Continental Notes and News, December 1936
Who Drives What, Where, and for Whom ? of us once
The season of rumours is with us once more. After a few weeks of stories and contradictions I am quite prepared to believe anything—even that Nuvolari has signed up with a midget car team in America. Which brings us to the remark able fact that Nuvolari is, for once, the one driver whose plans are as certain as
they can be. He will stay with Ferrari.
But while I write this, an almost imperceptible shadow of doubt crosses my mind. It is said that Signor Enzo Ferrari is moving heaven and earth to reconcile Nuvolari, Varzi and Fagioli to race in the same team—,and what is more, to obey team-orders when he has got them there. Every motor-racing enthusiast in Italy, in fact, every Italian, is -asking himself and his neighbours the question : ” Has the fend between Nuvolari and Varzi died completely, or will it spring. into life at the first clash of these super-Latin
temperaments ? ” He doesn’t know the answer, Neither do I.
All three are somewhat older, and no doubt wiser, than they were in those good old clays of lurid scraps at. Monza and elsewhere, when driving tactics often demanded a quick side-step on to the grass verge in order to avoid the intermingling of hub-caps at 130 m.p.h. But what a team they would be if they could be induced to line up Varzi has never enjoyed himself much with the Auto-Union, and no doubt team-orders
have cramped his style. As for Luigi Fagioli, I have always regarded him as one of the very finest drivers in the world, 14 spite of his lack of victories in recent years. His long battle with the MercedesBenz team-control has been a standing topic of conversation on the Continent ever since he joined the team, and he has never been allowed to show his true form.
Both of these Italian drivers are said to be leaving their respective German teams, so it looks as though Mussolini has been issuing ukases, or decrees, or whatever is the Fascist equivalent. There has been talk of Fagioli buying a farm and retiring, and of Varzi falling in love, hut I don’t suppose either of these occupations will prevent them from taking part in G.r, races next year.
But Ferrari has a difficult job ahead of ‘him. All the tact of a League of Nations +Official will be needed, and let us hope be will be a good deal more successful than that august body has been recently. And if Fagioli and Varzi sign up with Ferrari. will Nuvolari walk out ?
That shadow of doubt again.
Filling the Gaps And what of Chiron In of
And what of Chiron In spite of rumours of his impending retirement. I believe that 19:37 will find him once more
with Mercede.s-I3en7.. His form in the last year or so has been lather a blow lu ins many admirers, and I think it is very doubtful whether he will ever again be the dashing Monagesque of old. Meanwhile he has bought one of those interesting 2-litre 1Z-cylinder Pelages of a decade or so ago, a car which sounds marvellous on paper but which has generally been found to be a most difficult machine to make function. They went all right as works cars, but in private hands they have been useless. Perhaps Chiron will have some factory assistance in running the car next year ? There has been much speculation as to who will fill the gaps in the MercedesBenz and Auto-Union teams occasioned by the departure of Varzi and Fagioli. Brivio and Trossi are reported to have received tempting offers from AutoUnion., and I rather think that •Trossi
will join Dr. Porseh’s outfit. Brivio has been much too useful with Ferrari. As for Mercs. (I always come down to that abbreviation in the end, much as I respect the manufacturer’s wish that they should always be referred to in full as Mercedes-Beni) the second series of trials is actually being held at Monza while I write these lines. In the first, you will remember, British Seaman and Swiss Kautz returned the fastest laps of Nurburg
Ring in 10 mins. 52 secs. At Monza, Kautz has dania.ged his mount on that wriggley bit that the Italians hoped would catch the back wheels of the Auto-Unions in the Italian G.P. Kautz came to grief in exactly the same spot as Stuck did in September, so ‘Seaman is presumably now at the top of the class.
I shotild say he is an almost certain member of the team next year, judging by his sale of the Delage after so notch hard work and expense.
.Mercs. \’ill be at Monza for some time, because they want to try out the new 12-cylinder car in road-racing form. AS soon as they have finished, the Autol’ition team is due to go there for its annual winter trials.
For the rest, Lang will definitely be racing for Mercedes-Benz next year, while Delius and Hasse will drive AutoUnions. The big gulls, Caracciola, Von Brauchitsch, Stuck and Rosemeyer will renew their contracts as a matter of course.
Faster and Faster
The new 12-cylinder Mercedes-Benz will be a formidable opponent next year.
It is difficult to say how much the superstreamlined body helped the car during its record runs on the Autobahn, but even if you take off 20 m.p.h. it still remains the fastest G.P. car in existence. Talking of the effect of streamlining, it is interesting that the difference between disc wheels and wire wheels on the back was as much as 5 m.p.h. It is not known whether they have been able to cure the suspension trouble which
dogged the 8-cylinder car this season. The Ileichsautobahn is so smooth that the road-holding was not tested to the extent it would have been, for example,
on the Pescara road. At all events the behaviour of the car satisfied Caracciola perfectly.
The record-breaking car weighed a ton, developed 600 h..p. at 7,000 r.p.m., and had a cubic capacity of 5,576 c.c. Its full list of records, by the way, is as follows : World’s. Records 10 nines. 209.41 m.p.h. ..(Auto.Union 177.99 Class B Records kilom. 226.49 m.p.h. (Alfa-Romeo 199.73
1 MIle (Ls.). 228.07 m.p.h. (Alfa-Romeo 200.78 m.p.h.). kiloms. 211.62 m.p.h. (Auto-Unlon 194.13 in.)). .), miles. 208.48 m.p.h. (Auto-Union 180.84 lo kiloms. 206.30 (Auto-Union 179.33
m.p.h.). The first race appearance of the new 12
cylinder cars depends on their progress in training, but it is tentatively planned to run them for the first time at Avus. On the other hand they may be ready in time for Tripoli, where their terrific maximum speed will be particularly useful. Conhnited on page 27
Bugatti Records
The appearance of one of the streamlined sports Bugattis gave Montlhery an air of activity last month. The car was driven in turn by Wirnille, Veyron and Williams, and in the course of twentyfour hours they broke seven class C records, including the 24-hours at 123.98 m.p.h.
The weather was bitterly cold, and all the drivers complained of exhaustion at the end of the run. The car, on the other hand, was quite fit and perfectly willing to carry on for the 48-hour record. Here are the new records, with the previous figures in parentheses:
Class C (3,001 o.c.-6,000 e.o.)
1,000 miles, 123.81 m.p.h. (Pelage 116.36 2.000 ktloms. 122.32 m.p.h. (Deism. 116.08 m.p.h. 12 hours, 123.28 m.p.h. (Detail:0e 114.14 m.p.h.. 3,000 kiloms, 122.73 m.p.h. Welahaye 111.65
m.p.h.).
2,000 miles. 123.86 m.p.h. (Delahn ye 116.63 m.p.h.) 4.000 Moms, 124.57 m.p.h. (Delaiwye 111.40 m.p.h.).
24 hours, 123.93 m.p.h. (Delahaye 111.35 m.p.h.).