"Williams" all the way

Louis Chiron victorious with Bugatti

The second Masaryk Circuit race was one of the more interesting races of the year because all the big players showed up with entries from Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Maserati and Mercedes-Benz including all the great drivers. The race was decided on the second lap when the leading Maserati of Fagioli crashed into a pedestrian bridge that collapsed across the track, also bringing Varzi (Bugatti) and Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) to a stop. Thereafter Chiron (Bugatti) dominated in the lead, which he held until the finish without being seriously challenged. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo), Lehoux (Bugatti), Nuvolari in Borzacchini's car, Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) and Fagioli in a sister car, all held second place at one time but each driver retired. Stuck (Mercedes-Benz) finished second, followed by von Morgen and Lobkowicz, both in Bugattis. Siena (Alfa Romeo), Šťastný (Bugatti) and Kubiček (Bugatti) retired. Ernesto Maserati was relieved by Fagioli while Leiningen and Zichy exceeded the time limit.       Eleven small Group II cars raced concurrently with the big cars. Schmidt (Bugatti) won this race, ahead of Arco-Zinneberg (Amilcar), Soijka (Bugatti), Frankl (Bugatti), Valette (Maserati) and Macher (DKW). Early leader Lewy crashed as did Januszkowski and Loucký, all in Bugattis, while Lukáš and Prochaska/Mamula in Z cars retired.

After the great success of the first international race on the Masaryk-Ring in 1930, the ČAMS (Československy Automobilový klub pro Moravu a Slezsko) or Czechoslovakian Automobile Club for Moravia and Silesia organized their second international automobile race on the Masarykuv okrůh (Masaryk Circuit). The race had grown in European significance and this year again received entries from the best international drivers. The Masaryk Circuit was one of the most diverse of European courses with inclines of up to 7% and declines up to 9½% following each other. Sharp turns, flat corners, straights, S-bends, hairpins, in short, all forms of roadway were present. The start and finish was just outside the borders of Brno and followed the course counterclockwise. The first 18 km up to the village of Ostrovacice were formed primarily of winding, hilly, rather narrow and dangerous district roads, leading through romantic forested areas and four villages of Nový Lískovec, Pisárky outside Brno, Kohoutovice and Žebětin. From there the circuit turned back and the last 11 km were almost all 12 meter wide, practically straight state roads, which provided a good opportunity to pass other cars, through the villages of Popuvky, Veselka and Bosonohy. This stretch allowed driving at top speed except for a rather annoying section of a few kilometers at Iglau, which contained structural faults consisting of long waves in the road surface, which made it impossible to drive at top speed. The ČAMS had secured a road fond of 2.5 million CSK to restore the roads, which had deteriorated in parts.       The 29.142 km circuit with 36 left-hand corners and 47 to the right was not in the in best condition. The Group I cars from 1500 cc to 8000 cc had to drive 17 laps, a total of 495.414 km, while the Group II cars 350cc to 1500 cc had to do only 15 laps or 437.130 km.       Regulations stipulated that every driver was classified, who finished no later than 45 minutes after the victor of each group had passed the finish line and who had completed the required number of laps. The maximum time for Group I was five hours and 20 minutes and for Group II five hours and 45 minutes.       The overall winner was to receive the challenge trophy that was named after the Czechoslovakian Republic's first Minister-President, Thomáš Garrigue Masaryk plus the prize money of 80,000 CSK (Koruny) and the ČAMS gold badge. Second place received 40,000 CSK and third 20,000, plus a golden badge for each. Additionally there were prizes for the first three in Group II of 15,000, 10,000, 5.000 CSK, plus a silver badge for each. Further prizes were for fastest lap, best Czech driver and others. The entry fee for each car was 1,200 CSK, from which 400 CSK would be returned if the car started.

Entries: The organizers received 42 entries consisting of nine different makes from seven countries. Alfa Romeo headed the Group I entry list, their 8C2300 cars in Targa Florio trim were nominated through Scuderia Ferrari for Nuvolari, Borzacchini and Siena. Two additional Italian entries were made by the Maserati factory, who sent two 2800 cars for Fagioli and Ernesto Maserati, while Dreyfus had been given time off to race a Bugatti as an independent at a small French event. The sixth Italian was Varzi and his teammate, the Frenchman Chiron, both in light blue Bugatti T51s. Both were contracted to Bugatti but entered here independently, albeit certainly enjoying factory support. Strong German entries came from Caracciola and Stuck in large Mercedes-Benz SSKLs both independent but obviously works supported while von Brauchitsch in another SSKL was more independent with a private sponsor. Two Alfa Romeo Monzas were due to appear with Frenchman Pesato and Hungarian Count Zichy. The remaining ten cars were all independent Bugattis, comprising the Germans von Morgen, zu Leiningen and Broschek, the Algerian Lehoux, the Austrian Emil Frankl, the Hungarian Count Zichy and the three Czech drivers Count von Lobkowicz, Kubiček and Šťastný. The promoters also received 21 Group II entries, details of which are shown in the listing above.

