1926 GRAND PRIX SEASON -

II° GRAN PREMIO DI TRIPOLI

Tagiura Circuit (I), 29 April 1926.
15 laps x 26.200 km (16.28 mi) = 393.0 km (244.2 mi)

No.	Driver	Entrant	Car	Type	Engine		Remarks

	Category A - up to 1500 cc
..	Antonio Jacono-Caruso	A. Jacono-Caruso	Bugatti		1.5	S-4
10	Luigi Platè	L. Platè	Chiribiri	Monza	1.5	S-4
..	Attilio Belgir	A. Belgir	Bugatti		1.5	S-4
..	Serlotti	Serlotti	Bugatti		1.5	S-4	Serlotti replaced Mathis
..	Giulio Binda	G. Binda	Chiribiri		1.5	S-4

	Category B - over 1500 cc
1	François Eysermann	F. Eysermann	Bugatti	T35A	2.0	S-8
2	Abramino "Nino" Calò	A. Calò	Bugatti	T30	2.0	S-8
3	Alberto Trivero	A. Trivero	Fiat	3/A	4.4	S-4
4	Vittorio Astarita	V. Astarita	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8
5	Benedetto "Bettino" Siciliani	B. Siciliani	Alfa Romeo	20-30 ES	4.2	S-4
6	Rosario Nicoletti	R. Nicoletti	Lancia	Lambda	2.1	S-4

Eysermann with Bugatti victorious at Tripoli, Platè the 1500 winner

by Hans Etzrodt

The 1926 Tripoli Grand Prix on the Tagiura circuit was held on April 29. The 11 starters were divided into two categories. The six large cars over 1500 cc started first, comprising Eyserman and Astarita in 2000 Bugattis and Siciliani (4.2-L Alfa Romeo), who finished in that order, and Calò (Bugatti), Trivero (Fiat) and Nicoletti (Lancia) each of whom retired. The 1500 category was won by Platè ahead of Binda both in Chiribiris followed by Serlotti (Bugatti), who had replaced Mathis, and who finished third. Jacono-Caruso (Bugatti) and Belgir (Bugatti) retired.
The second Circuito Automobilistico della Tripolitania took place in Libya, which had been under Italian rule as a colony since 1911. The race was delayed from April 15 and was eventually held on Thursday, April 29 which was a Fascist holiday, celebrating "the birth of Rome". The Tripoli Grand Prix was a national event staged on the fast Tagiura dirt road circuit, which at 26.200 km was shorter than the year before. The start was at La Porta Tagiura di Tripoli on the straight road near the airfield, leading to Sugh el Giuma, then past Mellaha-Fortino to Sghedeida, then past Fornaci to Porta Sidi el Messri, then to Raccordo, then to Porta Sidi and back to Masri-Porta Tagiura, 15 laps, a total of 393.0 km. The Automobile Club di Tripoli divided the entries into category A, up to 1500 cc and B, over 1500 cc. The road surface of the circuit had been improved before the event. Prize money in the categories was 10,000 lire for first, second received 5,000 and third 3,000. The overall winner was presented with 30,000 lire and the driver with the fastest lap was awarded a gold medal.
Entries: The French driver Mathis with a 1500 Bugatti was on the list of entries but at the start he was replaced by Serlotti, an unknown driver. Cavaliere Giulio Binda and Luigi Platè were 1500 Chiribiri drivers with Attilio Belgir in a Bugatti, all came from Milan. Vittorio Astarita came from Naples with his new type 2000 Bugatti, while older types were driven by François Eysermann and Abramino "Nino" Calò who were Tunisians. Benedetto Siciliani, also called Bettino, came from Catania where he owned the Alfa Romeo agency. At Tripoli he appeared with an Alfa Romeo 20-30 ES from 1921. The complete list of entries is at the beginning of this report. The race in Tripolitania clashed with the Alessandria Circuit race and the Coppa Vinci in Scily, both held three days later, which was a possible reason why so few drivers made the trip to Africa.
The Race: The Governor of Tripolitania, Senator Emilio De Bono, accompanied by his consort and other authorities of the Colony, attended the race and expressed his pleasure to the race drivers. All entries appeared at the start, which was given in pairs by Mrs. Ermenia De Bono. The first pair was the Tunisians Eysermann and Calò who started at 2:00 PM with an interval of one minute to Nicoletti and Astarita, followed by Siciliani and Trivero. The smaller cars started next, two Chiribiris and three Bugattis. In the early part of the race, Astarita held the lead in his 2000 Bugatti ahead of Eysermann in a similar car, with the Alfa Romeo driven by Siciliani in third place. Astarita lost first place when he was slowed by two punctures and dropped behind Eysermann. Jacono-Caruso (1500 Bugatti) and Trivero in an old Fiat retired on lap five. The 1500 Bugatti of Belgir followed on lap eight. Calò's 2000 Bugatti retired on lap 10 and Nicoletti ended his race on lap 11. After his two punctures, Astarita's attempt to catch Eysermann was in vain but it gave him the fastest lap in 13m31.4s. Siciliani's Alfa Romeo was also delayed with a puncture but he drove the Alfa Romeo very consistently. Eysermann who had no incidents drove at a fast pace to a deserved victory over seven minutes ahead of Astarita with Siciliani in third place. Platè in the fast Chiribiri followed in fourth position, winning the 1500 category ahead of Binda (Chiribiri) and Serlotti (Bugatti) in sixth place. Platè, a very skilled driver, made the fastest lap in his category at 92.5 km/h average speed.

