12 Rudolf Caracciola
Daimler-Benz AG
Mercedes-Benz W154

6 Hermann Müller
Auto Union AG
Auto Union D

32 Paul Pietsch
Officine A. Maserati
Maserati 8CTF

Caracciola wins the German Grand Prix for the sixth time

The German Grand Prix was the most important race of the 1939 season with 17 cars at the start, a race full of tension, numerous changes, and intermittent rain. Lang (Mercedes-Benz) led the first two of 22 laps when he stopped for plugs. Then Pietsch (Maserati) temporarily held 1st place until Nuvolari (Auto Union) passed him to lead the third lap until he pitted on lap six. Now the lead passed on to Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) who was 1st until lap nine when he stopped for new plugs. Now Hasse (Auto Union) grabbed 1st place until the 2nd half of lap 14 when he crashed off the wet track. Caracciola then took back the lead and kept it till the end. Müller (Auto Union) was mostly 2nd in a controlled consistently fast drive, where he finished ahead of Pietsch who stopped four times to finish third, one lap down. Stuck (Auto Union) retired after 2 laps, so did Sommer (Alfa Romeo). Lang dropped out after 3 laps, same as his teammate Brendel, also Brauchitsch after 5 laps. Villoresi (Maserati) disappeared after lap 7 while the Auto Unions of Meier and Hasse crashed in the rain after 12 and 13 laps. Thereafter the field shrunk to Caracciola, Müller, Nuvolari and Pietsch. When Nuvolari quit after 19 laps, but qualified 5th, Pietsch became third followed by the slow group of Dreyfus, Raph and Mazaud in Delahayes ahead of Joa (1500 Maserati) at the end. The Swiss Mandirola (Maserati) was disqualified when he refueled against the rules over the fence behind the pits.

The twelfth German Grand Prix of 1939 was considered the most important of the great races, the annual climax. For that reason, the National Socialists tried to use the event as a medium for propaganda purposes. The ONS (Oberste Nationale Sportbehörde) had organized the German Grand Prix, but the DDAC (Der Deutsche Automobil-Club) and the NSKK (National-Sozialistisches Kraftfahr-Korps) were charged with the execution of this race. It was run over 22 laps of the 22.810 km Nürburgring Nordschleife, a total of 501.82 km and was held to the 3-liter supercharged and 4½-liter un-supercharged Grand Prix formula. In accordance with the sliding scale formula, 1500 cc cars were allowed to race with the larger cars.

Entries: From the 20 entries listed, the German teams came in force to the main event of the year. Auto Union with team manager Dr. Karl Otto Feuereissen and Engineer Eberan von Eberhorst entered five type D cars powered by 3-liter, V-12-cylinder engines, now also with two-stage supercharging but only for Hans Stuck, Tazio Nuvolari and H. P. Müller while Rudolf Hasse and Georg Meier drove single supercharged cars. Ulrich Bigalke was the reserve driver.       Daimler-Benz Team Manager Alfred Neubauer with Technical Director Rudolf Uhlenhaut were present with six Mercedes-Benz W 154 cars with this year's new 3-liter, V-12-cylinder engine, also with new two-stage supercharging for Rudolf Caracciola, Manfred von Brauchitsch and Hermann Lang the main drivers. One of the junior drivers Heinz Brendel or Hugo Hartmann would drive the fourth car to be decided after the practice results. The fifth car was for practice and the sixth was a spare.       The Maserati works arrived with two of their new bright-red 8-cylinder 8CTF cars for Luigi Villoresi and Paul Pietsch. A third 1500 Maserati 4CM was entered for Armand Hug but the driver was injured the week before during practice for the Albi Grand Prix and was not present.       Ecurie Lucy O'Reilly Shell managed by Madame Schell from Paris, arrived with two Delahaye 145 types with 4.5-L, V-12 engines not supercharged for René Dreyfus and "Raph". A third car, Type 135CS was entered for Robert Mazaud.       Amongst the independent drivers was Raymond Sommer who appeared with his private Alfa Romeo type 308. The Swiss Adolfo Mandirola drove a Maserati 8CM. The Süddeutsche Renngemeinschaft entered Heinz Dipper in an 6CM Maserati and Leonard Joa in another 1500 cc Maserati 4CM.

Practice: July 19 - Wednesday before official practice, Mercedes was seen pre-testing on the Nürburgring after they had lost two weeks earlier at Reims. In the morning Mercedes engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut drove a few tests around the concrete loop. Thereafter Brauchitsch and Lang drove several laps around the Nordschleife. At noon time arrived the Auto Union team with their drivers, while already hundreds of spectators watched the proceedings. July 20 - Thursday was the first official practice with the most beautiful weather, giving the drivers seven hours to test their cars. In the morning only the Mercedes drivers were on the track. Caracciola drove his best lap in 9m56s and Brauchitsch in 9m55.3s. Next started their teammate Lang, who was timed at 9m52s and 9m52.2s. After 2 p.m. Auto Union was also on the track. Müller drove 10m16.3s and Stuck 10m22.3s. Meier was a bit slower and Nuvolari did not practice as his car had not yet arrived. Hasse drove only some concrete oval laps. Sommer in his 308 Alfa Romeo was timed at 12m37s while Raph, Mazaud, Dreyfus and Joa were even slower. Pietsch and Villoresi in the 3-liter Maserati were not there, while Mandirola and Dipper were also missing. Thursday times Lang (Mercedes-Benz)   9m52.0s -   9m52.2s Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz)   9m55.3s -   9m55.5s Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz)   9m56.0s Müller (Auto Union) 10m16.3s Stuck (Auto Union) 10m22.3s Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 12m37.0s Meier (Auto Union) 10m54.2s - 10m54.4s Hasse (Auto Union) 10m44.0s Raph (Delahaye) 12m53.0s Joa (1500 Maserati) 13m01.4s Mazaud (Delahaye) 13m44.0s

