Grand Prix History Books

With its carefully-crafted observations and conclusions, given added drama by its richly-detailed illustrations, there are numerous examples of the energy and dynamic nature of these racing seasons â?? not the least being abundant evidence that Fangio was indeed the ultimate master of the art and science of racing a Grand Prix automobile, and that the W 196 R was the instrument with which he honed his skills. This book captures the decisive moments when victory – hanging in the balance – was tilted towards Fangio by his own steady hand on the wheel and iron discipline. The W 196 R’s racing days may be long gone, but it remains a shining star of Mercedes-Benz’ participation in motor sport heritage events worldwide. It’s this timeless appeal of the W196R that gives this book its vitality, charm and enduring attraction.

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by René Dreyfus with Beverly Rae KimesThe average modern driver, who must keep his nose to the grindstone from an early age, has no time to learn about life so that he tends to be something less than a brilliant intellect.

Denis Jenkinson

As an anecdote to the cookie cutter books that seem to come out the day after a driver turns his first wheel in a Grand Prix car. I purchased “My Two Lives” by René Dreyfus. During the 20’s and 30’s he drove Maseratis, Ferraris and especially Bugattis on the Grand Prix circuits of the world. In 1938 he won his greatest victory in a Delahaye at Pau where he beat the best that Mercedes had to offer. When World War II started he joined the French Army but while on leave to compete in the Indianapolis 500 he found himself stranded when Paris was overrun. Without visible means of support he opened a French restaurant and began his second career. Upon the United States entering the war, Dreyfus joined the American Army. In 1980 he returned to Europe to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his victory in the Grand Prix of Monaco.

The story begins in 1914 when René was nine years old. The middle of three children he speaks of his early life with fondness, growing up in Nice. He later joined the Moto Club de Nice, which was sort of a junior league Automobile Club de Nice. Forging his mother’s signature René entered his first race and won, due to him being the only car in his class. During this time he and his brother Maurice owned a paper company with René the salesman. He somehow convinced his mother that if he had a Bugatti he would be able to get around faster and see more customers. His mother was duped and soon the boys had their first race car. In the coming years René finds himself at the center of the greatest period in the history of Grand Prix racing. His contemporaries included Chiron, Caracciola, Varzi and Nuvolari. It his observations of this period that makes this book special. As a French patriot driving against the German cars we learn how it felt for himself and his friend Louis Chiron.

His second life as a restaurateur is also covered in detail both during and after the war. While this might not be of direct interest to my motorsport readers it actually covers a longer period of his life. We learn of the reunion with his brother and sister and of course his famous restaurant – Le Chanteclair which over its 25-year history was the gathering place for motosport iluminaries from around the world. In closing there is a touching chapter of René and Maurice returning to Europe and the celebration of René’s victory at Manaco 50 years previous.

The following are some quotes from his book.

… Meantime, there was a new presence on the Grand Prix scene. At the Swiss GP at Bern on August 26th, I took a good long look at the Auto Union and Mercedes for the first time. There were swastikas all around, but all of us were looking at the cars. They were most unusual and enormously powerful. Four hundred fifty horsepower already, with the promise for much more. There were as many engineers in the pits as drivers. It was a gargantuan operation.

The political significance of all this eluded us. All we realized was that Germany’s new chancellor was an automobile enthusiast and wanted the country’s cars to be supreme, the most powerful, the fastest, the most everything.

René Dreyfus – 1934

The “racing enthusiast” was of course Adolf Hitler.

…Stuck’s Auto Union was leading, but Tazio was giving him fits, until suddenly Nuvolari lost a piston just past the grandstand. He got out of his car and started walking slowly back to the pits. I was now in second place. My car was performing beautifully. Stuck’s brakes, I could sense were fading.

This was Italy, and this was Tazio – and the crowd, seeing him walking, started a vigorous chant: “Nuvolari in macchina, Nuvolari in macchina!” When I pulled into the pits to refuel, Enzo and Gobbato asked me if I’d mind giving my car to Nuvolari. Of course, I wouldn’t; Tazio was the team captain. Tazio beamed, and said grazie, and I shouted a few things about how the car was behaving and he took off. He drove like only Nuvolari could, and was challenging Stuck fantastically, but he was also wearing down the Alfa’s brakes, had to pit to have them adjusted, and finished second.

To show you the man Tazio was, I was entitled to my percentage of the prize money only on the laps I had run, Tazio was to get his percentage on the laps he had accomplished with my car – but he refused any money at all. He told the Scuderia people that I should receive the entire prize because had I remained in the car I might have won the race. He recognized, he told me afterwards, that instead of trying frantically to catch up, he might better have played it cooler and waited to see if the other man would falter.

René Dreyfus at Monza – 1935

For Nuvolari to play it cool and wait for something to happen to the car of Hans Stuck would be like a cat barking! It would not have been Nuvolari who only knows how to drive – flat out.

While in the American Army Dreyfus had many humorous encounters especially when it related to the English language. While attending an interrogation class he was called upon to name the various battalions in a regiment. …I stood up, and rattled off the list in my best English – and when I finished, the teaching lieutenant said, fine, you missed just one. I remembered it immediately, and remembered how my English teacher in Spartenburg had told me to always aspirate an “h” sound, difficult for a Frenchman, and so I aspirated with a vengeance and :assault” came out “asshole” battalion. The room fell apart in laughter.”

The lieutenant was very kind, and when everyone had quieted down, told me that I was right but my pronunciation was wrong. He wrote the word “assault” on the blackboard, and I pronounced it once more, exactly the same way I had the first time. The room broke up again. Finally, the lieutenant said that actually, on reflection, I was probably right. And we got on to other things.”

Dreyfus, René and Beverly Rae Kimes. “My Two Lives”. Aztex Corporation, 1995, 1983 pp., ISBN 0-89404-080-4.

