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FOREWORD:
Back in 1999 when I went online with my site the 1939 season was not included. I then added that season in a rather rush to get my site complete.
Now, eleven years later, the 1939 pages are being completly redesigned with full entry lists and results included even for the minor races.
Also, I don't have to worry about limited web resources any more, but can concentrate on getting the reports and results tables correct and
complete, including race speeds and track lenghts. The page will follow the format already seen on the 1933 pages, with a few improvements.
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| Leif Snellman |
INTRODUCTION:
The world situation interfered heavily with the 1939 races.
Early in the season Mussolini refused Italian drivers to race in French events because of the involvement
in the Spanish civil war and deteriorating relations between the two nations. It was also decided that all major
Italian races should be for 1.5 litre cars only. The fact that Mercedes-Benz introduced their new voiturette car in the
Tripoli GP and that Auto Union was building their own voiturette showed that 1.5 litre racing was gaining ground
and probably would have been the new GP formula in the early 1940s if not the war had intervened.
Mercedes-Benz continued as the leading Grand Prix team challenged only by Auto Union. A stronger concentration on
GP racing by the Alfa Romeo and Maserati teams could have made some very interesting racing but the Italian teams
preferred to dominate in voiturette racing instead.
There have been doubts about who was the European Champion in 1939. Using the 1935-1938 points system the Champion would be
Hermann Müller but due to the war there were never any official results of the 1939 championship.
However, Lang was declared European Champion in December 1939 by NSKK-Korpsführer Hühnlein .
There is no doubt that Lang was the dominant driver of the season with four GP victories, winner of the most prestigious
voiturette race of the season and two major mountain climb victories. The 1939 season is also sadly remembered for Richard Seaman's infamous accident at Spa.
Cancelled events:
The Monaco GP scheduled for 16 April was again cancelled due to economic reasons. The Italian Grand Prix planned for 10 September was not run as the Monza circuit was under a rebuild.
The 1939 season was of course cut short. The Masaryk Grand Prix and Donington Grand Prix scheduled for 23th and 30th September were never raced and neither was the first
Zürich Grand Prix, a race planned to be held on the Schwamendingen circuit in Switzerland on 8 October. The Wien Grand Prix planned for 26th August was also never raced and
the Grand Prix de Liege sports car race in Belgium was canceled after the first day of practice, 24 August.
The Bangkok Grand Prix also became a victim of the war. The La Baule Grand Prix, scheduled for 3 September, London Grand Prix, scheduled for 7th October and
the Brooklands Autumn Meeting, scheduled for the 14th October were never held either.
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1939 SEASON LINEUP:
Factory Racing Teams:
GRAND PRIX:
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz continued with their W154 car (Note 1) with a new
streamlined bodywork and fuel tank distribution that made the car almost 100 kg lighter.
The greatest novelty was the two stage supercharger that added some 30 BHP.
To better the cooling of the brakes Mercedes-Benz developed new drums with integral cooling fans.
A new V12 engine known as the M163 was constructed and used late in the season.
The team lineup was the familiar one with Rudolf Caracciola,
Manfred von Brauchitsch, Hermann Lang and
Richard Seaman as senior drivers.
Walter Bäumer, Hans Hugo Hartmann and
Heinz Brendel were added to the team as reserves.
Seaman's crash during the Belgian GP was the first fatal incident for the team since Otto Merz at AVUS 1933.
Auto Union
The team continued to develop their D-type, adding two stage supercharging for better performance.
At the end of the season the rear engine Auto Union cars probably held an edge in roadholding over any
other car in the world at that time.
Tazio Nuvolari continued as team leader with Hans Stuck,
Rudolf Hasse and Hermann Müller as the other drivers.
Motorcycle driver Georg "Schorsch" Meier was added to the team as junior driver with
Ulrich Bigalke functioning as reserve.
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo made only minor cosmetic changes to their Tipo 308, 312 and 316 cars.
The company was developing a new 16 cylinder car named Tipo 162 but the car was never raced.
Giuseppe Farina led Alfa Corse In the few races started during the year with
Raymond Sommer mostly entered as a privateer.
Maserati
Maserati concentrated their efforts on Voiturette racing and no development was done on the 8CTF.
The works team entered just one race during 1939, the German GP, where Luigi Villoresi
and Paul Pietsch showed that the cars still were fast but fragile. After
that race the works cars were sold to Laurie and Lucie Schell to be driven by "Raph" and Max Christen .
Another 8CTF was sold to American Wilbur Shaw who showed the potential of the car by dominating the Indy 500.