July 21 - Friday practice was again for seven hours with good weather. Early at nine in the morning the first cars turned their laps. During the morning hours the cars were mainly worked on at the pits. The cars were more extensively tested than the day before. All drivers were practicing except Caracciola who was watching his opponents at Pflanzgarten.       In the afternoon, Brauchitsch drove a lap in 9m51s, which was 1.2 seconds faster than Lang's lap from Thursday. Lang's best time from several laps below 10 minutes was 9m55.1s. Caracciola drove in the afternoon in 10m04s. These extreme high speeds will not be risked in the race, because laps below 10-minutes, will stress the tires extremely hard with no possibility for preservation. Müller drove a lap in 9m59.3. Nuvolari again had not driven a practice lap in his car, but drove instead with Meier's car in 10m11.2s. Meier left the track at Brünnchen, drove in a ditch for about 15 meters where the car got stuck with dented body work, which was to be repaired for Saturday. Hasse was stranded on the circuit with a possible broken fuel supply problem. Pietsch drove with the 8-cylinder Maserati his best time was 10m14s, while his teammate Villoresi made his best time in 10m35.0s. The French cars practiced again but their times were much slower than the German cars. The Mercedes reserve driver Brendel made a best lap in 10m20s while Hartmann's best time was 10m30s. Dipper did not practice, so there might just be 17 cars on Sunday. After end of official practice, there happened a rain shower from a thunderstorm. Nuvolari and Brendel took the opportunity to drive a few laps in the rain, although no rain was expected for Sunday. Friday times Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz)   9m51.0s Lang (Mercedes-Benz)   9m55.1s Müller (Auto Union)   9m59.3s Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz) 10m04.0s Nuvolari (Meier's A. Union) 10m11.2s Stuck (Auto Union) 10m13.4s Pietsch (Maseratti) 10m14.0s - 11m47.3s Brendel (Mercedes-Benz) 10m20.0s - 10m22.2s Hartmann (Mercedes-Benz) 10m30.0s - 10m33.0s Villoresi (Maseratti) 10m26.0s - 10m35.0s Meier (Auto Union) 10m11.2s - 10m15.0s Dreyfus (Delahaye) 11m28.0s - 11m29.2s Raph (Delahaye) 12m33.4s Mazaud (Delahaye) 12m53.0s

July 22 - Saturday was final practice again with nice weather. In the morning Nuvolari was one of the first on the circuit with a time of 10m35s. Then engineer Uhlenhaut drove the various Mercedes cars around the concrete loop of the start and finish area, to test each car before they were passed to the drivers. Lang drove a lap with standing start in 9m48.2s at 139.6 km/h average speed. Others claimed that Lang drove with his Mercedes a lap of 9m43.1s with standing start at an average speed of 140.8 km/h. This performance has never been reached, around the Ring, even with a flying start.       Just before the end of practice, between 12 and 12:30 the Auto Union of Nuvolari was on fire at Antoniusbuche due to a defective fuel line. Nuvolari steered the car in a ditch and tried to kill the fire with sand. The passing Meier called to the Mercedes pit that a car is burning. Immediately Neubauer organized help despite the objection of race management driving against the driving direction to bring fast help to Nuvolari. The Mercedes-Benz men extinguished the Auto Union, before anybody from the opposition was present. Hasse then picked up his teammate Nuvolari from the place of the accident with a Mercedes-Benz car. Nuvolari's car looked terrible, covered over and over with sand and extinguisher-foam. Burned supply lines, defect fuel pumps and magnetos, dented water pipes and body panels produced a picture of awful destruction. The Race Management permitted Nuvolari to drive a few control laps if the car was finished by 6 p.m. Ludwig Sebastian with eight mechanics repaired the damages and at 5:45 p.m. the car rolled to the pits and Nuvolari could drive his last practice laps.       The individual practice times of 12 drivers were published in Saturday and Sunday newspapers. To those 12 drivers we added the 17 grid times published in Monday's Duisburger General-Anzeiger, which included seven drivers' times of Brendel in the second row, Hasse, Sommer, Joa, Raph, Mazaud and Mandirola, which were not before published. Thus, these seven times remain doubtful. Saturday times Lang (Mercedes-Benz)   9m43.1s -   9m43.2s -   9m48.2s - 9m52.2s Brauchitsch (Mercedes-Benz)   9m51.0s - 10m16.0s Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz)   9m56.0s - 10m13.2s Müller (Auto Union)   9m59.3s Brendel (Mercedes-Benz) 10m09.4s - 10m20.0s - 10m22.2s Nuvolari (Auto Union) 10m11.2s Stuck (Auto Union) 10m13.4s Pietsch (Maserati) 10m14.0s Meier (Auto Union) 10m19.0s Hasse (Auto Union) 10m22.3s - 10m37.1s Villoresi (Maserati) 10m26.0s Hartmann (Mercedes-Benz) 10m30.4s - 10m33.0s Sommer (Alfa Romeo) 12m03.3s Joa (Maserati) 12m15.2s Raph (Delahaye) 12m16.2s Mazaud (Delahaye) 12m54.0s Mandirola (Maserati) 13m12.2s

Race: During practice the weather was brilliant, attracting masses of spectators. Days before and the whole night thousands of spectators had arrived from all directions on bicycles, cars, trucks, buses and by trains to the large station at Adenau. Günther Molter wrote, that there was a tremendous crowd, perhaps the biggest ever, because everyone had the feeling that something terrible was about to happen-the future was in the dark. On Sunday the weather was uncertain. The gray sky was covered by heavy, low rain clouds and there were mists over the forests and small beginnings of a rain shower. An estimated 250.000 or more spectators had assembled around the large circuit including those in the grandstands. Amongst the persons of interest was Adolf Hühnlein, the leader of German motor sport, who drove one lap around the circuit. Before the start the Motor HJ group of the NSKK marched in front of the grandstand to the sound of the German anthem and a brief speech of Hühnlein.       The German time keepers published only the order of the staring grid but not the times. The times shown in the starting grid below were published in several practice press reports, especially by the Duisberger General-Anzeiger. The 17 cars lined up at the start. Armand Hug (Maserati) was missing as he was injured at Albi practice one week earlier and the South-German Heinz Dipper did not appear and was reported to be injured.

