 
V° CIRCUITO DI MODENA
(Voiturette 1500cc + 1100cc)
Modena (I), 20 September 1936
25 laps x 3.2 km (1.99 mi) = 80.0 km (49.7 mi)
Trossi dominates with the 6 cylinder Maserati
by Leif Snellman
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Thirteen of the sixteen cars in the voiturette race were Maseratis but only one was of the new six cylinder type. It was raced by Trossi, who as a late entry had to start at the rear of the grid but soon took
command of the race winning by almost a lap over Biondetti. Behind them Prosperi and Righetti had a fierce duel, won by the latter. Bergamini was the winner of th 1100cc class.
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The Grand Premio di Modena, organized for the fourth time by the local section of the R.A.C.I., included a voiturette race just like in 1935. The 1100cc and 1500cc classes raced together. The race
distance was 25 laps for both classes.
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Entries:
The Maserati 4CM dominated the entry list but there were also three Maserati CS, a Fiat and a voiturette Bugatti. Five of the entries were for the 1.1 litre class.
Late additions to the entry list were Clemente Biondetti with his Maserati and Luigi Platé with his old Talbot while Alfieri and Villoresi did not appear.
At the last moment it was also announced that Carlo Felice Trossi would race with the works Maserati 6CM replacing Omobono Tenni. In fact Biondetti took over Tenni's race number16 and Trossi received number 20.
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Practice:
The qualifying for the voiturette race took place on Saturday morning from 7:00 - 8:30 a.m.
Before the event it was announced that all the riders must attend, being obliged to make at least one lap to participate in the race. Despite that Trossi who only arrived at Saturday evening was allowed to race and
was positioned in the last row of the grid.
Bianco was fastest during the qualifying session setting a time of 1m55.8s. He was joined in the first row of the grid by Barbieri (1m56s) and Biondetti (2m01.8s).
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Race:
Race day came with good sunny weather. It was estimated that more than 20,000 spectators turned up for the event.
At 3:00 p.m. the 16 voiturette cars were lined up in there grid and after race director Renzo Castagnero had closed the circuit, Magnani, general manager of the RACI, flagged off the cars.
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16
Biondetti
Maserati
2m01.8s
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24
F. Barbieri
Maserati
1m56.0s
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18
Bianco
Maserati
1m55.8s
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10
Baruffi
Maserati
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2
Bergamini
Maserati
2m08.0s
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28
Carnevalli
Bugatti
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8
Colini
Maserati
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30
Prosperi
Maserati
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6
Radice
Fiat
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4
Marazza
Maserati
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12
Gessner
Maserati
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26
Meroni
Maserati
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14
Righetti
Maserati
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36
Trossi
Maserati
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38?
Platé
Talbot
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22
Bianchi
Maserati
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(Note 1)
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Barbieri took the lead followed by Biondetti, Bianco, Prosperi, Righetti and Trossi, who had made a great start from his low grid position. On the second lap Trossi had already passed Prosperi and Righetti for fourth position.
In front of him in the curve of the monument third positioned Bianco spun his Maserati. Further back in the field the spin was repeated by Gessner and Colini providing an exciting moment for the spectators.
According to Auto Italiana Meroni, seeing it was impossible to pass, went straight on, crashing into a fence. Could it be have been a mixup with Colini? (Note 2)
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Behind this incident Marazza also spun. Then returning to the race Marazza made another spin in the same corner and was soon afterward called in to retire for safety reasons.
Trossi, now in third position after Bianco's incident, was up to speed with his 6-cylinder Maserati. He caught Barbieri and Biondetti who were racing together and passed Biondetti on the fifth lap for second position.
The order after five laps looked like this:
| 1. | Barbieri (Maserati) | 9m39.4s (99.6 km/h) |
| 2. | Trossi (Maserati) | 9m42.4s |
| 3. | Biondetti (Maserati) | 9m44.1s |
| 4. | Prosperi (Maserati) | 10m12.4s |
On the sixth lap Trossi passed Barbieri as well to take the lead. After his accident Bianco had continued the race far back in the field but he soon had to retire because of a damaged cylinder.
Shortly afterwards also Radice-Fossati had to retire his Fiat. In the 1100cc class Bergamini had taken a firm command as only Baruffi remained of his opponents and the latter was struggling.