Delahaye
Ecurie Lucy O'Reilly Schell continued with their T155 and T145 cars for their drivers
René Dreyfus and "Raph"
before giving up the Delahayes and buying the works Maserati cars instead.
Some private Type 135 Delahaye sportscars were also seen during the season driven by
amateur drivers.
Talbot
In January 1939 Tony Lago unveiled the MD 90 "Monoplace Decalée" offset 4.5 litre GP car followed
two months later by the MC 90 "Monoplace Centrale" also with the 4.5 litre engine. There was never
any money to build the planned 3 litre V16 engine.
Drivers included Philippe Étancelin, René Carrière and
René Le Bègue
Bugatti
Jean-Pierre Wimille made only sporadic appearances with the works
Type 59/50B as the driver and the team were concentrating on sports cars.
VOITURETTE 1500cc:
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz answered the Italian plans to race all Italian races to the voiturette formula by building their
own W165 voiturette cars with 1.5 litre V8 engines between November 1938 and April 1939.
The constructions leaned heavily on the new W154 GP car and one car was made ready and taken to Hockenheim for
tests. A second car was finished during the trip to the Tripoli GP.
The W165s were only raced once during the season
but during that race they really shook the Italians. Drivers were Rudolf Caracciola
and Hermann Lang.
Alfa Romeo
The Alfa Romeo improved reliability of their Tipo 158s. The Alfa Corse team retained their position as top voiturette
team during the season. In fact, during the rainy Swiss GP Farina was able to keep his Tipo 158 in front of the
GP Mercedes cars for several laps.
Two fatal crashes happened during the year involving works drivers Emilio Villoresi
and "Nando" Aldrighetti.
Other Alfa Corse drivers included Giuseppe Farina, Clemente Biondetti,
Francesco Severi and Carlo Pintacuda.
Maserati
For the season Maserati built a totally new voiturette car, the 4 cylinder 16 valve 4CL.
A streamlined variant of the car appeared during the Tripoli GP to be driven by head driver
Luigi Villoresi.
Count Trossi, Giovanni Rocco and Franco Cortese
also continued as works drivers.
Unlike Alfa Romeo, Maserati had even their latest cars availible for privateers and British drivers
Johnnie Wakefield and Reggie Tongue took the oportunity to buy thir own 4CL cars and raced them successfully.
Other teams including Scuderia Ambrosiana and Scuderia Torino and several privateers continued with their 6CM and 4CM cars,
among them Armand Hug using a 6CM with a 4CL engine.
ERA
ERA Ltd. struggled on with great finacial difficulties.
Raymond Mays and Berthon split with the company, Mays racing on with the ERA-D as privateer.
Mays kept the Bourne premises whil Cook and the works team moved to Donington Park. Philip Mayne was appointed team manager.
Arthur Dobson became first driver and Tony Rolt second driver.
The ERA E-type was shown in public in April 1939. There were however development problems and the car was withdrawn
several times before finally making its debut.
Other privateers to be seen during the season included "B Bira" who was now racing under Siamese licence,
Earl Howe, Peter Whitehead, Bob Ansell,
Con Pollock and Peter Aitken.
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Footnote:
1.The official name of the car was W154 just as the year before. However in many books the car is incorrectly known as the
W163. The reason for that is that the new, redesigned K-series engine, used parallell with the old type during the season, was known as the M163 (M standing for Motor, W for Wagen).
On a suggestion from Hans Etzrodt I have decided to use the correct but perheps less known name W154 here for the car to set an example for future historians.
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IN MEMORIAM:
The 1939 season was not without its fatal race accidents, several of them involving running ito a tree Vern Leech crashed a MG at the Australian GP at Lobethal on 2 January.
1938 AAA champion and Indy winner Floyd Roberts died of brain damage after a crash with Bob Swanson at the Indianapolis 500 on 30 May
where Robert's car went through the back straight outer wall and straight into a tree.
Emilio Villoresi died testing a Alfa Romeo Alfetta at Monza on 19 June. On his 15th lap he is reported to have gone head on into a tree near Curva della Roggia.
Richard Seaman died at hospital in the evening of 25 June following the horrible burns he had recieved at the rainy Belgian Grand Prix when his Mercedes-Benz crashed into a tree,
trapping the driver and splitting the fully loaded tank.
Jean Bugatti, Ettore Bugatti's son, was testing a T57C at high speed near Duppigheim on the evening of 11 August when he run over a cyclist, lost control, hit two trees, bounced across the road and hit yet another tree.
The car split in half lengthwise and Bugatti died instantly.
