International AVUS race 1933

Bugatti T54

Route

On May 21, 1933, the third international ADAC AVUS race took place at the Berlin AVUS . With an average speed of 221.7  km / h the fastest lap of Stanisław Czaykowski was this Grand Prix is the fastest of the season.

run

For a long time it was uncertain whether the race could take place as the safety precautions the organizers demanded for the spectators were too expensive. Only the negotiations between the ADAC and the Berlin government made it possible to start at an acceptable price. For the event, however, the grandstands had to be renewed and new standing spaces created along the route. The road surface also had to be renewed on some sections of the route. The organizers decided to only invite internationally known drivers in order to emphasize the exclusivity of the race. French drivers were not at the start, as the Grand Prix de Picardie was held in Péronne on the same day . The prize money for the victory was 10,000  RM (equivalent to approx. 45,900 euros today  ), 6,000 RM for second place, 4,000 RM for third place, 2,000 RM for fourth and 1,000 RM for fifth place.

In order to also represent Germany, Daimler-Benz AG launched two Mercedes-Benz SSKL - Silver Arrows with the drivers Manfred von Brauchitsch and Otto Merz . The latter stepped in for Rudolf Caracciola , who had died in Monaco . Even Hans Stuck should attend at the request of the organizers of the race, in the absence of an operational vehicle, he reported as a radio commentator from the race. Enzo Ferrari brought three Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza to Berlin with his Scuderia . These were piloted by Tazio Nuvolari , Baconin Borzacchini and Eugenio Siena . As was customary at the time, the starting line-up was determined by a draw.

On Thursday, the first official day of training, only the Mercedes-Benz and Bugatti drivers were on the track. The drivers of Italian models did not arrive until later. The track was still wet from the night's rain and almost impassable. Mercedes-Benz racing director Alfred Neubauer received special tires from the nearby Continental tire depot especially for this training session . Otto Merz was the first to carefully drive onto the AVUS on these tires. A little later Manfred von Brauchitsch also drove on his first test lap. The cars initially only slipped on the wet track, but then got faster and faster. Shortly afterwards, there was a disaster when Otto Merz had an accident on the straight, about two kilometers from the finish line. When the road surface changed, his car lifted off the lane and hit the road after about 36 meters, slipped further and hit a kilometer stone. The car shattered, rolled over and lay upside down. Merz, who was thrown out of the car, was immediately taken to the Hildegard Hospital, Charlottenburg, but by then any help came too late. The exact course of the accident could only be reconstructed on the basis of a single testimony.

The race on Sunday was sold out. 120,000 spectators crowded the stands and standing room and around 50,000 non-paying spectators stood behind the fences and tried to watch the race. Many leaders of the Nazi government were also present. The weather was meanwhile clear and sunny and the spectators saw how Ernst Jakob Henne set a new speed record for motorcycles on a BMW as part of the supporting program of the race .

In the late afternoon, race director Adolf Hühnlein started the 15-lap race. Stanisław Czaykowski took the lead. He was followed by Achille Varzi , Tazio Nuvolari and in fourth place Manfred von Brauchitsch, who started from the very back . Louis Chiron retired on the first lap with a defective valve and Rudolf Steinweg had to retire on lap one with a broken oil line. After five laps, Czaykowski was five seconds ahead of Varzi. Von Brauchitsch was barely able to follow the field and had already dropped back to sixth with his heavy SSKL, not least because of many pit stops due to worn tires, as Mercedes had made the wrong tire choice. The average speed at this point in time was just under 210 km / h. On the last lap, Czaykowski continued to lead the race and was only overtaken by Achille Varzi in the last few meters. The Italian won 0.2 seconds ahead of Czaykowski and Baconin Borzacchini and Tazio Nuvolari, who shared a car. Local hero von Brauchitsch finished fifth and therefore penultimate.

Results

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
Daimler-Benz AG	21st	Manfred von Brauchitsch	Mercedes-Benz SSKL	Mercedes-Benz M06 RS 7.1L I6 compressor	C.
	22nd	Otto Merz
Officine Alfieri Maserati	23	Luigi Fagioli	Maserati V5	Maserati V5 5.0L V16 supercharger	P
Charly Jellen	24	Charly Jellen	Alfa Romeo Monza	Alfa Romeo 2.3L I8 compressor
Rudolf Steinweg	25th	Rudolf Steinweg	Bugatti T35C	Bugatti 2.0L I8 compressor
Scuderia Ferrari	26th	Tazio Nuvolari	Alfa Romeo Monza	Alfa Romeo 2.6L I8 compressor	E.
	27	Baconin Borzacchini
	34	Eugenio Siena
Louis Chiron	28	Louis Chiron	Alfa Romeo Monza	Alfa Romeo 2.3L I8 compressor
László Hartmann	29	László Hartmann	Bugatti T51	Bugatti 2.3L I8 compressor
Hans Stuber	30th	Hans Stuber	Bugatti T51	Bugatti 2.3L I8 compressor
Automobiles Ettore Bugatti	31	William Grover-Williams	Bugatti T54	Bugatti 5.0L I8 compressor	M.
	32	Achille Varzi
Stanislaw Czaykowski	33	Stanislaw Czaykowski	Bugatti T54	Bugatti 5.0L I8 compressor
Karl Donajowski	34	Karl Donajowski	Bugatti T54	Bugatti 5.0L I8 compressor

Race result

Item	driver	constructor	Round	Stops	time	begin	Fastest lap	Failure reason
1	Achille Varzi	Bugatti	15th		1: 25: 24.4 hours	7th
2	Stanislaw Czaykowski	Bugatti	15th		+ 0.2 s	9	5: 17.8 min
3	Baconin Borzacchini	Alfa Romeo	15th		+ 5: 31.4 min	5
3	Tazio Nuvolari	Alfa Romeo	15th		+ 5: 31.4 min	8th
5	Charly Jellen	Alfa Romeo	15th		+ 10: 09.0 min	1
6th	Manfred von Brauchitsch	Mercedes	15th		+ 13: 50.2 min	11
7th	László Hartmann	Bugatti	15th		+ 19: 10.4 min	4th
-	Eugenio Siena	Alfa Romeo	10		DNF	10		broken oil pipe
-	William Grover-Williams	Bugatti	7th		DNF	6th		broken fuel line
-	Louis Chiron	Alfa Romeo	1		DNF	3		defective valves
-	Rudolf Steinweg	Bugatti	1		DNF	2		broken oil pipe

Web links

• Score on The Golden Era