The 1922 Grand Prix season had several notable events during the year. The AIACR governing body brought in a 2-litre formula for Grand Prix. French companies brought out straight-8 engines for their cars but it was FIAT's 6-cylinder engine that took the trophies. Veteran Felice Nazzaro won the French Grand Prix, held near Strasbourg. It was a tainted victory though, as Nazzaro's nephew was killed when his FIAT's suspension broke in the latter stages of the race. An almost identical accident also happened to team-mate Pietro Bordino, though he was only slightly injured. Pierre de Vizcaya's Bugatti finished second, nearly an hour behind.
The first Italian Grand Prix had been held in 1921 on public roads near Brescia. Following the example set elsewhere, land was leased in the Monza Park north-east of Milan to construct a closed circuit. The combined road course and racing oval was exactly 10 km in total length and built in just 101 days. After FIAT's dominance in France, most teams stayed away for the first Italian Grand Prix held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza and only eight cars started. This time the junior driver beat the master, with Bordino leading home Nazzaro by two laps. De Vizcaya was the only other finisher, a further two laps back.
At the start of the season, Italian privateer Conte Giulio Masetti won the Targa Florio for a consecutive year, running a 1914 GP Mercedes. A number of manufacturers had sent works teams to this event, but Masetti's local knowledge and driving skill gave him a narrow victory over Jules Goux's Ballot.
Jimmy Murphy bought the Duesenberg he had won the French Grand Prix in the previous year and got it fitted with a Miller engine for the Indianapolis 500. There were also significant works teams from Duesenberg and Frontenac. Jules Goux also bought a pair of Ballots from France. Murphy set the fastest practice time and had a dominating drive to win by three minutes from Harry Hartz (Duesenberg) and Eddie Hearn (Ballot). He became the first driver to win the race from pole position. Duesenberg took eight of the top ten places.
Major races Sources: Rendall 1993, p.359
Date Name Circuit RaceRegulations RaceDistance Winner'sTime Winning driver Winningconstructor Report 2 Apr XIII Targa Florio Medio Madonie Targa Florio 430 km 6h 51m Conte Giulio Masetti Mercedes GP 18/100 Report 30 May X International 500 Mile Sweepstakes Indianapolis AAA 500 miles 5h 18m Jimmy Murphy Duesenberg-Miller Special Report 30 May I Circuito Sardo Cagliari, Sardinia Formula Libre 500 km 6h 13m Ernesto Ceirano Ceirano CS2H Report 5 Jun II Grand Prix de MCF Montargis Cyclecar 325 km 3h 39m Luis Ramon Bueno Salmson GP Report 18 Jun III Circuito di Mugello Mugello Formula Libre 390 km 5h 46m Alfieri Maserati Isotta Fraschini 5.9L Special Ludvigsen 2008, p.63 Report 22 Jun VI Tourist Trophy Isle of Man Formula Libre 300 miles 5h 25m Jean Chassagne Sunbeam TT Report 22 Jun I International 1500 Trophy Voiturette 225 miles 4h 15m Algernon Lee Guinness Talbot-Darracq 56 Report 16 Jul XVI French Grand Prix Strasbourg AIACR 800 km 6h 17m Felice Nazzaro FIAT 804 Report 29 Jul II Grand Prix de Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer VoituretteCyclecar 450 km 4h 54m Lucien Desvaux Salmson VAL Report 27 Aug II Coppa Montenero Montenero Formula Libre 180 km 2h 53m Giulio Masetti Bugatti Type 37 Report 3 Sep I Junior Car Club Cyclecar 200 Brooklands Cyclecar 200 miles 2h 30m Robert Benoist Salmson VAL Report 3 Sep II Junior Car Club 200 Voiturette 200 miles 2h 18m Kenelm Lee Guinness Talbot-Darracq 56 Report 3 Sep II Gran Premio della VetturetteMonza Voiturette 600 km 4h 29m Pietro Bordino FIAT 502SS Report 10 Sep II Italian Grand Prix AIACR 800 km 5h 43m Pietro Bordino FIAT 804 Report 16 Sep IV Grand Prix de l’UMF Le Mans Cyclecar 400 km 4h 02m Robert Benoist Salmson VAL Report 18 Sep X Coupe des Voiturettes Voiturette 440 km 3h 52m Kenelm Lee Guinness Talbot-Darracq 56 Report 15 Oct II Circuito del Garda Salò Formula Libre 250 km 3h 02m Guido Meregalli Diatto Tipo 20 Report 22 Oct GP d’Autunno Monza Formula Libre 400 km 3h 03m André Dubonnet Hispano-Suiza 9.4 Report (21 May*)29 Oct II Trofeo Armangué Tarragona Cyclecar 360 km 4h 18m Robert Benoist Salmson VAL Report 5 Nov II Gran Premi Penya Rhin Villafranca Voiturette 520 km 4h 56m Kenelm Lee Guinness Talbot-Darracq 56 Report 19 Nov VI Coppa Florio Medio Madonie Formula Libre 430 km 7h 09m André Boillot Peugeot 174 S Report Note *: = original race stopped and then rescheduled when a driver was in a fatal accident.