Giordano Aldrighetti, in a Alfa Romeo Alfetta, crashed near Spoltore on 11 August while practicing for the Coppa Acerbo, the car overturning in a ditch, catching fire and trapping the driver, who
succumbed to his injuries at a hospital after midnight.
Sir John Bowen died after crashing his Maserati at a handicap race at Donington Park on 12 August.
Catullo Lami died instantly when his Maserati went off the road and overturned at the Coppa Acerbo on 13 August.
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SOURCES:
The main sources of information for the 1939 season has been Paul Sheldon: "A history of Grand Prix and Voiturette Racing, volume 4", Chris Nixon: "Racing the Silver Arrows",
David Venables: "The Racing Fifteen-Hundreds" and "First Among Champions", Georg C. Monkhouse: "Motor Racing with Mercedes-Benz" and "Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Racing 1934-1955" and
Adriano Cimarosti: "The Complete History of Grand Prix Motor Racing."
For information about the cars I have had good use of Karl Ludwigsen: "Quicksilver Century", Peter Kirchberg: "Grand-Prix-Report Auto Union 1934 - 1939", Peter Hull: "Alfa Romeo, a History", Anthomy Pritchard:
"Maserati a History", H.G. Conway: "Grand Prix Bugatti", Laurence Pomeroy: "The Grand Prix Car" and Doug Nye: "Autocourse History of the Grand Prix Car 1945 - 1965".
There are also the classic biografies like Alfred Neubauer: "Männer, Frauen und Motoren", Rudi Caracciola. "Meine Welt" and Hermann Lang: "Von Rennmonteur zum Europameister".
These books I consider to be standard literture, used for most of the race accounts and I will usually not mention them especially for each race. However if some other book has been of special use for a particular race, it
has been mentioned at the end of that race account. See here for a more complete source list.
Also period magazines has been used as much as possible, especially the Swiss
"Automobil-Revue" and the Italian "Il Littoriale". I'm greatly thankful to Hans Etzrodt and Alessandro Silva for providing me with copies of those.
In addition to all that comes various Net resources, Discussion Groups, magazine articles, videos, YouTube etc.
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2 January 1939:Allan Tomlinson (MG) wins the Australian GP handicap race at Lobethal.
Vern Leech has a fatal crash during the race.
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February 1939: Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Talbot, Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union tests at Monza.
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March 1939: Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union tests at Monza. Hermann Lang, driving the 1939 body W154 prototype, makes a best lap of
2m27.2s, 5.2s under last year's pole time.
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11 March 1939: Combined B.A.R.C. and B.M.C.R.C. Meeting at Brooklands.
The handicap races were won by Ian Connell (Darracq), Bob Gerard (Riley), Arthur Hyde (Riley),
J. Lemon Burton (Bugatti) and Charles Mortimer (Bugatti).
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1 April 1939: Rolt (ERA B) wins the British Empire Trophy handicap race
at Donington Park, England.
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GRAND PRIX DE PAU
Pau (F), 2 April 1939
100 laps x 2.769 km (1.721 mi) = 276.9 km (172.1 mi)
Mercedes-Benz double victory with Lang and Brauchitsch at Pau
by Hans Etzrodt and Leif Snellman
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The first race of 1939 was the International Grand Prix of Pau over 100 short laps with 15 cars at the start, 3 from Germany, 2 from Italy and 10 from France. The three Mercedes drivers took control of the race, with Caracciola
leading until he stopped after 29 laps with a leaking oil pipe and soon after retired. Brauchitsch then led until he made an unnecessary pit stop on lap 82, believing that he was out of fuel. Lang then passed into the lead to
take victory from Brauchitsch with Etancelin in the new Talbot third after a long fight with Sommer's Alfa Romeo, who came fourth. The Delahaye sports cars of Paul, Mazaud, Biolay and Contet finished in the last four places.
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The Automobile Club Basco-Béarnais (ACBB) organized an event with a remarkable participation for the first race of the1939 season. The rather narrow circuit was leading through the town with many slow turns, including ups and
downs, comparable to the Monaco circuit, allowing passing only on few places.
The first Pau Grand Prix was held in 1933 on a shorter 2.649 km circuit over 80 laps with Lehoux (Bugatti) the winner. The second race in 1935 went over the 2.769 km circuit of 80 laps, won by Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo). 1936 was
the third event over the same circuit length but 100 laps and was won by Etancelin (Maserati). The fourth event was held in 1937, but was a sports car race over 80 laps, won by Wimille (Bugatti). In 1938 the fifth Pau
Grand Prix was international with Alfa Romeo and Mercedes-Benz at the start but was won by Dreyfus in the Delahaye.
