The 1926 Grand Prix season was the second
AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship
The World Manufacturers' Championship, also known as Automobile World Championship, was a competition organised by the AIACR between 1925 and 1930.
Scoring system
Unlike the modern Formula One points system, the championship awarded fewer points ...
season and the first running to new 1.5-litre regulations. The championship was won by
Bugatti and its
Type 35 was the dominant car of the year.
The schedule was increased from four to five championship races. The Belgian round was dropped but the
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...
and
San Sebastián Grand Prix
The San Sebastián Grand Prix (''Gran Premio de San Sebastián'') was an automobile race held at the Circuito Lasarte in Lasarte-Oria, Spain.
During most of its existence, it was the main race event in Spain, since the Spanish Grand Prix had not ...
were added. Many races had promising entry lists, but when a number of cars did not arrive, it led to farcical races with just a handful of starters and only a couple of finishers.
The leading French teams of Bugatti,
Delage and
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
arrived for the
Targa Florio
The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...
as, once again, the major Italian teams did not enter. The race was marred by the death of two-time winner
Giulio Masetti, crashing his privateer Delage on the first lap. Once again it was the small, nimble Bugatti of
Bartolomeo Costantini that held off the rest of the pack. When the works Delage team was withdrawn following Masetti's death, it left Costantini led his team to a 1-2-3 victory.
The opening race of the championship was the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
.
Frank Lockhart was a young rookie who substituted in to race for an ill
Peter Kreis
A. J. "Peter" Kreis (January 19, 1900 – May 25, 1934) was an American racecar driver. He and riding mechanic Robert Hahn were killed in a turn one accident while practicing for the 1934 Indianapolis 500. As he was entering the turn, a c ...
. Starting from back in the pack he soon joined the leaders and took the front on lap 60. On lap 71, rain forced a stop to the race for over an hour. Upon the restart, Lockhart built up his lead again, so at the 400-mile mark he had a 2-lap lead over the field. At that point rain returned, and he became the first rookie winner since 1914, in the rain-shortened race.
The European rounds of the championship were plagued by entry withdrawals of the works teams, leaving just a handful of starters to contest the races. The most embarrassing was the premier
French Grand Prix
The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...
where only the three Bugatti works cars started, and
Jules Goux
Jules Goux (6 April 1885 - 6 March 1965) was a French racing driver and Grand Prix motor racing champion. He was also notable for being the first Frenchman, and the first European driver, to win the Indianapolis 500.
Biography
Influenced by the G ...
won, being the only classified finisher. The
Delages were fast but poorly designed with the exhaust system placed right beside the drivers’ legs causing burns and exhaustion so that the team lost race-winning opportunities from numerable pit-stops to rest and recover. They did win the inaugural British Grand Prix as Bugatti did not enter and the new Talbots were still too under-developed. In the end, by virtue of being the only team to run the mandatory three races, Bugatti won the second Constructor's Championship.
Outside the championship,
Formula Libre
Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppor ...
races (literally, open formula) were very popular across France and Italy and a number were staged with large fields of local drivers. Germany held its first Grand Prix, won by the young
Rudolf Caracciola
Otto Wilhelm Rudolf CaracciolaBolsinger and Becker (2002), p. 63 (30 January 1901 – 28 September 1959) was a racing driver from Remagen, Germany. He won the European Drivers' Championship, the pre-1950 equivalent of the modern Formula One Wo ...
in difficult wet conditions that caused several serious accidents.
Manufacturers' World Championship
Sources:
[Rendall 1993, p.360]
''Note: *Race stopped because of weather''
The Indianapolis 500 also counted towards the
1926 AAA Championship Car season
The 1926 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 24 races, beginning in Miami Beach, Florida on February 22 and concluding in Pineville, North Carolina on November 11. There were also 7 non-championship races. The AAA National Champion was Ha ...
held in the United States
Other Races
''Major non-championship races are in'' bold
Sources:
[Rendall 1993, p.360]
Teams and drivers
Sources:
Significant Privateer drivers
''Note: * was raced as a relief driver. Those in brackets show, although entered, the driver did not race''
Regulations and Technical
The racing death of star
Antonio Ascari
Antonio Ascari (15 September 1888 – 26 July 1925) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing champion. He won four Grands Prix before his premature death at the 1925 French Grand Prix. He was the father of two-time World Champion Alberto Ascari.
Ea ...
in 1925, along with a number of serious and fatal accidents drove the AIACR (forerunner of the
FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backs ...
) to consider changes to its racing regulations. In October of that year, they resolved to combat the dramatic increase in power and speed from supercharging by dropping the engine capacity from 2-litres to 1.5-litres (albeit still open to be fitted with or without a supercharger). The minimum weight was also reduced from 650 to 600 kg. The
AAA Contest Board
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Airports
* Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA)
* Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA)
Arts, entertainment, and m ...
(AAA), in the United States, followed the change adopting similar rules, to an equivalent drop from 122 to 91 cubic inches. Minimum width remained 80 cm with two seats, though only one driver was on board.
[Cimarosti 1997, p.72]
For the second year of the Championship, the
Belgian Grand Prix
The Belgian Grand Prix (French: ''Grand Prix de Belgique''; Dutch: ''Grote Prijs van België''; German: ''Großer Preis von Belgien'') is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship.
The first national race of ...
was not held this year but two new races were added to the schedule in its stead.
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfie ...
had resolved its noise-control issues with neighbouring estates and would host the first
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...