At 10 laps the situation was as follows:
| 1. | Trossi (Maserati) | 19m07.4s (100.4km/h) |
| 2. | Barbieri (Maserati) | 19m20.6s |
| 3. | Biondetti (Maserati) | 19m27.6s |
| 4. | Prosperi (Maserati) |
| 5. | Righetti (Maserati) |
Bianchi retired after 11 laps and second positioned Barbieri had to give up the race due to an engine failure after 14 laps. That left Trossi in a firm lead of the race followed by Biondetti. Behind them, to the joy of the
spectators, Prosperi and Righetti started a fierce wheel to wheel duel for third position. On the 22nd lap they were side by side braking for the curve before the monument but Prosperi got the upper hand.
On lap 24 however Righetti finally found a way past his opponent. Both had however already since lap 19 or 20 been lapped by the leader Trossi, who was about to put second positioned Biondetti a lap down as well when
the chequered flag was dropped.
So the final order was Trossi, Biondetti, Righetti and Prosperi with Bergamini two laps down winning the 1100cc class and being fifth overall.
Trossi had once again proved he was a master of street circuits and this time his Maserati with independent front suspension was in its own class as well. With his superior victory Trossi also became Italian Automobile
Champion in the 1500cc class while Bergamini received the same title in the 1100cc class.
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Results
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V° CIRCUITO DI MODENA
Modena (I), 20 September 1936
50 laps x 3.2 km (1.99 mi) = 160 km (99.4 mi)
An easy one for Nuvolari and Scuderia Ferrari
by Leif Snellman
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Scuderia Ferrari entered three race cars and two stripped sports cars and dominated the event. Tadini led the first laps until his team-mate Nuvolari took over the lead and held it until the end.
Pintacuda retired but the other Scuderia Ferrari drivers finished in the top four positions. Barbieri (Maserati) finished fifth after a long duel with Battaglia (Alfa Romeo).
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This was the fifth Circuito di Modena, organized by the local section of the R.A.C.I., and the last Italian race for the year. It counted towards the 1936 Italian Championship even if Nuvolari in fact already had
secured the championship for himself.
The 3.2 km street circuit was the same as earlier, circulating the parks situated where the south parts of the former city walls had been located.
Starting at the corner Via saragozza/Viale delle Rimembranze the course went clockwise along Viale delle Rimembranze, circled the war memorial anti clockwise, continued along Viale Regina Elena,
Viale Nicola Fabrizi, Viale Ludovico Antonio Muratori, Viale Tassoni, Viale Vittorio Veneto and back to Viale delle Rimembranze. This year the cars had to do 50 laps for a total of 160 km.
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Entries:
This was Scuderia Ferrari's home ground and they sent no less than five cars to the race. One 12-cylinder car was to be driven by Tazio Nuvolari and two 8-cylinder cars were for Giuseppe Farina and Mario Tadini.
Additionally two Alfa Romeo 2900A stripped sports cars were entered for Francesco Severi and Carlo Pintacuda. The 2900A sports car had a body that more or less was a widened variant of the 8C-35 and the engine was
similar to the TipoB/P3.
Giocomo de Rham's Scuderia Maremmana entered two 6-cylinder Maseratis for de Rham and for Ferdinando Barbieri. Additionally de Rham's 1934 spec Alfa Romeo Tipo B/P3 (#50010) was assigned to Clemente Biondetti, who
was to take part in both the voiturette race and in the main race. Gianni Battaglia entered a late series TipoB/P3 as well (#50009).
Scuderia Torino, de facto the works Maserati team, entered a V8 "Ruote Independenti" for Pietro Ghersi and a 6-cylinder car for Piero Dusio.
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Practice:
The qualifying for the Grand Prix race took place on Saturday morning from 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Nuvolari was fastest with a time of 1m49.6s. Biondetti with his old Tipo B was second fastest with a time of 1m52.4s followed by four Scuderia drivers, Tadini, Farina, Severi and Pintacuda.
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Race:
It was estimated that more than 20,000 spectators turned up for the event, due to the sunny weather.
Just a quarter of an hour after the end of of the voiturette race (see above) the 11 competitors of the major class were ready to be flagged away.