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Entries:
There were only 15 cars at the start and over 20 could have been there but Auto Union and the Italian Alfa Romeo and Maserati teams were not present. Politics had interfered. Because the French government supported the Spanish
Royalists fighting Fascism, Benito Mussolini, a Fascist himself, banned all Italian drivers from racing in France. Since Nuvolari was Auto Union's number one driver and of Italian nationality, therefore Auto Union refused to
race in Pau. Ecurie Lucy O'Reilly Shell had entered two Delahaye 145 types for René Dreyfus and "Raph". But the entry was then withdrawn as the new cars could not be finished in time.
Daimler-Benz team manager Alfred Neubauer with Engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut were present with four of the new 1939 Mercedes-Benz W 154 cars, which had an entirely new low and slim body fitted on top of the 1938 chassis, with this
year's new 3-liter, V-12-cylinder engine, but not with the new two-stage supercharging, which was not completed at this time. Three cars were for racing and the fourth was for practice. The four drivers were Rudolf Caracciola,
Manfred von Brauchitsch, Hermann Lang, and Richard Seaman as reserve.
Automobiles Talbot-Darracq entered two of their 4.5-liter unblown 6-cylinder Talbots for Philippe Etancelin and René Carrière.
The independent drivers included Raymond Sommer with 1938 type 308 Alfa Romeo, entered by Ecurie de Graffenried and Emmanuel de Graffenried himself with an old 3-liter Maserati, then two old 2.3-liter Bugatti driven by
Maurice Trintignant and Marcel Balsa. There were five 135 type Delahayes, all last year's models for Joseph Paul, Marcel Contet, Eugene Chaboud, René Biolay and Robert Mazaud. Lastly there was Eugène Trémoulet with the
old SEFAC. Trémoulet, new in Grand Prix racing, had driven in several French sportscar races and with Eugène Chaboud had shared a Delahaye in 1938, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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Practice:
March 31 - Friday practice was for only one hour in the afternoon. The Mercedes team had arrived at Pau the evening the day before and was on the circuit in the afternoon when the sky was overcast and a slight sprinkle of
rain wetted the course. 14 drivers had assembled at the start. After practicing for 40 minutes, Caracciola made a lap in 1m47s at 93.182 km/h average speed and was also timed unofficially by Mercedes team in 1m45.2s
at 94.579 km/h average speed, he was then finished with practice. His teammate von Brauchitsch bettered his time to 1m46s at 94.062 km/h. Below are the times published.
| Friday times |
| Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) | 1m46s - 1m48s |
| Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) | 1m48s - 1m45.2s unofficial |
| Seaman (Mercedes-Benz) | 1m49s - 1m49.3s |
| Lang (Mercedes-Benz) | 1m51s - 1m50.4s |
| Etancelin (Talbot) | 1m51s |
| Sommer (Alfa Romeo) | 1m52.3s unofficial |
| De Graffenried (Maserati | 1m57s |
| Chaboud (Delahaye) | 1m58s |
| Paul (Delahaye) | 2m00s |
| Balsa (Bugatti) | 2m01s |
| Mazaud (Delahaye) | 2m02s |
| Biolay (Delahaye) | 2m03s |
| Contet (Delahaye) | 2m05s |
| Trémoulet (SEFAC) | no time |
| Müller (Auto Union) | 10m26.0s |
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April 1 - Saturday was the last practice day. Trémoulet had a slight practice accident when he spun the SEFAC car and covered the track with gravel. The car was repaired in time to do battle on Sunday. Except for
Trintignant who was absent during practice, all drivers were on the circuit to be clocked and their times were published below.
| Saturday times |
| Seaman (Mercedes-Benz) | 1m46s |
| Lang (Mercedes-Benz) | 1m47s |
| Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) | 1m47s |
| Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) | 1m48s |
| Carrière (Talbot) | 1m50s |
| Sommer (Alfa Romeo) | 1m50s |
| Etancelin (Talbot) | 1m51s |
| De Graffenried (Maserati | 1m56s |
| Balsa (Bugatti) | 1m58s |
| Paul (Delahaye) | 1m59s |
| Chaboud (Delahaye) | 1m59s |
| Biolay (Delahaye) | 2m03s |
| Mazaud (Delahaye) | 2m03s |
| Contet (Delahaye) | 2m04s |
| Trémoulet (SEFAC) | 2m05s |
| Trintignat (Bugatti) |
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Race:
The weather did not look too good on Sunday morning. It had been raining hard during the night. But at 2 p.m. when the race started the sun had finally broken through the clouds.
