1924 GRAND PRIX SEASON -

1 9 2 4

FOREWORD
The information within these pages was derived primarily from contemporary magazines and newspapers. I am indebted to all those outstanding journalists and newsmen for their dedicated reporting. Without their stories, we would not have learned about what happened at these events. Secondary sources have also been helpful but to a much lesser extent. Several others have given valuable advice and corrected errors. I extend my appreciation to all those helpful specialists and enthusiasts. I am immensely grateful to Leif Snellman for providing a site where these factual and elaborate accounts enable us to relive these long-ago races and also for his incredible lifelike drawings.
	Hans Etzrodt

INTRODUCTION

Alfa Romeo ruled the 1924 season with their lead drivers Campari and Ascari. Of the 18 events for racecars only four races were considered major events of which only three were held to the official 2-Liter formula. Alfa Romeo had designed a new Grand Prix car, which was superior with two great drivers, Campari and Ascari. The season opened with the free formula Targa Florio where many factory teams participated, won by Werner with a TF Mercedes. At the 2-Liter formula European Grand Prix in Lyon, France, six work teams entered, won by Alfa Romeo ahead of two Delages. The San Sebastian Grand Prix in Spain, also held to the official formula, was won by Segrave (Sunbeam) with Costantini (Bugatti) second and Morel (Delage) third. The final major event was the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where Alfa Romeo placed their four cars in the first four places. As a result, in the four major 1924 races there was one victory each for Mercedes and Sunbeam and two victories for the new arrival at Grand Prix racing, Alfa Romeo.

The 1924 Formula
was referred to as the 2-liter formula, in place since 1922, with a maximum engine capacity of 2.0-Liter. The minimum unloaded weight had to be at least 650 kg - 1433 lb. and the minimum body width was 80 cm - 31.5 in. The end of car was not to extend beyond the center of rear axle by more than 150 cm. A riding mechanic was obligatory. The weight of driver and his mechanic had to be at least 120 kg - 264 lb. Repair and replenishment of the car during the race all pit work was restricted to the driver and one mechanic.

Formula Libre without the 2.0-liter restrictions worked well and produced good racing, allowing older cars with larger engines to contest non-Formula Grand Prix races.

Targa Florio and Coppa Florio regulations were for racing cars divided into 5 categories: up to 1100 cc, 1500 cc, 2000 cc, 3000 cc and over 3000 cc. Each car had to be occupied by the driver and the riding mechanic sitting side by side of no less weight than 120 kg. They could be substituted during the race by a driver and riding mechanic who had been nominated before the race. This substitution could only take place at the end of a lap in the presence of an official. The mechanic was not permitted to drive. Only those who completed the race within one hour of the first car in their class would be classified, and the maximum allowable time was 9 hours for the Targa, and 10 for the Coppa Florio.

The Races
Only the national clubs of France, Italy and Spain with the San Sebastian Grand Prix held races to the international Grand Prix formula. Indianapolis was run to a different formula, although the engine size was the same. Other major events like the Targa Florio were held to formula libre. There were an additional 14 minor events for Grand Prix cars, the Tiguillo Circuit, Alessandria Circuit, Coppa Florio, Belfiore Circuit, Coppa della Perugina at Perugia, Savio Circuit at Ravenna, Polesine Circuit at Padua, Cremona Circuit at Cremona, Coppa Acerbo at Pescara, Autodrome Cup at Miramas, Eifelrennen at Nideggen, Coppa Montenero at Livorno, Mugello Circuit at Mugello and Garda Circuit at Salo. The few remaining races were less important, minor national events of club type nature.

1924 SEASON LINEUP

Factory Racing Teams

SA Italiana Ing. Nicola Romeo & C. (Milan, Italy)
Alfa Romeo entered their cars, which were built by the factory-racing department. The designer Vittorio Jano had left Fiat in October 1923 and started the following month at Alfa Romeo where he led a team designing and building a new Grand Prix car in a few months for the 1924 races. The car was named tipo P2 with a 1,987 cc, 8-cylinder, twin o.h.c. s/c engine, producing 140 hp at 5,500 rpm, giving a top speed of 225 km/h. In March 1924 the first engine was running on the test bench and the first road tests took place on June 2nd at Monza with Campari and Ascari. This was followed with another test drive over the Parma-Poggio di Berceto road and on June 9th the car made its racing debut at the Cremona Circuit, which Ascari won with ease. Campari in the second P2 should have won the Coppa Acerbo on July 13th, but he punctured a tire and as he carried no spare had to retire the car. But later Campari won the European Grand Prix at Lyon in France and Ascari won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Louis Wagner was their third driver and Enzo Ferrari was part of the team but did not start at the European Grand Prix when he became sick. Thereafter Ferdinando Minoia joined the team for the Italian Grand Prix.