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6
Tadini
Alfa Romeo
1m54.8s
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18
Biondetti
Alfa Romeo
1m52.4s
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2
Nuvolari
Alfa Romeo
1m49.6s
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8
Severi
Alfa Romeo
1m57.0s
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4
Farina
Alfa Romeo
1m55.4s
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16
Barbieri
Maserati
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12
Battaglia
Alfa Romeo
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10
Pintacuda
Alfa Romeo
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22
Ghersi
Maserati
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14
de Rham
Alfa Romeo
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20
Dusio
Maserati
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(Note 3)
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At the start, given by prof. Zoboli, the Prefect of Modena, Tadini took the lead followed by Biondetti and Nuvolari, who had made a rather poor start. However, at the end of the first lap Nuvolari had already passed
Biondetti and was pushing Tadini. The race order after two laps was: Tadini, Nuvolari, Farina Biondetti, Ghersi, Battaglia, Barbieri, Dusio, Pintacuda, Severi, and de Rham.
Tadini bravely kept on to his lead until the third lap when Nuvolari passed him. Biondetti made a pit stop because of engine trouble. Plugs were changed and he returned to the circuit.
Ghersi retired on the 3rd or the 6th lap due to a broken differential.
Nuvolari kept the lead of the race making the first five laps in 8m48.6s (109.0 km/h). Tadini followed him like a shadow but was unable to pass.
De Rham was obviously in trouble with his Maserati and he let Emilio Villoresi take over the car for a few laps before it was retired. Biondetti also had to call it a day.
Nuvolari did the next five laps in 8m42.8s, running about the same speed as the first five laps considering the standing start. After ten laps Nuvolari had opened up a 7.2s gap to Tadini. Farina was struggling to
keep up with the duo having already lost 23.2s to Tadini. While fighting for fourth position with Battaglia Pintacuda had to retire his Alfa Romeo on lap 10 due to a broken differential
The situation after 10 laps looked like this:
| 1. | Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) | 17m31.4s (109.1 km/h) |
| 2. | Tadini (Alfa Romeo) | 17m38.6s |
| 3. | Farina (Alfa Romeo) | 18m01.8s |
| 4. | Battaglia (Alfa Romeo) |
| 5. | Barbieri (Maserati) |
| 6. | Severi (Alfa Romeo) |
| 7. | Dusio (Maserati) |
Severi now started to attack, passing first Barbieri for fifth and then also Battaglia on lap 15 for fourth position. Except for that the positions remained the same.
The race order at half distance (25 laps) was:
| 1. | Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) | 43m46.6s (109.6 km/h) |
| 2. | Tadini (Alfa Romeo) | 43m57.8s |
| 3. | Farina (Alfa Romeo) | 44m43.8s |
| 4. | Severi (Alfa Romeo) | 47m04.0s |
| 5. | Battaglia (Alfa Romeo) | 47m26.6s |
| 6. | Barbieri (Maserati) | 47m45.0s |
| 7. | Dusio (Maserati) | 48m33.2s |
Barbieri closed in on Battaglia and started a duel that lasted until the 31st lap when Battaglia made a mistake and spun giving fifth position to Barbieri.. Apart from that duel the race proceeded in a rather monotonous way.
During the last laps Tadini closed in a bit on the leader but Nuvolari controlled the race and took the victory with a gap of 9.4 seconds to his team-mate. Tadini took the flag straight behind Farina, who however was a lap behind.
Not unexpectedly Scuderia Ferrari drivers took the four top positions with Severi three laps behind the winner. Barbieri, Battaglia and Dusio, all four laps behind, were the only other finishers.
Nuvolari's 28th lap with a time of 1m41.6s was the fastest lap of the race. Tadini's fastest lap was 1m42.6s and Farina's 1m44s.
