VM monoplace

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The VM Mono Place was a race car , which in the 1950s by racer VIGLIELMO Matozza constructed and 1954 at the same time by him as a driver for a Formula 1 - race in Belgium was requested. The car and its designer went down in automotive history because it was not allowed to race because Matozza - who had been working intensively on his vehicle until the end - slept through qualification training due to fatigue . Ultimately, the VM Monoplace did not take part in any race.

The VM Monoplace

The car was designed by the occasional racing driver Viglielmo Matozza, who had participated in various sports car races in Belgium in an Alfa Romeo RL in the 1930s , such as the eighth Grand Prix des Frontières in Chimay, Belgium (demolished after a technical defect) in June 1933 July 1933 at the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps (ninth place), and again in 1935 at the Grand Prix des Frontières (seventh place). Matozza's other racing activities were not known until 1954.

Matozza designed the VM Monoplace according to the Formula 1 regulations . Nothing is known about the technical details of the car. However, the sources unanimously report that the VM was powered by a Tatra engine. Viglielmo Matozza named the car after his initials ("VM"); the French addition to the name “Monoplace” stands for the special single-seater design he chose as a (single-seat) open racing car with free-standing wheels .

Grand Prix des Frontières 1954

The VM Monoplace was registered by Matozza under his own name for the 24th Grand Prix des Frontières , which took place on June 6, 1954 in Chimay. The race was not a run for the Formula 1 World Championship . In the week before the race, Matozza worked under time pressure to finish his car. He managed to get the vehicle to Chimay in time. When he got there, however, he fell asleep exhausted and slept through qualifying training. He only woke up when training was over and the starting places were taken. Participation in a race was therefore excluded. There was no notification of further Formula 1 races.

British motorsport historian Mike Lawrence described the incident as "one of the saddest stories in motorsport history".

There are reports that the vehicle was later converted into a 2-liter sports car and used by Matozza in hill climbs.

literature

  • David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars. Crowood Press, Marlborough 2001, ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English).
  • David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
  • Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars, 1945–65. Motor Racing Publications, Croydon 1998, ISBN 1-899-87039-3 (English).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Results of the VIII. Grand Prix des Frontières on www.kolumbus.fi , accessed on November 27, 2010.
  2. ↑ Race results of the 1933 Spa 24-hour race at www.racingsportscars.com , accessed on November 27, 2010.
  3. ↑ Results of the X. Grand Prix des Frontières on www.kolumbus.fi , accessed on November 27, 2010.
  4. ↑ See differentiation on the website www.formula2.net . The Grand Prix des Frontières was advertised for both Formula 1 and Formula 2 cars.
  5. ^ A b Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars, 1945-65. 1998, p. 251.
  6. ↑ Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars, 1945-65. 1998, p. 251: "He had to put in some all-nighters" (analogously: "He had to put in some night shifts").
  7. ↑ Entry on www.formula2.net : “Driver overslept!”. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  8. ^ Hodges: Rennwagen von A – Z after 1945. 1994, p. 261.
  9. ↑ "One of the saddest stories in motor racing", cf. Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars, 1945–65. 1998, p. 251.
  10. ↑ Article on http://forums.autosport.com , accessed on November 27, 2010.