Automobiles Ettore Bugatti (Molsheim, France)
Bugatti had been producing cars since 1909 in Molsheim. In 1922 Bugatti constructed the 8-cylinder type 30 with a 2.0-Liter engine and entered at the 1922 French Grand Prix at Strasbourg, finishing in second and third place and at Monza in third place. At the 1923 Indianapolis race five Bugattis raced where the best car finished in 9th place. At the French Grand Prix at Tours with the streamlined 'Tank' Friderich finished third. For 1924 Bugatti designed a new car, the Type 35, a 2.0-Liter, 8-cylinder, delivering 90 hp at 6,000 rpm. Five cars were entered at the European Grand Prix (Lyon), finishing in seventh, eighth and tenth place. At the San Sebastian Grand Prix in Spain, Costantino finished second, Pierre de Vizcaya fifth and Chassagne sixth.

Chiribiri & Co. (Turin, Italy)
Antonio Chiribiri founded the company in 1913. In 1921 he began building little sports- and racing cars. These had a pushrod-operated o.h.v. 4-cylinder engine of 1,453 cc, giving a top speed of 110 km/h. In 1922, am improved "Monza" type was produced with a 1,486 cc, 4-cylinder, twin o.h.c. engine, producing 72 hp at 5,100 rpm. These Voiturettes were able to reach speeds of 165 km/h, and were driven initially by 'Deo' Chiribiri and Jack Scales and in 1923 by Tazio Nuvolari amongst others. The team entered one Monza GP type at the 1924 Italian Grand Prix where Nino Cirio retired the car after 70 laps near the end of the race.

Automobiles Delage (Courbevoie, Paris, France)
Delage racing cars had been in existence since 1906 and were produced in Louis Delage's factory in Paris. In 1923 Delage produced the 2LCV Grand Prix car with a four overhead camshafts V-12 engine, initially giving 105 hp. One car was entered for the French Grand Prix at Tours but retired early with an engine problem. In 1924 the revised V-12 engine produced 120 hp at 6000 rpm, but still running without blowers. At the European Grand Prix in France Divo finished second and Benoist third. At the San Sebastian Grand Prix in Spain, Morel finished third and Divo fourth.

Società Anonima Autocostruzioni Diatto (Turin, Italy)
The company was founded 1921 in Turin. Diatto had started building Cléments under license in 1905. At the beginning of the 2-liter formula in 1922, they produced the Diatto 20S Grand Prix car with a 1,997 cc, 4-cylinder engine, delivering 75 hp at 4,500 rpm and a top speed of 155 km/h. Alfieri Maserati worked at his Bologna shop but at times also at the Diatto factory in Turin where he was one of their drivers since 1922. At the November 1922 Coppa Florio in Sicily, Maserati drove a 3-Liter Diatto where he retired after two laps. At the April 1924 Targa Florio, Alfieri Maserati drove a 3.0-Liter Diatto, finishing in twelfth place. Minor races and hill climbs were also contested. A 2.0-Liter 8-cylinder Diatto was developed in Bologna which the brother Ernesto Maserati in his first race drove in November 1924 at the Garda Circuit, finishing eleventh, while his teammate Merigalli finished first with a type 20S.

Fiat SpA (Turin, Italy)
Fiat had built race cars since 1904. In 1923 they raced their tipo 805 which had a 1,979 cc, straight 8-cylinder supercharged engine, producing 130 hp at 5,500 rpm and won that year's Italian Grand Prix at Monza. For 1924 the cars were further developed to produce nearly 150 hp but were raced without success. This failure was probably a factor to Fiat's departure from Grand Prix racing. Fiat entered two cars for the 1924 Targa Florio where Pietro Bordino finished third overall and Pastore retired. During 1924, one tipo 805 was prepared with a single-seat body to race at some American track races. The presence of Fiat's Chief Engineer, Francisco Rosso, may have helped Pietro Bordino set a record of 131.6 mph to become pole-sitter at the Culver City board track race on December 14, 1924.

Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, Germany)
Mercedes was in racing since 1901. Christian Werner won the 1924 Targa Florio with their 1924 TF, a 2-liter 4-cylinder car, based on their 1923 Indianapolis racecar; Lauenschlager finished tenth and Neubauer was fifteenth. At the San Sebastian Grand Prix in Spain, two Targa Florio models were entered, but Masetti's engine broke and Sailer crashed. At the Italian Grand Prix, DMG entered four new Grand Prix cars designed by Professor Porsche with blown 2-liter 8-cylinder engines, producing 170 hp at 7,000 rpm and a top speed of 210 km/h. The engine power was enormous but could not compensate for the road holding deficiencies. After Count Zborowsky, one of the team's drivers, had crashed fatally after 43 laps, the team was withdrawn.