Results

Pos.	No.	Driver	Entrant	Car	Type	Engine		Laps	Time/Status	Diff

1.	1	François Eysermann	F. Eysermann	Bugatti	T35A	2.0	S-8	15	3h31m25s
2.	4	Vittorio "Nino" Astarita	V. Astarita	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8	15	3h38m36s	+ 7m11s
3.	5	Benedetto "Bettino" Siciliani	B. Siciliani	Alfa Romeo	20-30 ES	4.2	S-4	15	3h41m48s	+ 10m23s
4.	10	Luigi Platè	L. Platè	Chiribiri	Monza	1.5	S-4	15	4h21m47s	+ 50m22s
5.		Giulio Binda	G. Binda	Chiribiri		1.5	S-4	15	4h34m14s	+ 1h02m49s
6.		Serlotti	Serlotti	Bugatti		1.5	S-4	15	5h08m52s	+ 1h37m27s
DNF	6	Rosario Nicoletti	R. Nicoletti	Lancia	Lambda	2.1	S-4	10
DNF	2	Nino Abramino Calò	N. A. Calò	Bugatti	T30	2.0	S-8	9
DNF		Attilio Belgir	A. Belgir	Bugatti		1.5	S-4	7
DNF	3	Alberto Trivero	A. Trivero	Fiat	3/A	4.4	S-4	4
DNF		Antonio Jacono-Caruso	A. Jacono-Caruso	Bugatti		1.5	S-4	4

Fastest lap over 1500 cc: Vittorio Astarita (Bugatti) in 13m31.4 = 116.58 km/h (72.44 mph). Fastest lap up to 1500 cc: Giulio Binda (Chiribiri) in 16m32.8s = 95.00 km/h (59.03 mph). Average speed, over 1500cc, Eysermann: 111.8 km/h (69.5 mph). Average speed, 1500 cc, Platè: 92.5 km/h (57.5 mph). Weather: sunshine, dry, warm.


In retrospect: The sparse reports were brief and lacked detailed information, at times there was inaccurate data including wrong dates of the event. Most of the speeds given, listed above were also incorrectly calculated. Correct speeds for a 26.2 km circuit would be: Fastest lap Astaria: 116,2 km/h (72.2 mph). Average speeds, Eysermann: 111.5 km/h (69.3 mph), Platé 90.1 km/h (56.0 mph).

