1939 French Grand Prix

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The XXXIII. The French Grand Prix ( XXXIII Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France ) took place on July 9, 1939 at the Circuit de Reims-Gueux in France . As Grande Épreuve , the race was part of the European Grand Prix Championship in 1939 and, according to the provisions of the International Grand Prix Formula (mainly racing cars up to 3 liters with a compressor and up to 4.5 liters without a compressor; minimum weight 850 kg ; Race distance at least 300 km) over 51 laps of 7.186 km each, which corresponded to a total distance of 398.6 km.

The winner was Hermann Paul "HP" Müller in an Auto Union Type D , which was the only Grand Prix victory of his career. At the same time, this was the last success of the Auto Union racing team in a Grande Épreuve .

run

The political tensions between the two countries at the beginning of 1939 led Italy's dictator Benito Mussolini to forbid Italian drivers and racing teams from participating in motor sport events in France. The Auto Union team was therefore only able to compete in Reims with its top driver Tazio Nuvolari , whose Auto Union Type D as well as the cars of his team mates, old master Hans Stuck , the young and aspiring Hermann Paul Müller , and junior driver " Schorsch “Meier , was now equipped with a two-stage compressor, as had been the case with the Mercedes-Benz W 154 for a few races before. The team from Daimler-Benz was after the tragic death of their young stars Richard Seaman during the previous Belgian Grand Prix contrast to their traditional occupation of European champion Rudolf Caracciola , Hermann Lang had won the last four international races in series, and always experienced but slightly impetuous Manfred von Brauchitsch reduced.

In contrast to Nuvolari, the Alfa Romeo and Maserati racing teams had to obey Mussolini's decree and stay away from the French Grand Prix. Alfa Romeo circumvented this at least to a certain extent at the factory by instead registering three Alfa Romeo Tipo 308s privately used by the Swiss Christian Kautz , in which usually only official works teams were allowed. However, these were older models which, due to a lack of engine power, had practically no chance against the German Silver Arrows on the fast Reims-Gueux course , and the driver line-up was - with the exception of Raymond Sommer  - not necessarily first class.

The field was finally completed by two French teams that Ecurie Schell of resettled to France US racers couple Laury and Lucy O'Reilly Schell with two racing cars of the type Delahaye Type 145 for the experienced René Dreyfus and the little-known Raphael Bethenod de las Casas , as well as the works team from Lago-Talbot with three newly developed racing single-seaters for Grand Prix veteran Philippe Étancelin , the British Voiturette driver Raymond Mays and sports car driver René Le Bègue . However, all of these vehicles were only equipped with comparatively weak 4.5 liter naturally aspirated engines.

Hermann Lang and Mercedes dominated the practice once again, but Auto-Union driver Tazio Nuvolari came off the best on a track that was still wet and led the group of three Mercedes drivers Caracciola, Lang and von Brauchitsch into the first lap. There was a strong rivalry among them and when Caracciola tried to overtake Lang, the race ended early for him against a wall.

Now an explosive duel developed between Nuvolari and Lang, in which the Mercedes driver finally got the upper hand on the fifth lap. When trying to keep up, Nuvolari's gearbox then said goodbye, so that after the first quarter of the race, Lang now had a relatively comfortable lead over the pursuing duo Müller (Auto Union) and von Brauchitsch (Mercedes). Shortly afterwards, however, the second Mercedes was already out of the race with engine failure, and although Mercedes racing director Alfred Neubauer Lang gave instructions from the pits to drive more slowly and to protect the car, the same fate finally overtook him in the second half of the race. This cleared the way for Auto Union driver Hermann Müller, who had already shown strong form in the last races. Second - albeit one lap behind - was his relatively inexperienced stable colleague Georg Meier, who survived the race despite burns on his arm after his Auto Union racing car briefly caught fire during the pit stop in the middle of the race.