12 Caracciola Mercedes-Benz 9m56.0s 14 Brauchitsch Mercedes-Benz 9m51.0s 16 Lang Mercedes-Benz 9m43.1s 20 Brendel Mercedes-Benz 10m09.4s 6 Müller Auto Union 9m59.3s 32 Pietsch Maserati 10m14.0s 4 Stuck Auto Union 10m13.4s 2 Nuvolari Auto Union 10m11.2s 8 Hasse Auto Union 10m22.3s 10 Meier Auto Union 10m19.0s 22 Sommer Alfa Romeo 12m03.3s 24 Dreyfus Delahaye 11m28.0s 30 L Villoresi Maserati 10m26.0s 26 Raph Delahaye 12m16.2s 40 Joa Maserati 12m15.2s 36 Mandirola Maserati 13m12.2s 28 Mazaud Delahaye 12m54.0s

The starting signal was given by light. Red light - still 30 seconds, when the engines were started to bellow and the mechanics jumped to the sides; yellow - ten seconds, then the green light beamed at exactly 11:00 a.m. when the canon shot was given with the engines roaring at incredible thunder, the drivers chased away. Brauchitsch had the best start ahead of Lang, Stuck, Müller, Caracciola, Pietsch, Meier, Hasse as they shot to the Südkehre. At this first turn Lang dived straight in front of the field to take the lead. On the back straight Lang was ahead of Brauchitsch, Stuck, Müller, Nuvolari, Pietsch, Caracciola, Meier, Hasse and the remaining field. Lap 1 - From Karussell it was reported that Lang had gained a considerable advantage to Brauchitsch, Müller and Caracciola, while the second group roared one after the other through the Karussell. Lang finished the first lap in 10m48s at 126.7 km/h average speed, with a 27 seconds lead to the field, something very unbelievable to everybody present. Only then followed Brauchitsch, Müller, Pietsch, Caracciola, Nuvolari, after a gap Stuck and Hasse, Brendel, Meier, Villoresi, Sommer, Dreyfus, Joa, and the rest. Villoresi stopped after the first lap to change spark plugs. Lap 2 - Lang completed the 2nd lap with 40 seconds advantage to the second placed Pietsch in the bright red Maserati who had passed Müller and Brauchitsch with Caracciola in fifth place. Lang headed for the Mercedes pits at the end of the lap. Villoresi was going to stop for the second time at the pits. The order of the leading group at the end of lap 2 was Lang, Pietsch, Müller, Brauchitsch, Caracciola, Nuvolari Brendel and Hasse. Lap 3 - At the beginning of the 3rd lap, Lang stopped to change plugs, losing very much time. This enabled Pietsch to take the lead with Müller at his tail. Brauchitsch also stopped with an irregular running engine to change plugs and left after one minute in ninth place still ahead of Lang. Meier stopped at the pits to change plugs. Raph also stopped the Delahaye for plugs and was away before Lang. The pit stops for spark plugs made it obvious, that the climate change had created a disaster with the delicate carburation not only for the two stage blown cars after the dry warmth of practice had given way to chilling dampness and intermittent rain showers, causing the plugs to oil up. Stuck and Meier had slowed their pace.       Pietsch now held the lead temporarily ahead of Müller, Nuvolari and Caracciola. Lang left the pits after 2 ½ minutes and joined in tenth position. As he returned on the back straight, he waved with the hand and pointed to the engine, so obviously he still had a problem. In the meantime, the news was announced that Sommer had retired his Alfa Romeo on the circuit and that Stuck had retired somewhere after a fuel connection broke on his Auto Union. Then the Karussell reported that Nuvolari had passed Müller also the Maserati of Pietsch. In a brief battle Caracciola attacked and passed Müller. Brendel had advanced, passing one after the other drivers and completed the third lap in 10m28.4s the fastest lap time at 130.7 km/h average speed which placed him right behind Müller. Before the end of lap three, Neubauer decided to have Lang take over Brendel's car and sent a mechanic up the track to signal Brendel to come in immediately. Brendel however did not stop - either by mistake or on purpose - and continued another lap. The order at the end of the 3rd lap was Nuvolari, Caracciola, Müller, Brendel, Pietsch, Hasse, Brauchitsch, Villoresi, Dreyfus and Lang. Lap 4 - On the 4th lap Nuvolari held the lead at 125.4 km/h race average speed, ahead of Caracciola, Müller, Brendel and Pietsch who stopped his Maserati at the pits to have the locking brakes adjusted and change spark plugs. Pietsch rejoined in fifth position followed by Hasse and after a gap Brauchitsch, then Villoresi and Dreyfus. Lang passed the pits at the beginning of the 4th lap, but visibly slower than before with a spluttering engine and on the back straight he turned off to the finishing straight into the pits where his car was pushed aside. On this lap appeared Sommer who had picked up the stranded Hans Stuck sitting on the tail of the limping Alfa Romeo and dropped him off at the Auto Union pits with loud applause from the stands. During the rain Brendel had Paul Pietsch spin his Maserati right in front of him at Wehrseifen, just before Adenau Bridge. In trying to avoid Pietsch, Brendel went into the ditch. The car was not damaged and Brendel not injured but he could not bring the car back onto the track on his own and dropped out of the race. This retirement changed the plans of the Mercedes-Benz team because Lang was supposed to take over Brendel's car. When Brendel called the pits for someone to pick him up, Neubauer seized the phone and told him he could walk back. The order at the end of lap 4 was Nuvolari, Caracciola Müller, Pietsch, Hasse. Brauchitsch, Villoresi, Dreyfus and the rest. Lap 5 - Meier headed for the pits and rejoined after a brief stop. Villoresi also stopped his Maserati at the pits. Ahead of Karussell Caracciola passed Müller for second place. Nuvolari was leading the 5th lap, with an average speed of 126.1 km/h followed by Caracciola, Müller, Hasse, Brauchitsch, Pietsch, Villoresi, Dreyfus, Joa, Meier and the rest. Lap 6 - Nuvolari stopped at the pits to change tires and plugs. He rejoined after one minute in fourth position. Caracciola had taken the lead ahead of Müller and Hasse. Brauchitsch stopped for the second time, to refuel and change tires. After removing the hood, it was learned that fuel was dripping from the saddle tank onto the magneto, which appeared a risk of fire, too dangerous to continue. The car was pushed aside next to Lang's defective car. After the retirement of Lang and Brendel, Brauchitsch was the third Mercedes out of the race and the question emerged if Caracciola could hold out the last remaining 16 laps. Pietsch stopped again at the pits to refuel and change tires. On the 6th lap, Mandirola stopped for the fourth time at the pits. The order of the leading group at the end of the 6th lap was Caracciola, Müller, Hasse, Pietsch, Nuvolari, Villoresi, Dreyfus, Meier and Joa. Lap 7 - Caracciola was now in the lead closely followed by Nuvolari, Müller and Hasse. The four drivers started an interesting fight for the lead. In the meantime, Villoresi had left the road and smashed the Maserati's tail against a bank at Brünnchen, damaging his car and retired at the pits without the tail body panels. At 1:30 p.m. two gigantic airships, the LZ 127 and the larger LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin appeared for about one hour and very slowly almost inaudible they were gliding along below the low hanging clouds for all to see. The track radio announcer carried out an interesting radio-telephone conversation, with the Zeppelin, which could be heard very clearly through the new loudspeaker installation