Grand Prix de France ? 1933

For the French GP on June 11, 1933 at Montlhéry, I searched several magazines but only two of my sources, AUTOMOBIL-REVUE and Paul Sheldon’s Record book provided an almost complete run of starting numbers, neither of them seemed to be complete. Number evidence from pictures was rather limited because not many pictures seem to have been published. I could only find 10 photographs about this event, of which two show the victor Campari but no car number.

Originally the ACF had received 33 entries. The club’s Sporting Commission met in the first week of May to determine the 20 best drivers they wanted to admit but finally settled on 28. From these 28 cars (I have 30!) only 19 came to the starting grid. I would like to sort out the correct field of entries but am stuck with my limited sources.

The other contradiction is indicated by the bold numbers.
Since Fagioli did not start, was the number 12 then assigned to his replacement Zehender, as is shown by Sheldon?
Can the numbers 40 to 52 by Sheldon be trusted? I assume that A.-R. received their entry list with starting numbers from the race promoter, shown in a preview for this race, published on June 11, the day of the race.

[u]Position	Driver’s name	A.-R.	Sheldon	Picture I.D.[/u]

DNF	E. Howe		2	2	-

DNF	P. Félix		4	4	-

DNF	J. Zanelli	6	6	-

6th	J. Villars	8	8	8

DNF	T. Nuvolari	10	10	-

DNS	L. Fagioli	[b]12[/b]	-	-

DNF	G. Zehender	-	[b]12[/b]	-

DNS	M. Borzachini	14	14	-	

DNS	A. Varzi		16	16	-

3rd	G. Eyston		18	18	18

DNS	A. Divo		20	20	-

DNF	S. Czaikowski	22	22	-

DNF	P. Bussienne	24	24	-

2nd	P. Etancelin	26	26	26

DNF	K.v.Waldthausen 	28	28	-

DNS	“Williams”	30	30	-

1st	G. Campari	32	32	32

DNS	Prince Nicholas	34	34	-

DNF	J. Gaupillat	36	36	-

DNF	Taruffi/Nuvolari	38	38	38

DNF	L. Chiron		[b]40	42[/b]	-

DNF	M. Lehoux		[b]42	44[/b]	-

5th	G. Moll		[b]44	46[/b]	-

DNF	J.-P. Wimille	[b]46	48[/b]	-

DNS	R. Dreyfus	[b]48	50[/b]	-

4th	R. Sommer		[b]50	52[/b]	-

DNS	G. Bouriat	-	-	-

DNS	Trintignant	-	-	-

DNS	B. Falchetto	-	[b]40[/b]	-

DNS	Maserati	-	-	-

Hans, I have from La Dépêche du Midi, the order of verification of the cars. At first were indicated as dna Falchetto and Birkin and secondly that Fagioli was replaced by Zehender. So the 10th of June:
10h:
-2 Howe Bugatti
-4 Felix Alfa Romeo
-6 Zanelli Alfa Romeo
-12 Maserati
10h15
-8 Villars Alfa Romeo
-28 Walthausen Alfa Romeo
-18 Eyston Alfa Romeo
-22 Czaykowski Bugatti
10h30
-10 Ferrari I
-14 Ferrari II
-38 Ferrari III
-24 Bussienne Bugatti
10h45:
-16 Varzi Bugatti I
-20 Divo Bugatti II
-30 Williams Bugatti III
-50 Dreyfus Bugatti IV
11h:
-26 Etancelin Alfa romeo
-32 Campari Maserati
-34 Prince de Roumanie Bugatti
-36 Gaupillat Bugatti
11h15:
-42 Chiron Alfa Romeo
-44 Lehoux Bugatti
-46 Moll Alfa Romeo
-48 Wimille Alfa Romeo
11h30:
-52 Sommer Alfa Romeo
-40 Falchetto Bugatti

In fact the Sc Ferrari arrived only in the afternoon and the prince of Roumanie and Falchetto dna.
Another dna was the Bugatti official team.

Thank you very much for your answer, Jean-Maurice. So, the information in Sheldon’s account then came from YOU!

In other words there were actually just AUTOMOBIL-REVUE and La Dépêche du Midi as primary source suppliers for the starting numbers. I wish we could find a third primary source! What about the famed British magazines?

I added La Dépêche du Midi as second source, abbreviated to LaDduM.

[u]Position	Driver’s name	A.-Revue	LaDduM	Sheldon	Picture I.D.[/u]

DNF	E. Howe		2	2	2	-

DNF	P. Félix		4	4	4	-

DNF	J. Zanelli	6	6	6	-

6th	J. Villars	8	8	8	8

DNF	T. Nuvolari	10	10	10	-

DNS	L. Fagioli	[b]12[/b]	-	-	-

DNF	G. Zehender	-	12	[b]12[/b]	-

DNS	M. Borzachini	14	14	14	-	

DNS	A. Varzi		16	16	16	-

3rd	G. Eyston		18	18	18	18

DNS	A. Divo		20	20	20	-

DNF	S. Czaikowski	22	22	22	-

DNF	P. Bussienne	24	24	24	-

2nd	P. Etancelin	26	26	26	26

DNF	K.v.Waldthausen 	28	28	28	-

DNS	“Williams”	30	30	30	-

1st	G. Campari	32	32	32	32

DNS	Prince Nicholas	34	34	34	-

DNF	J. Gaupillat	36	36	36	-

DNF	Taruffi/Nuvolari	38	38	38	38

DNF	L. Chiron		[b]40[/b]	42	[b]42[/b]	-

DNF	M. Lehoux		[b]42[/b]	44	[b]44[/b]	-

5th	G. Moll		[b]44[/b]	46	[b]46[/b]	-

DNF	J.-P. Wimille	[b]46[/b]	48	[b]48[/b]	-

DNS	R. Dreyfus	[b]48[/b]	50	[b]50[/b]	-

4th	R. Sommer		[b]50[/b]	52	[b]52[/b]	-

DNS	G. Bouriat	-	-	-	-

DNS	Trintignant	-	-	-	-

DNS	B. Falchetto	-	40	[b]40[/b]	-

DNS	Maserati		-	-	-	-

From "La Vie Automobile" n° of 25/6/33, we have the following list of starters:
2 Lord Howe Bugatti
4 Felix Alfa Romeo
6 Zanelli Alfa Romeo
8 Villars Alfa Romeo
10 Nuvolari Alfa Romeo
12 Zehender Maserati
38 Taruffi Alfa Romeo which indicates that he started, on the grid in place of Borzacchini
18 Eyston Alfa Romeo
22 Czaykowski Bugatti
24 Bussienne Bugatti
26 Etancelin Alfa Romeo
28 de Waldthausen Alfa Romeo
32 Campari Maserati
36 Gaupillat Bugatti
42 Chiron Alfa Romeo
44 Lehoux Bugatti
46 Moll Alfa Romeo
48 Wimille Alfa Romeo
52 Sommer Alfa Romeo

Always from my archives:
"Le Petit Marseillais" 24/05/1933
Entries:
-Lehoux Bugatti
-Eyston Alfa Romeo
-Howe Bugatti
-Czaykowski Bugatti
-Felix Alfa Romeo
-Etancelin Alfa Romeo
-Zanelli Alfa Romeo
-Sommer Alfa Romeo
-Wimille Bugatti (sic)
-Gaupillat Bugatti
-Moll Alfa Romeo
-Prince Nicolas Bugatti
-Falchetto Bugatti
-Chiron Alfa Romeo
-X Sc Ferrari
-X Sc Ferrari
-X Sc Ferrari
-Maserati Maserati
-X Ecurie Villars
-X Ecurie Villars
-Fagioli X
-Varzi Bugatti
-Divo Bugatti
-Williams Bugatti
-Dreyfus Bugatti
-Bussienne Bugatti

Some days later always in "Le Petit Marseillais" but I don't noted the date:
After ballot the starting numbers for the ACF GP are
-2 Howe
-4 Felix
-6 Zanelli
-8 Villars
-10 Sc Ferrari
-12 Fagioli
-14 Sc Ferrari
-16 Equipe Bugatti
-18 Eyston
-20 Equipe Bugatti
-22 Czaykowski
-24 Bussienne
-26 Etancelin
-28 de Waldthausen
-30 Equipe Bugatti
-32 Campari
-34 Prince de Roumanie
-36 Gaupillat
-38 Sc Ferrari
-40 Falchetto
-42 Chiron
-44 Lehoux
-46 Moll
-48 Wimille
-50 Equipe Bugatti
-52 Sommer

In "Le Petit Dauphinois" you had the same list except a blank behind n°40.