Regardless of the weather a large crowd of around 50,000 had turned up for the Grand Prix and all seats were taken in the grand stands.
In 1938 Daimler-Benz had experienced that the track conditions deteriorated during the race as the track became slippery. The strategy was therefore to go flat out in
the beginning to establish a gap big enough in case an unscheduled pit stop was needed. The 15 cars lined up on the grid in order of their practice times for the start, which took
place with sunshine after the earlier rain left parts of the race track wet and slippery.
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2
Caracciola
Mercedes-Benz
1m48s
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18
Lang
Mercedes-Benz
1m47s
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10
Brauchitsch
Mercedes-Benz
1m46s
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4
Carrière
Talbot
1m50s
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8
Sommer
Alfa Romeo
1m50s
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30
Balsa
Bugatti
1m58s
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20
Graffenried
Maserati
1m56s
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16
Etancelin
Talbot
1m51s
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22
Chabaud
Delahaye
1m59s
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6
Paul
Delahaye
1m59s
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14
Contet
Delahaye
2m04s
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26
Biolay
Delahaye
2m03s
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28
Mazaud
Delahaye
2m02s
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12
Trintignant
Bugatti
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24
Trémoulet
SEFAC
2m05s
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Charles Faroux was acting as Race Manager, lowering the flag at exactly 2 p.m. Caracciola took the lead chased by Brauchitsch, followed by Lang, Carrière, Sommer and Etancelin. After the 1st lap, the leading six opened
a gap to the rest of the field and soon the three Mercedes created a group of their own. Caracciola tried to pull away for an early advantage but Brauchitsch pursued him closely and did not let him get away. On his second
tour Caracciola established the fastest lap of 1m47s at 93.069 km/h but the cars were not able to drive at full speed on a still wet course. Graffenried retired after the 3rd lap with a broken gearbox. Trémoulet in the
SEFAC was an early visitor at the pits and Chaboud had to give up after 10 rounds. The order after 10 laps was Caracciola, Brauchitsch, Lang, Carrière, Sommer, Etancelin, Balsa, Paul, Trintignant, Mazaud, Contet, Biolay
and Trémoulet.
After the 10th lap the track had dried up and the speeds were increasing. The Mercedes duo of Caracciola and Brauchitsch was doing 1m49s laps and was slowly pulling away from Lang. On the 12th lap Caracciola drove again
a fast lap in 1m47s at 93.069 km/h average speed. Trintignant, whose Bugatti engine was overheating retired on lap 13. Carrière in the Talbot was in fourth position. After 41.535 km Caracciola led the field in
the following order after 15 laps:
| 1. | Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) | 28m55s |
| 2. | Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) | 28m59s |
| 3. | Lang (Mercedes-Benz) | 29m06s |
| 4. | Carrière (Talbot) | 29m31s |
| 5. | Sommer (Alfa Romeo) | 29m35s |
| 6. | Etancelin (Talbot) | 29m48s |
| 7. | Balsa (Bugatti) | 31m05s |
| 8. | Paul (Delahaye) | 31m35s |
| 9. | Mazaud (Delahaye) | 32m03s |
| 10. | Trémoulet (SEFAC) |
After 15 laps Neubauer gave orders to his drivers to ease the pace as the Mercedes trio had established half a minute lead over Carrière at that time.