Practice: Almost all drivers had arrived and were practicing on Thursday. The Polish Group II driver Januszkowski spun off the road in his Bugatti. The car jumped over a ditch and landed in a field. Neither the driver nor his car received the slightest damage. The incident generated the rumor that Chiron had suffered a fatal accident, which was totally false. The circuit was in poor condition because of continuous rain, combined with a severe storm, which made practice more difficult. Everybody had different favorites, Chiron and Varzi in Bugattis or Nuvolari and Borzacchini in Alfa Romeos, while Maseratis were not expected to last. Some pundits hoped that Caracciola could repeat his performance at the Nürburgring or Avus and they even gave last year's winner von Morgen a chance for victory.

Race: During the night and early morning thousands of spectators arrived; a crowd estimated at 130,000 to 150,000. They arrived not only from all over Czechoslovakia but also from Hungary, Austria, Germany, France, Italy and Poland. After days of rain, Sunday morning was cold and clear. Although it was not raining, the entertainment was nevertheless reduced due to the unwelcome cold. After the circuit was closed to the public, the cars lined up in front of the grandstand, which was filled to capacity. The cars were arranged according to their official race numbers, which had been determined in the order of entries received by the organizers. Lobkowicz in the third row was seen to have a passenger in the second seat of his Bugatti and Stuck also carried a passenger in his Mercedes. Broschek, von Brauchitsch, Arco-Zinneberg, Frankl and Pesato did not appear, reducing the field to 16 cars.

2 Nuvolari Alfa Romeo 4 Borzacchini Alfa Romeo 6 Siena Alfa Romeo 8 Lobkowicz Bugatti 10 von Morgen Bugatti 12 zu Leiningen Bugatti 16 Fagioli Maserati 18 Maserati Maserati 20 Caracciola Mercedes-Benz 24 Lehoux Bugatti 28 Chiron Bugatti 30 Kubiček Bugatti 34 Stuck Mercedes-Benz 36 Varzi Bugatti 38 Šťastný Bugatti 44 Zichy Bugatti