. The European Grand Prix was awarded to the Spanish Automobile Club. However, the promoters were concerned the 1.5-litre formula would be poorly supported and therefore also arranged a second race (held a week later) to
Formula Libre
Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppor ...
regulations that would be their official
Spanish Grand Prix
The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...
. This year, along with the mandatory attendance of the Italian GP, teams had to also participate in any two of the other four races to be eligible for the championship.
Meanwhile, the regulations for the Targa Florio engine limits remained as they were. Like Grand Prix events, riding mechanics were now optional.
[Fondi 2006, p.82]
Once again, the Targa Florio and Coppa Florio were held simultaneously, and this year both events were run over the same five laps. The Coppa Florio was only open to factory teams who had registered. After Peugeot became the first manufacturer to win the Coppa Florio twice they earned its permanent ownership. However, they chose to offer it up for ongoing challenges if it would be contested alternately in Italy and France. In May, the cities of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
changed their rules of driving on the left side of the road to line up with the rest of Italy that drove on the right.
[Ludvigsen 2008, p.48]
Technical Innovation
The new regulations demanded new engines and pushed engineers to think of innovative ways to get the same power from the smaller size. By using a shorter stroke, engines could greatly increase their speed, up to 7000-8000rpm.
![1926 Bugatti Type 35T at 2012 Mille Miglia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/1926_Bugatti_Type_35T_at_2012_Mille_Miglia.jpg)
Faced with high development costs, Alfa Romeo and Sunbeam instead chose to retire their works teams from racing.
[Rendall 1993, p.116] Other teams were already prepared.
Ettore Bugatti
Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti (15 September 1881 – 21 August 1947) was an Italian-born French automobile designer and manufacturer. He is remembered as the founder and proprietor of the automobile manufacturing company Automobiles E. Bugatti, wh ...
had developed his
Type 35 chassis the previous year with a 1.5-litre engine, and finally accepted the need for supercharging with the new
Type 39A. Although conventional, the Bugatti was reliable (only running at 5500rpm for its 120 bhp) with excellent balance and road-holding.
[Cimarosti 1997, p.74] In non-championship, Formula Libre races, Bugatti still refused to conform to supercharging the Type 35, instead chose to enlarge the engine to get more power, up to 2.3 litres as the new Type 35T.
[Venables 2009, p.47] The marque's reliability made them the cars of choice for privateer drivers and wealthy amateurs.
Sunbeam's designer,
Louis Coatalen
Louis Hervé Coatalen (11 September 1879 – 23 May 1962) was an automobile engineer and racing driver born in Brittany who spent much of his adult life in Britain and took British nationality. He was a pioneer of the design and development of inte ...
, and engineer, Vincenzo Bertarione, went across to the Paris-based sister-company of
Talbot
Talbot was an automobile marque introduced in 1902 by English-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément-Talbot ...
.
[Venables 2008, p.29] Their 1.5-litre cars had been racing very successfully in the former ''voiturette'' class. The new supercharged Talbot 700 GPLB was delayed in appearing but was the fastest in the field.
[Rendall 1993, p.110] Problems arose through the season with broken front axles, poor brakes and fractured supercharger casings.
[Monkhouse 1953, p.7]
Delage too had a new head engineer: Albert Lory was promoted, and his first design was a straight-8, twin-cam engine boosted by two superchargers. The power output of 170 bhp was the first racing engine to break the magical 100 bhp per litre mark. But with sixty bearings it was intricate and expensive. Less thought was put into channelling away the enormous heat production that would scold and burn the drivers’ feet and legs. It also caused a vacuum effect that sucked exhaust fumes back into the cockpit adding to their discomfort.
[Cimarosti 1997, p.73]
![1926TargaFlorio-MaseratiTipo26-sn11-AlfieriMaserati](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/1926TargaFlorio-MaseratiTipo26-sn11-AlfieriMaserati.jpg)
Without the need for a riding mechanic, both the Talbot and Delage designs put the drivetrain beside, rather than under, the driver. This in turn meant the cars could be lower giving far better road-holding. The smaller front profile would be more aerodynamic, and all of this enabled the cars to keep their high speeds.
The
SIMA-Violet car was designed by Marcel Violet. With a two-stroke 1.5-litre engine, it was so light it needed to carry 200 kg of ballast to reach the weight regulations, which made it uncompetitive. However, it performed better in hill-climb events where no ballast was required.
Diatto
Diatto was an Italian manufacturing company founded in 1835 in Turin by Guglielmo Diatto (1804–1864) to make 'carriages for wealthy customers'. In 1874 Guglielmo’s sons, Giovanni and Battista Diatto, began building railway carriages for Comp ...
had got into financial difficulty, which was the incentive for the
Maserati brothers to go and start their own company. They were supported in this venture by ''Conte'' Diego de Sterlich.
[Ludvigsen 2008, p.68] Using the engine and chassis parts
Alfieri had designed for the last Diatto racer, their first grand prix car was the
Maserati Tipo 26, named for the current year. Like others it had twin-overhead camshafts and a Roots-style supercharger.
In Germany, the two major companies Daimler and Benz merged in June and would henceforth be known as
Daimler-Benz
The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufactur ...
, and its cars as
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
.
[Cimarosti 1997, p.76] In the US, both
Harry Miller and
Fred Duesenberg
Frederick Samuel Duesenberg (December 6, 1876 – July 26, 1932) was a German-born American automobile and engine designer, manufacturer and sportsman who was internationally known as a designer of racecars and racing engines. Duesenberg's eng ...
developed supercharged 1.5-litre engines for the new formula.