around the circuit, an unforgettable experience for the large crowd. The silver airships circled the racetrack several times before they disappeared in the grey cloud-cover. This was the last time the two air ships appeared in public. The order of the leading group at the end of the 7th lap was Caracciola, Nuvolari, Müller, Hasse, Pietsch, Dreyfus, Meier, Joa, Raph, Mazaud and Mandirola. Lap 8 - On the 8th lap Pietsch also stopped at his pit and likewise did Meier who had problems. From the circuit came the announcement that Müller was only one second behind Caracciola. Nuvolari had reduced his gap to the leading group but stopped again steering towards his pit and pointing to the left rear wheel which was changed, but they also removed the engine hood for plugs which dropped him two minutes behind to fourth place. The order of the leading group at the end of the 8th lap was Caracciola, Müller, Hasse, Nuvolari, Pietsch, Meier, Dreyfus and Joa. All other drivers had already been lapped. Lap 9 - at the beginning of the 9th lap Caracciola was one second ahead of Müller when both stopped to refuel. Müller left first after 40 seconds while Caracciola also changed plugs to ones with lower heat rage, stopping for 80 seconds. In the meantime, Hasse had taken the lead. At Karussell he was followed by Müller's Auto Union who was only 20 seconds ahead of the Mercedes. Caracciola could now drive much faster than earlier with the different plugs fitted and even passed Müller just before the end of the lap where both caught up to Hasse who slowed for a pit stop. Nuvolari was in fourth place, three minutes behind Hasse, who was leading at 121.2 km/h average race speed with the order as follows, after nine laps: 1. Hasse (Auto Union) 1h41m37.3s 2. Caracciola (Mercedes Benz) 1h41m43.1s 3. H.P. Müller (Auto Union) 1h41m44.4s 4. Nuvolari (Auto Union) 1h33m26.4s after 8 laps 5. Pietsch (Maserati) 1h37m42.4s after 8 laps 6. Meier (Auto Union) 1h41m02.2s after 8 laps Lap 10 - Hasse stopped on the 10th lap to refuel and change tires in 36 seconds. In the meantime, it had started to rain which caused problems for all drivers as they had to slow down and positions changed, allowing Hasse to regain the lead. At the Karussell Hasse was six seconds ahead of Müller who was 15 seconds ahead of Caracciola, followed by Nuvolari. The order at the end of the 10th lap was Hasse, Müller, Caracciola, Nuvolari, Pietsch, Meier, Dreyfus, and Joa. Lap 11 - At mid-race the leader Hasse was 15 seconds ahead of Müller at Karussell, with a gap of two seconds to Caracciola and Nuvolari followed 3 ½ minutes behind with further gaps to Pietsch, Dreyfus, Meier and Joa. The Swiss driver Mandirola did not to stop in time to refuel and ran out of fuel behind his pits. They reached him fuel over the fence, which was not allowed by the regulations and caused his disqualification. At this time seven drivers had retired, namely Stuck, Sommer, Lang, Brendel, Brauchitsch, Villoresi and Mandirola. Hasse had increased his advantage to Caracciola who was the only Mercedes driver left, fighting three Auto Unions. Hasse held the lead at 119.4 km/h average speed with an average lap time of 11m27.7s with the following times at mid-race: 1. Hasse (Auto Union) 2h06m05.4s 2. H.P. Müller (Auto Union) 2h06m19.4s 3. Caracciola (Mercedes Benz) 2h06m31.0s 4. Nuvolari (Auto Union) 2h08m59.4s 5. Pietsch (Maserati) 2h15m20.4s 6. Meier (Auto Union) 2h20m33.0s - 1 lap behind 7. Dreyfus (Delahaye) 2h22m09.8s - 1 lap behind 8. Joa (1500 Maserati) 2h26m24.4s - 1 lap behind 9. Raph (Delahaye) 2h27m26.8s - 1 lap behind 10. Mazaud (Delahaye) 2h28m30.0s - 1 lap behind Lap 12 - It began to rain again when Pietsch stopped to change plugs. Hasse was leading by 15 seconds ahead of Müller, followed by Caracciola, Nuvolari and Pietsch. Although Hasse was leading, Caracciola drove the best time during the lap with Nuvolari 3 ½ minutes behind. The order at the end of the lap was Hasse, Müller, Caracciola, Nuvolari, Pietsch, Meier, Dreyfus, Raph, Mazaud and Joa. Lap 13 - Hasse increased his lead to Müller to 27 seconds. Due to the rain the race average speed from initially 126.7 km/h had fallen to 118.8 km/h. Caracciola passed Müller for second place to chase after Hasse, whose lead came to an end when he skidded off the wet track at Wippermann and retired without getting injured. Caracciola then held first place, leading Müller by 30 seconds. From this point forward Caracciola did not give up the lead. On this lap Meier retired at Fuchsröhre when a stub axle broke. According to Meier, he went off the road during Friday practice and although there seemed to be no damage at the time, he thought something must have broken and nobody noticed. On lap 13, when he was driving down Fuchsröhre very fast, the stub axle broke, so when he came to the next right-hand turn, one wheel turned right but the other did not! He managed to stop without hitting anything, but his race was over. The order was Caracciola, Müller, Nuvolari, Pietsch, Dreyfus, Raph, Mazaud and Joa. Lap 14 - Caracciola had a lead of 30 seconds to Müller, the fastest Auto Union driver. The order at the end of the 14th lap was Caracciola, Müller Nuvolari, Pietsch, Dreyfus, Raph, Mazaud and Joa. Lap 15 - Caracciola held the same advantage to Müller as the lap before. Hasse appeared walking back to his pits and received great applause. He appeared later uninjured at the press stand. Pietsch skidded off the track, ended up in a ditch but was able to rejoin on his own for which he received great applause from the grandstands. The sun could be seen between the clouds and the circuit dried quickly. Lap 16 - Caracciola was leading by 37 seconds to Müller, who was still 2 ½ minutes ahead of Nuvolari. On this lap Pietsch stopped at the pits with the left side of the Maserati dented after his ditch excursion on the previous lap and changed again spark plugs. Nuvolari also stopped, refueled, and left immediately. The order was Caracciola, Müller, Nuvolari, Pietsch, Dreyfus, Raph, Mazaud and Joa. Lap 17 - Caracciola led Müller 39 seconds and after 2m50s followed Nuvolari, Pietsch, Dreyfus, Raph and Mazaud and Joa. Lap 18 - On lap18 Caracciola had an advantage of 43 seconds to Müller and drove with great determination without losing a single second. At Karussell Caracciola's advantage was 45 seconds. Lap 19 - On the 19th lap Caracciola stopped at his pit to refuel 60 liter in 17 seconds and after he rejoined, his advantage to Müller was down to only 14 seconds. After the 19th lap, Nuvolari stopped at the pits with smoking engine, climbed out and retired with engine damage. Lap 20 - Müller stopped to refuel in just 18 seconds. As a result, the advantage of Caracciola increased to 37 seconds and he also drove the fastest lap of the race in 10m24s at 131.5 km/h average speed. Lap 21 - On the second to last lap Caracciola was 38 seconds ahead of Müller, followed by Pietsch, Dreyfus, Raph and Mazaud and Joa. Lap 22 - Caracciola crossed the line, for the sixth time the winner at 121.0 km/h average speed in 4h08m41.4s, almost one minute ahead of Müller who had slowed down. Both drivers received great applause from the spectators. Pietsch in third place was also cheered. Dreyfus finished fourth, Nuvolari fifth Raph sixth, Mazaud seventh and Joa eighth. Despite his early retirement after 19 laps, Nuvolari was still classified, which was determined by race management, as he had a far better time for his 19 laps than those three with the same delay.

32 Giuseppe Farina
Alfa Corse
Alfa Romeo 158

42 Franco Cortese
Officine A. Maserati
Maserati 6CM

54 C Pintacuda / C Biondetti
Alfa Corse
Alfa Romeo 158

Farina ending up on top in a good Alfa Romeo vs. Maserati duel.

Just as in Tripoli the 1939 Coppa Ciano was a race for Voiturettes only. Before the main race there was a amateur race for drivers with national race licences. It was won by Teagno (Maserati). In the main race for professionals the Alfa Corse team with four cars faced seven Maseratis. Giuseppe Farina (Alfa Romeo) took command of the race and led from start to finish pulling away by 2-3 seconds per lap. Behind him Luigi Villoresi (Maserati) held second place with Cortese, Biondetti and Taruffi fighting for the third position. Biondetti got problems and handed over the car to Severi while Biondetti himself took over Pintacuda's car. Villoresi had to retire leaving Cortese to take second place far behind Farina.

Italian Sport Authorities had in September 1938 announced that all major Italian races in 1939 would be restricted to 1½ litre cars. The 19th Coppa Ciano was to be run, just like in 1938, on the shortened 5.8 variant of the Livorno Circuit. The route looked like this: Rotonda Ardenza, via del Mare, Ardenza Terra, via del Litorale, via Aurelia, Piazza Bartolomei (Antignano), Piazza del Castello, viale Vittoio Emanuele, Rotonda Ardenza.       To make the event more interesting and attract more local entries the organizers decided to divide the event into two races, one 20 lap race for what they called "aspiranti", amateurs with national race licences, and a main 60 lap race for, "laureati" meaning graduates i.e. teams and professionals.       The total prize money amounted to 120,000 lire, 30,000 lire for the first race and 90,000 lire for the second.

Entries: Apart from Luigi Platé's Talbot the entry list for the amateur race consisted only of Maseratis. Secondo Corsi raced a 4CM (#1527). First batch 6CMs were entered by Enrico Platé (#1534), Edoardo Teagno (#1532), Dioscoride Lanza (#1539), Gualtiero Garagnani (#1558) Giorgio Pelassa (#1542) Guido Barbieri (#1543) and Andrea Brezzi (#1531). Second batch 6CMs were entered by Emilio Romano (#1557) and Arialdo Ruggeri (#1561). Catullo Lami raced a car (#1559) with a second batch chassis but with a developed 4 cylinder motor. (The 4 cylinder engine with higher torque was considered have an edge on twisty circuits) An odd entry was Guido Meregalli, who had not raced since the mid 1920s. He entered Aldo Marazza's rebuilt 6CM (#1541), not intending to race it but as an ad to sale it! For the main race the Maserati works team entered three 4CL cars for Luigi Villoresi (#1568), Giovanni Rocco (#1566), and Count Trossi (#1564) and the last built 6CM with a 4CL lookalike body and a new installed 4CL 16 valve engine for Franco Cortese (#1565) A first batch 6CM was raced by Emmanuel de Graffenried (#1535) Second batch 6CMs were entered by Paul Pietsch (#1560) and Piero Taruffi (#1562)       It was the first race for Alfa Corse since Tripoli in May. One of the cars had been destroyed in the Emilio Villoresi crash in June but the team entered four upgraded cars for the race. A new body enclosed the front suspension and the modified cooling system featured the triangular radiator that would be a hallmark for the Tipo 158 into the 1950s. Giuseppe Farina, "Nando" Aldrighetti, Clemente Biondetti and Carlo Pintacuda were the drivers. (Thanks to Adam Ferrington's and Alessandro Silva's incredible book From Voiturettes to Formula 1 it is now possible to sort out the Maserati voiturettes completely.)