Primary sources researched for this article:
ACI rivista, Torino
AUTOMOBIL-REVUE, Bern
L'Auto Italiana, Milano
La Gazzetta dello Sport, Milano
Special thanks to:
Alessandro Silva
Paola Masetta
Valerio Moretti: Grand Prix Tripoli book

COPPA VINCI

Circuito dei Monti Peloritani - Messina (I), 2 May 1926.
5 laps x 52 km (32.3 mi) = 260 km (161.6 mi)

	Category up to 1100 cc
1	Letterio Piccolo Cucinotta	L. Cucinotta	S.A.M.	C25 GS Siluto	1.1	S-4
2	Giovanni Carrozza	G. Carrozza	Salmson	AL3 GS	1.1	S-4	DNA - did not appear
3	Giuseppe Rallo	G. Rallo	Salmson	AL3 GS	1.1	S-4	DNA - did not appear
4	Salvatore Casano	S. Casano	Amilcar	CC GS	1.1	S-4	DNA - did not appear

	Category up to 1500 cc
5	Renato Irrera	R. Irrera	Bugatti	T13 Brescia	1.5	S-4
6	Salvatore Marano	S. Marano	Fiat	501 SS Silvani	1.5	S-4
7	Antonino Tricomi	A. Tricomi	Fiat	501 SS	1.5	S-4
8	Giovanni Cutelli	G. Cutelli	Bugatti	T13 Brescia	1.5	S-4
9	Bartolo Filippi	B. Filippi	Bugatti	T13 Brescia	1.5	S-4	DNA - did not appear
10	Emilio Materassi	Officine A. Maserati	Maserati	26	1.5	S-8
11	Silvio De Vitis	S. De Vitis	Bugatti	T22	1.5	S-4	DNA - did not appear
12	Eugenio Riccioli	E. Riccioli	Fiat	501 SS	1.5	S-4	DNA - did not appear

	Category up to 2000 cc
14	Aymo Maggi	Count A. Maggi	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8	DNA - did not appear
15	Lorenzo Messeri	L. Messeri	Bugatti	T30	2.0	S-8
16	Gioacchino Vigo	G. Vigo	Bianchi	20S	2.3	S-4	DNA - did not appear
18	Luigo Forte	L. Forte	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8
19	Salvatore Musmeci	Cavaliere S. Musmeci	Bugatti	T35A	2.0	S-8

	Category over 2000 cc
20	Renato Balestrero	R. Balestrero	OM	665 S	2.2	S-6
21	Diego De Sterlich	Marquis D. De Sterlich	Diatto	3000	3.0	S-4	DNA - did not appear
22	Saverio Candrilli	S. Candrilli	Steyr	VI	4.9	S-6
23	Giuseppe Vittoria	G. Vittoria	Diatto	3000	3.0	S-4
24	Amedeo Sillitti	A. Sillitti	Alfa Romeo	RL TF	3.6	S-6
25	Salvatore Fasone	S. Fasone	Diatto	20 S 3000	3.0	S-4
25	Giuseppe Piro	G. Piro	Fiat	S57/14B	4.5	S-4
26	Costantino Trombetta	C. Trombetta	Fiat	S57/14B	4.5	S-4	DNA - did not appear

Balestrero wins the Coppa Vinci for the second time with OM

by Hans Etzrodt

From the 15 cars at the start, only 6 finished the Coppa Vinci over 5 laps on the 52 km circuit. The 3000 Diattos of Fasone and Vittoria were in the lead after the first lap, ahead of Materassi (1500 Maserati), Marano (1500 Fiat), Candrilli (4900 Steyr), Forte (2000 Bugatti), Balestrero (2200 OM), Piro (2000 Fiat), Cutelli (1500 Bugatti) and the 2000 Bugattis of Messeri and Musmeci. Materassi retired on lap two and Fassone, Irrera (1500 Bugatti), Sillitti and Vittoria dropped out on lap three when Balestrero had moved into the lead ahead of Forte, Cutelli, Musmeci, Marano and Piro. On lap four the order amongst the first four was unchanged but Marano had to retire. When Piro, Messeri and Forte retired on the last lap, only four cars were left to qualify in the order Balestrero, Cutelli, Musmeci and Cucinotta (1100 S.A.M.). Candrilli and Tricomi (1500 Fiat) exceeded the maximum allowable time and did not qualify.