The main interest of the spectators turned to the fight for fifth position between Sommer's Alfa Romeo and Etancelin's new Talbot. After the 15th lap Etancelin found a way past his fellow countryman. But on the next lap
Sommer retook fifth position. Further down the field Balsa was making a good job in his old Bugatti to keep the two Delahaye behind him. On the 19th lap Sommer went past Carrière for fourth position now one minute behind
the Mercedes trio. On the 21st lap Balsa's good race came to an end. After 69.225 km, Caracciola led at 89.172 km/h average speed with the field in the following order after 25 laps:
| 1. | Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) | 47m07s |
| 2. | Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) | 47m13s |
| 3. | Lang (Mercedes-Benz) | 47m22s |
| 4. | Sommer (Alfa Romeo) | 48m30s |
| 5. | Carrière (Talbot) | 48m43s |
| 6. | Etancelin (Talbot) | 48m48s |
| 7. | Biolay (Delahaye) |
| 8. | Paul (Delahaye) |
| 9. | Mazaud (Delahaye) |
| 10. | Contet {Dalahaye) |
| 11. | Trémoulet (SEFAC) |
Caracciola did the 28th lap in 1m47s, equaling the time he had set on lap two. On the 30th lap Caracciola stopped at the pits with oil streaming from below the car. The connection to the oil pipe had come loose which
took some time to repair as it was in an awkward position under the exhaust manifold and it took a 12-minute repair before Caracciola could return to the race. But he had lost 7 laps and with this handicap he rejoined
the race in last place but retired after 1-1/2 km. Carrière in the new Talbot lost control on Caracciola's oil trail, ran against the curb at a sidewalk where he retired with bent front axle. Brauchitsch was leading
Lang by 21 seconds and Sommer by 1m47s. The rest of the field had already been lapped, which was led by Etancelin and followed by Mazaud, Biolay, Paul, Trémoulet and Contet. After 91.377 km Brauchitsch led at 88.164 km/h
average speed with the field in the following order after 33 laps:
| 1. | Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) | 1h02m12s |
| 2. | Lang (Mercedes-Benz) | 1h02m33s |
| 3. | Sommer (Alfa Romeo) | 1h03m59s |
| 4. | Etancelin (Talbot) | 1 lap behind |
| 5. | Mazaud (Delahaye) |
| 6. | Biolay (Delahaye) |
| 7. | Paul (Delahaye) |
| 8. | Trémoulet (SEFAC) |
| 9. | Contet (Delahaye) |
After having completed 35 laps Trémoulet with the SEFAC broke down on the climb to the station. This latest withdrawal reduced the field to eight competitors. By half distance Brauchitsch's Mercedes had lapped
the entire field but following their plan both cars were still going hard. Manfred von Brauchitsch in the lead was doing ever faster laps and was leading Lang by half a minute by mid-race. Sommer was third followed
by Etancelin, Mazaud, Paul and Biolay with half the cars gone. After 138.45 km Brauchitsch led at 88.032 km/h average speed with the field in the following order after 50 laps:
| 1. | Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) | 1h34m23s |
| 2. | Lang (Mercedes-Benz) | 1h34m53s |
| 3. | Sommer (Alfa Romeo) | 1h36m26s |
| 4. | Etancelin (Talbot) | 1 lap behind |
| 5. | Mazaud (Delahaye) | 3 laps behind |
| 6. | Paul (Delahaye) | 3 laps behind |
| 7. | Biolay (Delahaye) | 3 laps behind |
| 8. | Contet (Delahaye) | 9 laps behind |
The race continued normally until the 58th lap where the Mercedes driver Lang hurried after third placed Sommer, whom he managed to lap on the 60th round. While passing Sommer, Lang had simultaneously reduced the gap to
Brauchitsch, but slowed down somewhat thereafter, and the leader thus remained clearly detached with 25 seconds in advance. At the same time, Etancelin in fourth position, lost ground but remained clearly separated from
his followers. Behind the four leading men, the struggle was fierce for positions. Paul, after a good comeback, managed to steal fifth place from Mazaud. After 166.14 km Brauchitsch led at 88.209 km/h average speed in
the new order after 60 laps:
| 1. | Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) | 1h53m02s |
| 2. | Lang (Mercedes-Benz) | 1h53m27s |
| 3. | Sommer (Alfa Romeo) | 1 lap behind |
| 4. | Etancelin (Talbot) | 2 laps behind |
| 5. | Paul (Delahaye) | 5 laps behind |
| 6. | Mazaud (Delahaye) | 5 laps behind |
| 7. | Biolay (Delahaye) | 7 laps behind |
| 8. | Contet (Delahaye) | 10 laps behind |
The two leading Mercedes maintained their fast pace, Brauchitsch led constantly with 20 to 30 seconds advantage and Lang always followed like a shadow behind him. The new Continental tires did not need to be changed
during the race and Daimler-Benz had increased the size of the fuel tank, enabling the new Grand Prix car to do the 100 laps of Pau without fuel stop. This was to avoid a repeat of their fiasco at last year's race.