The cars were cranked to life just before the 10:30 AM start. During the ferocious rumble of the sixteen engines while the starter, former driver Eliška Junková (Elisabeth Junek), counted down the last seconds and raised the red flag, something unexpected happened. Suddenly, still more than two seconds before the start signal, von Morgen shot from the third row between the three cars ahead of him and dashed away into the lead. His mistake, as one would expect, caused a great uproar and protest amongst the drivers. Nuvolari raised his hand in protest then seconds later the group took off smoothly. After five minutes the 11 Group II cars thundered away. Their progress is described at the end of this report.       Due to von Morgen's advantage of being in front and leading by a great margin, it was expected to see the German's white Bugatti arriving first at the grandstand. But to everyone's surprise it was Fagioli's red Maserati leading, finishing the first lap in the time of 15m11.40s ahead of Borzacchini by six seconds, Varzi a further 16 seconds behind with Nuvolari and Caracciola on his tail in the following order: 1. Fagioli (Maserati) 2. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 3. Varzi (Bugatti) 4. Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 5. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 6. Chiron (Bugatti) 7. Lehoux (Bugatti) 8. von Morgen (Bugatti) 9. Lobkowicz (Bugatti) 10. E. Maserati (Maserati), next Stuck (Mercedes-Benz), Leiningen (Bugatti), Zichy (Bugatti), Šťastný (Bugatti), Kubiček (Bugatti). During the first lap Siena retired his Alfa Romeo with a brake defect. As von Morgen explained later, before he reached the first left turn, he had turned his head around in curiosity to see where the others had been behind him and by doing so he had neglected to stop in time, so that he could no longer turn left and instead went straight on. Before he could turn his car around, the others had all passed. He actually had suffered more than he had gained at the start and besides the 23 seconds jump start penalty by the sporting commission, the racing committee also added an additional 6 seconds penalty.       During the second lap, the main rivals were involved in a grotesque accident at a bridge that practically eliminated three top contenders. Fagioli's Maserati skidded out of a blind bend and its rear wheel grazed one of the support pillars of a temporary wooden pedestrian bridge, which collapsed in a flash and blocked the road. The Maserati was damaged and unable to proceed, but Borzacchini and Lehoux somehow found a way through the falling bridge without a scratch. When Varzi and Nuvolari came charging through the corner moments later, they faced the blockage and were unable to stop, Nuvolari went through the wreckage and damaged his Alfa's rear axle while Varzi bent some wheels. Next to arrive was Caracciola who braked hard and headed for a ditch where he broke his front shock absorber, while Chiron on the Mercedes' tail also went through the ditch but avoided the skidding Mercedes. Chiron had managed to pass here all of his main rivals. He also overtook Caracciola, Lehoux and Borzacchini, so at the end of the second lap he was the first to arrive at the grandstand. 1. Chiron (Bugatti) 2. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 3. Lehoux (Bugatti) 4. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 5. von Morgen (Bugatti) 6. Stuck (Mercedes-Benz) 7. Lobkowicz (Bugatti) 8. E. Maserati (Maserati) 9. Leiningen (Bugatti) 10. Zichy (Bugatti), next Šťastný (Bugatti) and Kubiček (Bugatti). After a long gap Varzi appeared and stopped at the pits. To everyone's surprise Nuvolari climbed out of Varzi's Bugatti and walked to the Alfa Romeo pit. Varzi had three wheels changed in only two minutes and then rejoined the race.       During the third lap, Lehoux passed Borzacchini and tried to catch Chiron. Caracciola held fourth place, followed by von Morgen. The next group, comprising Stuck, Ernesto Maserati and Lobkowicz, arrived after a long gap and after an even longer gap, Leiningen (Bugatti), Zichy (Bugatti), Šťastný (Bugatti), Varzi (Bugatti) and Kubiček (Bugatti) arrived. The order was: 1. Chiron (Bugatti) 2. Lehoux (Bugatti) 3. Borzacchini (Alfa Romeo) 4. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 5. von Morgen (Bugatti) 6. Stuck (Mercedes-Benz) 7. E. Maserati (Maserati) 8. Lobkowicz (Bugatti) On lap four, Varzi, having driven two laps after his wheel change, stopped once more at the pits for a checkup. His car must have incurred too much damage and was retired.       On the fifth lap, Šťastný drove against a house in Zebetin. He was not seriously hurt but his riding mechanic received substantial injuries. An ambulance had to be sent along the race course. Ernesto Maserati stopped at the pits and he handed the car over to Fagioli, who had been able to walk back to the pits.       During lap six, Chiron led uncontested with his enormous speed and the assured way he took the bends. Borzacchini held second place and von Morgen passed Caracciola for third position. Lehoux had fallen to fifth place. MOTOR SPORT reported that Lehoux, when exiting a left hand bend, touched the bank with a rear aluminum wheel which broke to pieces. He fitted a spare wheel by the roadside, losing 19 minutes. After lap six, Lehoux stopped at the pits, drove a fast seventh lap but retired thereafter, according to The Autocar report, due to a bent differential shaft.       The seventh lap was devoted to the remembrance of Čenék Junek and a best achieved time was especially awarded. Chiron won this special contest in the amazing time of 14m24.8s, which was to remain the fastest lap of the race. After seven laps Chiron led Borzacchini, Caracciola, Stuck, Morgen, E. Maserati/Fagioli, Lobkowicz and Lehoux. This was von Morgen's slowest lap; it took him over 26 minutes. At the concrete turns of Ostrovacice his right front tire went into shreds after hitting a stone marker and he carried on driving on the rim for 13 kilometers until he reached the pits. His position had now become hopeless.       On lap eight, Borzacchini was brought in to the pits to hand his car over to Nuvolari. But then the car would not start when cranked. Nuvolari could be seen with his mechanics working in the engine bay. Before the engine was finally restarted with a new battery, over two laps had been lost. MOTOR UND SPORT reported that Nuvolari drove another lap but retired after realizing the futility of his position. With that the Alfa Romeos, which had been considered favorites, were eliminated early in the race. Caracciola now found himself in second position and despite his fast driving style he was unable to reduce Chiron's advantage. Fagioli in Ernesto's Maserati was the last Italian car left in the main race. The field was down to nine cars. 1. Chiron (Bugatti) 2. Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 3. E. Maserati/Fagioli (Maserati) 4. Stuck (Mercedes-Benz) 5. Lobkowicz (Bugatti) 6. Leiningen (Bugatti) 7. Zichy (Bugatti) 8. von Morgen (Bugatti) 9. Kubiček (Bugatti) At mid-race, when the cars came in for their fuel stops, a lot of commotion started in front of the pits. The best work was done in the Mercedes pits. Chiron finished in much less than one minute. His lap with the fuel stop took 15m50.42s. Caracciola drove splendidly, every lap below 15 minutes, but Chiron drove seconds faster and had no problem in keeping the German at bay.       On the eleventh lap, Caracciola's drive ended in Kahoutowicz, just five kilometer after the start. MOTOR UND SPORT reported that he hit a road stone marker at full speed. As a result the car spun against a tree. The German was able to walk back to the pits and later explained that he had damaged his shock absorber on lap two at the pedestrian bridge crash site. Thereafter the car was hard to steer accurately since a leveling arm of the oil shock absorber broke and got caught in the steering linkage, causing it to bind. Stuck experienced a similar shock absorber problem. Fagioli now found himself in second place but no longer drove at his earlier pace. He was several minutes behind Chiron and there was no chance of him catching the leader. Chiron had already lapped Leiningen, Zichy and Kubiček, who had sufficient time to wave to his friends along the road. After 12 laps the order was: 1. Chiron (Bugatti) 2. E. Maserati/Fagioli (Maserati) 3. Stuck (Mercedes-Benz) 4. von Morgen (Bugatti) 5. Lobkowicz (Bugatti) 6. Leiningen (Bugatti) 7. Zichy (Bugatti) 8. Kubiček (Bugatti) Chiron was driving far ahead like an express train. On the long straight from Ostrovacice Chiron passed Prochaska in a Z, seemingly flying past this small car. Von Morgen also had to let Chiron pass here, unable to offer resistance. Prinz zu Leiningen had fallen behind with a defective clutch.       On the second to last lap Fagioli came to a stop and retired with a broken axle. From the 16 cars there were only six left. Chiron had lapped everybody at least once, except Stuck's Mercedes. Von Morgen and Lobkowicz were two laps behind. The last cars were up to four laps behind and had no prospect of finishing within the limited time of 45 minutes after the victor.       On lap 17, Chiron was leading Stuck by almost one lap. Stuck was driving with a handicap that slowed him down. Similar to Caraccila's experience, Stuck had his right front shock absorber break early in the race and causing him steering problems. A-Z Motorwelt wrote, it was unbelievable when it was discovered after the race that the chassis of Stuck's Mercedes was beginning to crack at two places. Von Morgen in third place followed three minutes behind Stuck and made one more fuel stop. Because of his last stop his third place almost went to Lobkowicz but then von Morgen started on his last lap with determination.       Chiron finished to the great applause of the large crowd, just over 14 minutes ahead of Stuck and 18 minutes ahead of von Morgen. Lobkowicz , the last finisher was nearly another four minutes behind. Prinz Leiningen and Count Zichy were flagged off next. Since both had exceeded the limited time, they were not classified. The race was stopped 45 minutes after the arrival of the victor.