Schmid Automobiles
In 1923 a sleeve-valve 2.0-Liter 6-cylinder engine was designed by Ernest Schmid and installed in a Rolland-Pilain chassis at the ball-bearing factory in Annecy, south-eastern France. These Rolland-Pilain racecars were entered under the name Schmid in 1924 with Goux and Foresti as drivers. At the European Grand Prix in Lyon, France, Goux retired with a leaking radiator and Foresti did not start. At San Sebastian Grand Prix in Spain both cars retired and at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Goux and Foresti finished in fifth and sixth place behind four Alfa Romeos.

Sunbeam Motor Car Company Ltd, (Wolverhamton, Staffs., England)
Their racing history went back as far as 1907. In 1922, the beginning of the 2-liter formula, they raced a 4-cylinder car but progressed the following year with a 6-cylinder engine, capable of 106 hp. For the 1924 season, Sunbeam lowered the chassis and fitted a 1,988 cc, 6-cylinder, blown engine, producing 138 hp at 5,500 rpm, bringing the top speed to 200 km/h. At the 1924 European Grand Prix in France, the cars showed superior speed but were held back with misfiring engines and Segrave finished fifth. But at San Sebastian in Spain, the cars used their old magnetos correcting the misfiring and Segrave gave Sunbeam a deserved victory ahead of Costantini (Bugatti) and Morel (Delage) third.

VICTORIOUS DRIVERS and others nearby

The success of drivers in Major Grand Prix races can be found in the list of 1924 Major Grand Prix Races.

Antonio Ascari, 35, born in Italy, started driving in 1911 with a De Vecchi at a Modena touring event and thereafter joined ALFA as test driver. In 1919 he won the important Parma-Poggio di Berceto and Coppa della Consuma hill climbs with his own 4.5-L Fiat racecar. He drove for the Alfa Romeo team in 1921 and won the Parma-Poggio di Berceto hill climb but crashed at Mugello. At the 1922 Targa Florio he also crashed, this time on the first lap. At the 1923 Targa Florio he finished second with an Alfa Romeo and won at the Cremona Circuit. While leading the 1924 Targa Florio his Alfa Romeo spun to a halt with a seized engine on the last lap only 30 meters from the finish. Ascari established a 10 km world record at 195 km/h on the 10 km long Cremona straight and also won the Cremona 200-Miles race with the newly constructed Alfa Romeo P2. He came first at the Parma-Poggio di Berceto hill climb. At the European Grand Prix at Lyon he retired while in the lead. Finally, at the Italian Grand Prix he won the race in superb fashion and was greatly celebrated.

Gastone Brilli Peri, 31, was born in Montevarchi near Florence, Italy, and started racing motorcycles but changed to racecars in 1920, first with a Nazarro and then a Fiat. He placed second at Mugello in 1922 and won several hill climbs. During 1922 he entered a Steyr in the Targa Florio, where he crashed about 15 km from Cerda after completing three laps in eleventh place. He received serious injuries. He mainly raced with the Steyr until the end of 1924, where he finished eleventh in the Targa Florio and placed tenth in the Coppa Florio.

Bartolomeo "Meo" Costantini, 35, was Italian. His first race was with the Aquila-Italiana works team at the 1914 Targa Florio including a few other races. After the war in 1920 he raced a 1500 Bugatti T13, and in the following year with the same car he finished second at the Garda circuit. In 1922 he raced a Bianchi 18 and in 1923 with an 1100 Amilcar he finished first in class at the Coppa delle Alpi. In 1923 Costantini joined Bugatti in a role that would change while he remained in Molsheim. The official standing of Costantini in the Bugatti factory was not known. He was undoubtedly very close to the Bugatti family's inner circle. He prepared racing cars and he won races with them in a manner which no other has equaled. Costantini started as a test driver and sports director in 1924 and became the team leader. At the September 1924 San Sebstian GP in Spain, he finished second in a T35 to Segrave's winning Sunbeam.