Season review
The French works teams returned to Italy for the Targa Florio. The Coppa Florio was run in conjunction with it – open to works teams only, unlike the Targa. Both were run over five laps while the smallest, 1100cc cars only ran three laps. Peugeot ran two of its successful 174 S 4-litre sports cars for
André Boillot
André Jacques Boillot (8 August 1891 – 5 June 1932) was a French auto racing driver. Born in Valentigney, Doubs, he was the younger brother of race car driver, Georges Boillot. Following in his brother's footsteps, André Boillot began racing ...
and
Louis Wagner. Delage had three of its 1925 grand-prix cars with
René Thomas,
Albert Divo and
Robert Benoist
Robert Marcel Charles Benoist (20 March 1895 – 14 September 1944) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero.
Early life
Born near Rambouillet, Île-de-France, France, Robert Benoist was the son of Baron Henri de Rothschild ...
. Bugatti had yet another iteration of its
Type 35, the Type 35T with a 2.3-litre engine. The drivers were the team-leader
Bartolomeo Costantini, veteran
Jules Goux
Jules Goux (6 April 1885 - 6 March 1965) was a French racing driver and Grand Prix motor racing champion. He was also notable for being the first Frenchman, and the first European driver, to win the Indianapolis 500.
Biography
Influenced by the G ...
and
Ferdinando Minoia
Ferdinando "Nando" Minoia (2 June 1884 – 28 June 1940) was an Italian racing driver with an exceptionally long, distinguished and varied career. In 1907, he won the Coppa Florio driving an Isotta Fraschini. In 1923, he drove the world’s ...
.
The French were competing against a solid field of privateers, led by the local hero, and two-time winner, ''Conte''
Giulio Masetti racing another Delage,
Emilio Materassi in his 5.8-litre
Itala
Itala was a car manufacturer based in Turin, Italy, from 1904 to 1934, started by Matteo Ceirano and five partners in 1903.
Ceirano family background
The Ceirano brothers, Giovanni Battista Ceirano, Giovanni Battista, Giovanni Ceirano, Giovanni ...
special and
Renato Balestrero in a works-supported
OM.
Alfieri Maserati
Alfieri Maserati (23 September 1887 – 3 March 1932) was an Italian automotive engineer, known for establishing and leading the Maserati racing car manufacturer with the other Maserati Brothers.
Maserati was born in Voghera. In 1903 he and his ...
also arrived with his brand new Tipo 26.
![1926-04-25 Targa Florio Maserati Tipo 26 Alfieri+Bertocchi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/1926-04-25_Targa_Florio_Maserati_Tipo_26_Alfieri%2BBertocchi.jpg)
The race started at 7am, with the cars flagged off at 3-minute intervals. At the end of the first lap, Costantini (the 1925 winner) led from Minoia, with Materassi, Wagner, Dubonnet, Divo, Goux and Maserati all about 3 minutes behind on elapsed time. Boillot hit a dog and had to retire his Peugeot. But the biggest tragedy was when Masetti crashed only 27 km into the race. He went wide at a corner (possibly from a steering or brake fault), rode up the stone banking and rolled, fatally crushing Masetti against the steering wheel. The three works Delages were withdrawn as they got the news.
[Fondi 2006, p.86] The Bugattis continued to build their lead over the next laps while Goux moved up the field to third. Costantini kept up his pace and led home a 1-2-3 finish for Bugatti, becoming a two-time winner. Maserati was 8th, winning the 1500cc class.
[Fondi 2006, p.346]
[Rendall 1993, p.117]
Indianapolis
The opening race of the championship was the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
. Defending champions,
Duesenberg had five cars entered. Last year's winner
Peter DePaolo
Pete DePaolo (April 6, 1898 – November 26, 1980) was an American race car driver who won the 1925 Indianapolis 500.
Biography
Peter DePaolo was born on April 6, 1898, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pete saw his first race in 1919, where he w ...
ran its new supercharged 1.5-litre model along with
Ralph Mulford
Ralph Kirkman Mulford (December 28, 1884 – October 23, 1973) was an American racecar driver who participated in the 1911 Indianapolis 500. In 1911 he won the Vanderbilt Cup in Savannah, Georgia.
Biography
He was born on December 28, 1884, ...
and
Bob McDonogh
Bob McDonogh (March 5, 1900, San Francisco, California – December 10, 1945, Columbus, Ohio) was an American racecar driver. McDonogh made 38 starts in AAA Championship racing from 1924 through 1932. Most of McDonogh's career was during t ...
while rookie
Ben Jones had a 2-stroke special. Their biggest rivals, once again, was from
Harry Miller and his own new supercharged 91 cubic inch car. After a strong run in 1925, Miller persisted with his front-wheel drive model for
Dave Lewis and
Earl Cooper
Earl Cooper (2 December 1886 Broken Bow, Nebraska – 22 October 1965 Atwater, California) was an American racecar driver.
Racing career
He began his racing career in 1908 in San Francisco in a borrowed car. He won the race, but lost his ...
.
Bennett Hill raced a regular 122 as a third works car. The regular customer team run by
Harry Hartz
Harry Hartz (24 December 1896 – 26 September 1974) was an American auto mechanic and race car driver.
Career
Harry Hartz was born in Pomona, California, and grew up in the Los Angeles area. At age eighteen, he began to drive in support e ...
had three cars for Hartz,
Fred Comer
Fred Griffitt Comer (February 19, 1893 in Topeka, Kansas – October 12, 1928 in Lawrence, Massachusetts) was an American racecar driver. Like many drivers of his era, he was a board track racing specialist and made 43 AAA Championship Car s ...
and
Tony Gulotta
Tony Gulotta (August 4, 1903 New Orleans, Louisiana – March 2, 1981 Los Angeles, California) was an American racecar driver active in the 1920s and 1930s.
