1930 French Grand Prix

The 1930 French Grand Prix (formally titled the XXIV Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.) was a Grand Prix motor race held at Pau on 21 September 1930. The race was held over 25 laps of a 15.835 km circuit for a total race distance of 395.875 km and was won by Philippe Étancelin driving a Bugatti. The race was notable for the fact that Tim Birkin came second in a 4.5 litre supercharged Bentley, which was a stripped-down road car.

1930 French Grand Prix
Race details
Date 21 September 1930
Official name XXIV Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.
Location Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Course Road course
Course length 15.867 km (9.860 miles)
Distance 25 laps, 396.6 km (246.5 miles)
Pole position
Driver
  • France Louis Casali
La Perle
Grid positions set by ballot
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom William Grover-Williams Bugatti
Time 6:10
Podium
First Bugatti
Second Bentley
Third Bugatti

Pau had some Grand Prix traditions, as the town held the honour of arranging the first race ever to be called a Grand Prix back in 1901. For the 1930 Grand Prix a triangular, Le Mans-type track outside the city was selected. Known as the Circuit de Morlaas it should not be confused with the well-known street track in the Parque Beaumont. The French had hoped to run the race to the International Formula, but when the response was poor the event was postponed and changed to a Formula Libre event instead. The new date meant that the Italian teams were unable to attend, leaving it to be mostly an internal French affair with sixteen Bugattis, two Peugeots and a Delage among the twenty five starters. Among the top Bugatti drivers were Louis Chiron, Marcel Lehoux, Count Stanislas Czaikowski, Jean-Pierre Wimille, Philippe Étancelin and William Grover-Williams.

A curiosity in the largely single-seat entry list was Tim Birkin's 4½-litre supercharged "Blower Bentley" touring car, stripped down to racing trim, with headlights and mudguards removed. The race distance was twenty five laps of the 15.8 km track, making a total of 396 km. Guy Bouriat took an early lead, followed by Williams, Zanelli, Czaikowski and Étancelin, with Birkin as first non-Bugatti driver, in sixth place. Williams in a works Bugatti then became the next leader. Czaikowski fell back through the field and Bouriat in the other works Bugatti made a pitstop giving over the car to Chiron. Then Williams also had to make a stop for a new wheel. That all made way for Étancelin to advance and he was followed by Birkin, the track with its long straights suiting the supercharged Bentley perfectly.

At one-third distance Chiron led, followed by Étancelin, Williams and Birkin. Birkin's fourth place became a third as Williams got engine troubles but then Zanelli, who had made an early stop, came rushing through the field pushing Birkin back to fourth. At lap ten "Sabipa" crashed and was thrown out of his Bugatti, Birkin only avoiding the injured driver by the slightest of margins. After eleven laps Chiron encountered problems with oil pressure and Étancelin took over the lead. Soon Chiron was also passed by Zanelli and Birkin. The Bentley driver used his horn to warn the Bugatti to move over, surely a unique occurrence in Grand Prix racing! With seven laps to go Zanelli made another pitstop and Birkin was up into second place. While Étancelin, with a 2.5 minute lead, nursed his Bugatti home to take victory, Zanelli had not given up and was catching Birkin fast. At the flag the margin was down to fourteen seconds but it was enough for the British Bentley driver to make Grand Prix history, as this was the only occasion on which the iconic 4½-litre "Blower Bentley" was raced with any success. (It was the normally-aspirated 4½-litre and "Speed Six" models which had swept the board at Le Mans for the previous three years).


Starting Grid (3-3)

GridDriver
1France Louis Casali
2Poland Stanislas Czaykowski
3France Marcel Lehoux
4France Guy Bouriat
5France Jean-Pierre Wimille
6United Kingdom Tim Birkin
7France Robert Senechal
8Italy "Grimaldi"
9France Jean de Maleplane
10France Charles Montier
11Chile Juan Zanelli
12France Albert de Bondeli
13France Jean de l'Espee
14France "Sabipa"
15France G.Daniel
16France Philippe Étancelin
17France Henri Stoffel
18France George Delaroche
19France Jean Gaupillat
20United Kingdom "Williams"
21France J.Lumachi
22France Ferdinand Montier
23France Max Fourny
24France Robert Laly
25France René Ferrand

Classifications

[1]

PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/retire
144France Philippe ÉtancelinBugatti T35C252h43m18.4
218United Kingdom Tim BirkinBentley 4.5 SC252h46m44.6
332Chile Juan ZanelliBugatti T35B252h46m58.8
46Poland Stanislas CzaykowskiBugatti T35C252h51m27.0
538France Jean de l'EspeeBugatti T35C252h54m28.8
620France Robert SenechalDelage 15-S8252h56m28.6
728France Jean de MaleplaneBugatti T35C253h00m58.0
848France Henri StoffelPeugeot 174S253h01m06.2
974France René FerrandPeugeot 174S253h09m08.4
1072France Robert LalyAriès253h21m19.2
1114France Guy Bouriat (laps 1–11)
Monaco Louis Chiron (laps 12–24)
Bugatti T35B24Engine
NC22Italy ″Grimaldi″Bugatti T35C21+4 laps
NC66France Ferdinand MontierMontier Ford21+4 laps
NC4France Louis CasaliLa Perle19+6 laps
Ret42France G.DanielBugatti T35B16Did not finish
Ret36France Albert de BondeliBugatti T37A15Did not finish
Ret58United Kingdom "Williams"Bugatti T35C12Engine
Ret40France "Sabipa"Bugatti T35C10Crash
Ret54France Jean GaupillatBugatti T37A7Did not finish
Ret30France Charles MontierMontier Ford4Did not finish
Ret64France J.LumachiBugatti T35B3Engine
Ret16France Jean-Pierre WimilleBugatti T37A2Supercharger
Ret68France Max FournyBugatti T35C2Engine
Ret52France Georges DelarocheBugatti T35C2Engine
Ret10France Marcel LehouxBugatti T35B0Gearbox
DNA2France Jean PoniatoAlphi CIMEDid not appear
DNA8United States Babe StappDuesenberg ADid not appear
DNA12Romania Georges BourianoBugatti T35BDid not appear
DNA24France Claude ArthezBugatti T35Did not appear
DNA26France "Lenart"Bugatti T35Did not appear
DNA34France Albert DivoBugatti T35Did not appear
DNA46France René DreyfusBugatti T35BDid not appear
DNA50France Etienne LepicardDonnetDid not appear
DNA56France Jose ScaronAmilcar C6Did not appear
DNS60France Arthur DurayAmilcar C6Driver injured
DNA62France "Rodansky"Bugatti T35Did not appear

Fastest Lap: "W.Williams", 6m10.0 (154.070 km/h)

Note – Chiron drove car 14 for laps 12-24.

References

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