In "La Dépêche (du Midi)" race account 12/06/1933
Same starters that in "La Vie Automobile" except that Borzacchini is present with n°14 and Taruffi not and with the following precision some lines under: "Ten minutes before the start Borzacchini said he will not take Taruffi's car. So it is this later who will drive the Alfa Romeo n°38 and takes the place of n°14 which was to be driven by Borzacchini.".

And now for the eyes:






The great man!

Jean-Maurice ! The wealth of your information is simply overwhelming. As always! It is truely amazing what you have come up with. Thank you very much indeeed. The pictures are beautiful. Never saw them before.

This all brings up a question: has there ever been a book on the GP de l'ACF with this level of detail?

Originally posted by GIGLEUX
...In "La Dépêche (du Midi)" race account 12/06/1933
Same starters that in "La Vie Automobile" except that Borzacchini is present with n°14 and Taruffi not and with the following precision some lines under: "Ten minutes before the start Borzacchini said he will not take Taruffi's car. So it is this later who will drive the Alfa Romeo n°38 and takes the place of n°14 which was to be driven by Borzacchini.".

The starting grid is another area that looks confusing to me on row three. The question is: What car stood in the center of row three? Number 14 or Number 38?
The cars were lined up on the grid in order of their starting numbers and since Borzacchini's car had #14, he stood in the center of the third row. Then, just before the start, Borzacchini in car #14, was ordered out of his car by his team and Taruffi jumped in. Therefore Taruffi must have driven the #14 car and NOT the #38 car. Consequently, since Borzacchini then refused to drive Taruffi's #38 car, this machine (#38) must have been hastily pushed off the grid and it certainly did not take part in the race. Does this sound like an acceptable scenario?

...6 Zanelli.................4 Félix.....................2 Howe

.............10 Nuvolari .................8 Villars

.18 Eyston..............14 Taruffi.................12 Zehender

...........24 Bussienne.............22 Czaikowski

32 Campari........28 Waldthausen...........26 Etancelin

.............42 Chiron...................36 Gaupillat

48 Wimille................46 Moll.....................44 Lehoux

...............................................52 Sommer

Taruffi started from row three with car n°38.

At first, Hans please excuse my rather concise answer of 6h25 but I was just starting to my office!

From all of what I have it is sure that Taruffi started from row 3.
-La Vie Automobile gave the starters with their order and n°38 is between n°12 and 18 in place of n°14.
-In La Dépêche it is also indicated that Taruffi started with n°38 in place of Borzacchini n°14.
-The only book I have about the ACF GPs is the one of Hodges or Posthumus (I don't remember exactly and shall see this evening at home); it gives us the starting grid with Taruffi in third row.(of that I'm sure)
-What is sure too is that Taruffi's car had n°38 during the race. I have pics of him during the race.
-From pic n°2 I posted precedently, we can see the cars before the start and row three is rather crowdy: maybe was it during the substitution of cars. It seems that the ACF wanted to have a grid
without gaps in it and it was simplier, ten minutes before starting, to substitute cars rather than to change all the grid. In that case, easier to change the last two rows (it's only a supposition).

From first entries I also found Bouriat and Louis Trintignant but as they both died during the Peronne meeting...And also Frédéric Toselli who also died in a little hillclimb in south of France, maybe Val Cuech, if remembering correctly (I'll check this evening at home).

I'll also have a look at Simon Moore's book about the 8C-2300 Alfa Romeos.

Taruffi being chased by Etancelin.

And now the huge one:



Just fifty yards after the start, Taruffi is just behind Nuvolari and between Eyston and Zehender.

Ok, Ok! You got me convinced, Jean-Maurice!