Robert Marcel Charles Benoist, 29, Frenchman from St. Benoît near Paris, had left WW I in 1919 as a daring fighter pilot. He began racing in 1921 and was accepted into the Salmson racing team later that year. He won the 200-Miles race at Brooklands in 1922. After some minor successes he secured an outright win at the 1922 Gaillon hill climb with an 8-cylinder Salmson. In 1923 he won the GP des cyclecars at Monza 1922. He was offered a drive with Delage in 1924 and won at Le Camp, Laffrey, Saint-Alban-Les Eaux, Mont Agel, Argenteuil, Limonest, Pic Montaigu. Driving the Delage he came third in the 1924 French Grand Prix at Lyon and fourth at the San Sebastian Grand Prix in Spain.

Giuseppe Campari, the 32-year old Italian from Fanfullo, Lodi, south of Milan, had raced with the Alfa team since 1913 at the Parma - Poggio di Berceto hill climb where he finished fifth. At the 1914 Giro di Sicilia he retired but at the following 1914 Coppa Florio Campari finished fourth with the Alfa 40/60 and later finished second at the Parma-Poggio di Berceto hill climb. After WW I at the 1919 and 1920 Targa Florio he retired with the Alfa Romeo. In 1920 he came third at the Coppa della Consuma, won the Parma- Poggio di Berceto hill climb and also won the Mugello Circuit and did so again in 1921. At that year's Targa Florio Campari finished third. At the 1922 Targa Florio Campari finished 11th with the 40/60 Alfa Romeo and came third at the 30.5 km Aosta - Gran S. Berardo hill climb. In 1924 Campari finished fourth in the Targa Florio and came third in the Coppa Florio. At the Cremona 200-Miles race he retired with an Alfa Romeo RLTF24 and at the Coppa Acerbo Campari retired again driving the newly constructed Alfa Romeo P2. He won the European Grand Prix at Lyon and at the Italian Grand Prix he finished third with relief from Pastore.

Albert Divo, 29, born in France, began in 1919 as a riding mechanic for René Thomas in a Sunbeam. He moved with Thomas to Talbot and in 1922 when Thomas left the team, Divo became a driver for Talbot. In 1923 Divo finished second in the French Grand Prix and won at the Sitges Oval. In 1924, he raced for Delage winning several races. At the European Grand Prix in France Divo finished second ahead of Benoist in third place. At the San Sebastian Grand Prix in Spain, Divo finished in fourth place.

Sir Henry O'Neil de Hane Segrave, 28, born in Britain, was a Royal Flying Corps pilot during WW I. After the war he began his driving career in 1920 with a 4.5-Liter 1914 Opel Grand Prix car which he raced at Brooklands, entering various races. In 1921 he drove his own Sunbeam at Brooklands and won the race. He then arranged a deal to drive for the Sunbeam works team at the 1921 French Grand Prix, where he finished ninth with mechanical problems. As a result, he was signed up as a full Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq team driver. Segrave won several races in 1922 and 1923 when he won the Grand Prix des Voiturettes at Miramas. In 1924 he made the fastest lap at the European Grand Prix at Lyon and finished fifth with ignition problems. With the problems repaired, Segrave won the 1924 San Sebastian Grand Prix in Spain.

Christian Werner, 32, was born 1892 in Stuttgart, Germany. He was the oldest child of a shoemaker. Christian was 10 when his father died and he helped to take care of his four siblings. He finished his apprenteship at the Misol Firm in Cannstatt and was employed by the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft in 1911 as mechanic and driver. Later he became driving manager in the running-in and research department of DMG. Amongst his duties was the preparation and finishing of the race cars for the contests after the war and he also had to test drive them. As it was known what an excellent driver Werner was, DMG entered him at the 1922 Targa Florio where he finished second in class and placed eighth overall. He later won at Klausenburg, which was part of the Romanian Touring Trial, with a Mercedes 28/95 hp. In 1923 Werner joined the DMG works team to America and raced at the Indianapolis 500 finishing in 11th place. Werner became world famous after he won the 1924 Targa Florio and also the Coppa Florio. Later he won the Semmering hill climb in Austria with the fastest time of the day. At the Italian Grand Prix in Monza his best position was fifth place behind the leading four Alfa Romeos on lap 69, when DMG withdrew their cars after Zborowski, one of their drivers, had crashed to his death.