Von Brauchitsch was leading Lang by half a minute and looked like the sure winner. After 193.83 km Brauchitsch led at 88.413 km/h average speed with the field in the same order after 70 laps:
| 1. | Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) | 2h11m34s | |
| | 2. | Lang (Mercedes-Benz) | 2h12m04s |
| 3. | Sommer (Alfa Romeo) | 1 lap behind |
| 4. | Etancelin (Talbot) | 2 laps behind |
| 5. | Paul (Delahaye) |
| 6. | Mazaud (Delahaye) |
| 7. | Biolay (Delahaye) |
| 8. | Contet (Delahaye) |
Turning regularly around 1m50s per lap, Brauchitsch led after 221.52 km, at 88.549 km/h average speed with the field in the same order after 80 laps:
| 1. | Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) | 2h30m08s |
| 2. | Lang (Mercedes-Benz) | 2h30m54s |
| 3. | Sommer (Alfa Romeo) | 1 lap behind |
| 4. | Etancelin (Talbot) | 2 laps behind |
| 5. | Paul (Delahaye) |
| 6. | Mazaud (Delahaye) |
| 7. | Biolay (Delahaye) |
| 8. | Contet (Delahaye) |
The drivers were now approaching the last phase of the race. Brauchitsch further improved his position by lapping Etancelin for the third time. Sommer was forced to slow down a bit to find himself now one lap and 15
seconds behind Lang. On lap 82 the leader Brauchitsch believed that he was out of fuel after his engine had sputtered at the hairpin bend. He had been bothered by high fuel consumption during practice and so, fearing
the worst, he stopped at his pit. After the mechanics had put fuel in the tank and as Brauchitsch got away again, Lang screamed past the pits to take the lead. Brauchitsch now chased after Lang to catch him but his
attempts were in vain since Lang was signaled from his pit of his team mate's progress. On the 83rd lap Sommer, who was suffering from a dislocated shoulder, also came in for fuel but his Alfa Romeo refused to restart.
He lost 8 minutes in total before his car started again. In the haste the hood was not fitted and he drove without and lost his third place to Etancelin's Talbot. Lang was leading Brauchitsch by 17 seconds. The latter
made a great effort to catch Lang, driving the 84th lap in 1m47s but Lang answered with equal fast times on laps 85, 87 and 88. It was the first time in a race that three drivers made the same fastest time.
After 249.21 km Lang led at 88.452 km/h average speed with the field in the new order after 90 laps:
| 1. | Lang (Mercedes-Benz) | 2h49m05s |
| 2. | Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz) | 2h49m22s |
| 3. | Etancelin (Talbot) | 2 laps behind |
| 4. | Sommer (Alfa Romeo) | 5 laps behind |
| 5. | Paul (Delahaye) | 7 laps behind |
| 6. | Mazaud (Delahaye) |
| 7. | Biolay (Delahaye) |
| 8. | Contet (Delahaye) |
Despite von Brauchitsch's efforts to close the gap, Lang controlled the race to take the flag as winner of the Pau Grand Prix with 16.8 seconds ahead of Brauchitsch, both had lapped the entire field at least twice.
Etancelin in the new 4.5-litre Talbot Monoplace Decalée was two laps back and Sommer's private Alfa came fourth, five laps behind but still ahead of last year's Delahaye sports cars of Frenchmen J. Paul, Mazaud,
Biolay and Contet.
After the race, von Brauchitsch was angry because he had misread the sputtering of his engine being caused by an empty fuel tank and pulled into the pits to ask for fuel. His car was then checked and found to have
sufficient fuel to finish the race without stopping at the pits for fuel. Amazingly at its last appearance, the awkward SEFAC with Jean Trémoulet as driver, had indeed completed 35 laps before its retirement.
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Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Entrant | Car | Type | Engine | Laps | Time/Status | Diff |
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| 1. | 18 | Hermann Lang | Daimler-Benz AG | Mercedes-Benz | W 154 | 3.0 | V-12 | 100 | 3h07m25.2s |
| 2. | 10 | Manfred von Brauchitsch | Daimler-Benz AG | Mercedes-Benz | W 154 | 3.0 | V-12 | 100 | 3h07m42.0s | + 16.8s |
| 3. | 16 | Philippe Etancelin | Automobiles Talbot-Darracq | Talbot | MD | 4.5 | S-6 | 98 | 3h09m57.0s |
| 4. | 8 | Raymond Sommer | Ecurie de Graffenried | Alfa Romeo | Tipo 308 | 3.0 | S-8 | 95 | 3h09m15.0s |
| 5. | 6 | Joseph Paul | Ecurie Francia | Delahaye | 135 | 3.6 | S-6 | 92 | 3h08m03.0s |
| 6. | 28 | Robert Mazaud | R. Mazaud | Delahaye | 135 | 3.6 | S-6 | 92 | 3h09m10.0s |
| 7. | 26 | René Biolay | R. Biolay | Delahaye | 135 | 3.6 | S-6 | 88 | 3h07m26.0s |
| 8. | 14 | Marcel Contet | Ecurie Francia | Delahaye | 135 | 3.6 | S-6 | 86 | |
| DNF | 24 | Jean Trémoulet | SEFAC | SEFAC | | 3.0 | 2x4 | 35 | |