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Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Entrant | Car | Type | Engine | Laps | Time/Status | Diff |
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| 1. | 2 | Tazio Nuvolari | Scuderia Ferrari | Alfa Romeo | 12C-36 | 4.1 | V-12 | 50 | 1h26m58.4s |
| 2. | 6 | Mario Tadini | Scuderia Ferrari | Alfa Romeo | 8C-35 | 3.8 | S-8 | 50 | 1h27m07.8s | + 9.4s |
| 3. | 4 | Giuseppe Farina | Scuderia Ferrari | Alfa Romeo | 8C-35 | 3.8 | S-8 | 49 | 1h27m07.0s |
| 4. | 8 | Francesco Severi | Scuderia Ferrari | Alfa Romeo | 2900 A | 2.9 | S-8 | 47 | 1h28m34.4s |
| 5. | 16 | Ferdinando Barbieri | Scuderia Maremmana | Maserati | 6C-34 | 3.7 | S-6 | 46 | 1h27m33.4s |
| 6. | 12 | Gianni Battaglia | G. Battaglia | Alfa Romeo | Tipo B/P3 | 2.9 | S-8 | 46 | 1h28m02.0s |
| 7. | 20 | Piero Dusio | Scuderia Torino | Maserati | 6C-34 | 3.7 | S-6 | 46 | 1h28m17.0s |
| DNF | 10 | Carlo Pintacuda | Scuderia Ferrari | Alfa Romeo | 2900 A | 2.9 | S-8 | 10 | differential |
| DNF | 18 | Clemente Biondetti | Scuderia Maremmana | Alfa Romeo | Tipo B/P3 | 2.9 | S-8 | ? | engine? |
| DNF | 14 | G.de Rham/ E. Villoresi | Scuderia Maremmana | Maserati | 8CM | 3.0 | S-8 | 6 | mechanical |
| DNF | 22 | Pietro Ghersi | Scuderia Torino | Maserati | V8 RI | | V-8 | 3/6? | differential |
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Fastest lap: Tazio Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) on lap 28 in 1m41.6s = 113.4 km/h (70.5 mph)
Winner's medium speed: 110.4 km/h (68.6 mph)
Weather: nice and sunny.
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In retrospect:
With his victory Nuvolari became the Italian Automobile Champion for the third time. Apart from the Modena GP the championship included the Milan GP, Coppa Ciano, Coppa Acerbo and the Italian GP.
Nuvolari received 3 points each for his Milan, Coppa Ciano and Modena victories and two points for being second at the Italian GP for a total of 11 points.
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Footnote:
1. The exact grid appearance is unknown as I have not been able to find any picture. La Gazzetta dello Sport listed the grid but left out Carnivalli and included Alfieri and Grassi.
2. Meroni finished the race but there is no results for Colini. Colini however is not listed among the retirements either in what seems to be the official results, identically given by three newspapers, so it is unknown on
what lap he retired.
3. Grid order confirmed by photographic evidence (with thanks to Alessandro Silva).
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Primary sources researched for this article:
AUTOMOBIL-REVUE, Bern
El Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona
L' Auto Italiana, Milano
L' AUTO, Paris
La Gazzetta dello Sport, Milano
La Stampa, Torino
RACI - Settimanale, Roma
Special thanks to:
Giuseppe Prisco
Alessandro Silva
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26 September 1936: H. W. Furey (M.G. 1.3L) wins the Phoenix Park International Contest handicap race at Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland.
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27 September 1936: Bernd Rosemeyer (Auto Union) wins the Feldbergrennen hillclimb in Germany.
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II DONINGTON GP
Donington Park (GB), 3 October 1936 (Saturday)
120 laps x 4.107 km (2.552 mi) = 492.8 km (306.2 mi)
Swiss-British victory at Donington
by Leif Snellman
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The Second Donington GP was a scratch race for 120 laps. Due to the length of the race several decided to share the drive. The duo Rüesch, Seaman in the former's new Alfa Romeo dominated the
event leading the last 116 laps. Martin who drove his Alfa Romeo single handed was equally clear in second position. The duo Whitehead, Walker with an ERA lost contact with Martin after a
lengthy pit stop but managed to hold on to third position. Bira stalled his Maserati at the start and lost 1½ lap. He advanced to fourth but at this pit stop the fuel filling apparatus failed.
Bira lost fourth position to Tongue (ERA) and was never able to regain it. Arthur Dobson was the only other driver to be classified.
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The second Donington Grand Prix arranged by the Derby & District Motor Club was a scratch event with no handicaps. It was to be run 120 laps on the 2.552 mi long circuit for a total of 306.2 mi.
To be classified one had to finish within 10 minutes of the race winner.
There was also a team race.
The race winner received £250 and the Donington Park Trophy to be held for a year, second place £120, third £75, fourth £50 and fifth £25.
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Entries:
Due to the length of the race several decied to share the drive.
Richard Seaman had asked Daimler Benz if it was possible to borrow one of their cars as the race season was over for the German team. After receiving a negative answer Seaman instead joined Swiss
driver Hans Rüesch, who entered an Alfa Romeo 8C-35 (#500013) he had bought from Scuderia Ferrari in September. Charles Martin entered his Alfa Romeo P3 (#50003) and Austin Dobson entered his
P3 (#50005 with Dubonnet suspension), which he was to share in the race with Andrew Leitch. Antony Powys-Lybbe entered an Alfa Romeo Monza as did the duo Ian Connell/Kenneth Evans.