IN MEMORIAM

May 24, 1924 --- Ernst Lehmann, born September 2, 1870 in Leisau at the Saale River, died during practice for the Teutoburger-Wald-Rennen on May 25, with a Selve car. On his first practice lap, Lehmann came downhill the long straight after Eickelmann at about 120 km/h. Probably he saw too late that at the end of the long straight the road had been newly covered with soil and bordered with boundary stones. He tried to brake, but the distance was too short, the car spun hopelessly off the road, hit sideways against a tree and overturned when his passenger was ejected and escaped with skin abrasions and contusions. Lehmann was pinned behind the steering wheel with the weight of the turned-over car on top of him, which probably broke his spine. He had no external injuries. Already 30 years earlier he raced motorcycles of Hildebrand & Wolfmüller. Before WW I, he was General Director and Chief Designer at the Belgian Metallurgique Factory in Marchienne au Pont. After the war he took the post of Technical Director at the Selve Automobilwerke AG. in Hameln, Germany. The well-known and successful Selve car was his creation. Lehmann won at numerous events and despite his advanced age he could not separate himself from racing.

June 29, 1924 --- Ferruccio Cercignani (I), a gentleman driver, died a few hours after he was accidently run over by one of the race cars at a Hippodrome near Florence at S. Giovanni Valdarno. At this race he had entered his Wanderer 5/15 hp racecar which he had driven in many contests, amongst them the 105 km Circuito delle Cascine near Florence on June 12, 1921 where Cercignani finished with his Wanderer in third place.

September 3, 1924 --- Dario Resta, born August 17, 1882 in Faenza near Ravenna, Italy, died at Brooklands during a 50-Kilometer record attempts with a 2-Liter 6-cylinder Grand Prix Sunbeam. At the beginning of the Railway Straight, at about 113 mph, the right rear tire left the wheel when the Sunbeam went into a skid, ending tail first against the corrugated iron fence bordering the straight. The fuel tank split open and the car caught fire. Resta was instantly killed and was laying lifeless on the track. His riding mechanic Bill Perkins had been ejected when the car overturned at the iron fence. He escaped with serious burns and was transported to hospital. A broken duralumin security bolt was found on the track after the accident. Dario Resta had competed at Brooklands in numerous races and records since 1907. In America he raced for only two years, 1915 and 1916, when he became world famous. With his Peugeot he won in 1915 the American Grand Prize at San Francisco, the Vanderbilt Cup, the 500-mi Maywood Speedway at Chicago, the 100-mi Chicago challenge and the 100-mi Sheepshead Bay at New York. In 1916, still with the Peugeot, he won the Indy 300, the 300-mi Maywood Speedway at Chicago, the 150-mi race at Omaha, Nebraska, the 50-mi race at the Maywood Speedway, the 250 -mi Grand American Prize at the Maywood Speedway, the Vanderbilt Cup Race at Santa Monica and became the 1916 AAA-Champion.

September 15, 1924 --- Jimmy Murphy, born September 12, 1894 in San Francisco, USA, died in a crash at the Syracuse Fairgrounds dirt-track, New York. Murphy attempted to pass Phil Shafer's leading Duesenberg. On the turn to the back straight he clipped the inside fence once, then again and unable to straighten the car, finally skidded into the railing sideways for about 30 yards. The fence rails penetrated the hood and body of the car. One of the wooden rail pieces struck Murphy in shoulder and chest. His back and neck were broken. Unconsciously he was removed from the car and transported to the hospital where he died. He had acquired sufficient points to win the National Championship. Jimmy Murphy was the 1922 and 1924 AAA National Champion and won numerous American races between 1920 and 1924. In 1921 Murphy won the French Grand Prix at Le Mans with a Duesenberg 15 minutes ahead of Ralph DePalma in a Ballot. Murphy's name was then known in Europe after his unprecedented victory - an American driver with an American car beating the best Europe had to offer.

September 27, 1924 --- Thomas Barratt (who replaced the injured Bill Perkins), born November 21, 1891 was riding mechanic of Kenelm Lee Guinness. He died when KLG crashed at the San Sebastian Grand Prix. The rain-soaked roads were treacherous and on lap 11, the Sunbeam of Guinness skidded off the slippery wet road, hitting the left bank, bounced back, overturned three times before hitting a stonewall on the right where Guinness and Barratt were ejected from the car, plunging down into a 15-meter deep railroad cutting, followed by the overturning car. Barratt was killed immediately while Guinness suffered serious head and leg injuries which put an end to his racing career.

October 19, 1924 --- Count Louis Vorow Zborowski, born February 20, 1895 in London, England, died racing the Mercedes Grand Prix car at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. On lap 44 his car skidded in the dangerous Lesmo North Turn and hit the outer edge of the track from where the car shot across to the inside after the turn, hitting a post which bent the front axle and right front wheel, ejecting the riding mechanic who suffered light injuries to his right knee, left arm and face. The car carried on to end up against a nearby tree. Count Zborowski was pulled out of the car, totally disfigured with a bloody face due to a badly broken scull. He died during the transport to hospital. He started in 1921 with the Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang cars at Brooklands where he won several races and set records. Amongst his various other races, he took part with an Aston Martin at the 1922 French Grand Prix at Strasbourg and with a Bugatti at Indianapolis in 1923. Count Louis Zborowski was the son of the Polish Count Eliot Zborowski, who died 1903 at the La Turbie hill climb.