Registration list

No. driver constructor vehicle team comment
02 Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Tipo 308 Alfa Corse not started (notification withdrawn)
02 Third French RepublicThird French Republic Raymond Summers Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Tipo 308 R. summer
04th Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Tipo 308 Alfa Corse not started (notification withdrawn)
04th Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Luigi Chinetti Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Tipo 308 Christian Kautz
04th SwitzerlandSwitzerland Christian Kautz Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Tipo 308 Christian Kautz not started (reserve driver)
06th Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Tipo 308 Alfa Corse not started (notification withdrawn)
06th Third French RepublicThird French Republic Yves Matra Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Tipo 308 Christian Kautz
08th Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Tazio Nuvolari German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Auto Union Auto Union Type D Auto Union AG
10 German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Hans Stuck German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Auto Union Auto Union Type D Auto Union AG
12 German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Hermann Paul Muller German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Auto Union Auto Union Type D Auto Union AG
14th German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Georg Meier German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Auto Union Auto Union Type D Auto Union AG
14th German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Rudolf Hasse German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Auto Union Auto Union Type D Auto Union AG not started (reserve driver)
16 German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Rudolf Caracciola German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Mercedes Benz Mercedes-Benz W 154 Daimler-Benz AG
18th German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Manfred von Brauchitsch German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Mercedes Benz Mercedes-Benz W 154 Daimler-Benz AG
18th German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Walter Bäumer German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Mercedes Benz Mercedes-Benz W 154 Daimler-Benz AG not started (reserve driver)
18th German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Hans-Hugo Hartmann German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Mercedes Benz Mercedes-Benz W 154 Daimler-Benz AG not started (reserve driver)
20th German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Hermann Lang German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Mercedes Benz Mercedes-Benz W 154 Daimler-Benz AG
22nd United KingdomUnited Kingdom Richard Seaman German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Mercedes Benz Mercedes-Benz W 154 Daimler-Benz AG not started (fatal accident at the Belgian Grand Prix )
24 Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Maserati Maserati 8CTF Officine A. Maserati not started (notification withdrawn)
26th Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Maserati Maserati 8CTF Officine A. Maserati not started (notification withdrawn)
28 Third French RepublicThird French Republic Jean Trémoulet Third French RepublicThird French Republic SEFAC SEFAC not started
30th Third French RepublicThird French Republic René Dreyfus Third French RepublicThird French Republic Delahaye Delahaye 145 Ecurie Lucy O'Reilly Schell
32 Third French RepublicThird French Republic "Raph" Third French RepublicThird French Republic Delahaye Delahaye 145 Ecurie Lucy O'Reilly Schell
34 Third French RepublicThird French Republic Philippe Étancelin Third French RepublicThird French Republic Talbot Talbot MD Automobiles Talbot-Darracq
36 Third French RepublicThird French Republic René Le Bègue Third French RepublicThird French Republic Talbot Talbot MD Automobiles Talbot-Darracq
38 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Raymond Mays Third French RepublicThird French Republic Talbot Talbot MC Automobiles Talbot-Darracq

Starting grid

1 2 3
German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Long
2: 27.7 min
German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Caracciola
2: 29.6 min
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Nuvolari
2: 29.9 min
4th 5
German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) von Brauchitsch
2: 30.4 min
German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Müller
2: 31.7 min
6th 7th 8th
German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Piece
2: 35.0 min
German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Meier
2: 39.9 min
Third French RepublicThird French Republic Le Bègue
2: 46.3 min
9 10
Third French RepublicThird French Republic Étancelin
2: 50.2 min
United KingdomUnited Kingdom Mays
2: 53.7 min
11 12 13
Third French RepublicThird French Republic Dreyfus
2: 54.4 min
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Chinetti
2: 58.4 min
Third French RepublicThird French Republic Summer
2: 58.7 min
14th 15th
Third French RepublicThird French Republic Matra
3: 01.3 min
Third French RepublicThird French Republic "Raph"
3: 03.0 min

Race result

Item No. driver constructor Round time Failure reason EM points
1 12 German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Hermann Paul Muller German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Auto Union 51 2: 21: 11.8 h 1
2 14th German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Georg Meier German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Auto Union 50 + 01 lap 2
3 36 Third French RepublicThird French Republic René Le Bègue Third French RepublicThird French Republic Talbot 48 + 03 rounds 3
4th 34 Third French RepublicThird French Republic Philippe Étancelin Third French RepublicThird French Republic Talbot 48 + 03 rounds 4th
5 02 Third French RepublicThird French Republic Raymond Summers Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Alfa Romeo 47 + 04 rounds 4th
6th 10 German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Hans Stuck German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Auto Union 47 + 04 rounds 4th
7th 30th Third French RepublicThird French Republic René Dreyfus Third French RepublicThird French Republic Delahaye 45 + 06 rounds 4th
8th 04th Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Luigi Chinetti Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Alfa Romeo 45 + 06 rounds 4th
9 32 Third French RepublicThird French Republic "Raph" Third French RepublicThird French Republic Delahaye 44 + 07 rounds 4th
DNF 20th German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Hermann Lang German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Mercedes Benz 36 engine 5
DNF 18th German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Manfred von Brauchitsch German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Mercedes Benz 17th engine 6th
DNF 06th Third French RepublicThird French Republic Yves Matra Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Alfa Romeo 17th 6th
DNF 38 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Raymond Mays Third French RepublicThird French Republic Talbot 10 tank 7th
DNF 08th Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Tazio Nuvolari German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Auto Union 10 transmission 7th
DNF 16 German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Rudolf Caracciola German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Mercedes Benz 8th transmission 7th

Fastest race lap : Hermann Lang ( Mercedes-Benz ), 2: 32.2 min = 184.9 km / h German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) 

References

Web links

Commons : Automobilsport 1939  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Remarks

  1. The first race organized as the Grand Prix de l'ACF took place in 1906. In the 1920s, however, the “big” city-to-city races of the early years between 1895 and 1903 were also awarded these titles, although the ACF was founded after the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris 1895 race. This counting method made the event from 1906 the official ninth Grand Prix de l'ACF. This numbering was after the 1968 renaming of the Grand Prix de l'ACF for Grand Prix de France continued further throughout.
  2. The type designation of the Auto Union racing cars was only introduced later by specialist authors to differentiate between the individual models