He competed in American Championship Car Racing and finished eighth in the 1927 Natio ...
while another dozen drivers also ran their own Millers. This year,
Cliff Durant
Russell Clifford "Cliff" Durant (November 26, 1890 – October 31, 1937) was an American racecar driver. He was the son of William C. Durant, the founder of General Motors and Durant's first wife, Clara Pitt. Cliff Durant had four wives: Lena ...
's Junior-8 team ran three Fengler cars with
Locomobile engines for himself,
Leon Duray and
Harlan Fengler. Englishman
Ernest Eldridge also arrived with two of his home-made specials raced by himself and
Douglas Hawkes.
Forty cars were entered to qualify but it was marred by the death of
Herbert Jones. The 22-year old was the youngest driver in the field. He had
Ralph DePalma
Raffaele "Ralph" De Palma (December 19, 1882 – March 31, 1956) was an Italian-American racecar driving champion who won the 1915 Indianapolis 500. His entry at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame estimates that he won about 2, ...
’s Miller from 1925 (renamed an Elcar Special) but crashed on his second qualifying lap when he clipped the inside wall at speed. The car rolled trapping Jones underneath and he died of his injuries the next day.
After qualifying, Cooper had the fastest time, sharing the front row with Hartz and Duray's Fengler with a field of 28 cars. Three Duesenbergs failed to qualify, including the 10-race veteran Mulford. Fengler was another who failed to qualify.
Peter Kreis
A. J. "Peter" Kreis (January 19, 1900 – May 25, 1934) was an American racecar driver. He and riding mechanic Robert Hahn were killed in a turn one accident while practicing for the 1934 Indianapolis 500. As he was entering the turn, a c ...
was too ill with flu and handed his drive over to young rookie
Frank Lockhart who had shown great speed qualifying as a relief driver.
In front of a record crowd of 145,000, Hartz led the first lap, but
Phil Shafer
Phil "Red" Shafer (November 13, 1891 Des Moines, Iowa – January 29, 1971 Des Moines, Iowa) was an American racecar driver. He made 30 AAA Championship Car
American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category o ...
from the second row then overtook him. Meanwhile, Lockhart had quickly moved from 20th to 5th in the first five laps. He, Shafer and Lewis then duelled for the lead over the next 150 miles. When Lewis pitted on lap 60, Lockhart took the lead. He was still leading on lap 71 when heavy rain forced a red flag, stopping the race for an hour. When it resumed, the Millers of Lockhart and Hartz vied back and forth for the lead. Lewis retired on lap 91 with engine issues. But the rain hung around and returned after 200 miles, when the race was stopped again. Lockhart had a two-lap lead over Hartz and was declared the winner in the rain-shortened race. Miller had its first Indy-500 victory, and took the first four places with Pete DePaolo, finishing 5th in the first Duesenberg. Lockhart was the first rookie to win the race since 1914 and split the $34000 prizemoney with Kreis. Hartz was second for the third time in five years.
The 1926 AAA championship was raced over 24 events at seven speedways. Lockhart went on to claim four other wins, tied with Harry Hartz who also had five victories. Hartz, however, was more consistent with 17 top-five placings to comfortably win the AAA championship.
European farce
![Grid of the 1926 French Grand Prix](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Grid_of_the_1926_French_Grand_Prix.jpg)
Just the second year into such a prestigious international tournament, the 1926 season was quite a debacle. The first European round of the World Championship was the French Grand Prix – this year held at the very fast Miramas oval in the south. To reduce speeds, hairpin corners were put at each end. Despite being held in the middle of the year, neither Delage or Talbot were ready and did not arrive. When the small French
SIMA-Violet team also pulled out, it left the farcical situation where only the Bugatti works team of three cars arrived for the premier event of the year. The organisers had forgotten to include a clause allowing them to cancel (or at least postpone) the Grand Prix. What followed was one of the most embarrassing World Championship races ever held in any era.
[Legate 2006, p.37] Regular Bugatti drivers Costantini and Goux were joined by Spaniard
Pierre de Vizcaya. De Vizcaya's supercharger gave out before half time, falling an hour behind. Costantini had also lost ten minutes in the pits when his car would not restart, so Goux had a comfortable lead. The two cars circulated the track for the next three hours, with Costantini also having supercharger problems and stopping every other lap to cool the engine. Goux won by sixteen laps as the sole classified finisher, but at least it gave the Bugatti team the handsome prize of FF100,000. By contrast, the cyclecar race in the afternoon had over 30 entries, won by
Salmson
Salmson is a French engineering company. Initially a pump manufacturer, it turned to automobile and aeroplane manufacturing in the 20th century,
returning to pump manufacturing in the 1960s, and re-expanded to a number of products and services ...
over the new challenge from
Amilcar
The Amilcar was a French automobile manufactured from 1921 to 1940.
History
Foundation and location
Amilcar was founded in July 1921 by Joseph Lamy and Emile Akar. The name "Amilcar" was an imperfect anagram of the partners' names. The b ...
.
![Départ du Grand Prix d'Europe 1926 à Saint-Sébastien (J](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/D%C3%A9part_du_Grand_Prix_d%27Europe_1926_%C3%A0_Saint-S%C3%A9bastien_%28J._Goux_%C3%A0_droite%29.jpg)
The next round, three weeks later, was the San Sebastián Grand Prix. Another promising entry list of 21 was once again stymied by non-appearances, this time also including
OM,
Jean Gras and the privateers
Albert Guyot
Albert Guyot (25 December 1881 in Orléans – 24 May 1947 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French racecar driver. He was one of four drivers who entered with Duesenberg the 1921 French Grand Prix
The 1921 French Grand Prix (formally the XV Gr ...
and
Ernest Eldridge. Delage did arrive with their new cars and team drivers
Robert Benoist
Robert Marcel Charles Benoist (20 March 1895 – 14 September 1944) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero.
Early life
Born near Rambouillet, Île-de-France, France, Robert Benoist was the son of Baron Henri de Rothschild ...
, Edmond Bourlier and André Morel, with Louis Wagner as a reserve. The Bugatti team had three cars, with Ferdinando Minoia back for De Vizcaya. During practice in the hot Spanish sun, the Delage drivers soon found the exhaust and engine heat unbearably hot. The mechanics drilled holes in the engine covers, but it proved unsuccessful. On a sweltering 44 °C race-day, all three drivers were overcome by the heat and had to pit. Benoist had led the first six laps until he had to stop to change spark plus, as Minoia had a lap earlier. Morel took over the lead and pitted to refuel on lap 10. Overcome by heat exhaustion he was taken to hospital, while Wagner took over his car, but he only lasted five laps. Benoist pitted on lap 12, also totally exhausted. Sometime-Bugatti driver,
Robert Sénéchal was in the crowd at the race and offered his assistance to
Louis Delâge
Louis Delâge (22 March 1874 – 14 December 1947) was a French pioneer automotive engineer and manufacturer.
Born Pierre Louis Delâge to a family of modest means in Cognac. As an infant he lost the sight in one eye. At the age of 16 he went ...
. Gratefully accepted, he took over Benoist's car, rejoining two laps down having never driven a Delage before. Bourlier, meanwhile, had been duelling with Goux for the lead, until he too pitted – his legs badly burned. Sénéchal had soon pitted to rest after only a few laps, so took Bourlier's car out next. While the Delages were faster, the stops to relieve the drivers lost them that time. Meanwhile, the Bugattis kept running. Although Sénéchal was able to pass Costantini when the latter stopped to change tyres, he could not catch Goux, who took his second victory of the season.
[Cimarosti 1997, p.75] After the race the Delages were disqualified for using an unregistered driver, however this was overturned by the AIACR three months later as Ettore Bugatti had agreed to it during the race.
![Ettore Bugatti et Jules Goux au GP de Saint-Sébastien 1926](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Ettore_Bugatti_et_Jules_Goux_au_GP_de_Saint-S%C3%A9bastien_1926.jpg)
By the time of the inaugural British Grand Prix a fortnight later, the Delages had been modified. Their drivers were Benoist, Wagner and Sénéchal. Bugatti did not send their works team, but local driver
Malcolm Campbell
Major Sir Malcolm Campbell (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948) was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times, using vehicles called ''Blue Bird'', including a 1 ...
had his entered. The Talbots were finally ready and driven by
Henry Segrave
Sir Henry O'Neal de Hane Segrave (22 September 1896 – 13 June 1930) was an early British pioneer in land speed and water speed records. Segrave, who set three land and one water record, was the first person to hold both titles simultaneous ...
,
Jules Moriceau and joined by
Albert Divo who had raced for Delage the previous year. The other entries were
George Eyston
Captain George Edward Thomas Eyston MC OBE (28 June 1897 – 11 June 1979) was a British engineer, inventor, and racing driver best known for breaking the land speed record three times between 1937 and 1939.
Early life
George Eyston was educ ...
for
Aston Martin and aircraft designer ''Maj''
Frank Halford
Major Frank Bernard Halford CBE FRAeS (7 March 1894 – 16 April 1955) was an English aircraft engine designer. He is best known for the series of de Havilland Gipsy engines, widely used by light aircraft in the 1920s and 30s.
Career
Educat ...
in his own Halford Special.
To imitate a road course, sandbanks were added to the
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfie ...
oval to create artificial chicanes.
With only nine starters, it was a bit strange to see the sight of the starting grid, with the first eight cars on the front row, and Sénéchal's Delage alone on the second row. From the start, the Talbots shot into the lead, led by Divo. But although fast, they were still unreliable, and Moriceau's front axle collapsed at the end of just the first lap.
Those delicate axles and poor brakes meant they had to brake far earlier allowing Benoist to keep up. Divo, Segrave and Benoist were lapping the tail-enders on only the fifth lap although Divo was stopped soon after. Segrave lost a tyre on lap 15, putting Benoist in the lead. The Delages were improved, but the exhaust-pipes were still causing immense discomfort to the drivers. All their drivers were soaking their smouldering boots in buckets of water at each stop. Benoist continued to build his lead over Segrave and Sénéchal. Just at the halfway point Segrave pitted to fix an ongoing engine issues when the car caught fire forcing his retirement. Privateers Halford and Campbell kept circulating reliably six laps down, along with Divo trying to make up his lost time.