Group II: Five minutes after the large cars had started, the 11 Group II cars were flagged away over 15 laps. Their starting grid was arranged in numerical order with the German Macher (DKW) at the left front, next to him Prochaska (Z), behind them Lukáš (Z), in row three Sojka (Bugatti) and Schmidt (Bugatti), then Lewy, Valette, Loucký, Januskowski, Frankl and Count Arco-Zinneberg.       At the end of the first lap, after the last of the Group I cars had passed the finish, the leaders of Group II followed very soon. Lewy (Bugatti) was in front with 17m40s ahead of Soijka (Bugatti), Arco-Zinneberg (Amilcar), Frankl (Bugatti), Schmidt (Bugatti), Macher (DKW), Januszkowski (Bugatti), Valette (Maserati), Lukáš (Z), Loucký (Bugatti) and Prochaska (Z). Prochaska was far behind because he had a delayed start due to an electrical cable failure. After the first lap he and Macher had to stop at the pits.       On the third lap, the lead went from Lewy to Frankl but on lap four the previous order was reestablished. Arco-Zinneberg had steadily held third place ahead of Soijka, Januskowski and Schmidt.       On lap four, Arco-Zinneberg was especially lucky at the left turn after the first kilometer where his car left the road. It tipped over, but he was able to push it back on the track and carried on.       During lap seven, Januszkowski left the road and had to retire his damaged car. Prochaska seriously damaged his Z, when he hit a stone marker.       On lap eight, Stuck was trying to get around Lewy, who for several kilometers did not make room for Stuck to pass.   In the concrete S-turns of Ostrovacice Stuck collided with Lewy, who hit a row of stone markers at the edge of the road. After having ripped out several markers, he ended up in a meadow. Spectators helped push the Bugatti back onto the road and Lewy drove away but just to the pits where he retired with damaged steering. The lead now passed to Schmidt with Frankl second, ahead of Arco-Zinneberg, Valette, Macher, Soijka, Loucký and Prochaska.       During the tenth lap, Loucký's Bugatti left the road at the concrete S-bends, flew off the high slope and landed on its wheels in a soft field below, where it got stuck. The German driver Macher had to stop his four-cylinder DKW at his pit numerous times but could not fix the fuel feed problem to the front pair of cylinders.       After 15 laps, the Czech driver Schmidt finished first, ahead of Arco-Zinneberg, Soijka, Frankl, Valette and Macher. Prochaska's Z had been taken over by Mamula but retired on the circuit a short distance after the finish.