1922 French Grand Prix

The 1922 French Grand Prix (formally the XVI Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France) was a Grand Prix motor race held at Strasbourg on 15 July 1922. The race was run over 60 laps of the 13.38km circuit for a total distance of just over 800km and was won by Felice Nazzaro driving a Fiat. This race is notable as the first Grand Prix to feature a massed start.[1]

1922 French Grand Prix
Race details
Date 15 July 1922
Official name XVI Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France
Location Strasbourg, France
Course Public roads
Course length 13.38 km (8.31 miles)
Distance 60 laps, 802.88 km (498.89 miles)
Pole position
Driver
Fiat
Grid positions set by ballot
Fastest lap
Driver Italy Pietro Bordino Fiat
Time 5:43.0
Podium
First
Fiat
Second
Bugatti
Third
  • France Pierre Marco
 Bugatti

The race was run to new Grand Prix regulations, requiring engines no larger than 2 litres, in cars with two seats and weighing at least 650kg. In practice, the Fiats were dominant, with only the Bugatti drivers close in times (the Bugatti drivers had the advantage of the Bugatti factory being in nearby Molsheim, so had already learned the circuit). After the rolling start, Felice Nazzaro lead Friderich at the end of the first lap, with the other Fiat drivers down in the pack due to their lower starting positions. By lap 4, Bordino had taken the lead, and by lap 10 Biagio Nazzaro was up to third, so Fiat lead 1-2-3. The two lead Fiats would trade the lead several times due to pitstops, with Biagio Nazzaro holding third, the three Fiats continuing to increase their lead whilst many of their competitors retired, until after halfway, Biagio Nazzaro experienced difficulties, and made a slow pitstop, dropping him to fourth until Foresti, who had taken third, retired on lap 44. With nearly all other competitors retired (mostly with engine problems), and the race nearing its end, Biagio Nazzaro's Fiat lost a rear wheel at top speed, then hit a tree, turning the car over and killing him instantly. With just two laps to go, Bordino suffered a similar failure at a much slower part of the track, his car stopping safely with a lost rear wheel. Felice Nazzaro was left to finish the race, winning by nearly an hour. It was later found that on all three Fiats the rear axle casings were faulty, with a large crack developing on Felice Nazzaro's.[1]

Classification
The race start and another shot from the start-finish area
Winner Felice Nazzaro
Felice Nazzaro after the race
Pos No Driver Car Laps Time/Retired
1 4 Italy Felice Nazzaro Fiat 804 60 6h17m17.0
2 12 Spain Pierre de Vizcaya Bugatti T30 60 7h15m09.8
3 22 France Pierre Marco Bugatti T30 60 7h48m04.2
4 11 Italy Pietro Bordino Fiat 804 58 Rear axle, crash
5 18 France Jacques Mones-Maury Bugatti T30 57 + 3 laps
Ret 17 Italy Biagio Nazzaro Fiat 804 51 Rear axle, fatal crash
Ret 14 Italy Giulio Foresti Ballot 2LS 44 Engine
Ret 7 France Jules Goux Ballot 2LS 31 Crash
Ret 8 United Kingdom Clive Gallop Aston Martin GP 30 Engine
Ret 21 United Kingdom Henry Segrave Sunbeam 29 Engine
Ret 15 United Kingdom Louis Zborowski Aston Martin GP 19 Engine
Ret 20 Italy Giulio Masetti Ballot 2LS 15 Engine
Ret 5 France Ernest Friderich Bugatti T30 14 Engine
Ret 13 France Victor Hemery Rolland Pilain A22 12 Overheating
Ret 16 United Kingdom Kenelm Lee Guinness Sunbeam 5 Engine
Ret 9 France Jean Chassagne Sunbeam 5 Engine
Ret 6 France Albert Guyot Rolland Pilain A22 2 Engine
Ret 19 France Louis Wagner Rolland Pilain A22 2 Engine
Sources:[1][2][3]


References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1922 French Grand Prix.
  1. Hodges, David (1967). The French Grand Prix. pp. 60–64.
  2. Darren Galpin. "1922 Grands Prix, The GEL Motorsport Information Page". Archived from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  3. "1922 French Grand Prix". Motor Sport Magazine Database. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
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