1933 Finnish Grand Prix

Track layout

Karl Ebbs Mercedes-Benz SSK

The 1933 Finnish Grand Prix took place on May 7th on the two-kilometer circuit of Eläintarha . After the success of the first Finnish Grand Prix in 1932 , it quickly became clear that another race would be held the following year. The event was organized by the Finnish automobile club Suomen Automobiili Klubi and the Helsinki motor sports association Helsingin Moottorikerho . The race was endowed with 30,000 Finnmarks .

run

The track has been optimized for racing and the course has been shortened by 34 meters. The chicane in the north curve at Nordenskiöldinkatu was removed in order to achieve higher speeds. The name of the race was changed from Suomen Suurajo to Eläintarhanajot (Djurgårdsloppet in Swedish) . The access routes for the spectators have been improved and new stands were built.

The training took place on Friday and should run from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The drivers were instructed by the race management to adhere to the given traffic rules on the street course, as the barriers for the spectators were not yet sufficient. Around 1:30 p.m., a tragic incident occurred when a young boy ran in front of a motorcycle and was fatally hit by it. The training was canceled after the accident. Per-Viktor Widengren had the fastest lap up to that moment.

The qualifying the next day could not take place as scheduled due to larger crowds on the track. So it was decided to do a short sprint over 300 meters from a standing start. In order to implement this project, the sprint was held on a remote route without spectators. The drivers started in the order Sundstedt, Ebb, Bennström, Jaakkola, Bjørnstad, Dahlin, Widengren and Johansson. Due to technical problems, Wallenius could not start his Ford in time for the start and drove the qualifying last. Although he was able to achieve the third fastest time, the race management disqualified him because of the delay and moved him to the last place on the grid. Sundstedt was also put back on the penultimate place due to the engine stalling on the first attempt. Keinänen could not take part in the sprint due to engine failure from training. The pole position secured Mercedes-Benz -Pilot Karl Ebb.

About 43,000 spectators came to the race. After lowering the starting flag, Ebb was able to quickly move away from Dahlin. In the Alfa Romeo of the Norwegian Bjørnstad ignition failed and he stalled at race start. Wildengren, who started from fifth place, got off to a poor start, but was able to quickly fight his way to fourth place and was already second after a short time. After the third lap, the leader Ebb had to pit because his engine began to smoke. His mechanics had covered his radiator with a newspaper before the start and forgot to remove it at the start. When Ebb resumed his race, he was passed from first to eighth place. Widengren took the lead and after the fifth lap was already 24 seconds ahead of Keinänen and over half a minute on the peloton. Ebb quickly caught up with the field but initially couldn't get past. In the sixth lap Ebb was then lapped by Widengren. About the middle of the race, Bennström dropped from third place and was overtaken by Wallenius, Johansson and Ebb. The latter then also overtook the other two and fought his way to third place. The leader Widengren started to lap the field for the second time, but didn't get past the field quickly and lost a lot of time in the process. Wallenius retired on the 35th lap with engine failure. Also Keinänen was left on the same lap with a defective fuel line. Dahlin was disqualified with the black flag for dangerous driving following an incident between him and Sundstedt . With nine laps to go, Widengren retired with connecting rod damage. Ebb took the lead and extended his lead to 48 seconds at the finish. Johansson was second ahead of Bennström. For Ebb it should be the first of four Grand Prix victories.

Results

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
Karl Ebb	01	Karl Ebb	Mercedes-Benz SSK	Mercedes-Benz M06 7.1L I6 compressor	GD
Sulo Paavo Keinänen	02	Sulo Paavo Keinänen	Chrysler special	Chrysler 5.1L I6
Eugen Bjørnstad	03	Eugen Bjørnstad	Alfa Romeo Monza	Alfa Romeo 2.3L I8 compressor
Knut Gustaf Sundstedt	04th	Knut Gustaf Sundstedt	Bugatti T35B	Bugatti 2.3L I8 compressor
Börje Dahlin	05	Börje Dahlin	Mercedes-Benz SSK	Mercedes-Benz M06 7.1L I6 compressor	GD
Asser Wallenius	06th	Asser Wallenius	Ford special	Ford 3.6L V8
Per Viktor Widengren	07th	Per Viktor Widengren	Alfa Romeo Monza	Alfa Romeo 2.3L I8 compressor
Sven Olof Bennström	08th	Sven Olof Bennström	Ford special	Ford 3.6L V8
Carl-Gustaf Johansson	09	Carl-Gustaf Johansson	Ford special	Ford 3.6L V8
Niilo Jaakkola	10	Niilo Jaakkola	Reo special	Ford 3.6L V8

Race result

Item	driver	constructor	Round	Stops	time	begin	Fastest lap	Failure reason
01	Karl Ebb	Mercedes	50		1: 03: 18.700	1
02	Carl-Gustaf Johansson	ford	50		+ 48,000	4th
03	Sven Olof Bennström	ford	50		+1: 28,000	3
04th	Knut Gustaf Sundstedt	Bugatti	50		+ 2: 00,900	9
05	Niilo Jaakkola	Reo	50		+ 4: 32,300	7th
-	Per Viktor Widengren	Alfa Romeo	41		DNF	5	1: 09,000	defective connecting rod
-	Asser Wallenius	ford	39		DNF	10		Engine damage after radiator leak
-	Sulo Paavo Keinänen	Chrysler	35		DNF	8th		clogged fuel line
-	Börje Dahlin	Mercedes	29		DSQ	2		disqualified for dangerous driving
-	Eugen Bjørnstad	Alfa Romeo	29		DNF	3		defective magneto

Web links

• Score on The Golden Era