Tripoli Grand Prix - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Tripoli Grand Prix was a motor racing event first held in 1925 on a racing circuit outside Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

, the capital of what was then Italian Tripolitania

Italian Tripolitania

Italian Tripolitania was an African colony, in present day western Libya, of the Kingdom of Italy from 1927 to 1934. It was part of the Italian North Africa territory conquered from the Ottoman empire in 1911...

. It lasted until 1940.

Background

Motor racing was an extremely popular sport in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

and the colony was seeking methods to raise capital and promote tourism—tourists who, it was hoped, would then decide to settle in Tripolitania. But despite the support of the colony's extremely enthusiastic governor, General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

Emilio de Bono

Emilio De Bono

Emilio De Bono was an Italian General, fascist activist, Marshal, and member of the Fascist Grand Council . De Bono fought in the Italo-Turkish War, World War I, and the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.-Early life:De Bono was born in Cassano d'Adda...

, and some initial success, the events failed financially. Only personal intervention by General de Bono kept the 1929 event from being cancelled, and 1930 was marred by a spartan field, little public interest, and the death of Gastone Brilli-Peri

Gastone Brilli-Peri

Count Gastone Brilli-Peri was a famous Italian racing driver, who won the 1925 Italian Grand Prix in an Alfa Romeo P2, securing the inaugural World Manufacturers' Championship title for Alfa Romeo. Known simply as “Brilli,” his face had been permanently scarred in an accident during a Tour of...

in an accident. Initial enthusiasm and sponsorship had retreated, the fallout from Brilli-Peri's accident meant a 1931 running was impossible, and the dream of a successful Tripoli Grand Prix might have ended there and then.

But the president of Tripoli's auto club, Edigio Sforzini, was resilient. He decided to organize another Grand Prix, this time on a purpose built European style racing circuit. Sufficient capital was raised from the Italian government's funding of a fair promoting the colony so as to make the venture possible, and upon the circuit's completion the Grand Prix was scheduled for the spring of 1933.

This new Mellaha Lake track was a 13.140 kilometer (8.165 mi) long affair situated in a salt basin between Tripoli

Tripoli

, Suq al Jum'ah (also known as Suk el Giuma or Sugh el Giumaa (سوق الجمعة)) and Tajura

Tajura Wa Al Nawahi AlArba'

Tajura wa Arba was one of the districts of Libya from 2001 to 2007. It consisted of eleven Basic People's Congresses, similar to townships, and its capital was Tajura...

. The track's most distinctive landmark was a brilliant white concrete tower situated across from a large frontstretch grandstand that could hold up to ten thousand people. Mellaha Lake was equipped with starting lights, an innovation, and the additional amenities rivaled the best that continental European circuits had to offer.

With Italy exerting further control over its North African holdings, including the appointment of Marshal of the Air Force

Marshal of the Air Force

Marshal of the Air Force is the English term for the most senior rank in a number of air forces. The ranks described by this term can properly be considered marshal ranks....

Italo Balbo

Italo Balbo was an Italian Blackshirt leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force , Governor-General of Libya, Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa , and the "heir apparent" to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.After serving in...

as Governor-General and the joining of Italian Cyrenaica

Cyrenaica

Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...

and Italian Tripolitania

Tripolitania

Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...

into a single colony, Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

, the event gained even more spectacle. The participants were treated like royalty, staying in luxury at the Hotel Uaddan with its casino and dinner theater and being entertained by Marshal Balbo at his palace. All this led Dick Seaman to describe Mellaha Lake as the "Ascot

Ascot Racecourse

Ascot Racecourse is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races...

of motor racing circuits", and coupled with its substantial total prize, it is easy to see why the Tripoli Grand Prix became such a popular date on the calendar.

From 1933 to 1938, the Grand Prix was run to the Formula Libre standard, meaning that no weight or engine restrictions were enforced on what was then the fastest track in the world. In 1939 the Italians, tired of Germany's dominance, turned it into a Voiturette race for smaller, 1500cc cars, but even so a specially-built Mercedes driven by Hermann Lang

Hermann Lang

Hermann Lang was a German champion race car driver.Born in the Bad Cannstatt district of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, at age fourteen Hermann Lang had to go to work to help support his family following the death of his father...

won. In 1940, with only the factory Alfa Romeo and Maserati teams plus some independents in attendance, Giuseppe Farina

Giuseppe Farina

Emilio Giuseppe "Nino" Farina was an Italian racing driver. He stands out in the history of Grand Prix motor racing for his much copied 'straight-arm' driving style and his status as the first ever Formula One World Champion.-Biography:Born in Turin, Italy and nicknamed "Nino", Farina was a doctor...

took his only major pre-war victory. It was a last and pyrrhic result for the Italians, because the Tripoli Grand Prix was never held again with the onset of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

