1930 French Grand Prix

The 1930 French Grand Prix (formally the XXIV Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.) was a Grand Prix motor race held at Pau on 21 September 1930. The race was held over 25 laps of a 15.835 km circuit for a total race distance of 395.875 km and was won by Philippe Étancelin driving a Bugatti. The race was notable for the fact that Tim Birkin came second in a 4.5 litre supercharged Bentley, which was a stripped-down road car.

1930 French Grand Prix
Race details
Date 21 September 1930
Official name XXIV Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.
Location Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Course Road course
Course length 15.867 km (9.860 mi)
Distance 25 laps, 396.6 km (246.5 mi)
Pole position
Driver
  • Louis Casali
La Perle
Grid positions set by ballot
Fastest lap
Driver William Grover-Williams Bugatti
Time 6:10
Podium
First Bugatti
Second Bentley
Third Bugatti

Pau had some Grand Prix traditions, as the town held the honour of arranging the first race ever to be called a Grand Prix back in 1901. For the 1930 Grand Prix a triangular, Le Mans-type track outside the city was selected. Known as the Circuit de Morlaas it should not be confused with the well-known street track in the Parque Beaumont. The French had hoped to run the race to the International Formula, but when the response was poor the event was postponed and changed to a Formula Libre event instead. The new date meant that the Italian teams were unable to attend, leaving it to be mostly an internal French affair with sixteen Bugattis, two Peugeots and a Delage among the twenty five starters. Among the top Bugatti drivers were Louis Chiron, Marcel Lehoux, Count Stanislas Czaikowski, Jean-Pierre Wimille, Philippe Étancelin and William Grover-Williams.

A curiosity in the largely single-seat entry list was Tim Birkin's 4½-litre supercharged "Blower Bentley" touring car, stripped down to racing trim, with headlights and mudguards removed. The race distance was twenty five laps of the 15.8 km track, making a total of 396 km. Guy Bouriat took an early lead, followed by Williams, Zanelli, Czaikowski and Étancelin, with Birkin as first non-Bugatti driver, in sixth place. Williams in a works Bugatti then became the next leader. Czaikowski fell back through the field and Bouriat in the other works Bugatti made a pitstop giving over the car to Chiron. Then Williams also had to make a stop for a new wheel. That all made way for Étancelin to advance and he was followed by Birkin, the track with its long straights suiting the supercharged Bentley perfectly.

At one-third distance Chiron led, followed by Étancelin, Williams and Birkin. Birkin's fourth place became a third as Williams got engine troubles but then Zanelli, who had made an early stop, came rushing through the field pushing Birkin back to fourth. At lap ten "Sabipa" crashed and was thrown out of his Bugatti, Birkin only avoiding the injured driver by the slightest of margins. After eleven laps Chiron encountered problems with oil pressure and Étancelin took over the lead. Soon Chiron was also passed by Zanelli and Birkin. The Bentley driver used his horn to warn the Bugatti to move over, surely a unique occurrence in Grand Prix racing! With seven laps to go Zanelli made another pitstop and Birkin was up into second place. While Étancelin, with a 2.5 minute lead, nursed his Bugatti home to take victory, Zanelli had not given up and was catching Birkin fast. At the flag the margin was down to fourteen seconds but it was enough for the British Bentley driver to make Grand Prix history, as this was the only occasion on which the iconic 4½-litre "Blower Bentley" was raced with any success. (It was the normally-aspirated 4½-litre and "Speed Six" models which had swept the board at Le Mans for the previous three years).


Starting Grid (3-3)

GridDriver
1 Louis Casali
2 Stanislas Czaykowski
3 Marcel Lehoux
4 Guy Bouriat
5 Jean-Pierre Wimille
6 Tim Birkin
7 Robert Senechal
8 "Grimaldi"
9 Jean de Maleplane
10 Charles Montier
11 Juan Zanelli
12 Albert de Bondeli
13 Jean de l'Espee
14 "Sabipa"
15 G.Daniel
16 Philippe Étancelin
17 Henri Stoffel
18 George Delaroche
19 Jean Gaupillat
20 "Williams"
21 J.Lumachi
22 Ferdinand Montier
23 Max Fourny
24 Robert Laly
25 René Ferrand

Classifications

[1]

PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/Retire
144 Philippe ÉtancelinBugatti T35C252h43m18.4
218 Tim BirkinBentley 4.5 SC252h46m44.6
332 Juan ZanelliBugatti T35B252h46m58.8
46 Stanislas CzaykowskiBugatti T35C252h51m27.0
538 Jean de l'EspeeBugatti T35C252h54m28.8
620 Robert SenechalDelage 15-S8252h56m28.6
728 Jean de MaleplaneBugatti T35C253h00m58.0
848 Henri StoffelPeugeot 174S253h01m06.2
974 René FerrandPeugeot 174S253h09m08.4
1072 Robert LalyAriès253h21m19.2
1114 Guy Bouriat (laps 1–11)
Louis Chiron (laps 12–24)
Bugatti T35B24Engine
NC22 ″Grimaldi″Bugatti T35C21+4 laps
NC66 Ferdinand MontierMontier Ford21+4 laps
NC4 Louis CasaliLa Perle19+6 laps
Ret42 G.DanielBugatti T35B16Did Not Finish
Ret36 Albert de BondeliBugatti T37A15Did Not Finish
Ret58 "Williams"Bugatti T35C12Engine
Ret40 "Sabipa"Bugatti T35C10Crash
Ret54 Jean GaupillatBugatti T37A7Did Not Finish
Ret30 Charles MontierMontier Ford4Did Not Finish
Ret64 J.LumachiBugatti T35B3Engine
Ret16 Jean-Pierre WimilleBugatti T37A2Supercharger
Ret68 Max FournyBugatti T35C2Engine
Ret52 Georges DelarocheBugatti T35C2Engine
Ret10 Marcel LehouxBugatti T35B0Gearbox
DNA2 Jean PoniatoAlphi CIMEDid Not Appear
DNA8 Babe StappDuesenberg ADid Not Appear
DNA12 Georges BourianoBugatti T35BDid Not Appear
DNA24 Claude ArthezBugatti T35Did Not Appear
DNA26 "Lenart"Bugatti T35Did Not Appear
DNA34 Albert DivoBugatti T35Did Not Appear
DNA46 René DreyfusBugatti T35BDid Not Appear
DNA50 Etienne LepicardDonnetDid Not Appear
DNA56 Jose ScaronAmilcar C6Did Not Appear
DNS60 Arthur DurayAmilcar C6driver injured
DNA62 "Rodansky"Bugatti T35Did Not Appear

Fastest Lap: "W.Williams", 6m10.0 (154.070 km/h)

Note – Chiron drove car 14 for laps 12-24.

References

Grand Prix Race
Previous race:
1930 Belgian Grand Prix
1930 Grand Prix season
Grandes Épreuves
Next race:
1931 Italian Grand Prix
Previous race:
1929 French Grand Prix
French Grand Prix Next race:
1931 French Grand Prix
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