Practice: As Alfa Corse had upgraded their 158s they held a unofficial practice day with two cars at the circuit on Tuesday 18 July. It was an evolution of tyres, steering, and chassis and fine-tuning the engine rather than practicing the course. Test driver Marinoni made six laps while Farina made several laps setting a best time of 2m31.0s. Finally Biondetti did six laps at a similar speed as Farina. First official practice day was 27 July. A large crowd turned up but had to watch only the Alfa Corse cars as the Maserati cars were absent, though their mechanics were present. First test driver Marioni made four laps with the best time of of 2m37.0s Biondetti’s did at least seven laps setting a time of 2m31.6s. Farina did 12 laps ending up with a fastest time of 2m28.4s on his 10th lap. The Maserati works team was present on the second practice day Friday 28 July. Cortese set his fastest time 2m32.4s on the ninth lap out of 13. Trossi, who drove fewer laps with a 2m32.0s lap being his fastes, while Villoresi's on the eighth lap had a time of 2m31.2s. In addition to the works entries also the cars of the independent entrants tested but were significantly slower as expected given the machinery at their disposal.       Among the Alfa Corse drivers Biondetti set a time of 2m28.0s on his 10th lap. First Farina suffered engine trouble but once fixed he made 14 laps setting a time of 2m27.4s (141.7 km/h) on his 13th lap. Pintacuda's best time was 2m33s and Severi's 2m34s. Marinoni, alternated with Aldrighetti, also made a few laps without setting significant times. The third practice day, Saturday 29 July, did not alter the situation much. Farina was unable to better his. Friday time. Trossi was the fastest Maserati driver with a time of 2m29.8s, (139.4 km/h). Among the amateur competitors Teagno was fastest with a time of 2m47.6s

Race 1 ("aspiranti") Before the races started the drivers and crowd observed a minute silence in memory of Emilio Villoresi. Twelve cars lined up on the grid for the amateur race.

30 Brezzi Maserati 18 Lami Maserati 4 Teagno Maserati 26 Barbieri Maserati Rest of grid unknown

Lami was the most aggressive at the start and took the lead, closely followed by Barbieri, Brezzi. Teagno, and Lanza. Barbieri closed the gap on Lami on the second and third laps. Behind him a duel was unfolding between Brezzi and Teagno. Brezzi initially pulled ahead, but Teagno eventually got the upper hand after Brezzi made a spectacular spin.       Barbieri took over the lead on the fifth lap, but by the following lap, Lami was back in front,. Lami and Barbieri then fiercely resisted Teagno's attack, but Barbieri was losing ground due to engine trouble and was passed by Teagno who seemed intent on taking the over the lead as well, a move he successfully executed at the end of the ninth lap.       Meanwhile, charging hard from the back of the pack after his spin Brezzi was making fast laps. He quickly moved from fifth to fourth and then to third, overtaking Lanza, who was struggling with a slipping clutch.       The duel between Teagno and Lami continued while Brezzi was closing in behind them. Teagno held on to his lead until the twelfth or thirteenth lap when Lami managed to overtake his rival again. That order remained for only two laps before Teagno reclaimed the lead. Behind them Brezzi's chase on the duo finished with a second spin.       Teagno held the lead to the finish, aided by the ease with which he managed to lap Lanza, a while that proved to be more difficult for Lami. Then Lami stayed glued to Teagno's tail and at the finish, a mere two-fifths of a second separated the two. Brezzi finished third, trailing some distance behind, but had set the fastest lap of the day. Lanza finished fourth, and Corsi fifth; all other competitors had retired.

Race 2 (Coppa Ciano) It was then time for the main event with 11 cars lined up on the grid like this:

56 Trossi Maserati 48 Biondetti Alfa Romeo 32 Farina Alfa Romeo 34 Aldrighetti Alfa Romeo 38 L Villoresi Maserati 42 Cortese Maserati 40 Rocco Maserati 54 Pintacuda Alfa Romeo 52 Pietsch Maserati 44 Graffenried Maserati 46 Taruffi Maserati