The second Coppa Vinci was organized by the Automobile Club di Messina under its president Vincenzo Vinci and the RACI Messina Office. The cars were divided into four categories, up to 1100 cc, up to 1500 cc, up to 2000 cc and over 2000 cc. The race was again held on the 52 km Circuito dei Monti Peloritani, northwest of Messina. From the start at San Francesco, just to the north of Messina, the circuit led uphill crossing the Peloritani Mountains to Colle S. Rizzo at 456 meters altitude. This consisted of rough mountain roads with long gradients and was the most difficult section of the circuit. From the picturesque "Stairs S. Rizzo" it was downhill to Ponte Gallo at the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The remaining two thirds led along the seashore to Spartà, with another coastal stretch to Granatari and from there along the coast of the Strait of Messina back to the start. The drivers had to complete five laps, a total of 260 km. The maximum time allowed was 40 minutes after the class winner had finished or 80 minutes after the overall winner if in a different class. The classification was made based on time.
The first Coppa Vinci was held in 1925 on the same circuit, when Balestrero won with an O.M. The 1926 winner would receive the Coppa Vinci (challenge three years) with temporary ownership for one year with an exact bronze reproduction of the trophy to be held in perpetuity. In addition the winner collected a cash prize of 30,000 Lire.

Entries:
Nine of the drivers entered had raced the week before at the Targa Florio, including Emilio Materassi who appeared in the 1500 Maserati with which Alfieri Maserati had won the 1500 category. There were two 1100 cc cars; Rallo in a Salmson who had finished second in his category and Casano with his Amilcar. There was also Messeri with his old 2000 Bugatti. The Category over 2000 comprised five Targa Florio entries; Balestrero in his 2200 OM, De Sterlich and Vittoria in 3000 Diattos, Candrilli in the large Steyr and Sillitti in the Alfa Romeo RL TF. Amongst the local drivers were Fasone from Messina in his Diatto 3000 and Marano with a 1500 Fiat, who was the local hero, also from Messina. Musmeci with his Bugatti 2000 came from nearby Catania. A complete list of the 25 entries is shown at the beginning of this report.
Some remarks about Balestrero's OM which was works-assisted though he entered it. He was the OM agent in Lucca, so racing cars were loaned to him under this arrangement. He entered in the category over 2000 cc, thereby avoiding having to race against a fleet of 2-liter supercharged racing cars. This meant that his engine was either slightly re-bored (it was entered as 2001 cc at Le Mans in 1925) or had false papers.

The Race:
Enthusiastic sportsmen came from all provinces of Sicily and Calabria to attend this racing event which was under the direction of Vincenzo Vinci, President of the Messina AC. The President of the Automobile Club of Sicily, Cavaliere Vincenzo Florio, was also present.
The 15 cars started individually in order of their race numbers at intervals of one minute because of the dust on the dirt roads. However, the cars were not necessarily released at 1-minute intervals, since starting times had been determined beforehand according to the race numbers. If cars did not appear at the start, (e.g. #2, #3, #4) then car #5 was held to its predetermined time of departure. The 1100 cc category started first, followed by the 1500 cc cars, next the 2000 cc and finally the over 2000 cc category. Between each category there was an interval of two minutes. At 8:00 AM the starter, Michele Crisafulli Mondio, Federal Secretary of the National Fascist Party, released the car of Cucinotta, followed by the Bugatti of Irrera. At 8:25 Piro in the Fiat was the last car to be started since Trombetta did not appear.