13 replies to this topic

[Boniver]

27.10.1946 Gran Premio de Pena Rhin - Barcelona

 

  18. Louis Chiron - Ecurie France - Talbot 150C

 

is Chiron started in this race or DNA

 

and was the Talbot 150C from SF ACSE Ecurie France (Paul Valle)

 

or from Ecurie France (Louis Rosier)

 

[uechtel]

According to Alessandro Silva´s book entry #18 was for Emmanuel de Graffenried (dna). There is also note, that the Talbot Monoposto ("monoplace centrale") of Ecurie France (Paul Vallee that is) was rumoured, but did not appear. No mention of who would have been the driver on this occasion, but of course it would have been Chiron´s regular mount.

 

Also I have not heard or read so far, that Rosier´s had operated under "Ecurie France" title as well, only "Ecurie Rosier" or personal entries.

[Vitesse2]

The sporting newspaper El Mundo Deportivo was a sponsor of the race and is a source of much misinformation about it - an entry for Chiron being among them. His is among the names mentioned in their September 5th issue and he is listed in their September 20th issue as definitely to appear, but with no particular car mentioned. In general they seem to probably have just listed anyone to whom the club had sent an entry form or who might have made an inquiry about the race. Raymond Mays, B Bira, TASO Mathieson, Charles Mortimer, Leo Davenport, Bob Gerard, two unnamed Americans, Christian Kautz, Jean-Pierre Wimille, Raymond Sommer, Vasco Sameiro and Ian Connell are all mentioned at various times - and also various combinations of drivers for Scuderia Milan, Écurie Auto-Sport and Alfa Corse. Farina was variously expected in a Maserati or an Alfa Romeo! And some of it is likely pure speculation - Henrique Lehrfeld for example; he had retired from racing in 1937!

 

The front page of the October 6th issue is a particular gem - an entry had been received from Luigi Plate, who they described as having won the Targa Florio, the Tripoli Grand Prix and the European Grand Prix. He did at least actually turn up ...

[68targa]

Rino Rao's Louis Chiron biography does not mention this event in the yearly text or the results pages for 1946..

[Boniver]

Club Pena Rhin wanted to organize an international race in 1946 on the new (street circuit in Barcelona)

But after WWII there were still problems at the border controls Spain/France

 

The teams from Italy and Great Britain coming by skip, the French drivers/teams give forfet. 

 

Only Chiron agreed to start in the race with the Talbot Ecurie France (Vallée), but gives later forfet. 

 

In 1946 there where only 11 cars on the start. But the club was very happy with the start of the (new) Cisitalia car. 

 

In 1947 Club Pena Rhin wanted the GP organize in june or july but he race was cancelled.

 

100 años de la fundación del Club Penya Rhin (lavanguardia.com)

[Risil]

Something that's been bothering me: what is a/the Penya Rhin exactly? Where did the club's name come from? I can see from that article that there's a connection to the Cafe Rhin in Barcelona, but my Spanish isn't up to any more than that.

[Doug Nye]

I believe that the Peña Rhin was a local gentleman's club, so named from having been founded by habitués of the Cafe-Restaurant 'El oro del Rhin', which from around 1914 was simply a popular meeting place for like-minded members of the Barcelona business community. It was previously explained here on TNF by 'tifosi', who wrote that  'El oro del Rhin' was situated in the Plaça Catalunya (Catalonian Square), Barcelona. Peña is apparently Spanish for 'club' - the Catalan being Penya.  So 'Club Rhin'.

 

Here it is pictured in its heyday...

 

 

Its clientele

 

 

Pillars of the community...

 

 

And before its apparent demise in 1969, the place clearly had its fun side too - for a late-period New Year's Eve dinner "In the heart of the city dance until dawn".

 

 

(All from internet - http://barcelofilia....catalunya.html)

 

DCN

Edited by Doug Nye, 09 May 2022 - 05:49.

[a_tifoosi]

According to Alessandro Silva´s book entry #18 was for Emmanuel de Graffenried (dna). There is also note, that the Talbot Monoposto ("monoplace centrale") of Ecurie France (Paul Vallee that is) was rumoured, but did not appear. No mention of who would have been the driver on this occasion, but of course it would have been Chiron´s regular mount.

 

Also I have not heard or read so far, that Rosier´s had operated under "Ecurie France" title as well, only "Ecurie Rosier" or personal entries.

 

According to Pierre Abeillon ("Talbot-Lago de Course"), the driver of the MC (Monoplace Centrale) was supposed to be Eugène Chaboud. Apparently he was declared forfait because there was no agreement on the starting money between the organizers and Écurie France.

 

 

Narcís. 

Edited by a_tifoosi, 09 May 2022 - 07:08.

[a_tifoosi]

"Oro del Rhin", as pictured by Josep Maria Sagarra back in 1935:

 

 

 

© Josep Maria Sagarra / Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya

 

 

Narcís.

[Porsche718]

Lots of info in this 1946 newspaper -  I've spent hours translating the articles.

 

No real conformation about the Chiron question, but answers lots of details about the race and questions asked in this thread

 

Edited by Porsche718, 10 May 2022 - 05:58.

[a_tifoosi]

Lots of info in this 1946 newspaper -  I've spent hours translating the articles.

 

The archive of La Vanguardia newspaper can be easily accessed in https://www.lavangua....com/hemeroteca

 

For instance, the issue you mentioned from 29 October 1946 can be found in http://hemeroteca.la...9&bm=10&by=1946

[Vitesse2]

Going through La Vanguardia, I've found a mention of Chiron allegedly driving a Talbot in the September 12th edition. This seems to be sourced to an article by Maurice Henry in l'Équipe, which also suggests (as I noted above) that Wimille and Sommer would be coming, driving a Maserati and an Alfa Romeo respectively. There's also the obligatory 1946 mention of the near-mythical 'new model of Bugatti' appearing.

 

Desmond Scannell also seems to have been involved somehow - apparently co-ordinating British entries via the BRDC - and names mentioned in this connection in the September 18th edition are Bira, Mays, Parnell, Whitehead, Connell and Brooke.

[GeoffSanders]

Going through La Vanguardia, I've found a mention of Chiron allegedly driving a Talbot in the September 12th edition. This seems to be sourced to an article by Maurice Henry in l'Équipe, which also suggests (as I noted above) that Wimille and Sommer would be coming, driving a Maserati and an Alfa Romeo respectively. 

Unfortunately you have these round the wrong way - Wimille would have been in the Alfa Romeo, and Sommer in a Maserati.

[Vitesse2]

Unfortunately you have these round the wrong way - Wimille would have been in the Alfa Romeo, and Sommer in a Maserati.

I didn't get it what you consider to be the wrong way round - La Vanguardia did. It's unlikely - but not impossible - that Maurice Henry of l'Équipe might have been in error, but it's probably just a mistake in translation. I'm perfectly aware that the above would have been normally the case in 1946, but as I pointed out previously in connection with the misinformation provided to readers of El Mundo Deportivo, a lot of the car allocations were misleading or simply wrong.

 

Had you bothered to check the source I quoted, rather than assuming I was in error, you would have found this: