1922 French Grand Prix Explained

Type:GP
Grand Prix:French
Date:15 July
Year:1922
Official Name:XVI Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France
Country:France
Location:Strasbourg, France
Course:Public roads
Course Mi:8.31
Course Km:13.38
Distance Laps:60
Distance Mi:498.89
Distance Km:802.88
Pole Driver:Felice Nazzaro
Pole Country:Italy
Pole Flag Suffix:1861
Pole Team:Fiat
Grid From Ballot:True
Fast Driver:Pietro Bordino
Fast Team:Fiat
Fast Time:5:43.0
Fast Country:Italy
Fast Flag Suffix:1861
First Driver:Felice Nazzaro
First Team:Fiat
First Country:Italy
First Flag Suffix:1861
Second Driver:Pierre de Vizcaya
Second Team:Bugatti
Second Country:Spain
Second Flag Suffix:1785
Third Driver:Pierre Marco
Third Team:Bugatti
Third Country:France

The 1922 French Grand Prix (formally the XVI Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France) was a Grand Prix motor race held at Strasbourg on 15 July 1922. The race was run over 60 laps of the 13.38km circuit for a total distance of just over 800km and was won by Felice Nazzaro driving a Fiat. This race is notable as the first Grand Prix to feature a massed start.[1]

The race was run to new Grand Prix regulations, requiring engines no larger than 2 litres, in cars with two seats and weighing at least 650kg. In practice, the Fiats were dominant, with only the Bugatti drivers close in times (the Bugatti drivers had the advantage of the Bugatti factory being in nearby Molsheim, so had already learned the circuit). After the rolling start, Felice Nazzaro lead Friderich at the end of the first lap, with the other Fiat drivers down in the pack due to their lower starting positions. By lap 4, Bordino had taken the lead, and by lap 10 Biagio Nazzaro was up to third, so Fiat lead 1-2-3. The two lead Fiats would trade the lead several times due to pitstops, with Biagio Nazzaro holding third, the three Fiats continuing to increase their lead whilst many of their competitors retired, until after halfway, Biagio Nazzaro experienced difficulties, and made a slow pitstop, dropping him to fourth until Foresti, who had taken third, retired on lap 44. With nearly all other competitors retired (mostly with engine problems), and the race nearing its end, Biagio Nazzaro's Fiat lost a rear wheel at top speed, then hit a tree, turning the car over and killing him instantly. With just two laps to go, Bordino suffered a similar failure at a much slower part of the track, his car stopping safely with a lost rear wheel. Felice Nazzaro was left to finish the race, winning by nearly an hour. It was later found that on all three Fiats the rear axle casings were faulty, with a large crack developing on Felice Nazzaro's.[1]

Classification

PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/Retired
14 Felice NazzaroFiat 804606h17m17.0
212 Pierre de VizcayaBugatti T30607h15m09.8
322 Pierre MarcoBugatti T30607h48m04.2
411 Pietro BordinoFiat 80458Rear axle, crash
518 Jacques Mones-MauryBugatti T3057+ 3 laps
Ret17 Biagio NazzaroFiat 80451Rear axle, fatal crash
Ret14 Giulio ForestiBallot 2LS44Engine
Ret7 Jules GouxBallot 2LS31Crash
Ret8 Clive GallopAston Martin GP30Engine
Ret21 Henry SegraveSunbeam 29Engine
Ret15 Louis ZborowskiAston Martin GP19Engine
Ret20 Giulio MasettiBallot 2LS15Engine
Ret5 Ernest FriderichBugatti T3014Engine
Ret13 Victor HémeryRolland Pilain A2212Overheating
Ret16 Kenelm Lee GuinnessSunbeam5Engine
Ret9 Jean ChassagneSunbeam5Engine
Ret6 Albert GuyotRolland Pilain A222Engine
Ret19 Louis WagnerRolland Pilain A222Engine
Sources:[2] [3]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hodges, David . 1967 . The French Grand Prix . 60–64.
  2. Web site: 1922 Grands Prix, The GEL Motorsport Information Page . Darren Galpin . https://web.archive.org/web/20091028135231/http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1922.html . 28 October 2009 . live . 18 March 2009 .
  3. Web site: 1922 French Grand Prix . Motor Sport Magazine Database . 26 January 2019.