Continental notes and news, April 1936

By Our Continental Correspondent

Kick-off: 1936 Pau Grand Prix

The Pau Grand Prix was a very adequate curtain-raiser to the racing season. No one knew who was going to win until the very last lap, when it looked as though Charles Martin might spring a surprise. However, no one will begrudge Etancelin his victory. ” Fiji ” seemed to be rather subdued, possibly as a result of his crash at Monza last year, which must have shaken him up quite a bit. At Pau, he did not show that dash and spirit which he usually exhibits in his driving.

The big Maserati was not happy on the winding circuit, and did not have a chance to show off its real paces. It was wheelspin all the way, with long black streaks on the road and a haze of smoke from burning rubber. Uphill to the Casino, the car gained on its rivals, but on the downhill, windy bits, Etancelin had a full-time job.

There was some trouble with the prize money due to Martin and de Villa padierna, the only ” foreigners ” in the race. The local authorities have instituted a tax on this sort of thing, and the drivers were accordingly mulcted before Icing.

Still Sanctions

The last-minute scratching of the Ferrari Alfas nearly gave the Pau people a stroke. It was an ill wind, after all, because the field was much more evenly matched.

The Monaco Concours d’Elegance has been abandoned owing to lack of entries. In previous years most of the cars came from the Italian coachbuilders, whose activities are now turned to national interests of a different kind.

At the time of writing there is no word of the Monaco Grand Prix being affected.

Monaco Entries

The Monaco Grand Prix has attracted a worthy entry list. Ferrari will be represented (Mussolini willing) by Nuvolari, Brivio, Farina and Tadini and/or Pintacuda. Auto-Union has nominated Stuck, Varzi and Rosetneyer. MercedesBenz will rely on Caracciola, Chiron,

Fagioli and Von Brauchitsch. Bugatti will have Witnille and Williams, and Maserati will also have two representatives, Count Trossi and another. So much for the teamq. In addition, Ftancelin will drive his 4.8 Maserati as an independent, Sommer will handle his 3.2-litre Alfa-Romeo, and an un-named driver will pilot the new Trossi Speeial.

If you can pick the winner out of that lot you will he lucky. It would be nice to see Chiron, with a Mercédès-Benz, gain the day. And why not?

From the British standpoint the race for the Prince Rainier Cup will be equally interesting. No fewer than seven E.R.A.s have been entered : three by the works (Earl Howe, Mays and Lehoux) and the following independents : ” B. Bira,” Fairfield, Embiricos and Ttlivcux. Against them will be nine Maseratis entered by Bianco, Durand, Kautz, McEvoy, Ruesch, Villoresi, and the Maserati factory, whose cars will be the new 6-cylinder jobs, to be handled by Rovere, Tenni and another. Cormack’s very fast Alta will be there, and so will Bobby Kohlrausch’s M.G. Midget. The list is closed with Villeneuve’s Bugatti and Seaman’s re-built Delage, which will be the dark horse of the race.

The Prince Rainier Cup race will be held on April 11th, over fifty laps (98 miles), and the Monaco Grand Prix will take place on April 13th, over 100 laps (197 miles).

Italian Champions

After a long delay, the Italian champions for the 1935 season have now been announced. They are in two main divisions, sports and racing. champion racing car is Alfa-Romeo, and the driver, Tazio Nuvolari. Class winners were as follows : 1,100 c.c., Beppo Tuffanelli ; 1,500 c.c., Ettore Bianco ; 3,000 c.c., Antonio Brivio ; 5,000 c.c., Tazio Nuvolari. Sports-car champions were Alfa-Romeo, as a make, and Renato Danese as the driver.

Another Scuderia

Yet another Italian racing Scuderia has been formed, in spite of the war. It 15 called the Malremma, and has been founded by De Rahin. Their cars consist of a 3.2-litre Alfa-Romeo, a 3-litre Alfa-Romeo and a 2.6-litre Alfa-Romeo. The only driver nominated to date is Clement Biondetti.

Varzi in Hospital

Achille Varzi was dogged by ill-health all last year, and during the winter, too. In January he had to have an operation on his throat, and last month saw him

in hospital again, this time for appendicitis. Several times last year he had to give up his car owing to pain, and he wisely decided to start the season right by having the thing out.

Germans at Monza

After Caracciola’s return from the States, the Merced6s-Benz team went down to Monza for their second training period of the winter. Two cars were taken, and some fast work was put in by Chiron, Caracciola, Lang and Von, Brauchitsch. The Auto-Unions are due there as I write these lines, with Stuck and Rosemeyer.

Norwegian Grand Prix

The Norwegian Grand Prix was held’ on a horseshoe-shaped circuit at Gjersoen, three kilometres long, with two straights of 800 metres each. 25,000 people watched the fun. There were three races, for series, sports and’ racing cars, with the following results :

Results

Series Race (5 Laps, 15 km)

1. A. Johansen (Chrysler) 11m. 59s.
2. Mlle. Marta Molin (Ford V8) 12m. 25.5s.
3. Mlle. Lina Christiansen (Graham) 12m. 35s.

Sports (15 Laps, 45 km)

1. A. Palamo (Ford) 28m. 2s.
2. A. Johansen (Winfield Ford) 28m. 6.4s.

Racing, (20 Laps, 60 km)

1. E. Bjornstad (Alfa-Romeo) 34m. 39.5s.
2. H. Carlsson (Bugatti) 38m. 45.5s.

In the big race, there was a great scrap for four laps between Bjornstad and Widengren, both on Alfas, which ended in the latter overturning on a corner, without injury.

A Talbot Appointment

The Talbot factory has secured the services of Henri Stoeffel, who has raced many times at Le Mans. While working on the sales side, it is likely that he will have a place in the team of cars in the French Grand Prix.