Grand Prix de Monaco Historique 2014
MONACO BIANNUAL MAGIC
For the delight of classic car enthusiasts, single seaters from all ages returned to the streets of Monaco in this prestigious event. Writes: David Leciñana | Photo credits: Automobile Club de Monaco (otherwise stated).
Surrounded by the unique atmosphere of the monegasque tarmarc, le Grand Prix de Monaco Historique showcased a self 50-year racing review back to its ancient times in the thirties when it was already a tremendous race. Today, it is still organized by Automobile Club de Monaco (with Chopard watch brand as the official timekeeper) and it is also a invitation only event as it was in the beginning.
Friday and Saturday were reserved to practicing and Sunday was scheduled for the races, one for each of the seven categories (each category had several class cups). The Pre-war grand prix & voiturette car group was divided in no less than six of theses classes and, with 11 entrants, a cup was guaranteed nearly for everyone even before the start. The grid was filled mainly with ERA, Bugatti and Alfa Romeo cars and victory went to british Matthew Grist with a 1934 Alfa Romeo Tipo B.
In the pre-61 group “front-engined F1” and “rear-engined F1” classes made a clean sweep of eleven first grid places. Roger Wills took the checkered flag in a Cooper T51 and second came Frank Stippler with a Maserati 250F Piccolo (first front-engined car). F2 cars raced alongside, the first to cross the line being a Alta from 1952 driven by Ian Nuthall to 10th position (absolute). Worth noting Jean-Jacques Bally’s best lap of 2:09.743 in a Formula 2 Gordini T11/15 from 1946.
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Grand Prix de Monaco Historique 2014
Drove by Jabouille and Prost, Renault brought two of its most important F1 Turbo cars: '77 RS01 and '83 RE40.
Classic Team Lotus was the absolute pace setter in the F1 1961-65 category, in both the “4 to 6 cylinders” and “8 to 12 cylinders” classes. Among big engined single seaters, Chapman’s Type 25 showed its supremacy again and was the overall winner with the english driver Andy Middlehurst achieving a 40 second gap in the final lap. In the smaller engine class, 70% of entrants were also Norfolk cars and obtained the first seven places.
Composed mainly by british cars built between 1970 and 1972, the race for the Série E cup (F1 1966-72) was a considerable step forwad in terms of performance. The sole Japan representative, Katsuaki Kubota, took first place and set an average speed of 122,9 kmh: these are proper races, and not free of accidents at all. One of the nastiest for the enthusiast’s eye (with no consecuences for the driver) was a Ferrari 312 B2 crash while practicing. Curiosly it was a period Jackie Ickx‘s chassis who, as a Chopard guest, had been driving an Auto Union that morning in a demonstration run. These 16-cylinder monsters raced here in the 1936 and 1937 editions, but were always beaten by Mercedes.
Serie F race draw together drivers from 12 different countries adding up 34 entrants; although divided in two classes (cosworth and non-cosworth), only two non-DFV cars raced. Victory went to to Michael Lyons at the wheel of a Hesketh 308E, followed far behind by american Charles Nearburg in a 1976 March. Nick Padmore (Williams FW05) completed the podium. Finally, Sport cars from 1952 to 1955 also raced, being the crowdest grid of all weekend with 37 cars. Jaguar Heritage Racing set best lap (1:59.920) and got an overall win with a C-Type.
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