1933 - Accusation of Foul Play

The Grand Prix was held in conjunction with the Libyan state lottery and, in the case of the inaugural Mellaha Lake event, there have long been accusations of result fixing. From October 1932 to April 16, 1933, the government sold 12 lire lottery tickets and, after taking their cut, they put up the rest as the prize for a special lottery based on the outcome of the race. Thirty attendance tickets were drawn at random eight days before the event and assigned to a corresponding race entry. The holder of the winner's entry would receive three million lire, second place two million, and third one million. The story, first publicized in Alfred Neubauer

Alfred Neubauer

Alfred Neubauer was the racing manager of the Mercedes Grand Prix team from 1926 to 1955.-Biography:...

's 1958 book Speed Was My Life (Männer, Frauen und Motoren: Die Erinnerungen des Mercedes-Rennleiters), alleged that Tazio Nuvolari

Tazio Nuvolari

Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari was an Italian motorcycle and racecar driver, known as Il Mantovano Volante or Nivola. He was the 1932 European Champion in Grand Prix motor racing...

, Achille Varzi

Achille Varzi

Achille Varzi , was an Italian Grand Prix driver.-Career:Born in Galliate, province of Novara , Achille Varzi was the son of a prosperous textile manufacturer...

and Baconin Borzacchini

Baconin Borzacchini

Baconin Borzacchini was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver often referred to as Mario Umberto Borzacchini.-Biography:...

, along with their respective ticket holders, conspired to decide the outcome of the race in order to split some seven and a half million lire together. Research suggests that the story is a popular myth.