![Louis Wagner, victorieux avec Robert Sénéchal du premier Grand Prix d'Angleterre en 1926, sur Delage 155B](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Louis_Wagner%2C_victorieux_avec_Robert_S%C3%A9n%C3%A9chal_du_premier_Grand_Prix_d%27Angleterre_en_1926%2C_sur_Delage_155B.jpg)
Benoist's smooth run ended on lap 63 when he pitted to change all four wheels. His overheated exhaust then stopped his engine restarting and he lost six laps, evaporating his lead. Once back in the race he started rebuilding his lead over Sénéchal, whose own exhaust broke. Wagner (already scalded from his own car that had retired early) relieved him. The heat finally overcame Benoist on lap 81. Once again, the car would not restart, and when Dubonnet took the car out as the relief-driver, he had lost the lead. Not expecting to drive, he raced in his suit without a helmet. About the same time, Halford parked his Special with a broken
drive shaft. Divo had driven back to third when his supercharger packed up. This just left three cars running for the last dozen laps. Despite stopping every other lap to cool his feet, Wagner had enough of a lead to win. Campbell had overtaken Dubonnet near the end and bought his Bugatti in second ten minutes later. Segrave, in his Talbot, had put in the fastest lap on lap 2.
For the final race - the Italian Grand Prix - the only two manufacturers eligible for the title were Bugatti and Delage, as no others had competed in at least two of the earlier rounds. But with a 6-point difference, Delage could not win so chose not to attend, and neither did Talbot. Despite several days of practice, the OM team could not get any engine reliability and chose not to start. The three works Bugattis were driven by Costantini, Goux and Louis Charavel (who raced under the pseudonym “Sabipa”). Their competition then, were two cars from Maserati (driven by
Ernesto Maserati
Ernesto Maserati (4 August 1898 – 1 December 1975) was an Italian automotive engineer and racer, with Maserati of Modena since its inception in Bologna on 14 December 1914, together with his brothers Alfieri Maserati (leader), Ettore Masera ...
and Emilio Materassi) and Roberto Serboli's Chiribiri. So, to avoid another farcical championship race, the officials opened the grid up to 1100cc voiturettes. This added a further seven cars (
Amilcar
The Amilcar was a French automobile manufactured from 1921 to 1940.
History
Foundation and location
Amilcar was founded in July 1921 by Joseph Lamy and Emile Akar. The name "Amilcar" was an imperfect anagram of the partners' names. The b ...
,
BNC and Marino but not Salmson. Costantini took the lead at the start, and while the Maseratis were initially competitive, both cars retired on only the fifth lap. Serboli's Chiribiri burst into flames when it pitted on the 24th lap, though the driver got out uninjured, and when Goux retired on lap 42, it left the two remaining Bugattis to cruise round for a simple 1–2 victory. Although Costantini had dominated the race, his engine started badly misfiring. Losing twelve minutes in the pits, allowed “Sabipa” to pass and eventually win by seven minutes (two laps).
[Montagna 1989, p.34] In the 400 km voiturette race, run simultaneously, the winner was André Morel in the works Amilcar (being only four laps behind the Bugattis at the time).
Formula Libre
Outside of the championship and its 1.5-litre restrictions, motor-racing was popular, attracting big crowds and large fields. The season had started in March in Italy with the first ''Circuito del Pozzo'' at
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
and the second Grand Prix of Rome. The field included a number of 2-litre cars raced in the championship from the year before. Emilio Materassi led initially in his Itala. ''Conte''
Brilli-Peri took over in his ex-works
Alfa Romeo P2
The Alfa Romeo P2 won the inaugural Automobile World Championship in 1925, taking victory in two of the four championship rounds when Antonio Ascari drove it in the European Grand Prix at Spa and Gastone Brilli-Peri won the Italian Grand Prix a ...
and held the lead to the penultimate lap. But his three stops for fuel and tyres allowed ''Conte''
Aymo Maggi
Aymo Maggi (30 July 1903 – 23 October 1961) was an Italian racing car driver from Brescia. He was the ''conte di Gradella'' based in Pandino outside Cremona.
Maggi started automobile racing in 1922 and had his first important victory in his hom ...
's Bugatti, which did not need to stop, to close the gap. Maggi caught up and passed him on the last lap to win by eight seconds.
The second Provence GP, at Miramas, was run across five heats to qualify for a final. Segrave won from his teammate Moriceau in their Talbot 700s, beating the Bugattis of
William Grover-Williams
William Charles Frederick Grover-Williams (born William Charles Frederick Grover, 16 January 1903 – 18 March 1945 (or shortly thereafter)), also known as "W Williams", was a British Grand Prix motor racing driver and special agent who worked ...
and
Louis Chiron
Louis Alexandre Chiron (3 August 1899 – 22 June 1979) was a Monégasque racing driver who competed in rallies, sports car races, and Grands Prix.
Among the greatest drivers between the two World Wars, his career embraced over thirty years, ...
.The second Marne GP was held on a new road course near
Reims, a very fast triangular track of long straights joined by sharp hairpins. The Reims track would become a centre for French motor-racing over the next four decades. The Spanish Grand Prix, run a fortnight after the World Championship San Sebastián Grand Prix, instead run to Formula Libre regulations, allowed the teams to run their 1925 2-litre Grand Prix cars. The three regular Delage drivers had recovered from their earlier ordeal and faced the three unsupercharged Bugatti T35s of the works team, and two 2.3-litre Targa-spec privateers. Also starting was Henry Segrave in a 4.5-litre Sunbeam – the car that held the flying kilometre speed record. Once again, the King and Queen were in attendance, on a cooler day than the previous round. From the start, Segrave bolted into the lead, but when rain started on the 4th lap, his bigger car became more unwieldy and he soon retired with a broken front axle – an ailment apparently not exclusive to the smaller Talbot sister-cars. Morel took the lead briefly until he, and teammate Benoist, were both put out with spark-plug issues. At the halfway point, the rain had eased and Costantini had a 6-minute lead over Wagner's remaining Delage, with Goux, privateer “Williams” and Minoia a lap behind. Maintaining his fast pace, Costantini won with a 2-lap lead over Goux who finished second after Wagner, relieved by Benoist, had their issues. Minoia's Bugatti was the only other car to go the distance.
