18 replies to this topic

[Gary C]

Lads, I've just bought a roll of old 1930's film on Ebay. It's entitled 'The Grand Prix di Pozzo', does anyone recallahaving heard o fit at all? To me, (haven't run it yet) it looks like an amateur production with models of the cars and racetrack to break up the 'action'. Anyone??
Once I've run it I'll let you know a little more.

[hinnershitz]

Circuito di Pozzo, Verona
March 21, 1926 - Winner: Consonno, Bugatti
March 20, 1927 - Winner: Tonini, Maserati
March 26, 1928 - Winner: Nuvolari, Bugatti
June 2, 1929 - Winner: ?

[Gary C]

Wow! & I didn't even know it was a REAL race!!

[Vitesse2]

Darren has a fuller result for 1926 on his results pages:

http://www.teamdan.c...1926.html#pozzo

Quintin has 1927 and 1928, but in less detail.

1929 race was cancelled, I believe.

[ensign14]

Moretti's Nuvolari book has some further info:

-the 1928 race was held on a very wet day;

-the track was in or near Verona;

-Nuvolari overtook Bordino at the beginning or end of lap 2 and held the lead to the end;

-the race was over 25 laps of a 12.3km circuit - Nivola's time was 2h 40' 36.3";

-Nuvolari's Bugatti had a special screen to deal with the thrown-up mud;

-2nd was Count Aymo Maggi, another driver that distinguished himself was Alvera Ogniben;

-Bordino retired, and was really the sole competition to Nuvolari.

However, the race was marred by a fatal accident on lap 22 when Antonio Testi, who was running 2nd to Nuvolari (and winning his class - whatever that was) swerved to the right of a footbridge when caught out by spray and 2 militiamen were killed and 9 spectators injured.

Maybe that put the kibosh on any future runnings.

[hinnershitz]

1926 - nothing to add...

March 20, 1927 - found another mention of the race, which says it was won by Gaspare Bona (Bugatti). Who won, Bona or Tonini(?), or was it a dead heat, or class results, that got mixed up...?

June 5, 1927 - Motorcycles, winner: Tazio Nuvolari (Bianchi)

1928 - more : (source unknown, I should have started keeping track on sources much earlier...)

overall (or "big" class):
1. Nuvolari (Bugatti)
2. Alvaras (Bugatti) (= Alvera Ogniben?)
?. Varzi (Bugatti)

1.5 litres:
1. Maggi (Maserati)
2. Clerici (Salmson)
3. Giovanni Fagioli (Bugatti)
4. Cattaneo (Amilcar)
5. Luigi Fagioli (Maserati)
6. Saccomani (Amilcar)

1929 - date taken from "The Alfa Romeo Tradition" by Griffith Borgeson. In the "Enzo Ferrari’s cumulative racing record"-table he states, that EF finished fifth. Is this a mistake, or was there a race in 1929? I've found nothing else on it.

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by ensign14
-Nuvolari's Bugatti had a special screen to deal with the thrown-up mud;

And he apparently carried a riding mechanic to wipe the mud away! (Bugatti by Venables, p92)

Originally posted by ensign14
However, the race was marred by a fatal accident on lap 22 when Antonio Testi, who was running 2nd to Nuvolari (and winning his class - whatever that was) swerved to the right of a footbridge when caught out by spray and 2 militiamen were killed and 9 spectators injured.

Maybe that put the kibosh on any future runnings.

Testi was leading the Voiturette class. I've read about this incident somewhere else and I'm pretty sure it was the reason for the end of the series.

[Roger Clark]

1929:

1 Giovanni Alloatti (Bugatti)
2 Federico Valpreda (Delage)
3 Cleto Nencioni (Maserati)

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by Roger Clark
1929:

1 Giovanni Alloatti (Bugatti)
2 Federico Valpreda (Delage)
3 Cleto Nencioni (Maserati)

Oh yeah ... but a sports car race! Winning speed 86.97mph according to King-Farlow (couldn't put my hand on that earlier - I really MUST tidy this mess up )

http://wsrp.wz.cz/prewar1929.html#6

[Hans Etzrodt]

Originally posted by Vitesse2
...1929 race was cancelled, I believe.

The 1929 edition was held for sportscars while the prior three events were for open-wheeled racing cars.

