1946 Turin Grand Prix

Background

The 1946 Turin Grand Prix was the first Grand Prix to be held in Italy in the post-war era. Given the recentness of the Second World War, the vast majority of the cars on the grid were pre-war voiturette-class racing cars. With the absence of the German manufacturers that dominated the pre-war Grand Prix circuit, the field was instead dominated by the rivalry between fellow Italian manufacturers Alfa Romeo and Maserati.

The Grand Prix was also the motor racing debut of Turin-based Cisitalia, who, despite not qualifying for the race itself, would go on to win the accompanying Coppa Brezzi at the same venue the following Tuesday, with founder Piero Dusio behind the wheel.

Technical regulations

The race was run to the 1947 Grand Prix Formula technical regulations, which allowed for either 1500cc supercharged engines or 4500cc naturally-aspirated engines. The regulations, while not in force, had been proposed by the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) as late as March 1946 and was approved by the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) on 24 June 1946, in the same meeting that officially changed their name to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). These regulations would remain unchanged throughout the inaugural season of the Formula One World Championship in 1950.

It was widely regarded by contemporary sources that the race would be a test of the new regulations. All the cars that qualified for the race met the 1500cc supercharged specification except for Eugène Chaboud's Delahaye, which ran a 3500cc naturally-aspirated engine in the 4500cc class.

Qualifying

Qualifying took place over the course of the two practice sessions on 30–31 August 1946. Due to a deal with Lotteria della Solidarietà Nazionale, in which 20 lottery tickets would be issued, with the accompanying winning driver earning the ticket-holder the jackpot of one million Lira, the 20 fastest drivers would qualify for the race.

Qualifying classification

Notes

† – Alternative Driver, car originally entered by Louis Chiron

Race

Almost instantly after the start of the race, polesitter Farina experienced an irreparable transmission failure, while Whitehead managed to get into the lead before problems with his supercharger led to him dropping down the order. This left the Alfas to break away from the pack. Maserati's challenge was not aided by team leader Nuvolari, who, seeming to be suffering from suspension problems from the start, lost one of his rear wheels on lap 10. Thankfully, he managed to bring the car to a stop without further incident, though the wheel itself ended up in the Po. The race, typical for the time, was one of high attrition; half of the field had retired by the mid-point when the rain began. In the end, the front-runners consisted of Wimille in first and Varzi in second, but still in hot pursuit. It seemed as though Wimille would be able to keep the lead until the end of the race, until lap 50 when the Alfa Romeo team held out a pit board for Wimille reading "1. Varzi; 2. Wimille", dictating the desired finishing order. Wimille then allowed Varzi past to give him the victory. Sommer crossed the line two laps down to take third, and the crowd was very impressed with Chaboud's drive, having started last and finishing fourth, albeit five laps down to the leaders.

While Maserati would go on to win the majority of Grands Prix in 1946, the dominance of Alfa Romeo under the new formula regulations would prove itself consistent as the team would go on to dominate the following years, ultimately resulting in their car winning the first two seasons of the Formula One Championship in an equally dominant fashion.[[File:Wimile Turin 1946.jpg|thumb|Second place finisher [[Jean-Pierre Wimille]] in front of winner [[Achille Varzi]]]]

Race classification

Notes

† – Alternative Driver, car originally entered by Guido Barbieri

References

References

1. Farinelli, Aldo. (3 September 1946). "I vincitori dei milioni e della corsa". La Nuova Stampa.
2. (October 1946). "Turin G.P.". Motor Sport.
3. Henry, Maurice. (4 September 1946). "Les Debuts Victorieux De Cisitalia". L'Équipe.
4. Farinelli, Aldo. (1 September 1946). "Motori e milioni al Circuito del Valentino". La Nuova Stampa.
5. Henry, Maurice. (2 March 1946). "La Formule De Course 1938-1939 Reste Applicable". L'Équipe.
6. Henry, Maurice. (26 June 1946). "Le vicomte de Rohan réélu président de l'AIACR". L'Équipe.
7. Farinelli, Aldo. (31 August 1946). "Fra i primi venti biglietti estratti". La Nuova Stampa.
8. Henry, Maurice. (31 August 1946). "Le Grand Prix De Turin". L'Équipe.
9. "F 1 R Torino 1946".
10. Henry, Maurice. (2 September 1946). "Wimille Avait Course Gagnée A Turin". L'Équipe.
11. Henry, Maurice. (4 September 1946). "Jean-Pierre Wimille espère qu'une prochaine fois Alfa-Romeo lui permettra de jouer le premier rôle". L'Équipe.