarthy and Carú. Hellé-Nice was struggling. De Santis, who had run in seventh position, crashed into a tree and had to retire. Oscar Henrique Ré retired as well.       During the fourth lap Pintacuda with his supreme speed over the rest started to lap the first backmarkers. They were Antônio José Pereira and Querinto Landi. Mário Valentim retired his Ford. On the fifth lap Segadas Viana as well was put a lap down by Pintacuda. De Teffé made a pit stop to change plugs dropping to fourth position and Silva Campos and Hellé Nice had stopped as well, the latter falling far back in the field. The race order for the top 25 competitors after five laps looked like this: 1.   4 Pintacuda (Alfa Romeo) 2.   8 Lehrfeld (Bugatti) 3. 12 Coppoli (Bugatti) 4. 22 de Teffé (Alfa Romeo) 5. 14 Carú (Fiat) 6. 38 Nascimento Jr (Ford) 7. 20 McCarthy (Chrysler) 8. 64 Marques Porto (Ford) 9. 66 Jung (Ford) 10. 36 Alfredo Braga (Bugatti) 11. 48 da Silva Campos (Ford) 12. 46 G. Ferrario (Ford) 13. 52 Tavares Moraes (Plymouth) 14. 50 Abrunhosa (Studebaker) 15. 58 Stoffen (Wanderer) 16. 62 Castilho (Ford) 17. 68 Hugo (Bugatti) 18. 70 Guedes (Ford) 19. 42 D. Lopes (Hudson) 20. 18 Kruse (Plymouth) 21. 56 E Ferrario (Ford) 22.   2 Hellé-Nice (Alfa Romeo) 23. 74 Oliveira Jr (Ford) 24. 44 Moraes Sarmento (Ford) 25. 28 "Marcedady" (Talbot) Alfredo Braga retired his Bugatti. Pintacuda continued to put the backmarkers down a lap. On the sixth lap they were Rosa, Casini, Bins and Farias, on the seventh lap de Moraes Sarmento, "Marcedady", Oliveira Jr, Hellé-Nice and Ferrario. There were now eight lapped cars between Pintacuda and second positioned Lehrfeld. Behind the latter de Teffé after his pit stop was catching Coppoli and he took over third position on the eighth lap. On that same lap Guedes, Hugo and Kruse were also put a lap down.       On the ninth lap the situation remained mostly the same. De Teffé's good race continued as he had pulled in the gap to Lehrfeld and was challenging him for second position. Stoffen was the next driver to be lapped by Pintacuda. The race now started to be hard to follow as drivers like Querino Landi, Bins, Rosa and Viana had already been lapped twice. Most of the lapped cars were positioned in the five minute gap between Pintacuda and Lehrfeld on the course.       On the tenth lap de Teffé passed Lehrfeld for second position. Abrunhosa, Domingos Lopes and Castilho were put a lap down by Pintacuda who now was leading over de Teffé by almost six minutes. The situation looked something like this: 1.   4 Pintacuda (Alfa Romeo) 2. 22 de Teffé (Alfa Romeo) 3.   8 Lehrfeld (Bugatti) 4. 12 Coppoli (Bugatti) 5. 14 Carú (Fiat) 6. 38 Nascimento Jr (Ford) 7. 64 Marques Porto (Ford) 8. 20 McCarthy (Chrysler) 9. 66 Jung (Ford) 10. 48 da Silva Campos (Ford) 11. 52 Tavares Moraes (Plymouth) 12. 46 G. Ferrario (Ford) 19. 42 D. Lopes (Hudson) - 1 lap 16. 62 Castilho (Ford) - 1 lap 14. 50 Abrunhosa (Studebaker) - 1 lap 15. 58 Stoffen (Wanderer) - 1 lap 17. 68 Hugo (Bugatti) - 1 lap 20. 18 Kruse (Plymouth) - 1 lap 18. 70 Guedes (Ford) - 1 lap 21. 56 E Ferrario (Ford) - 1 lap 25. 28 "Marcedady" (Talbot) - 1 lap 22.   2 Hellé-Nice (Alfa Romeo) - 1 lap 24. 44 Moraes Sarmento (Ford) - 1 lap After putting Ferrario, Tavares Moraes, da Silva Campos and Jung a lap down supreme leader Pintacuda made a routine pit stop for fuel at the end of the 11th lap. His time for 11 laps was 1h36m45s. After a 1m45s stop he returned to the race still 3m30s in front of de Teffé. Lehrfeld in third position crashed and returned to the pit with a bent front axle. The driver wanted to continue the race but the damage was too extensive for repairs and he was asked to retire.       Now only six other cars remained on the same lap as race leader Pintacuda. They were de Teffé, Coppoli, Carú, Nascimento Jr, Marques Porto, McCarthy and Jung, who had unlapped himself due to Pintacuda's pit stop.       