Philippe Etancelin

If you ever see a photograph of Philippe Etancelin in action, chances are you will never forget him. Because he’s the one who raced cars wearing his cap back to front.

Phi Phi, as Etancelin was nicknamed, was one of those monied gentleman drivers, a wool merchant who loved to race. But unlike some of his kind, he was skillful and fiercely competitive. He won 16 Grands Prix, some of them, admittedly, were lesser events, but others included absolute top liners such as the Grand Prix of France and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Philippe could muster all the skill and aggression of a top professional when it was called for, as confirmed by his nine-lap, wheel-to-wheel battle in an Alfa Monza with the hyper-tenacious Tazio Nuvolari’s Maserati 8CM during the 1933 Grand Prix of Nice. But Philippe’s list of victories is less crowded than it might have been, because he took his business commitments seriously and even stopped racing for a year to fulfill them.