1926 Italian Grand Prix Explained

Type:WMC
Grand Prix:Italian
Date:5 Sep
Year:1926
Official Name:VI Gran Premio d'Italia
Country:Italy
Flag Suffix:1861
Race No:5
Season No:5
Location:Monza, Italy
Course:Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
Course Mi:6.21
Course Km:10.00
Distance Laps:60
Distance Mi:372.6
Distance Km:600
Pole Driver:Emilio Materassi
Pole Team:Maserati
Pole Country:Italy
Pole Flag Suffix:1861
Grid From Number:True
Fast Driver:Meo Costantini
Fast Team:Bugatti
Fast Time:3:47.0
Fast Country:Italy
Fast Flag Suffix:1861
First Driver:Louis Charavel
First Team:Bugatti
First Country:France
Second Driver:Meo Costantini
Second Team:Bugatti
Second Country:Italy
Second Flag Suffix:1861
Third Driver:No other finishers

The 1926 Italian Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Monza on 5 September 1926.[1]

The cars were divided into two classes, which raced simultaneously but over a different distance. The longer race, which was also the final race of the 1926 AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship season, was contested by 1.5-litre Grand Prix cars over 60 laps, while the shorter race was for up to 1.1 litre cyclecars, and held over 40 laps. Like the other races in the 1926 season, the Italian Grand Prix was quite dull, with just two cars running after the cyclecars had finished their race.

Report

Costantini's Bugatti took the lead early, with the other two Bugattis battling with the two Maseratis over the first two laps, the gap between second and fifth place just 5 seconds after the first lap, with the Chiribiri of Serboli down the field with the 1100cc cars. After just four laps, Maserati retired with engine failure, followed one lap later by team-mate Materassi, also with engine failure, leaving just the three Bugattis and the lone struggling Chiribiri in the 1500cc class.

The Chiribiri of Serboli eventually retired after 27 laps in a spectacular fire in the otherwise dull race. Goux and Sabipa swapped positions a few times mostly due to pitstops, but Goux ultimately retired after 36 laps. Once the cyclecars had finished their 40 laps, the two remaining Bugattis continued uneventfully until nearly the end of the race. However, on his 58th lap, Costantini, who had totally dominated the race experienced engine trouble, but was able to crawl around to the pits. Although he lost the lead to Sabipa, he was able to finish the race on just three (of eight) cylinders.

Classification

1.1 Litre Cyclecar Results

PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/Retired
123 André MorelAmilcar403h00m32.4
228 Arthur DurayAmilcar403h09m16.4
327 Henny De JoncyBNC403h16m05.4
DNF24Augusto TrevisaniMarino10Engine
DNF21Alberto MarinoMarino6Engine
DNF26Charles MartinAmilcar3Supercharger
DNF22GubernatisBNC1
Sources:

1.5 Litre Grand Prix Results

PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/Retired
116 Louis CharavelBugatti 39A604h20m29
212 Meo CostantiniBugatti 39A60 4h27m01
Ret7 Jules GouxBugatti 39A36Oil pressure
Ret4 Roberto SerboliChiribiri 12/1627Fire
Ret9 Ernesto MaseratiMaserati 26 (8C-1500)5Engine
Ret3 Emilio MaterassiMaserati 26 (8C-1500)4Engine
DNS5 Ferdinando MinoiaOM 8CWithdrawn
DNS10 Giuseppe MorandiOM 8CWithdrawn
Sources:[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1926 Grands Prix, The GEL Motorsport Information Page . Darren Galpin . https://web.archive.org/web/20090903233143/http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1926.html . 2009-09-03 . live . 2009-03-24 .
  2. Web site: Etzrodt . Hans . "Sabipa" with Bugatti wins the Italian Grand Prix . The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing . 15 April 2019.