10 Christian Werner
Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft
Mercedes TF 1924

1 Ralph DePalma
SA Italiana Ing. Nicola Rome
Alfa Romeo RLTF24

8 Pietro Bordino
Fiat SpA
Fiat 803/403A s/c

TARGA FLORIO

Medio Circuito Madonie - Palermo (I), 27 April 1924.
Targa Florio: 4 laps x 108 km (67.1 mi) = 432 km (268.4 mi)
Coppa Florio: 5 laps x 108 km (67.1 mi) = 540 km (335.6 mi)

No.	Driver	Entrant	Car	Type	Engine

1	André Dubonnet	A. Dubonnet	Hispano-Suiza	H6C	7.5	S-6
2	Walther Kaufmann	Walter Steiger & Co	Steiger	10/50 hp	2.6	S-4
3	Hermann Rützler	Österreichische Waffenfabriks Gesellschaft	Steyr	17/100 hp	4.5	S-6
4	Giulio Foresti	SA des Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot	Peugeot	174 S	4.0	S-4
5	Domenico Gamboni	D. Gamboni	Amilcar	CGS	1.1	S-4
6	Jakob Scholl	AG für Automobilbau	Aga	6/30 hp	1.5	S-4
7	Jules Goux	Etablissements Ballot	Ballot	3-Liter 1921	3.0	S-8
8	Pietro Bordino	Fiat SpA	Fiat	803/403A s/c	1.5	S-4
9	Antonio Moriondo	Fabbrica Automobili Italia	Itala	51S	2.8	S-4
10	Christian Werner	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	TF 1924	2.0	S-4
11	Giulio Masetti	SA Italiana Ing. Nicola Romeo & C	Alfa Romeo	RLTF24	3.6	S-6
12	Pietro Mucera	P. Mucera	Ceirano	CS2H	3.0	S-4
13	Alfieri Maserati	SA Autocostruzioni Diatto	Diatto	3-L	3.0	S-4
14	E. Beria d'Argentine	Societa Ligure Piemontese Automobili	Spa	24 S	4.4	S-6	DNA - Did not appear
15	Luigi Lopez	L. Lopez	Nazzaro	GP4.5	4.5	S-6
16	Daniel Maier	Walter Steiger & Co	Steiger	10/50 hp	2.6	S-4
16B	Ferdinando Minoia	Österreichische Waffenfabriks Gesellschaft	Steyr	17/100 hp	4.5	S-6
18	Christian Dauvergne	SA des Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot	Peugeot	174 S	4.0	S-4
19	Erich Stahl	AG für Automobilbau	Aga	6/30 hp	1.5	S-4
20	Jean Haimovici	J. Haimovici	Ballot	2 LS	2.0	S-8
21	Carlo Salamano	Fiat SpA	Fiat	803/403A s/c	1.5	S-4	DNA - Did not appear
22	Claudio Sandonnino	Fabbrica Automobili Italia	Itala	51S	2.8	S-4
23	Alfred Neubauer	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	TF 1924	2.0	S-4
24	Antonio Ascari	SA Italiana Ing. Nicola Romeo & C	Alfa Romeo	RLTF24	3.6	S-6
25	Augusto Spadoni	Societa Ligure Piemontese Automobili	Spa	24 S	4.4	S-6	DNA - Did not appear
26	Hans Kolb	Walter Steiger & Co	Steiger	10/50 hp	2.6	S-4
27	Gastone Brilli-Peri	Österreichische Waffenfabriks Gesellschaft	Steyr	17/100 hp	4.5	S-6
28	André Boillot	SA des Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot	Peugeot	174 S	4.0	S-4
29	Luigi Pagani	AG für Automobilbau	Aga	6/30 hp	1.5	S-4
30	Giuseppe Pastore	Fiat SpA	Fiat	519S	4.8	S-4
31	Giuseppe Rebuffo	Fabbrica Automobili Italia	Itala	51S	2.8	S-4
32	Christian Lautenschlager	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	TF 1924	2.0	S-4
33	Giuseppe Campari	SA Italiana Ing. Nicola Romeo & C	Alfa Romeo	RLTF24	3.0	S-6
34	"Franz" Conelli	Societa Ligure Piemontese Automobili	Spa	24 S	4.4	S-6	DNA - Did not appear
35	Louis Wagner	SA Italiana Ing. Nicola Romeo & C	Alfa Romeo	RLTF24	3.0	S-6
36	Otto Philipp	AG für Automobilbau	Aga	6/30 hp	1.5	S-4
37	Carmelo Caruso	C. Caruso	Bianchi	18	2.0	S-4
38	Augusto Tarabusi	Fabbrica Automobili Sport Torino	F.A.S.T.	3.0	3.0	S-4
39	Gastone Gastaldetti	Fabbrica Automobili Sport Torino	F.A.S.T.	3.0	3.0	S-4
40	James Tagliavia	Fabbrica Automobili Sport Torino	F.A.S.T.	3.0	3.0	S-4
41	Domenico Antonelli	D. Antonelli	Mercedes	1914 GP	4.5	S-4

