3 replies to this topic

[Nanni Dietrich]

From newspaper Il Mattino (Naples, Italy), issue of 20 May 1930, the story and the final standings of the Circuito Internazionale di Caserta, held on 18 May 1930.

It was a 12-lap race over a 25.370-kilometer (15.7-mile) public roads course around the town of Caserta, Italy. 

Napolitan privateer Federico Caflisch took an outright win, beating all the works Alfa Romeo, OM and Maserati entries.

He took the lead in the early stages of the race in his Mercedes-Benz SS, before being involved in a fierce battle with Luigi Fagioli's Maserati, who had engine trouble during the penultimate lap. Caflisch finished first in 2h55min19.2, at an average speed of 104,189 km/h (64.75 mi/h), ahead of the likes of Archimede Rosa, second in an OM Tipo 665S “Superba” and Giuseppe Campari, third in a factory Alfa Romeo 6C-1750. Fagioli was classified fourth.

 

1930 - CIRCUITO DI CASERTA 304,8 Km  

1 CAFLISCH Federico I Mercedes Benz SSK 2h55m19,2 - 104,189 km/h (first in class)

2 ROSA Archimede I OM 2300 2h56m48,6 (first in class)

3 CAMPARI Giuseppe I Alfa Romeo 1750 2h56m55 (first in class)

4 FAGIOLI Luigi I Maserati 3h02m38

5 CANTONO PaoloI I Alfa Romeo 1750 3h04m52

6 TADINI Mario I Alfa Romeo 1750 3h06m06

7 SIRIGNANO Francesco I Alfa Romeo 1750 3h09m56,4

8 BRIVIO Antonio I Alfa Romeo 1500 3h11m35 (first in class)

9 GAZZABINI Carlo I OM 2300 3h15m03

10 De TEFFE' Manuel BR Alfa Romeo 1750 3h18m26,3

11 PASTORE Giuseppe I Maserati 3h19m22

12 FACCHETTI Angelo I Itala 3h19m45

13 BERLINGERI Andrea I Itala 3h19m56

14 BIONDETTI Clemente I Bugatti 3h34m19

15 SORRENTINO Vincenzo I Alfa Romeo 1750 3h34m23

Edited by Nanni Dietrich, 25 September 2020 - 17:29.

[D-Type]

Would this have had a mass start, or would the cars have been despatched one at a time?

[Nanni Dietrich]

The article said 12 cars of the up-to 3000 and over-3000 classes started together in a three-car grid at 11h10. Guglielmo Peri (OM), Caflisch (Mercedes-Benz) and Giuseppe Morandi (OM) started from the first row, with Rosa (OM), Galliera (OM) and Giorgini (OM) in second. The 2000cc class started two minutes later and then the 1000 and 1500cc classes.

 

A fatal accident occurred on second lap, when the Alfa Romeo of Piero Rubino (or Rubini) left the road after colliding with Galliera's OM and his mechanic named Raffaeli or Campana (most likely his name was Raffaele Campana) was killed.

 

The famous book "Albo della Gloria: Al Piloti Caduti in Tutto il Mondo al Loro Posto di Combattimento" by Emanuele Alberto Carli indicated that also another driver named Peri lost his life in the race. 

Concerning this casuality, "Il Mattino" confirmed that Mr. Guglielmo Peri had an entry in the race with an OM (according to different sources he was reported to drive an Itala or an Hispano-Suiza in the race!). It is aso confirmed that he retired after an accident, but there is no reference to a possible death. Guglielmo Peri, a driver from Florence did not die in Caserta, as he won a race in Viareggio in August 1930 and was active in Italy in 1931 and 1932.

Edited by Nanni Dietrich, 27 September 2020 - 06:39.

[Michael Ferner]

Peri's car was probably Maserati's old Italona Special - a Hisso-engined Itala chassis (with, I think, Isotta-Fraschini bodywork?). Anyway, he's also listed with an OM at Pescara later that year, but I'm struggling to think of an OM big enough to race in the over 3 litre category. In 1931, he raced a Bugatti, so any news about his passing appear to have been greatly exaggerated!