The following I had written for 8W some years back:
Wednesday, 15 August, 1934, came the tenth running of the
Coppa Acerbo at the Pescara Circuit on the Adriatic Sea. It was to be Guy Moll’s last race. Minister Giacomo Acerbo had named the race in honor of his brother Capitano Tito Acerbo, a decorated war hero, who was killed during the last year of WW I. The first race was held in 1924 when Campari burst a tire on his Alfa P2 and had to retire as he carried no spare. Enzo Ferrari in an Alfa RL then won the race from Bonmartini's Mercedes. In 1934, the same road circuit was in use. It was triangular in shape like Reims, consisting of regular roads with all the normal road hazards. The Start Finish line was outside the seaside resort of Pescara, where the road went straight for about ¾ mile along the shore. At the following right turn, the circuit headed inland for about seven miles along a winding road up into the Abruzzi Mountains, through forests and the hill villages of Villa Raspa, Montani, Spoltore, Pornace and Villa S. Maria, rising to 623 feet above sea level. Then began the descent to Capelle sul Tavo where there was a slow right hairpin exiting under a bridge. From here, the road led into the about seven miles long Monte Silvano downhill straight to the coast at blistering speed. This was the fastest stretch of the circuit and included a one kilometer timed section, which was on a slightly downhill incline. The Monte Silvano straight was followed by a fast right turn at Monte Silvano railroad station, which led into the Lungo Mare straight along the coast back to the start. To slow the cars on that sea-level straight, a large artificial chicane was introduced for 1934 just before the Start-Finish area, to reduce the speed as cars passed the pits. This change resulted in a marginally increased circuit length from 15.906 miles to 16.032 miles. (In 1935 two more chicanes were to be installed in the middle of each straight to give the Italian cars a better chance.) The Coppa Acerbo was Italy's second most important Grand Prix Race and consisted of 20 laps, making a total of 320.640 miles.
All major teams and drivers were present. Auto Union had two cars for Hans Stuck and reserve driver-mechanic Wilhelm Sebastian. Leiningen had already fallen sick before the German GP and Momberger, the third driver, had hit his head on the headrest when he went over a dip in the road during the race itself. He had to be relieved by Burggaller because of a bleeding head wound. Team Manager Willi Walb decided the following week that Wilhelm Sebastian was to take Momberger's place in Pescara, driving the latter's car used at the German GP. Stuck's car was also the same as raced at the German GP, but both cars received the high axle ratio used at the Avus, plus improved brakes and better venting. Daimler-Benz had three W25 cars for Caracciola, Fagioli and Henne in place of von Brauchitsch, who had broken his arm a month previously when he crashed during practice for the German GP. Hanns Geier, one of the two reserve drivers, had driven at the Nürburgring, but at Pescara it was Ernst Henne's turn. This was to be his first Grand Prix start, nevertheless, during practice, he set the fastest speed through the timed kilometer at 300 km/h or 186 mph. As usual, Alfa Romeo had the Vittorio Jano designed P3 cars entered by Scuderia Ferrari with Louis Chiron, Achille Varzi, Guy Moll and Pietro Ghersi at their disposal. Bugatti entered a lone T59 for Antonio Brivio. Secondo Corsi in the 16-cylinder V5 and Goffredo Zehender in an 8CM represented the Maserati factory. Tazio Nuvolari, Whitney Straight, Earl Howe, Felice Bonetto and Hugh Hamilton also drove 8CM Maserati's but they were privately entered. Penn-Hughes with a 2.3-liter Alfa Romeo Monza was the last of the privateers.
A voiturette race had preceded the main event and with the Scirocco wind blowing, it had rained during the half hour interval to the start of the Grand Prix. The drivers prepared for a wet race. Caracciola's familiar white overalls were covered with waterproof clothing. Cockpits of the cars on the grid were covered up and tires were changed from smooth type to ones with road-racing threads, better suited for a wet circuit. Although it had stopped raining at the time of the start, the track was still wet and slippery. Bonetto’s Maserati did not show up and 17 cars stood ready on the starting grid, with three different makes placed on the front row.
28 54 44
Caracciola Varzi Stuck
Mercedes-Benz Alfa Romeo Auto Union
30 50
Nuvolari Fagioli
Maserati Mercedes-Benz
48 58 40
Penn-Hughes Corsi Straight
Alfa Romeo Maserati Maserati
56 60
Howe Zehender
Maserati Maserati
34 46 36
Henne Moll Chiron
Mercedes-Benz Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo
52 32
Brivio Sebastian
Bugatti Auto Union
62 64
Ghersi Hamilton
Alfa Romeo Maserati
There was great excitement as they roared and screamed away, leaving a cloud of sweet scented haze. The Auto Union of Hans Stuck shot into the lead, followed by Varzi's red Alfa Romeo and Caracciola's #28 Mercedes-Benz. During the first minutes, Stuck, Varzi and Caracciola swapped places on the winding run through the hills. Then 'Rainmaster' Rudi passed Varzi for the last time at the beginning of the long run down to Monte Silvano and overtook Stuck at the end of the straight just before they reached the fast right turn at the sea. At the end of the first lap, Caracciola led Stuck and Varzi by two seconds, with the Italian attempting to pass Stuck. There was a 22 seconds gap to Fagioli in fourth, followed by Moll, 200 yards behind. Next came Hamilton, Henne, Chiron and Zehender.
On the next lap, Stuck and Varzi lost time as a result of their battle for second place. Caracciola in contrast, drove flat out and on the Monte Silvano straight was timed at 181.4 mph. When he passed the pits, his advantage to Stuck and Varzi had increased to 500 meters, followed by Fagioli further back. Moll pulled into his pits to have a spark plug changed and lost one minute. During that time, Hamilton went by, ahead of Chiron and Nuvolari.
On lap three, the fight for second place intensified as Varzi made several serious but unsuccessful attempts to pass Stuck in the winding section, and remained glued to the Auto Union's tail. On the long straight down to Monte Silvano, Varzi drew level at top speed, racing wheel to wheel up to the fast right turn leading into the coastal straight and took second place. Caracciola's third lap speed averaged 82.802 mph but Stuck, still in third place, had already fallen back, and was signaling to the pits. He was now closely followed by Fagioli. Further back was the battling trio of Hamilton, Nuvolari and Chiron in that order. Moll pitted for the second time for yet more spark plugs, which dropped him even further back.
At the end of the fourth lap, Caracciola had increased his advantage. Stuck now found himself in second place again after Varzi had stopped at his pit to change front wheels, as the right front tire had stripped its thread. Simultaneously, he topped up with fuel and the stop cost Varzi 85 seconds. Meanwhile Moll was driving in very determined fashion to make up lost time.
On lap five, Caracciola continued to pull away, further increasing his advantage. Stuck in second place slowed his pace and was passed by Fagioli. Then came the motivated Nuvolari who had worked himself up to fourth, followed by Hamilton, Chiron, Henne and Moll. After the completion of five laps, Stuck pulled his Auto Union into the pits, retiring with a blown piston. Varzi stopped at the pits again, but this time his Alfa was retired with gearbox failure.
By lap six, Caracciola had build up a massive advantage, with Fagioli second, Nuvolari third and Chiron fourth, now 3m48s behind the leader. Moll received signs from his pits to drive faster and Scuderia Ferrari stopped Ghersi's car, to let Varzi take over. At the end of lap six, Caracciola led Fagioli by 1m46s and Chiron by 3m58s, followed closely by Henne in fourth place. Nuvolari had to stop at his pit with a misfiring engine and it took four minutes until an obstruction in the fuel lines was found. Moll, after having cured his misfiring engine, was now driving very rapidly. Further back came Varzi in Ghersi's car, making up lost ground. Hamilton slowed down as he encountered problems and at the same time, Whitney Straight's race ended due to mechanical problems.
At the end of lap seven, Caracciola's advantage had grown to five minutes. Fagioli was still second, possibly having lost time with an off-road excursion and Henne, in third place, made it a Mercedes one - two - three. Chiron pulled slowly into his pits with a misfiring engine, changing plugs and taking fresh fuel, all of which took 2m30s. During Chiron's delay, Moll sped past the grandstand, then Varzi with a lap at 141 km/h.
On lap eight, Moll caught up with Henne and passed him for third place after Monte Silvano Station on the Lungo Mare straight. At the end of lap eight, the order was Caracciola, Fagioli, Moll, Henne, Varzi in Ghersi's car and Chiron, now in sixth place. Hamilton, in the 8CM Maserati retired with a broken piston.
The ninth lap brought major changes, which entirely altered the complexion of the race. Caracciola, who had led for eight laps, made one of his rare mistakes and spun off the track. In Molter's book 'RUDOLF CARACCIOLA', Rudi said that the road was slick as glass as he went down a straight at 200 km/h. As he approached the following curve, he very delicately felt the brakes but he had the same feeling as in Monte Carlo (1933). Did the wheel lock up? The next moment, the car spun around and flew diagonally backwards up an embankment. On top, the tail of his car grazed a fence very slightly, but enough to spin it around again, landing on the road facing in the right direction. This incident was obviously just a warning because shortly afterwards, at a place where Fagioli had already left the track, his car did half a roll to the left and disappeared with a loud crash into a four meter deep ditch. He was lucky to escape without injury but the car was badly damaged.
At the end of lap nine, Fagioli, now in first place, stopped for fuel, changed wheels and had new spark plugs fitted. During his lengthy pit stop, Guy Moll screamed past the grandstands into the lead and the crowd roared with excitement. With the mechanics still working on Fagioli's car, Henne passed the grandstand 20 seconds ahead of Varzi in Ghersi's car. However, the latter stopped at the pits for 70 seconds and got away after Fagioli had left. Brivio's Bugatti lay fifth, followed by Nuvolari.
Chiron arrived next and stopped at his pits with a badly misfiring engine. Not sure whether the problem was due to spark plugs or fuel feed, the engine was left running. While one mechanic tested spark plugs and the other checked fuel lines, Chiron remained in the car operating the accelerator. Gasoline squirted from a loosened fuel pipe and was ignited by an electric spark caused by the other mechanic testing the plugs. Instantaneously the car burst into flames, the fire spreading from the engine to the tank, fed by the fuel squirting from the pipe. The spectators watched in horror as Chiron’s overalls caught fire, mechanics helped the flaming driver from the cockpit, while he covered both eyes with his hands and staggered away from the burning car. Chiron received only slight burns to face and neck, because an official immediately beat out the flames. The blazing Alfa Romeo stood dangerously close to the pits where drums of gasoline were stored while the car kept burning fiercely. People around started fleeing the volatile scene fearing the worst. Eventually, with the help of extinguishers and sand, the fire was put out after ten minutes, but the car was totally burned out and parts of the pits were also destroyed. All this excitement almost obscured the fact that Corsi, in the 16-cylinder Maserati, had seriously crashed his powerful car when he veered off the road breaking some ribs.
At half distance, after ten laps, Moll had averaged 126 km/h, leading Henne by 32s, Varzi in Ghersi's car by 1m1s and Fagioli, who was one second behind him in fourth place. Nuvolari was fifth, followed by Sebastian's Auto Union, Brivio's Bugatti and Penn-Hughes' Maserati. Zehender, Howe and Hamilton had all retired by this time, which made Nuvolari the only surviving Maserati driver out of six at the beginning of the race.
During lap 11, Moll maintained the lead and Varzi, who was now driving very rapidly, passed Henne into second place. At the end of the lap, the two red cars were in front with the two Mercedes third and fourth. At the completion of the twelfth lap, Moll made a refueling stop, which promoted Varzi to first and Fagioli to second place.
Lap 13 saw Varzi in the lead, Fagioli second, followed by Moll, one minute behind when he roared away from his fuel stop. The Mercedes pit had signaled their drivers to speed up. Moll’s Alfa was now ready for the final battle and the Algerian tried to make up the time lost during his pit stop. Meanwhile, Henne skidded dangerously at the artificial curve before the pits, which lost him so much time that the hard charging Nuvolari overtook him.
At the end of lap 14, Varzi pulled into the pits to replace his fast wearing rear tires and fill the car with fuel. His stop of 1m55s enabled Fagioli to take the lead and Moll moved into second place. Varzi was now third and Nuvolari a distant fourth. At the end of the next lap, Fagioli led Moll by 37 seconds, Varzi by 1m41s and Nuvolari by 5m24s. Then followed Brivio's Bugatti, Sebastian's Auto Union and Henne's Mercedes-Benz, who had fallen to last place.
Guy Moll was undaunted and was now the only one able to race on level terms with Fagioli’s more powerful Mercedes. The dramatic race had developed into an electrifying hard-fought battle. The Algerian was driving faster than ever, knowing that the hopes of Italy rested on his shoulders. His motivated drive resulted in a new record lap of 10m51.0s at 101.398 mph on lap 16. Fagioli's lap time was 10m59s, which reduced his advantage to only 29 seconds. The tension was building because the outcome of the race was uncertain. Could Moll win for Italy in the red Alfa Romeo? At the end of lap 17, Moll entered the artificial turn before the pits too fast, ending up in a lurid slide, the Alfa skidded broadside and stalled. The Algerian had to get out and start his car with the crank. Despite all this, his lap time was still 11 minutes flat and he would no doubt have broken his previous lap record, if he had not stalled the car. Varzi came slowly into the pits as the car had lubrication problems and Ghersi took over with instructions to nurse the Alfa to the finish.
The tropical heat turned the cars into real ovens. The weather had been inconsistent all day and the Scirocco, a rather strong wind with sporadic squalls and rain showers, was blowing. This made it even harder to drive the powerful cars at their top speed because they already needed the whole road when driven flat out.. Henne was measured doing 183 mph and Caracciola 182 mph early in the race. But after Henne twice ran into problems and the Scirocco picked up in force, the German slowed down in the second third of the race. On lap 18, Moll went faster through the winding section than he had ever done before. He was closely following Henne through the Capelle hairpin and as they entered the downhill Monte Silvano straight, Moll attempted to overtake the German’s Mercedes, which was now a full lap behind. The German did not expect Moll to pass on this narrow section where he needed almost the full width of the track just to keep the Mercedes on the road. A passing maneuver would be just too dangerous. But instead of waiting for one or two miles until the road widened, the inspired Moll gradually pulled alongside the German. Moll was slightly in front of Henne's Mercedes, when the Alfa Romeo fell back, moved too far to the left, the wheels slid over the road edge and veered into the shallow ditch at the side of the road. For about 50 meters the car remained straight with Moll braking and trying frantically to regain the road. Then one front wheel struck a low stone pillar, which was part of the wall of a small bridge. The impact at over 155 mph caused the car to vault into the air, somersaulting high, flinging out Moll. He was killed instantly. The car kept tearing through telegraph wires, tumbling repeatedly, felling some young trees and crashing down until it came to rest at the side of a house after 300 to 400 yards. The spectators who hastened to the site found Moll's lifeless body on the opposite side of the road against a concrete post.
The exact cause of this crash will probably never be known. Statements from various accounts are contradictory and Moll's death was most likely instantaneous. Did a sudden gust of the Scirocco cause Moll to drift off the road? In Chris Nixon's book, 'Racing The SILVER ARROWS', Ernst Henne said, he could see that Moll wanted to pass him at a stretch were the road was very narrow. As they were doing about 170 mph downhill, Henne could see out of the corner of his eyes as Moll tried to pull alongside him only to fall back, but their cars never touched. There were different versions of what happened and, later on, groundless accusations were made that the cars touched, trying to put the blame of the crash on Henne, whose driving was described as wild and suspect. However, he was an easy target since this was his first grand prix race. Even though he had raced motorcycles for ten years, he was inexperienced driving these fast, poor handling cars. Guy Moll's dreadful crash in essence ended the race, which came to a somber end with the full 20 laps completed. Nobody was left to challenge Fagioli, who after 3h58m56.8s finished the race first, 4m38.2s ahead of Nuvolari’s Maserati, followed by Brivio’s Bugatti, Ghersi’s Maserati, and one lap behind by Sebastian’s Auto Union and Henne’ Mercedes-Benz last. From the 17 cars at the start, only six finished. So ended a meteoric but tragically short racing career. Guy Moll was put to rest in the Maison-Caree cemetery in Algiers.
;)