Werner wins the Targa and Coppa Florio with Mercedes

by Hans Etzrodt

The Targa and Coppa Florio ran simultaneously, the Targa over four laps around the 108 km Medium Madonie circuit and the Coppa over five. The unusual large field of 37 starters was impressive with many factory entries including Peugeot, Ballot, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Steyr, Aga and others. The battle for the lead was between six drivers, who beat the existing lap record on the first lap, Giulio Masetti (Alfa Romeo) in the lead ahead of Dubonnet (Hispano-Suiza), Boillot (Peugeot), Ascari (Alfa Romeo) and Werner (Mercedes), all within 39 seconds. Many drivers changed tires at the beginning of the second lap and positions changed. Werner drove the fastest lap of the race and catapulted himself into the lead, two minutes ahead of Ascari, which increased to nearly three minutes after the third lap, followed by others over six minutes behind. Werner changed tires at the beginning of the last lap, which allowed Ascari to close up within seconds. It appeared that Ascari could win. As he thundered through the last uphill turn, only 30 meters from the finish, his engine seized and spun the car around to a stop. While driver and mechanic tried to push the car to the finish, spectators helped and the car had to be disqualified. Werner won the Targa Florio over eight minutes ahead of Masetti with the Fiat of Bordino third, followed by 18 other finishers. The fifth lap for the Coppa Florio was also won by Werner in the Mercedes followed by the Alfa Romeos of Masetti and Campari and 13 other drivers.

The Targa and Coppa Florio were named after their founder, Count Vincenzo Florio. The 1924 Targa Florio was the 15th repetition and was held to free formula regulations. The entries were split into five categories: Category I up to 1100 cc, Category II up to 1500 cc, III up to 2000 cc, IV up to 3000 cc, V up to 4500 cc and Category VI over 4500 cc. The cars had to cover four laps of the 108 km Medium Madonie circuit equal to 432 km, except the cyclecars of Category I had to do only three laps to qualify. The maximum time allowance was 9 hours.
The Coppa Florio was a beautiful challenge cup donated in 1905 by Count Vincencio Florio. Only competitors registered by a factory in a works team could compete. The Coppa Florio was retained for a year at the winning factory after the deposit of 30,000 Lire. The regulations specified that the race had to be held seven times. The cup would pass to the constructor who had won the race two times. In case two different constructors each had won twice, a deciding race had to be held. This time the race took place for the seventh time and it should be decided who would keep the Coppa Florio. Previous winners included: 1905 at Brescia won by Itala; 1907 at Brescia won by Isotta Fraschini; 1908 at Bologna won by Fiat; 1914 at Madonie won by Nazzaro; 1921 at Brescia won by Ballot and 1922 at Madonie won by Peugeot. The 1924 Coppa Florio was awarded to the competitor who spent the shortest time completing the five laps, 540 km, of the Circuito delle Madonie.
The Reale Automobile Club d'Italia and the Automobile Club di Sicilia awarded the overall winner 50,000 lire, the 1924 variant of the Targa Florio trophy, a large gold medal donated by the King and a large gold medal from the A.C. di Sicilia. The individual category winners were awarded a bronze replica of the Targa Florio, the second received a large gold medal, the third a small gold medal and the fourth a large silver medal.
Four laps around the 108 km Medium Madonie Circuit totaled 432 km. In use since 1919, it included approximately 1400 corners per lap through the mountainous Madonie region of Sicily, making the Targa Florio a race of over 5600 corners. The narrow circuit with its steep gradients was a true measure of both driver and machine. The start and finish took place near the Cerda train station just a few meters above sea level. The road led several miles up to Cerda village at 273 meters altitude. From here the course twisted uphill to Caltavuturo at 640 meters. From this village the tight, twisting roads wound through the Madonie Mountains and turned back past a depot to refuel and change tires in the town of Polizzi, 917 meters above sea level. Tortuous hairpin bends followed next, snaking downhill through the mountain village of Collesano at 500 meters and then on to Campofelice, just 50 meters above sea level. From there it was downhill to the seven km fast coastal straight where it was possible to use top gear and pass other cars. Finally, the circuit turned inland to the finish near the Cerda train station. The roads had been improved to bind the dust with spraying salt at certain places.