The start was chaotic as Farina made a move to pull away before Signora Adriana Torelli, wife of National Councilor Torelli, dropped the flag. The race was halted and the start was retaken, this time in proper order.       It was Farina who again was fastest away to take the lead, followed by Biondetti, Cortese, and Trossi. Farina did the opening lap in 2m43s. Behind him came Cortese, Villoresi, Pietsch, Biondetti, Rocco, Pintacuda, Aldrighetti, Trossi, Tauffi, and de Graffenried.       The field was immediately broken up with Farina's Alfa Romeo being chased by three Maseratis and Biondetti in fourth position leading the second group. Villoresi soon passed Cortese for second place but was unable to keep up with Farina who did the second lap in 2m31.0s, the third in 2m29s and the fourth in 2m28s. The gap to Villorese went from five seconds to ten, and then to fifteen.       Pietsch disappeared from his fourth position, possibly due to a pit stop. Behind the top trio here were several duels between drivers. Rocco appeared to be closing in on Biondetti and Cortese, while Trossi overtook Aldrighetti and then Pintacuda.       Farina continued to pull away making his seventh lap in 2m27.4s his ninth in 2m26.6s and his tenth in 2m25.0s. On the 11th lap Biondetti managed to overtake Cortese for third position. They were closly followed my Rocco. Pintacuda closed in on Trossi and then Aldrighetti managed to pass both of them.       By the 18th lap Farina, who already held a lead of over 40 seconds over Villoresi, put in the fastest lap of the race with a time of 2m24.8s.       After 20 laps the lead has increased to 49.2 seconds: 1. Farina (Alfa Romeo) 49m21.4s 2. Villoresi (Maserati) 50m10.6s 3. Biondetti (Alfa Romeo) 50m44s 4. Cortese (Maserati) 50m57s 5. Rocco (Maserati) 51m14s 6. Aldrighetti (Alfa Romeo) 51m42s 7. Trossi (Maserati) 51m42s 8. Pintacuda (Alfa Romeo) 51m44s 9. Pietsch (Maserati) 52m09s 10. Trossi (Maserati) De Graffenried was out of the race. Rocco had to make pit stop for a spark plug and fell back the order. Trossi also had to stop to change tyres.       On the 25th lap a nail caused Villoresis rear-left tyre to go flat, and he had to make almost a full lap on the rim. He returned to the race after the pit stop in fifth position. On the 27th lap Biondetti stopped and got got out of his Alfa Romeo. That meant Cortese was now up to second position.       Order after 30 laps was thus: 1. Farina (Alfa Romeo) 1h14m02s 2. Cortese (Maserati) 1h16m56s 3. Pintacuda (Alfa Romeo) 1h17m27s 4. Villoresi (Maserati) 1h17m24.8s 5. Aldrighetti (Alfa Romeo) 1h17m52s 6. Pietsch (Maserati) 1h18m12s It was time to make the refuel stops. When Pintacuda stopped on the 31st lap Biondetti took over his car. At the same time Rocco retied with broken half-shaft. On the next lap Aldrighetti was forced to retire his Alfa Romeo due to a mechanical failure and two laps later Pietsch retired his Maserati following an incident.       Meanwhile, Biondetti's car had been repaired and it was offered to Pintacuda, who declined, as the car had already lost four laps. Finally Francesco Severi, the team's reserve driver, took the car back into the race. Taruffi, due to the retirements up to fourth position, had to slow down and was passed by Biondetti.       Farina was now a full lap ahead of all the rest. Cortese and Villoresi were running second and third, close to one another, with Biondetti fourth, Taruffi fifth, and Severi sixth. On the 42nd lap Villoresi had to retire his car due to a broke a half-shaft. Now only five competitors remained, all far away from each other on different laps.       For Farina, the final laps were a triumphant procession, crowned by thunderous, well-deserved applause from the spectators. Cortese took his Maserati home in second place a lap behind the winner while Biondetti was third in Pintacuda's car, a further two laps behind. After the race there was a ceremony in memory of Costanzo Ciano, who had died on 26 June. He had sponsored the event since 1927.

6 Raymond Mays
R. Mays
ERA D

1 "B Bira"
"B Bira"
Maserati 8CM

12 Peter Aitken
P. Aitken
ERA B

The last Brooklands event

44 Clemente Biondetti
Alfa Corse
Alfa Romeo 158

38 Carlo Pintacuda
Alfa Corse
Alfa Romeo 158

32 Giuseppe Farina
Alfa Corse
Alfa Romeo 158

Quadruple Alfa

Coppa Acerbo was another GP race changed to Voiturette status and divided into a amateur race for drivers with national race licences and a main race for teams. During practice Aldrighetti crashed is Alfa Romeo receiving fatal wounds. The amateur race was won by Edoardo Teagno. The top three finishers were giving a place in the main race.       There Giuseppe Farina (Alfa Romeo) took the start followed by Villoresi (Maserati) and Biondetti (Alfa Romeo). There was another terrible accident on the first lap as Catullo Lami who had been third in the amateur race got killed when he overturned his Maserati. During the pitstops both Farina and Villoresi got into trouble letting Biondetti into the lead. He was pursued by the works Maseratis of Villoresi and Cortese but on the last lap both Maserati cars ran out of fuel leaving Alfa Corse to take a quadruple victory with Biondetti, Pintacuda, Farina and Severi.

Just as at the Coppa Ciano two weeks earlier, the Coppa Acerbo 14 lap main race was for the works teams and professionals while the rest were running in a 4 lap "independents" race. This time the "independents" race had more meaning as the top three finishers were given a chance to take part in the main race.

Entries: The entry list was naturally similar to the one at Coppa Ciano two weeks earlier. Apart from Luigi Platé's Talbot the entry list for the amateur race consisted only of Maseratis: Secondo Corsi entered a Maserati 4CM (#1527). A Second batch 6CM were entered by Arialdo Ruggeri (#1561). Catullo Lami, as in Coppa Ciano, raced a car with a second batch chassis but with a developed 4 cylinder motor (#1559). The rest raced first batch 6CMs: Edoardo Teagno (#1532), Dioscoride Lanza, (#1542) Andrea Brezzi (#1531), Luis Bonomi (#1539), Guido Barbieri (#1543), Enrico Platé (#1534). For the main race the Maserati works team entered two 4CL cars for Luigi Villoresi (#1568) and Giovanni Rocco (#1566), and the 6CM with a 4CL body and 4CL 16 valve engine for Franco Cortese (#1565). British driver A. C. Pollock entered a the grey ex-Embiricos' ERA (R2A). Four Alfa Corse Tipo 158s were entered for Giuseppe Farina, "Nando" Aldrighetti, Clemente Biondetti and Francesco Severi.

Practice: There were two practice sessions on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th August, between 9-12 a clock each day. During the Friday session motor cycle racer and Alfa Corse newcomer Giordano "Nando" Aldrighetti had a heavy crash near Spoltore village and the Alfa Romeo was destroyed in flames. At first it seemed Aldrighetti had survived with only minor wounds but his condition deteriorated during the evening as it was realized he in fact had received serious internal crush injuries as well as third degree burns. Aldigretti succumbed at the Pescara hospital, half a hour after midnight. Carlo Pintacuda took over af fourth Alfa Corse driver in the spare car for the Saturday session.       Apart from that details of the practice sessions are not known but La Stampa published the fastest lap times and the grid order for both races as can be seen below. The magazine included both Comotti and Garagnani on their grid so I assume they were present at Pescara but non starters.