By Year

Year	Driver	Constructor	Location	Report
1940	Giuseppe Farina Giuseppe Farina Emilio Giuseppe "Nino" Farina was an Italian racing driver. He stands out in the history of Grand Prix motor racing for his much copied 'straight-arm' driving style and his status as the first ever Formula One World Champion.-Biography:Born in Turin, Italy and nicknamed "Nino", Farina was a doctor...	Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo in motorsport During its history, Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in many different categories of motorsport, including Grand Prix motor racing, Formula One, sportscar racing, touring car racing and rallies. They have competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entries and private...	Mellaha	Report
1939 1939 Grand Prix season The 1939 Grand Prix season was the seventh AIACR European Championship season. The championship winner was never officially announced by the AIACR due to the outbreak of World War II less than two weeks after the final event in Switzerland. The Italian GP initially had been a fifth event, but it...	Hermann Lang Hermann Lang Hermann Lang was a German champion race car driver.Born in the Bad Cannstatt district of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, at age fourteen Hermann Lang had to go to work to help support his family following the death of his father...	Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...	Mellaha	Report
1938 1938 Grand Prix season The 1938 Grand Prix season was the sixth AIACR European Championship season. The championship was won by Rudolf Caracciola, driving for the Mercedes-Benz team...	Hermann Lang Hermann Lang Hermann Lang was a German champion race car driver.Born in the Bad Cannstatt district of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, at age fourteen Hermann Lang had to go to work to help support his family following the death of his father...	Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...	Mellaha	Report
1937 1937 Grand Prix Season The 1937 Grand Prix season was the fifth AIACR European Championship season. The championship was won by Rudolf Caracciola, driving for the Mercedes-Benz team...	Hermann Lang Hermann Lang Hermann Lang was a German champion race car driver.Born in the Bad Cannstatt district of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, at age fourteen Hermann Lang had to go to work to help support his family following the death of his father...	Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...	Mellaha	Report
1936 1936 Grand Prix Season The 1936 Grand Prix season was the fourth AIACR European Championship season. The championship was won by Bernd Rosemeyer, driving for the Auto Union team...	Achille Varzi Achille Varzi Achille Varzi , was an Italian Grand Prix driver.-Career:Born in Galliate, province of Novara , Achille Varzi was the son of a prosperous textile manufacturer...	Auto Union Auto Union Auto Union was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony, during the Great Depression. The company has evolved into present day Audi, as a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group....	Mellaha	Report
1935 1935 Grand Prix season The 1935 Grand Prix season was the third AIACR European Championship season. The championship was won by Rudolf Caracciola, driving for the Mercedes-Benz team.-Teams:-Works teams:-Independent teams:-Private entries:...	Rudolf Caracciola Rudolf Caracciola Otto Wilhelm Rudolf Caracciola , more commonly Rudolf Caracciola , was a racing driver from Remagen, Germany. He won the European Drivers' Championship, the pre-1950 equivalent of the modern Formula One World Championship, an unsurpassed three times...	Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...	Mellaha	Report
1934 1934 Grand Prix season The 1934 Grand Prix season was the final year of a two-year hiatus for the European Championship. Achille Varzi proved to be the most successful driver, winning six Grands Prix. Alfa Romeo's cars proved difficult to beat, winning 18 of the season's 35 Grands Prix.-Grandes Épreuves:-Other Grands...	Achille Varzi Achille Varzi Achille Varzi , was an Italian Grand Prix driver.-Career:Born in Galliate, province of Novara , Achille Varzi was the son of a prosperous textile manufacturer...	Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo in motorsport During its history, Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in many different categories of motorsport, including Grand Prix motor racing, Formula One, sportscar racing, touring car racing and rallies. They have competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entries and private...	Mellaha	Report
1933 1933 Grand Prix season The 1933 Grand Prix season was the first year of a two-year hiatus for the European Championship. Tazio Nuvolari proved to be the most successful driver, winning seven Grands Prix. Alfa Romeo's cars proved difficult to beat, winning 19 of the season's 36 Grands Prix.-Grandes Épreuves:-Other Grands...	Achille Varzi Achille Varzi Achille Varzi , was an Italian Grand Prix driver.-Career:Born in Galliate, province of Novara , Achille Varzi was the son of a prosperous textile manufacturer...	Bugatti Bugatti Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....	Mellaha	Report
1930 1930 Grand Prix season The 1930 Grand Prix season was dominated by the Italian constructors Bugatti and Maserati. All six finishers at the Monaco Grand Prix were driving Bugattis. Achille Varzi won two races driving a Maserati.-Grandes Épreuves:-Other Grands Prix:...	Baconin Borzacchini Baconin Borzacchini Baconin Borzacchini was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver often referred to as Mario Umberto Borzacchini.-Biography:...	Maserati Maserati Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...	Tripoli Tripoli Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...	Report
1929 1929 Grand Prix season The 1929 Grand Prix season was dominated by Italian constructors. Both Alfa Romeo and Bugatti won races, with "W Williams" and Louis Chiron being the dominant drivers.-Grandes Épreuves:-Other Grands Prix:...	Gastone Brilli-Peri Gastone Brilli-Peri Count Gastone Brilli-Peri was a famous Italian racing driver, who won the 1925 Italian Grand Prix in an Alfa Romeo P2, securing the inaugural World Manufacturers' Championship title for Alfa Romeo. Known simply as “Brilli,” his face had been permanently scarred in an accident during a Tour of...	Talbot Talbot Talbot was an automobile marque that existed from 1903 to 1986, with a hiatus from 1960 to 1978, under a number of different owners, latterly under Peugeot...	Tripoli Tripoli Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...	Report
1928 1928 Grand Prix season The 1928 Grand Prix season saw the Monegasque driver Louis Chiron take seven Grand Prix victories whilst driving for the Bugatti team.During the 1928 Italian Grand Prix in Monza a serious accident involved the car of Emilio Materassi: his Talbot crashed at 200 km/h into the grandstand, killing...	Tazio Nuvolari Tazio Nuvolari Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari was an Italian motorcycle and racecar driver, known as Il Mantovano Volante or Nivola. He was the 1932 European Champion in Grand Prix motor racing...	Bugatti Bugatti Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....	Tripoli Tripoli Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...	Report
1927 1927 Grand Prix season The 1927 Grand Prix season was the third AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship season. The championship was won by Delage.-World Championship Grands Prix:-Other Grands Prix:-Championship Final Standings:...	Emilio Materassi Emilio Materassi Emilio Materassi was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver.-Early life:Born in Borgo San Lorenzo, near Florence, Italy, Emilio began working in a bicycle shop, learning the basics of applied mechanics...	Bugatti Bugatti Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....	Tripoli Tripoli Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...	Report
1926 1926 Grand Prix season The 1926 Grand Prix season was the second AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship season. The championship was won by Bugatti.-World Championship Grands Prix:-Other Grands Prix:-Championship Final Standings:...	François Eysermann	Bugatti Bugatti Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....	Tripoli Tripoli Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...	Report
1925 1925 Grand Prix season The 1925 Grand Prix season was the first AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship season. The championship was won by Alfa Romeo, utilising the P2 model.-World Championship Grands Prix:-Other Grands Prix:-Championship Final Standings:...	Renato Balestrero Renato Balestrero Renato Balestrero was an Italian racecar driver from Genoa, winning 54 out of 217 races between 1922 to 1947.Born in Lucca, he lived in Genoa and was active in the first world war....	OM Officine Meccaniche Officine Meccaniche or OM was an Italian car and truck manufacturing company, founded in 1899 in Milan as Societa Anonima Officine Meccaniche...	Tripoli Tripoli Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...	Report

External links

Grand Prix History, Gran Premio di Tripoli
Grand Prix History, Triumph: A Victor's Report

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Background

1933 - Accusation of Foul Play

By Year

See also

External links