| DNF | 4 | René Carrièrè | Automobiles Talbot-Darracq | Talbot | MD 90 | 4.5 | S-6 | 29 | crash damage |
| DNF | 2 | Rudolf Caracciola | Daimler-Benz AG | Mercedes-Benz | W 154 | 3.0 | V-12 | 29 | broken oil line |
| DNF | 30 | Marcel Balsa | M. Balsa | Bugatti | T35B | 2.3 | S-8 | 21 | mechanical |
| DNF | 12 | Maurice Trintignant | M. Trintignant | Bugatti | T51 | 2.3 | S-8 | 13 | engine overheating |
| DNF | 22 | Eugène Chaboud | Ecurie Francia | Delahaye | 135 | 4.5 | S-6 | 10 | |
| DNF | 20 | Emmanuel de Graffenried | Ecurie de Graffenried | Maserati | 6C-34 | 3.0 | S-6 | 3 | gearbox |
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Fastest laps: Caracciola on laps 2, 12, 28, von Brauchitsch on lap 84 & Lang on laps 85, 87 and 88,
all in 1m47.0s = 93.2 km/h (57.8 mph)
Winner's medium speed: 88.7 km/h (55.1 mph)
Pole position speed: 94.1 km/h (58.4 mph)
Weather: overcast, wet track, dried up.
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In retrospect:
Why did Seaman not race? --- We do not know. Possibly the regulations only allowed a maximum of three entries per team, but we do not have the regulations. Possibly Mercedes-Benz had only four of the
new cars ready at that time and they needed one extra car for practice and possible parts needed for repairs. Another possibility was that the dominating NSKK Führer Adolf Hühnlein made Neubauer responsible
that a German driver would win the race, or...
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Primary sources researched for this article:
Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung, Berlin
AUTOMOBIL-REVUE, Bern
Deutsche Sport-Illustrierte, Stuttgart
Essener Anzeiger, Essen
Kölnische-Zeitung, Köln
L'Auto, Paris
La Vie Automobile, Paris
Le Figaro, Paris
Le Matin, Paris
L'Ouest-Éclair, Rennes
Motor Post, Berlin
Motor Sport, London
MOTOR und SPORT, Pössneck
Westfälische-Landeszeitung, Dortmund
Special thanks to:
Jean-Maurice Gigleux
Hugo Boecker
Vladislav Shaikhnurov
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ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP
Brooklands (GB), 10 April 1939 (Monday)
10 laps x 3.648 km (2.267 mi) = 36.5 km, (22.7 mi)
Dobson wins on the Campbell track
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This scratch race was a part of the B.A.R.C. Easter Meeting on Brooklands. The meeting also included handicap races, won by Anthony Beadle (Alta), Percy Maclure (Riley), Arthur Dobson (ERA), Peter Aitken (ERA),
R. N. Wallis (Fountain), Harold J. Aldington (Frazer-Nash BMW), Ian Connell (Darracq), C. K. Mortimer (MG), Walter E. Wilkingson (MG) and Alfred Fane (Frazer-Nash BMW).
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Entries:
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Practice:
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Race:
The meeting attracted the greatest crowd Brookland had seen for quite a while. After that Anthony Beadle had won the first handicap race in an Alta and Percy Maclure the second one in a Riley,
both run on the Campbell Circuit it was time for the main event of the day, a 10 lap scratch race. Again the popular Campbell Circuit was to be used.
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Grid in line across the track
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Artur Dobson in the Works ERA, now in Dominion Blue color scheme immediately took control of the race followed by Beadle. MacLure and mrs. Thomas were early retirements.
The steering tie rod on Pollock's ERA brok, the driver lucky to survice the incident without crashing. In the end Dobson was in his own class winning by almost 25 s over
Cotton's ERA with Evans Alfa finishing third.
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In retrospect:
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Results
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Main source is Bill Boddy's "The history of Brooklands Motor Course" with additional entry list information from Richard Armstrong.
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13 April 1939: Stuck (Auto Union) wins the La Turbie hill climb in France.
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6 May 1939: "B Bira" (Maserati 8CM) wins the JCC International Trophy handicap race
at Brooklands, England. Reggie Tongue gave the new Maserati 4CL its racing debut finishing 3rd.
The new ERA-E was tested but withdrawn.
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7 May 1939: Humphrey Cook announces that ERA Ltd has to close down on 26 May and that he is prepeared to transfer all the accets to the British Motor Racing Fund.
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