The Italian races were characterised by sizeable fields in 1100, 1500, 2-litre, and larger classes. The contrast between the poorly supported Italian Grand Prix and Milan Grand Prix, held just a week later also at Monza was stark, where the latter had 20 starters across the four classes. Bugatti and Maserati both arrived with two cars (for Costantini, Goux, Ernesto Maserati and Materassi respectively). Henry Segrave bought his 4.5-litre Sunbeam (now with a reinforced front axle) while Brilli-Peri raced Materassi's Itala Special. It was these cars that formed the leading pack at the start. Segrave's gearbox gave up after twelve laps, leaving Costantini and Goux leading by two laps. Despite a puncture for Goux, they held on for a dominant 1–2 victory.
Although now in the AIACR, the German Automobile Club had declared that they did not want their drivers competing. The German races were run with a combination of racing and sports cars, and hill-climbs carried an equal weighting in prestige. The circuits used (aside from AVUS) also reflected this with long, difficult tracks with many elevation changes. A German Grand Prix was officially held for the first time at AVUS in July. It was the first international race held in Germany since the war. A national race for sports-cars the previous year on the
Kaiserpreis The Kaiserpreis (german: Emperor's Prize) auto race, named after Emperor Wilhelm II, was held in 1907. Like his brother's Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt held from 1908 to 1911, it was a precursor to the German Grand Prix.
As Camille Jenatzy had won the Gordo ...
circuit in the
Taunus
The Taunus is a mountain range in Hesse, Germany, located north of Frankfurt. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are ''Kleiner Feldberg'' (825 m) and '' Altkönig'' (798 m).
The Taunus range span ...
mountains had been won by August Momberger in a supercharged
NSU 1.3-litre. However, it is not recognised as the inaugural German Grand Prix.
With no strong local Grand Prix cars, and hoping for a German victory, the organisers opened the event up to a mixture of sports, touring and grand prix cars. A big field of 38 cars, including sports and modified racing cars started this year's event. As well as works cars from OM, NSU,
Brennabor
Brennabor-Werke AG (previously Brennabor-Werke Gebr. Reichstein) was a German manufacturer of infant buggies, bicycles, motorcycles and, for two decades, of powered motor vehicles. It was based in Brandenburg an der Havel and operated between 1 ...
and
NAG, there were a raft of privateers and gentlemen-drivers, including
Jean Chassagne
Jean Chassagne (26 July 1881, in La Croisille-sur-Briance – 13 April 1947) was a pioneer submariner, aviator and French racecar driver active 1906-1930. Chassagne finished third in the 1913 French Grand Prix; won the 1922 Tourist Trophy and fi ...
and Hugo Urban-Emmerich running British Talbots. Favourites were the two factory-supported Mercedes cars of
Adolf Rosenberger
Adolf Rosenberger (Born: 8 April 1900 in Pforzheim, Germany. Died: 6 December 1967 in Los Angeles, California, USA) was a successful Jewish businessman who mainly raced Mercedes and Benz cars in the 1920s. His successes and records included w ...
and a young, up-and-coming
Rudolf Caracciola
Otto Wilhelm Rudolf CaracciolaBolsinger and Becker (2002), p. 63 (30 January 1901 – 28 September 1959) was a racing driver from Remagen, Germany. He won the European Drivers' Championship, the pre-1950 equivalent of the modern Formula One Wo ...
. They ran 1924 2-litre Grand Prix cars, modified to carry a second seat and unofficially assisted by
Alfred Neubauer
Alfred Neubauer (29 March 1891 in Neutitschein – 22 August 1980 in Stuttgart) was the racing manager of the Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix team from 1926 to 1955.
Biography
Neubauer's father, Karl Neubauer, was a furniture-maker in Neutitschein () ...
and his team.
Several weeks before the race, Kurt Neugebauer had almost had a major accident when his NAG got into a slide at 150k/h on a wet AVUS track. During practice,
Luigi Platé's Chiribiri collided with Wilhelm Heine's NAG and crashed, killing Platé's mechanic and severely injuring both drivers. On race day, an immense ground of 230000 people arrived.
[Ludvigsen 2009, p.48] In a staggered start, with the bigger cars flagged off first, Caracciola stalled his car and lost a minute. At the end of the first lap, Rosenberger was leading on elapsed time. Ferdinando Minoia, in the OM, put in the fastest lap of the race on lap two to get up to second, but soon had engine trouble and had to pit. Then after four laps it began to rain, making the track slippery and treacherous. It negated the power of the bigger cars, allowing the smaller Talbots to stay close. Rosenberger led from Urban-Emmerich and Chassagne. Caracciola pitted, losing seven minutes to change spark plugs.
Then at the end of the 6th lap Rosenberger crashed coming out of the North Curve, overcome by leaking fuel fumes.
[Ludvigsen 2009, p.43] Skidding on the slippery track at over 150kph the car piled into the scoreboard and timekeepers' hut, killing two of the officials and seriously injuring the other while Rosenberger and his mechanic were slightly injured. Three laps later, Urban-Emmerich also crashed at the North Curve. He went wide, breaking through the border fence and injuring several spectators, though the driver got the car back to the pits. Then just half a lap later, Chassagne crashed and rolled the other Talbot at the South Curve. Through all this mayhem, Caracciola raced on in fifth, five minutes behind the leader, lapping the fastest in the field. The rain stopped by the 13th lap. A lap later, the Mercedes was in the lead and pulling away. After the 20 laps Caracciola won by over three minutes from the 2.6-litre NAG of Christian Riecken (who was also the technical director of that company).