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This small (152 pages, 12 chapters) book is comprised of a series of race chronicles spanning the years 1953-1959. It covers in the words of the author … A decade in the history of motor racing Juan-Manuel Fangio, known affectionately as “bandy legs”, won the World Championships five times, and when British drivers like Mike Hawthorn, Stirling Moss, Peter Collins and Tony Brooks emerged to challenge the Italians and Argentineans who had dominated the Grand Prix scene since the end of World War 2.

While the book pays special attention to the leading British drivers he treats drivers from other nations with the respect that they deserve. In fact an important facet of the first decade after the Second World War was England’s emergence in the sport that spearheaded the efforts of the nations of the British Commonwealth that would dominate racing in the 60’s and 70’s. Chapter 7 of the book entitled “Sensation at Syracuse” tells of Tony Brooks’ win in 1955 driving a British designed and built Connaught, the first victory of its kind. The writing gives the reader the sense of being there and partaking in the astonishment of this most improbable win.

The first practice session on Friday was well under way, yet the transporter carrying the Connaught teams cars was nowhere to be seen. This forced the British teammates, Brooks and Les Leston to reconnoiter the circuit on borrowed Vespa motor scooters which was not exactly conducive to finding the correct racing line or late breaking points! A more inauspicious beginning to a remarkable weekend could not have been written. Tony Brooks a full-time dental student and part-time driver had only been racing for less than three years. Arrayed against them were nine Maseratis and various Ferraris and Gordinis. The Maserati was led by a pair of Italian aces Musso and Villoresi who were turning in lap times of nearly 100 mph. On Saturday the Connaught teams cars finally arrived from England. The Italians were secure in their belief that their Friday times were sufficient to award them the leading positions on the grid and were only running sporadically. Brooks after some familiarization laps soon got down to business. Suddenly the loudspeakers announced the unbelievable news that the young dental student had recorded the fastest time of the session. Upon hearing this the Maserati engines burst to life, the whole team rose to the challenge of this brash young driver. The final grid showed Musso on the pole followed by Villoresi and Brooks. Since this was a non-championship event, missing were such top drivers as Moss and Fangio. This did not in any way diminish the accomplishment of the small British team.

At the drop of the flag the Maseratis surged into the lead. rather than become discouraged Brooks pressed on and soon passed Villoresi into second place. When he passed the leading Maserati of Musso the Italian tried every trick that he knew to regain the lead. Finally getting by he lost the lead again on the next lap. Both cars were turning laps faster than those run during qualifying. The Maserati could out break the Connaught at the hairpin but in doing so was dangerously abusing its breaks. Musso could not have been pleased when the Connaught was able to match his 150 mph on the straighter pieces. Eventually, the British car was able to draw away. Now the question was could the Connaught maintain this torrid pace. When the checkered flag finally flew the Connaught pit crew erupted in jubilation. Musso was one of the first to congratulate the quite unassuming young dental student.

Other chapters include the disaster at Le Mans in 1955, Moss’ great victory in the Mille Miglia, Fangio’s victory at Nurburgring over Hawthorn and Collins and what was known as the “Race of the Century” at Rheims. Each race is a legend in its own right and all are described in an excellent reporting style as if gleamed from the very best newspapers of the day which in fact they were by a writer who witnessed each one in person. As you can probably guess this is one of my favorite books which unfortunately is out of print. It should be found in one of the specialized motoring book stores in England such as Chater’s Motoring Booksellers.

Lewis, Peter. “Motor Racing Through the Fifties”. Navel & Military Press, 1992, 152pp., ISBN 1-897632-15-0

The 1961 Formula 1 season came up with a completely new rule type. The racing teams had to switch their engines from 2.5 to 1.5 liters. Ferrari found itself in a very good position. They had developed a V6 mid-mounted engine with a 120 degrees cylinder angle and a maximum output of 190 hp. The new 156 F1 had a very unusual front design. So pretty soon, many people gave it the nickname Sharknose. Technically and ostensibly, the 156F1 was the most successful development in 1961. The season ended for the Scuderia with a large success but also with a disastrous tragedy. Phil Hill became the first American Formula 1 World Champion. The German Ferrari star Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips, that led the ranking for most of the season, became involved in a deadly accident in Monza. Never before joy and teariness was that close on just one day. Our three different models represent all different successful GP appearances of the 156 F1 during the 1961 season. As a matter of course, all three models will reflect the special features of the respective race. Annotation: It is factual that no original Ferrari 156 F1 exists in the whole world. But after months of meticulous research and contacting countless Ferrari experts, CMC was able to get all necessary data for a harmonious model development. Thanks to that kind of knowledge about the car and its famous drivers, we are in a position to accomplish this mission impossible with true-to-the-original details and the well known CMC craftsmanship and quality.

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The racing world had been awaiting the new “mini“ Silver Arrows, Mercedes-Benz W165 with great suspense. Its debut was scheduled for the GP of Tripolis, at the race track of Mellaha, on the 7th of May in 1939. Mercedes-Benz had managed to develop and build this new race car within 6 months. That was all the time they had to adapt it to the new rules that allowed only 1.5 liter engines. Hermann Lang with starting number 16 and Rudolf Caracciola with starting number 24, were the pilots of choice and they achieved a sensational double victory. Herman Lang became the victor with starting number 16 (CMC released that model already in a limited edition). Rudolf Caracciola with starting number 24 became second. With the Caracciola model, starting number 24, CMC completes its presentation of the victorious W165 twins of Tripolis that achieved an outstanding triumph for Mercedes-Benz. This zinc alloy model is hand-assembled from more than 400 parts. Each of the 30 individual stainless steel spokes is mounted by the hand. M-074 is a limited-edition of 5,000 pieces.