Prince Chula had bought Whitney Straight's old 3 litre Maserati (#3011) from Harry Rose on 7 September for Prince Bira to drive. The car had been repainted blue. Thomas Cholmondeley-Tapper was
another 3 litre Maserati entry driving the ex-Howe car.
There were five ERA entries: Douglas Briault/Denis Evans (R6B, bright green), Arthur Dobson (R7B, white), Denis Henry Scribbans/Hector Dobbs (R9B, cream with red wheels), Peter Whitehead/Peter Walker
(R10B, black) and Reggie Tongue (R11B, green with black and silver stripe).
Four Delahaye 135 Compétition Spéciale (three of them belonging to Laury Schell's Blue-Buzz team) on the way back from a Tourist Trophy at Ards where the cars had disappointed, were entered through
their British concessionaire Alain Selborne. They were raced in a striped form by René Carriere, Tommy Clarke, Laury Schell and René Le Bègue with Alain Selborne, George Field, Maurice Faulkner
and Kaye Don as second drivers. Kaye Don was making his comeback after serving a prison sentence for manslaughter after crashing on the Isle of Man 1934 killing his passenger.
Swiss driver Christian Kautz enter a voiturette Maserati 4CM, Darcy Taylor/Arthur Baron and Mervyn White entered old Bugatti T51s, Percy Maclure a non-supercharged 2 litre Riley, Philip Jucker a
non-supercharged Alta and local Derby pig farmer "Reg" Parnell entered a M.G.
The unknown Pablo Curtis, who had entered a Salmon just as he in July had entered at Albi where he had not appeared, did not turn up at Donington either.
Three teams took part in the team race: Delahaye (Le Bègue/Wisdom?, Don, Schell), ERA (Whitehead, Tongue, Artur Dobson) and Alfa Romeo (Powys-Lybbe, Connell, Austin Dobson).
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Practice:
Not unexpectedly the Alfa Romeo 8C-35 proved to be the fastest car during practice, Seaman doing 2m02s lap (75.3mph/121.2 km/h) and Rüesch 2m06s. Bira was third fastest with a time of 2m06.6s.
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Race:
On race day the autumn weather was excellent with brilliant sunshine and between 12,000 and 15,000 spectators turned up to watch the race.
The grid positions were decided, not by practice times, but by ballot and drivers like Maclure and Parnell were positioned in the front row while Rüesch who with Seaman had dominated practice found
himself back in the third row. The cars lined up in an interesting symmetrical staggered 4-4 grid. Dobbs, who was starting in Scribban's ERA, selected the wrong grid square ending up too far to the right
and Martin behind him possibly also selected a square one step too far to the right.
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2
Cholmondeley-Tapper
Maserati
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11
Clarke
Delahaye
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5
Maclure
Riley
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6
Parnell
MG
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1*
White
Bugatti
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23
Carriere
Delahaye
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4
Junker
Alta
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16
A C Dobson
ERA
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18
"B Bira"
Maserati
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3
Powys-Lybbe
Alfa Romeo
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12
Rüesch
Alfa Romeo
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7
Dobbs
ERA
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8
Whitehead
ERA
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17
Connell
Alfa Romeo
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14
Briault
ERA
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10
Martin
Alfa Romeo
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22
Schell
Delahaye
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21
Wisdom
Delahaye
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24
Kautz
Maserati
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15
Tongue
ERA
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9*
Taylor
Bugatti
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19
A Dobson
Alfa Romeo
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(Note 1)
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When Ebby Ebblewhite dropped the flag at 12:15 p.m. 21 cars moved forward with Cholmondeley-Tapper taking the lead but Bira remained standing as he had stalled his Maserati. The mechanics rushed to his
assistance and started to push to no avail and eventually the officials waved the car back to the pit because the field arrived after their first lap, still with Cholmondeley-Tapper in the lead. He was
followed by Maclure, Rüesch, Whitehead, who had made an excellent start from the fourth row, Dobbs and Tongue. As they went past the pits Rüesch passed Maclure, who slowed down and retired due to a
broken oil pipe that had got a big end in the engine to fail. After the field had passed a new attempt by Bira's mechanics finally got the engine on the Maserati to run but Bira had lost 1½ lap to the leader.
