1934 Alfa Romeo P3 | French Grand Prix | You and the Night and the Music | Hamilton Trio

Music: 1934 You and the Night and the Music | Scott & Jeff Hamilton Trio 2015
Video: 1934 French Grand Prix | Alfa Romeo Tipo B/P3 | Louis Chiron
1930s playlist: t.ly/TxIW
"The 1934 French Grand Prix (formally the XXVIII Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France) was held on 1 July 1934 at Montlhéry. It comprised 40 laps of a 12.5 km circuit, for a total race distance of 500.0 km. This race was the first outside of Germany to see the Silver Arrows of Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz, which would go on to dominate Grand Prix racing until the start of World War II.
The race was won by Louis Chiron driving an Alfa Romeo. Chiron lead from the start, jumping the start to lead the first lap, but was quickly challenged by the Germans. Stuck, who made a poor start, was able to take the lead on lap 3, while down the field the Mercedes' and other Alfa Romeos and Auto Unions battled for the remaining places, while the Bugattis and Maseratis showed themselves to be totally outclassed. With Stuck's Auto Union slowing, Chiron retook the lead on lap 9. This he held to the end, as although he was pressured by the Mercedes of Fagioli and Caracciola, this ultimately came to nothing, as by the end of the race not a single German car was still running." (Wikipedia)
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"The Alfa Romeo P3 was the first genuine single seater racing car, and was powered by a supercharged eight-cylinder engine. The car was very light for the period, weighing just over 1,500 lb (680 kg) despite using a cast iron engine block.
The P3 was introduced in June, halfway through the 1932 Grand Prix season in Europe, winning its first race at the hands of Tazio Nuvolari, and going on to win 6 races that year driven by both Nuvolari and Rudolf Caracciola, including all 3 major Grands Prix in Italy, France and Germany.
The 1933 Grand Prix season brought financial difficulties to Alfa Corse so the cars were simply locked away and Alfa attempted to rest on their laurels. Enzo Ferrari had to run his breakaway 'works' Alfa team as Scuderia Ferrari, using the older, less effective Alfa Monzas. Alfa procrastinated until August and missed the first 25 events, and only after much wrangling was the P3 finally handed over to Scuderia Ferrari. P3s then won six of the final 11 events of the season including the final 2 major Grands Prix in Italy and Spain.
The regulations for the 1934 Grand Prix season brought larger bodywork requirements, so to counteract this the engine was bored out to 2.9 litres. Louis Chiron won the French Grand Prix at Montlhery, whilst the German Silver Arrows dominated the other four rounds of the European Championship. However the P3s won 18 of all the 35 Grands Prix held throughout Europe." (Wikipedia)
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"In 1932 Auto Union Gmbh was formed, comprising struggling auto manufacturers Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. The chairman of the board of Directors, Baron Klaus von Oertzen wanted a show piece project, so at fellow director Adolf Rosenberger's insistence, von Oertzen met with Porsche, who had done work for him before.
At the 1933 Berlin Motor Show, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler announced two new programs:
- The people's car: a project that would eventually become the KdF-wagen
- A state-sponsored motor racing programme: to develop a "high speed German automotive industry," the foundation of which would be an annual sum of 500,000 Reichsmarks to Mercedes-Benz
German racing driver Hans Stuck had met Hitler before he became Chancellor, and not being able to gain a seat at Mercedes, accepted the invitation of Rosenberger to join him, von Oertzen, and Porsche in approaching the Chancellor. In a meeting in the Reich Chancellery, Hitler agreed with Porsche that for the glory of Germany, it would be better for two companies to develop the project, resulting in Hitler agreeing to pay £40,000 for the country's best racing car of 1934, as well as an annual stipend of 250,000 Reichsmarks (£20,000) each for Mercedes and Auto Union." (Wikipedia)
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"The Mercedes-Benz W25 was a Grand Prix racing car designed by Daimler-Benz AG for the 1934 Grand Prix season, in which new rules were introduced, and no championship was held. In modified form, the W25 remained in use until 1937, when it was succeeded by the Mercedes-Benz W125.
In 1934, the W25 won four major races (Eifelrennen, Coppa Acerbo, Spanish and Italian GP) compared to three for Auto Union (German, Swiss and Czechoslovakian GP), plus the Klausenpass hillclimbing event. These popular uphill races were usually dominated by the superior traction of the mid engine Auto Union Type A of Hans Stuck, who won at Felsberg, Kesselberg, Freiburg Schauinsland and Mont Ventoux. The German cars also took two wins in Italy, where the major competitors came from. On the other hand, two events on the soil of World War I adversaries ended rather embarrassingly." (Wikipedia)

[@rogerredford6242]

What a historic video of a time when racing was racing. I made the viewing even better with the sound off.

[@jasonmikolajewski2653]

Classic music and classic auto racing, a match made in heaven.