Race 1 (""Independents") The event started at 8:30 A.M. Sunday morning with the four lap amateur race where ten competitors took part.

18 Lami Maserati 13m22.2s 4 Teagno Maserati 12m54.4s 6 Lanza Maserati 13m25s 8 Brezzi Maserati 13m45s 14 Bonomi Maserati 13m41s 24 E Platé Maserati 14m32.2s 16 Corsi Maserati 17m09,8s 10 L Platé Talbot 15m46.2s 22 Barbieri Maserati 26m33.6s 12 Ruggeri Maserati No time

The amateur race was won with overwhelming superiority by Barbieri who led all the way. Teagno finished second despite suffering some engine trouble. Lami had to make a pit stop after the first lap to do a spark-plug change but fought his way back through the field and took over third place just before the finish when Brezzi had to retire. Those three drivers were sent to the back of the main race grid.

Final: In the main race there were Three works Alfa Romeos, three works Maseratis, an odd ERA, plus the three Maseratis that had qualified from the "independents".

26 L Villoresi Maserati 11m28.4s 32 Farina Alfa Romeo 11m22.4s 34 Cortese Maserati 11m40s 38 Pintacuda Alfa Romeo 11m42s 44 Biondetti Alfa Romeo 11m47s 46 Severi Alfa Romeo 11m58s 40 Pollock ERA 13m01.2s 28 Rocco Maserati 12m18s 22 Barbieri Maserati - 18 Lami Maserati - 4 Teagno Maserati -

As the flag was dropped Farina and Villoresi were the quickest away, while Cortese and Biondetti behind them were fighting for third position. For a while, Villoresi and Farina ran side-by-side, but Villoresi eventually prevailed, entering the Station Curve first. Villoresi led the first lap all the way to Monte Silvano but on the main straight Farina passed to be leading at the end of the lap, already making new lap record, despite the standing start, with Villoresi’s Maserati following 2 second behind: 1. Farina (Alfa Romeo) 11m24.21s 2. Villoresi (Maserati) 11m26.57s 3. Biondetti (Alfa Romeo) 11m28s 4. Cortese (Maserati) 11m28.98s 5. Pintacuda (Alfa Romeo) 11m53s 6. Severi (Alfa Romeo) 11m59s Further back came Rocco followed by Pollock. Barbieri, stopped at the pits and retired, and Teagno arrived last with a sputtering engine, and had to retire as well.       So all three amateurs were out of the race after a single lap as Lami was missing. He had entered the Ospedaletti curve at excessive speed. The Maserati turned over and skidded with Lami underneath receiving fatal injuries.       On the second lap, there were no changes in position. However, Farina, racing flat out, did he lap in 11m06.81s, (139.3 km/h), pulling away fifteen seconds from Villoresi, and shattering he old 1500cc class record by 25 seconds. The lap time for Villoresi was 11m25s, Biondetti 11m27s, Cortese 11m33s, Pintacuda 11m34s, and Severi slightly slower. Rocco was already out of contention, leaving two Maseratis against four Alfa Romeos to fight for the positions.       On the middle of the third lap Villoresi overdid it, spun in a corner and lost second position to Biondetti. Farina made the third lap in 11m12s and Biondetti in 11m23s. Despite his spin Villoresi managed do do the lap in 11m24s, and Cortese's lap time was 11m28s.       Farina extended his lead on the fourth lap to 45 seconds over Biondetti who was challenged by Villoresi over second position. Cortese had lost ground to the duo, though he easily kept Pintacuda and Severi behind him.       There were no position changes during the fifth and sixth lap but at the end of the seventh lap Villoresi managed to overtake Biondetti right at the finish line, just as the cars were ready for their fuel stops. 1. Farina (Alfa Romeo) 1h19m46s 2. Villoresi (Maserati) 1h20m11s 3. Biondetti (Alfa Romeo) 1h20m11.4s 4. Cortese (Maserati) 1h20m58s 5. Pintacuda (Alfa Romeo) ? 6. Severi (Alfa Romeo) 1h21m23s 7. Rocco (Maserati) 1h26m Farina made a 33 seconds stop and rejoined the race still in the lead. Villoresi stopped as well while Biondetti continued for another lap. Then Villoresi's engine refused to restart however and his stop took 1 minute and 2 seconds; Cortese's stop took 32 seconds, and Pintacuda's stop 37 seconds. Severi would make his stop on the next lap.       At the end of the ninth lap there was a chaotic scene in the Alfa Corse pit as Farina stopped again to change a plug. Mechanics swarmed around the car but it took over three minues before Farina could continue. 1. Biondetti (Alfa Romeo) 1h32m07s 2. Villoresi (Maserati) 1h33m04.27s 3. Pintacuda (Alfa Romeo) 1h33m48s 4. Cortese (Maserati) 1h33m49s 5. Farina (Alfa Romeo) 1h34m48s Meanwhile the team also had to serve Biondetti. His pitstop lasted 42 seconds and he rejoined the race in the lead 19 seconds before Villoresi.       On the ninth lap Villonesi closed the gap to the leader to just six seconds but on the tenth lap Biondetti pulled away again ending the lap with a nine-second lead. Meanwhile Cortese had passed Pintacuda for third position.       On the eleventh lap Villoresi was in obvious trouble. Biondetti had opened up the gap to 29 seconds and Cortese was only 19 seconds behind his teammate. On the twelfth lap, Cortese moved into second place and on the thirteenth lap Villoresi was overtaken by Pintacuda as well.       The question was if Farina also would be able to catch Villoresi. At the end of the 14th lap Biondetti took the chequered flag as the winner. But instead of Cortese it was Pintacuda, who turned upp next to finish second about two minutes behind Biondetti. Then followed Farina and Severi. It turned out that Cortese's and Villoresi' Maseratis had come to a halt at Cappelle as both had run out of fuel, giving the Alfa Corse team a 1-2-3-4 result.