For three laps Rüesch remained second, but then he took over the lead from Tapper and started pulling away lap by lap doing lap times from 2m09s all the way down to 2m06s.
After six laps Rüesch was leading by 14 seconds from Tapper, Whitehead and Martin, who all were racing tight together. After seven laps Bira was no longer last as he had passed Jucker's Alta.
Rüesch did the first 10 laps in 21m53s (70.0 mph/112.6 km/h). He had increased his lead to 27 seconds over Tapper, who was fighting for second position with Whitehead just one second behind him. The
duo were still followed closely by Martin with Tongue in fifth and Dobbs in sixth position. Martin, who was driving with a beret on his head, was able to pass Whitehead for third on the
13th lap and closed in on Tapper.
On the 12th lap Bira, who was making 2m14s laps, moved up to 19th position having passed White's Bugatti. On the 15th lap Rüesch caught Bira and went into Red Gate corner intending to put the Siamese
driver two laps down. But Bira, taken by surprise, turned in and crashed his Maserati into the rear of Rüesch's car. The Alfa Romeo was pushed up on the grass but both drivers recovered to continue,
the Alfa Romeo having some dents on the rear part after the contact (Note 2). On the same lap Martin passed Tapper for 2nd position and Tapper instead became
involved in a fight with Whitehead for third place.
Behind them the ERA duel for fifth between Dobbs and Tongue ended when Dobbs had to stop to adjust a sticking throttle. Soon afterwards Tongue had to stop as well to adjust the rear shock absorbers and
instead Arthur Dobson, also in an ERA, took over fifth position. The order after twenty laps was as follows:
| 1. | Rüesch (Alfa Romeo) | 43m24s | (70.6 mph / 113.6 km/h) |
| 2. | Martin (Alfa Romeo) | 44m30s |
| 3. | Tapper (Maserati) | 44m38s |
| 4. | Whitehead (ERA) | 44m39s |
| 5. | Arthur Dobson (ERA) | 45m00.6s |
Bira was advancing through the field passing Taylor and Wisdom on lap 20 and Connell and Scribbans on lap 21 for 15th position. On lap 22 Whitehead found a way past Tapper. Jucker retired his Alta after
23 laps due to continuous oil pressure problems. Before that he already had made three pit stops for oil pipe repairs. White retired his Bugatti due to a broken universal joint in the prop shaft.
Dobbs trying to regain his position after his pit stop came with too high speed to the fast left hander before Mac Leans corner and skidded across the road to hit the opposite bank. Some cars just behind
him managed to pass the ERA without crashing. Soon afterwards Dobbs had to stop his car at the Starkey corner due to a jammed carburettor and he had to be pushed into the pit for repairs.
Rüesch did 30 laps in 1h04m52s (70.8 mph/114.0 km/h) leading Martin by 1m35s. Kautz had to stop his Maserati for new plugs.
On the 39th lap Rüesch lapped third positioned Whitehead whose ERA had started to misfire. Whitehead stopped in the pit and Walker took over the car. With plug changes, driver change and refuelling the pit
stop lasted 4m27s, Walker returning to the race in sixth position behind Austin Dobson's Alfa Romeo and with Tongue and Bira not far behind him. The race order at 40 laps looked like this:
| 1. | Rüesch (Alfa Romeo) | 1h26m20s | (70.9 mph / 114.2 km/h) |
| 2. | Martin (Alfa Romeo) | 1h28m16s |
| 3. | Dobson (ERA) | 1h29m16s |
| 4. | Tapper (Maserati) | 1h29m24s |
| 5. | Austin Dobson (Alfa Romeo) | 1h31m30s |
Arthur Dobson made a pit stop adding 20 gallons (75.7 litre) of fuel in 53 seconds. Immediately afterwards he was accused of spilling oil as its filler cap was not secured and he had to be called in
so the problem could be fixed.
It now seems Dobson had spread oil all along the circuit as there were several incidents. On lap 42 Tapper spun on oil between Holly Wood and McClean's corner. A bent steering
forced him to retire. Eileen Ellison, the only female driver in the event, was thus unable to take part in the race.
Bira was temporarily up to fifth after having passed Tongue and Arthur Dobson but was then re-passed by both again.
After a skid in Holly Wood Austin Dobson left the road into the wood, the car went backwards between the trees but he was able to continue. Evans lost control on descent to the old paddock spinning
twice and went up on two wheels only by chance missing the trees. Meanwhile race officials were sprinkling sand over the oil-soaked parts of the circuit and eventually the cars seased to skid.