My downfall was one sentence in the AUTOMOBIL-REVUE report of Tuesday, June 13, 1933, where it reads, "In the last minute a change was still undertaken, while Borzacchini relinquished his car to Taruffi.". From that sentence I wrongly concluded a driver change took place on the grid and in reality a different Scuderia Ferrari car/driver combination was placed in the middle of the third row. Of course, with your wonderful picture of the start -many thanks- it was then completely clear. No further arguments.

The picture of #38 Taruffi being chased by Etancelin appears also on page 103 of Hodges The French Grand Prix. I had seen it and noted it down on the list displayed in my first post but for totally unknown reasons (brainfag?) had ignored this evidence that number 38 car was indeed part in the race.

David Hodges in The French Grand Prix shows the correct starting grid but he did not involve himself with starting numbers throughout the book. Probably he knew why he left those out. He did the same in his The MONACO Grand Prix book. In his report about the 1933 French GP, Hodges did not mention the last minute change on the third row of the grid.

Originally posted by billthekat
This all brings up a question: has there ever been a book on the GP de l'ACF with this level of detail?

At http://www.abebooks.com/ they have this book:

The French Grand Prix
Hodges David

Price: US$ 18.00 [Convert Currency]
Shipping: [Rates and Speeds]

Book Description: Temple Press Books, 1967. Hard Cover. First Edition. Fine/Very Good. A tiny bit or color worn of the corners of the jacket. Not faded or rubbed. Price intact on flap. Bookseller Inventory #5296

Bookseller: Dana Jensen (Indian Hills, CO, U.S.A.)


also



The Monaco Grand Prix
Hodges, David

Price: US$ 17.00 [Convert Currency]
Shipping: [Rates and Speeds]

Book Description: Temple Press Books London 1964. 1st Edition Hardback Good in Good (-) Dust Jacket. 12mo., 133 Pages., Classic Motor Races Series. Light foxing on end pages & title page. Black marker over copywright date. Black & white photo illustrations. Dust Jacket has rub, chips & 5 large ( 1-2 in.) tears to edges. Bookseller Inventory #015334

Bookseller: Haven Books (Winter Haven, FL, U.S.A.)

I have had the Hodges book since it appeared, about 1967 or 1968, as well as his Monaco book, but it seems a bit strange that outside it and the T.A.S.O. Mathieson book which covered only 1906-1914, that there is not a book on the GP de l'ACF (1906-1967) and the GP de F (since 1968) that treats the subject in any depth. Outside the material in Sheldon, which J-M seems to have been largely responsible for compiling, there really isn't as much as one would expect. Even the Sheldon/Gigleux material has to deal with the space limitations imposed by the format and so much of the story of each event gets shortchanged. And, yes, of course, there is coverage of the events run as sports car races in the French Sports Car Revolution book, but then again, it tells only a part of the story. With the centennial of the GP de l'ACF next year, is there anything in the works that might be worth reading when it is produced?

I wondered about the color of the number 18 Alfa Romeo, driven into third place at the 1933 Grand Prix de l'A.C.F. by Capt. George Eyston. There is a b&w picture on page 104 of David Hodges' book The French Grand Prix. Was the car red or dark green? Does anyone know?

On Sunday morning June 11, the day of the 1933 Grand Prix de l’ACF, it was not yet absolutely clear if Nuvolari was going to start after he had the blower drive shaft break on his Alfa Romeo during Saturday practice. Because repairs could not be completed in time for Sunday’s race, Borzacchini then stood down, making the car assigned to him available for his friend Nuvolari. Somehow the numbers must then have been swapped on those cars, because the grid assembled in the early afternoon with Nuvolaris number 10 (the ex-Borzacchini car) in the second row and Borzacchini’s number 14 (the ex-Nuvolari car with broken blower shaft) in the middle of row three.

But only ten minutes before the start, so we are told, the number 14 Alfa was pushed off the grid and replaced with Taruffi’s number 38 Alfa from the same team (Scuderia Ferrari). Supposedly Borzacchini had declined to drive the number 38 Alfa, when so asked. In any event, Taruffi now took to the wheel, a clever way perhaps to get a better starting position in row three than he would have had in row six?

...and what about the color of Eystons’s Alfa Romeo Monza, entered by Australian Bernard Rubin? Was it green or red?