[gdecarli]

Pozzo is a small village near San Giovanni Lupatoto, south east of Verona (Italy). For exact location, click to open to Maporama map: there is no Pozzo sign, but it should be where blue circle indicates.

I wish I have track map, but I haven't it and I have no track description that can help me to try to guess it, as I did for some other old circuit (i.e. Polesine).

Gary C, if you have some useful infos (name of villages, railways, anything else) maybe I can draw it!

[Hans Etzrodt]

I am presently reviewing the June 2, 1929 Pozzo Circuit race, which should be published by the end of this month on Leif Snellman's home page (you can google his name). Contrary to prior statements in this thread, the race was held for open wheel cars with 19 race cars on the grid.  The 12,343 km triangular circuit with start in Verona headed southeast on the long straight to San Giovanni Lupatoto where the circuit made a right turn along a short stretch towards the Pozzo area where it turned again right into another straight heading back north to Verona.  I am still looking for a circuit map. In 1929 there were 8 finishers. 

1. - G. Alloatti (Bugatti T35B)

2. - F. Valpreda (Delage 2 LCV)

3. - C. Nenzioni (Maserati 26B)

4. - G. Nenzioni (Bugatti T37A)

5. - Enzo Ferrari (Alfa Romeo 6C-1750 SS)

6. - P. Cracchi (Bugatti T37A)

7. - L. Venturi (OM 665S)

8. - L. Fagioli (Salmson 1100 cc)

[fw07c]

Many thanks for your superb report of 1929 Grand Prix di Pozzo on Golden age of Motor Racing website

 

[Gary C]

Goodness, resurrected after 10 years. It turned out the film I had un-covered was a film of model cars racing around a moving track. Rather fun, but not exactly what i was expecting!

[tragopan]

I am in the process of cataloguing Dr. Testi's images of the 1929 Pozzo Verona race (which was wrongly identified by Franco Zagari at the 1928 race).  Enzo Ferrari is driving Alfa#16, but there are three glass negatives of car No. 11 with Bordino written on them.  Since Bordino was not alive in 1929, I wonder if any can identify the driver of #11.  I can't seem to find a startlist with race numbers anywhere

 

Have tried without success to postd the image in this message, maybe following this link will show you the image?!

 

https://www.flickr.c...ey/14898628788/

[Rob G]

I am in the process of cataloguing Dr. Testi's images of the 1929 Pozzo Verona race (which was wrongly identified by Franco Zagari at the 1928 race).  Enzo Ferrari is driving Alfa#16, but there are three glass negatives of car No. 11 with Bordino written on them.  Since Bordino was not alive in 1929, I wonder if any can identify the driver of #11.  I can't seem to find a startlist with race numbers anywhere

 

Have tried without success to postd the image in this message, maybe following this link will show you the image?!

 

https://www.flickr.c...ey/14898628788/

 

It should be Giovanni Alloatti in his Bugatti.

 

http://www.kolumbus....n/gp2903.htm#24

[tragopan]

Thanks, that makes sense, several images of him in the race.  A very useful website!

[stuartu]

Gary, I am astonished that you have a copy of this film, made by Alan Pickard in 1934. I believed that only one copy existed and that copy had been donated by the Pickard family to the Yorkshire Film Archive. If you google "Grand Prix di Pozzo" you will be directed to the Archive's listing of the film. If you click on "comments" you will see some remarks I have added recently.

If you have the original film I can only assume the Archive have disposed of it. If so, beware - it is on nitrate stock.

I think it is quite an historic piece of work in many ways. Alan and his family were very keen that it should be preserved.

 

Regards, Stuart

[Hans Etzrodt]

Tragopan - your  #11 Bugatti picture of Alloatti at the 1929 Pozzo Circuit is very much appreciated.  Leif Snellman and I are always on the look-out for missing information to augment our various race reports, which are on his website made for other enthusiasts and we quite often rely on input from folks like you.

 

At the 1929 Pozzo race we could identify not more than four cars from the 18 entries.  Those four cars were shown in pictures:

#2 Salmson of Fagioli

#11 Bugatti of Alloatti

#16 Alfa Romeo of Ferrari

#21 Delage of Valpreda

#12 Bugatti - driver unknown.

If you have other pics for identification, we would like to see them.  Please send them to me at hanse@hawaii.rr.com .