Caracciola's skill in the difficult conditions earned him the nickname ''Regenmeister'' (“rain-master”).
Mercedes arrived as a works team at
Solitude in September, running their 2-litre 1924 cars again, this time for
Otto Merz
Otto Merz was a German racing driver, chauffeur and mechanic. He was a driver in the motorcade during the 1914 assassination of Archuduke Franz Ferdinand and later won the second running of the German Grand Prix in 1927. He died in a crash dur ...
and
Christian Werner
Christian Werner (May 19, 1892 in Stuttgart – June 17, 1932 in Stuttgart-Cannstatt) was a German racecar driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobi ...
. It was the first race for
Alfred Neubauer
Alfred Neubauer (29 March 1891 in Neutitschein – 22 August 1980 in Stuttgart) was the racing manager of the Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix team from 1926 to 1955.
Biography
Neubauer's father, Karl Neubauer, was a furniture-maker in Neutitschein () ...
as the team manager, a role he would fill for another thirty years. A small field also included the NSU works team with their supercharged 1.5-litre cars. Merz won comfortably in a race that ended in heavy rain.
In Britain, racing at Brooklands still was immensely popular. Outside the Grand Prix the premier event was the
Junior Car Club 200. A huge field of 38 cars took the start, all labelled as “Specials” by the organisers so that the public would not be confused between the cars racing on the track and those on public sale. Although no works teams were officially entered, there were team-entries running the latest Talbot, Alvis, Aston Martin, Salmson and Amilcar models, along with the previously seen Halford and Eldridge specials. On a sunny but cold day, Henry Segrave and Albert Divo finally got the reliability to get a 1–2 victory.
Jules Goux, now 42, retired at the end of the season. A veteran who had been racing since 1906 with teams including
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
and
Ballot
A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in secret voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16 ...
, he had victories in the Targa Florio (1908), Indianapolis 500 (1913) and the first Italian GP (1921) as well as this year's victories.
Meo Costantini also retired at the end of the season but would stay with Bugatti as their team manager.
[Fondi 2006, p.87]
During the year, Bugatti put out a brochure advertising that its cars had won 503 victories from January to September – almost two a day somehow, which must have included many class victories as well as outright ones.
Despite the advances in engine power and technology, it was clear that the new regulations were not inspiring manufacturer support, and therefore not exciting the populace.
Championship final standings
Table lists the highest race position for each manufacturer.
''Note: To be eligible for the championship, manufacturers had to take part in three of the Grand Prix including the Italian GP.''
'' * non-participation disqualified the manufacturer from the championship''
Results of the season's major races
''italics'' show the driver of the race's fastest lap.
Only those drivers with a best finish of 6th or better are shown. ''Sources:''
;Citations
References
* Cimarosti, Adriano (1997) ''The Complete History of Grand Prix Motor Racing'' London: Aurum Press Ltd
* Fondi, Pino (2006) ''Targa Florio: 20th Century Epic'' Milan: Giorgio Nada Editore
* Fox, Charles (1973) ''The Great Racing Cars & Drivers'' London: Octopus Books Ltd
* Georgano, Nick (1971) ''The Encyclopaedia of Motor Sport'' London: Ebury Press Ltd
* Higham, Peter (1995) ''The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing'' London: Guinness Publishing
* Legate, Trevor (2006) ''100 years of Grand Prix'' Kent: Touchstone Books Ltd
* Ludvigsen, Karl (2008) ''Racing Colours - Italian Racing Red'' Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd
* Ludvigsen, Karl (2009) ''Racing Colours - German Racing Silver'' Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd
* Monkhouse, George (1953) ''Grand Prix Racing Facts and Figures'' London: G.T. Foulis & Co Ltd
* Montagna, Paolo (ed.) (1989) ''The Legendary Italian Grand Prix'' Milan: A.C. Promotion
* Rendall, Ivan (1991) ''The Power and The Glory – A Century of Motor Racing'' London: BBC Books
* Rendall, Ivan (1993) ''The Chequered Flag – 100 years of Motor Racing'' London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd
* Venables, David (2008) ''Racing Colours - British Racing Green'' Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd
* Venables, David (2009) ''Racing Colours - French Racing Blue'' Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd
External links
1926 Race Seasonnbsp;– comprehensive race reports of most events, also listing entries and results. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
nbsp;– several detailed investigation articles about the first championship year. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
nbsp;– Hans Etzrodt's description of the annual regulations, and changes. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
nbsp; - list of the major races, entrants and results. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
nbsp; - list of the major races, entrants and results. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
nbsp; - list of the major races and winners each year. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
MotorSport magazinenbsp;– list of the year's races, entrants and results, by category. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
nbsp;– history of the Targa Florio race. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
La Targa Florionbsp;– race report and pictures of the Targa Florio. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
nbsp;– race results of the Targa Florio. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
Motorsport Memorialnbsp;– motor-racing deaths by year. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
Racing Reference.comnbsp;– list of all the AAA Championship results. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
nbsp;– list of all the races, entrants and results of the AAA Championship. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.comnbsp;– Indy 500 race results. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020
{{DEFAULTSORT:1926 Grand Prix Season
Grand Prix seasons
1926 in motorsport
1926 in American motorsport