Entries:
The large list of entries marked a high point in the Targa Florio with 37 starters divided into six categories by engine capacity.
Category I, up to 1100 cc:
There was only one entry, the Amilcar of Gamboni.
Category II, up to 1500 cc:
Fiat entered a s/c type 803/403A voiturette for Bordino and probably the same type for Salamano but the car did not appear. There were four German Aga entries with small sports cars for Scholl, Stahl, Pagani and Phillips.
Category III up to 2000 cc:
DMG entered three Mercedes for Werner, Lautenschlager and Neubauer. These were the 1923 Indy cars but now much improved by Professor Porsche for the Targa Florio. Before the race the team drove to Sicily in January for pre-race testing under supervision of Max Sailer with their supercharged 4-cylinder 2-Liter racecars painted in red. The rear axle was geared down to give a maximum speed of 120 km/h which radically reduced the need of downshifting. Another entry came from Carmelo Caruso, a local driver from Termini Imerese, who appeared with a type 18 Bianchi. The Ballot of Haimovichi was his personal car and was not entered by the factory.
Category IV up to 3000 cc:
Alfa Romeo entered two 3.0-Liter RLTF24 for Campari and Wagner. Itala appeared with three 3.0-Liter type 51S cars for Moriondo, Sandonnino and Rebuffo. F.A.S.T. assigned three 3.0-Liter cars for Tarabusi, Gastaldetti and Tagliavia. Etablissements Ballot nominated one re-bored 2.0-Liter 2LS for Goux. Walter Steiger & Co arrived with three 3.0-Liter cars for Kaufmann, Kolb and Maier but the cars were handicapped right from the beginning, the only team that raced cars without 4-wheel brakes. Diatto entered a 3.0-Liter car for Alfieri Maserati and Ceirano assigned a 3.0-Liter car to Mucera.
Category V up to 4500 cc:
Alfa Romeo entered two 3.6-Liter cars for Giulio Masetti and Ascari. The Austrian Steyr Company entered 4.5-Liter cars for Minoia, Brilli-Peri and Rützler, the latter had a serious practice accident two days before the race. Rützler crashed with a postage bus and bent the rear axle. In the collision his face hit the steering wheel and broke one of its spokes. He suffered a strong swelling of nose and eyes, preventing him from further practice but the car could be repaired for the race. Peugeot brought three of their 3,990cc 4-cylinder sleeve valve race cars for Boillot, Dauvergne, and Foresti. Boillot had won the race in 1919 with the EX5 Peugeot. Count Antonelli drove the 4.5-Liter Mercedes in which Masetti won the 1922 race. There was one Nazzaro for Lopez. The three Spa entries for Bera d'Argentine, Spadoni and Conelli did not appear.
Category VI over 4500 cc:
There was one French Hispano-Suiza for Dubonnet which was his personal car and was not entered by Sté Française Hispano-Suiza. Fiat arrived with a car for Pastore. Alessandro Silva explained that there were a few Pastores racing in Italy in the 1920s. Cesare Pastore, a Bugatti driver and Nuvolari's backer, started racing in late 1926. The one at Targa Florio was Giuseppe Pastore, a Fiat test driver. His car was a Fiat 519S, a 4.8-litre 6-cylinder luxury car.

Race:
In the first hours of Sunday morning an enormous pilgrimage of local enthusiasts arrived by special trains, car and on foot. They came to take possession of the best viewpoints around the entire circuit before these places were overcrowded. The race was well organized, and the spectators were informed of the latest developments through loudspeakers. From the 41 entries only 37 cars appeared at the start. Amongst the non-starters were the three Spa entries of Eugenio Beria d'Argentine, Spadoni and "Franz" Conelli, and the Fiat of Salamano. Cars with racing number 1 to 35 contested the Coppa Florio and had the privilege of starting first, while the remaining entries were decided by drawing lots. The cars started individually in order of their race numbers at intervals of two minutes. However, the cars were not necessarily released at two-minutes intervals. The starting times were determined beforehand according to the race numbers and if cars did not appear at the start (e.g. #14), then the car #15 was held to its predetermined time of departure. The start began at 7:00 in the morning and the last car left at 8:20.