Tongue was up to third position for a moment before being passed by Walker. Briault made a 3 minute pit stop for fuel giving over his ERA to Denis Evans. After 54 laps Evans had to stop because of fuel
pressure problems and then stopped anew after a few laps.
Rüesch did 50 laps in 1h48m51s (70.3 mph/113.2 km/h). He led Martin by 2m09s with Walker in third position followed by Tongue and Bira. On the 55th lap Bira passed Tongue for fourth position 17 seconds
behind Walker. Kautz stopped again for a plug change and he also refuelled. However, after 55 laps he had to retire with a broken piston.
After 58 laps "Wilkie" Wilkinson, who had taken over the M.G. from Reg Parnell, retired due to a broken half shaft. Earlier Parnell had skid into the grass at Starkey's Corner.
On the 60th lap Rüesch, who had caught second positioned Martin by a lap, made his planned pit stop for refuelling, adding 36 gallons (136 litre) and for giving over the car to Seaman. Martin made
his refuelling stop as well, both cars coming in at the same time. Martin who drove single handed was away again after 37 seconds while the driver change took a bit longer, Seaman returned the 8C-35
to the race after a 1m07s stop but still leading by almost a lap.
The race order after 60 laps (showing Rüesch before his stop but Martin after his stop):
| 1. | Rüesch (Alfa Romeo) | 2h11m02s | (70.1 mph / 112.8 km/h) |
| 2. | Martin (Alfa Romeo) | 2h14m04s |
| 3. | Walker (ERA) | 2h17m33s |
| 4. | "B. Bira" (Maserati) | 2h18m03s |
| 5. | Tongue (ERA) | 2h18m06s |
| 6. | Arthur Dobson (ERA) | 2h18m13s |
Connell made a 1m31s stop for refuelling, Kenneth Evans taking over the Monza. Carrière made a stop to change the rear wheels, to refuel and to do other repairs. The Delahaye returned to the circuit
after 6 minutes with Selborne as driver. After having done several stops Dobbs retired his ERA after 67 laps with engine trouble.
Seaman's time for 70 laps was 2h34m05s. He was leading by 2m23s, having put Martin a lap behind. Many drivers now made their pit stops. Powys-Lybbe made a 54 seconds stop putting in 25 gallons (94.6 litre)
of fuel into his Monza. Tongue made a pit stop as well and Arthur Dobson moved up to fourth position.
Bira made a stop for 30 gallons (113.6 litre) of fuel. In order to gain time the team had obtained a quick filling apparatus with a pressure pump. But the pressure pump failed and the mechanics had to
use churns. Bira lost 1m30s and returned to the circuit behind Tongue. Austin Dobson stopped to change a damaged wheel and Leitch took over the Alfa Romeo. The Delahayes were changing drivers as well.
Tongue passed Dobson for fourth position. Arthur Dobson stopped his ERA for fuel and tightened brakes giving over fifth position to Bira.
The order at 80 laps:
| 1. | Seaman (Alfa Romeo) | 2h55m52s | (69.7 mph / 112.1 km/h) |
| 2. | Martin (Alfa Romeo) | 2h58m34s |
| 3. | Walker (ERA) | 3h00m48s |
| 4. | Tongue (ERA) | 3h03m37s |
| 5. | "B. Bira" (Maserati) | 3h04m29s |
| 6. | Arthur Dobson (ERA) | 3h04m36s |
Tongue chased Walker but the latter was too far ahead. Walker made a second pit stop for fuel and Whitehead took over the black ERA returning to the race after 1m15s without losing third position.
Leitch made a pit stop and Austin Dobson took over his Alfa Romeo again and Briault took over his ERA from Evans as well after the latter had stopped for brake adjustments.
Seaman did 90 laps in 3h17m48s (69.7 mph/112.1 km/h) leading by 3 minutes over Martin.
For a moment Carrière was up to seventh position with the Delahaye before he was passed by Powys-Lybbe's Monza. Don made a stop for gearbox and clutch repairs and the Delahaye remained standing
in the pit for 25 minutes.