On the 12th or 13th lap some de Teffé fans descended a hill and invaded the course in a hope to block Pintacuda, but the appearance of a police caused the spectators to retreat back up the hill. During these laps many of the drivers made pit stops but the race order remained mostly the same. Da Silva Campos dropped from 9th to 11th behind Tavares Moraes and Ferrario. On the 14th lap Marques Porto passed Nascimento Jr. for 5th position. At the end of the 14th lap McCarthy had a lengthy pit stop and fell back a lap. Domingos Lopes retired his Hudson from his 7th position. The situation after 15 laps would have looked something like this: 1.   4 Pintacuda (Alfa Romeo) 2. 22 de Teffé (Alfa Romeo) 3. 12 Coppoli (Bugatti) 4. 14 Carú (Fiat) 5. 64 Marques Porto (Ford) 6. 38 Nascimento Jr (Ford) 7. 66 Jung (Ford) - 1 lap 8. 52 Tavares Moraes (Plymouth) - 1 lap 9. 48 da Silva Campos (Ford) - 1 lap 10. 50 Abrunhosa (Studebaker) - 1 lap 11. 62 Castilho (Ford) - 1 lap 12. 46 G. Ferrario (Ford) - 1 lap 13. 20 McCarthy (Chrysler) - 1 lap 14. 18 Kruse (Plymouth) - 1 lap The race remained complex to follow with some 10 lapped cars between leader Pintacuda and second positioned de Teffé. Tavares Moraes retired after 15 laps. After 17 laps Pintacuda had lapped Nascimento Jr, who was running slowly and soon afterwards retired. Pintacuda almost caught 5th positioned Marques Porto and on the 18th lap Pintacuda put him a lap down as well. Not much else happened apart from the fact that Ferrario passed Castilho for 9th position. McCarthy retired as did Castilho.       Everyone was expecting Pintacuda to finish his 20th lap but to the great surprise it was the Ford of Marques Porto that appeared instead. So he had unlapped himself but where was Pintacuda? Seven backmarkers passed the finish line and then came 6th positioned Jung, who now also was on the same lap as the leader. Behind him Pintacuda finally appeared, going slowly to the pit with a broken differential. As a consolation to the Italian he was left with the fastest lap of the race with a time of 8m30.3s. The spectators, who already had resigned to an Italian victory, suddenly went wild. Pintacuda's retirement meant that de Teffé must now be leading the race. But to their disappointment it was instead Argentine driver Coppoli with his Bugatti who passed the line followed a bit later by de Teffé, who had hit a curb, destroyed a wheel and now had to make a pit stop. With Pintacuda gone the race order at 20 laps looked like this: 1. 12 Coppoli (Bugatti) 2. 22 de Teffé (Alfa Romeo) 3. 14 Carú (Fiat) 4. 64 Marques Porto (Ford) 5. 66 Jung (Ford) 6. 48 da Silva Campos (Ford) 7. 46 G. Ferrario (Ford) - 1 lap 8. 18 Kruse (Plymouth) - 1 lap 9. 50 Abrunhosa (Studebaker) - 1 lap 10. 58 Stoffen (Wanderer) - 1 lap De Teffé's pit stop for a wheel change and repairs took three minutes and he returned to the race behind Carú. So now there were two Argentinean drivers at the top. Coppoli was pulling away and was soon separated from second positioned Carú by the two lapped Fords of Gaspar and Emilio Ferrario. De Teffé tried his best to make up for lost time and was running flat out. Carú managed to pass the two Fords but now a third Ford of backmarker Oscar Bins was in his way while de Teffé got badly trapped behind Emilio Ferrario.       As the last lap started Coppoli lead over Carú was just some 200m while de Teffé fought a hopeless fight three minutes behind the leader. Coppoli in his Bugatti held on to his lead to take the victory with fellow Argentine Carú second and de Teffé third and best Brazilian followed by Porto and Jung. All those from Stoffen in eighth position down to Hellé-Nice in 15th position had to abandon the race as the course was invaded by spectators as soon as Coppoli took the chequered flag.