These were the positions after 100 laps:
| 1. | Seaman (Alfa Romeo) | 3h39m49s | (69.7 mph / 112.1 km/h) |
| 2. | Martin (Alfa Romeo) | 3h42m54s |
| 3. | Whitehead (ERA) | 3h46m00s |
| 4. | Tongue (ERA) | 3h47m44s |
| 5. | "B. Bira" (Maserati) | 3h48m51s |
| 6. | Arthur Dobson (ERA) | 3h49m14s |
Powys-Lybbe made a one minute stop to adjusted shock absorbers and for taking in another 5 gallons (18.9 litre) of fuel.
During the last 20 laps Seaman was cruising in top gear putting in laps around 2m17s. He did 110 laps in 4h02m40s (69.4 mph/111.7 km/h) still leading the race by 3m16s over Martin. During the last
laps Whitehead had brake problems. Tongue closed in but Whitehead was never in real danger to lose his third position though oil fumes began to pour from the cockpit.
Seaman took the chequered flag to win with Rüesch. Martin in the older Alfa Romeo was second and the ERAs of Whitehead/Walker and Tongue third and fourth. Bira finished a disappointing fifth as
without the stall at the start he probably would have been third.
Arthur Dobson took the flag just within the 10 minutes time limit to finish sixth and clinching the team award for ERA. The remaining nine cars were flagged in.
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Results
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In retrospect:
The information about which Delahaye driver raced what car is very confusing. I have followed The Motor's race report as it is supported by Daily Herald October 9th where their motoring
correspondent Thomas Henry "Tommy" Wisdom, who was also a racing driver, tells about his race and how he gave over his Delahaye, which already had lost 2nd gear, to Kaye Don.
Wisdom was listed as LeBègue's partner in the entry list but he isn't listed in the results in The Autocar nor in books that probably have used that paper as source.
The several driver changes made both the race and the reports confusing. For example Belfast News and Western Mail had Andrew Leitch as co-driver to Arthur Dobson instead of Austin Dobson.
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Footnote:
1. In his book Doug Nye have Taylor in car #1 and White in car #9 on the grid.
2. Prince Chula wrote that "Bira drove through the 120 laps without a fault" but here I have to disagree. When a backmarker crashes with the race leader it shows he has not been using his mirrors.
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Primary sources researched for this article:
The Autocar, London
Daily Herald, London
Manchester Guardian, Manchester
The Motor, London
Nottingham Journal, Nottingham
The Observer, London
The Times, London
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, Leeds
Also:
Doug Nye "The British Grand Prix"
Prince Chula "Road Racing 1936"
Special thanks to:
Richard Armstrong
Jean-Maurice Gigleux
Vladimir Kovalenko
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6 - 7 October 1936: Auto Union hold their yearly test for new drivers at Nürburgring
with the following results:
Müller 11m08.0s
Bäumer 11m33.0s
Brudes 11m55.0s
Steinbach 12m43.1s
Schweder crashed
Müller was selected as driver for the 1937 season.
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8 - 22 October 1936: Mercedes-Benz held a "driver school" at Nürburgring with 27 drivers, of which
the top 14 tried the GP car. Those 14 where:
Fritz Back, employee of D-B AG
Heinz Brendel, Frankfurt am Main
Willy Briem, Ludwigsburg, driving teacher, Amilcar driver
Hermann Gunzenhauser, Neidlingen, motorcycle driver (Jawa)
Heinz-Hugo Hartmann, Dortmund, employee of D-B AG
Paul Heinemann, Geilenkirchen
Leonhardt Joa, Pirmasens, Bugatti driver
Christian Kautz, Switzerland
Paul Köppen, Berlin, sales man of D-B AG
Georg Lindenmaier, Untertürkheim, mechanic in racing department
Alfred Neher, emploee of D-B AG
Friedrich Schneider, employee of D-B AG
Hans Schumann, Nüremberg/Stuttgart?, motorcycle driver (NSU)
Richard Seaman, Great Britain, Voiturette driver
Of the 13 other participiating the following 5 are known by name:
Hermann Fischer, employee of D-B AG
Hoffelner, Austria?
Hans Holzwarth, employee of D-B AG
Herbert Lauenstein, employee of D-B AG
Hermann Schmitz, had a fatal crash at the Karussell
(Schmitz is called "Johann Wolf" in Neubauer's biography)
Later on a motorcycle driver named Steinbach joined the group and made some laps before giving up.
Seaman and Kautz were selected as junior drivers for 1937.
(Information courtesy supplied by DaimlerChrysler AG)
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