Regulations and technical New regulations set up by the AIACR (forerunner of the FIA) came into force this season for Grand Prix. The previous maximum engine limit of 3.0-litres was reduced down to 2.0-litres. The minimum weight was also correspondingly reduced from 800 to 650kg. The cars were 2-seaters and the weight of the driver and mechanic had to be at least 120kg.
It marked the end of the low-revving, long-stroke motors. The rules aimed to curb the increasing speeds and danger. Research moved into developing better engine alloys to save weight and to handle higher piston speeds. Cimarosti 1997, p.57 Then, starting with Mercedes, ingenious engineers found a way around these rules by introducing forced induction with the supercharger and speeds were soon at least as fast as they had been in the 3-litre formula. Rendall 1993, p.94
The American Automobile Association (AAA) chose not to go to the new regulations, staying with the 3-litre limit. To take on the powerful Duesenbergs, innovative engineer Harry Miller built a new 183 cu in (3-litre) straight-8.
Once again the Targa Florio regulations were open to any-sized racing cars. Production cars (with at least 50 examples made), were now split into six classes based on engine-capacity. A maximum time-limit of 10 hours was stipulated, to qualify as a finisher.
Up to now the Automobile Club de France (ACF) had laid sole-claim to dictate the rules for Grand Prix racing. But at the end of the year at the annual general meeting of the AIACR, held in London, a new regulatory body was created – the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI). Representatives were elected from seven of the major automobile authorities – of France, Italy, Great Britain, Belgium, Spain, Austria and the United States. Their role was to set up international racing regulations, categories and sporting rules. The first chairman of the CSI was Belgian René de Knyff, who went on to hold the position until 1946.
For the new regulations, three French manufacturers developed grand prix racers based on their touring or sports models. Ballot advanced its 2LS sports that Jules Goux had driven in the 1921 French Grand Prix. Bugatti used its 8-cylinder Type 29 (a racing adaptation of the Type 30). New entrants Rolland-Pilain had also developed a straight-8 engine and its A22 was unusual for the time in being left-hand drive. Venables 2009, p.38
Having developed an 8-cylinder engine for the short-lived 3-litre formula, FIAT was able to easily adapt it for the 1.5-litre voiturette class. With a simpler two valves per cylinder and putting out 60 bhp, this 1.5-litre straight-four became the benchmark for small-car engines for many years. In the sports-model touring car, the 501 SS, it became a favourite for the Italian amateur racer and the grand prix version was the Type 803. Ludvigsen 2008, p.34 FIAT also introduced the first competitive racing 6-cylinder car: the 2-litre Type 804, using engine construction similar to the successful pre-war Mercedes racing cars utilising light alloys. Rendall 1993, p.96
Manufacturer Model Engine PowerOutput Max. Speed (km/h) Dry Weight (kg) Ballot 2LS Ballot 1994cc S4 90 bhp 165 790 Bugatti Type 29 Bugatti 1991cc S8 90 bhp 185 750 Fiat S.p.A. 804-404 FIAT 1991cc S6 112 bhp 175 660 Alfa Romeo RL Alfa Romeo 2.0L S6 90 bhp Diatto 20 S Diatto 1997cc S4 75 bhp 155 700 Sunbeam TT Sunbeam 1975cc S4 88 bhp 160 680 Duesenberg GP Duesenberg 3.0L S8 115 bhp 185 1170 Miller 183 Miller 3.0L S8 125 bhp 185 990 Frontenac Frontenac 3.0L S4 120 bhp 185 1030 Talbot-Darracq 56 Talbot 1486cc S4 54 bhp >150 Mercedes Benz 10/40/65 Mercedes 1.5L S4supercharged 54 bhp82 bhp s/ch
Season review The first event of the season was the Targa Florio and the degree of interest it generated from manufacturers bode very well for the rest of the year. The liberal rules encouraged works teams from nine companies to put in entries and a huge grid of 42 cars arrived. Still regarded as the premier Italian event, Alfa Corse brought several models for their experienced team: Giuseppe Campari had a 6-litre 40/60; Ugo Sivocci, Antonio Ascari and Enzo Ferrari ran the pre-war 4.2-litre ES model, while Augusto Tarabusti was given the new RL prototype. Fondi 2006, p.74 Rendall 1993, p.95
FIAT entered an 802 for Biagio Nazzaro, nephew of Felice Nazzaro. Diatto and Ceirano had cars in the under 2-litre classes. But it was the international entry-list that excited the spectators. After Max Sailer's venture the previous year, the Mercedes team turned up in force: Sailer and Christian Werner drove 7.3-litre 28-95 models; Christian Lautenschlager came out of retirement to run a modified version of the 1914 GP model, as did Otto Salzer. Two new 1.5-litre supercharged cars were driven by Ferdinando Minoia and Paul Scheef – this was the first instance of a supercharger was entered in a race. Wanderer Werke also sent a pair of voiturettes. From Austria came teams from Steyr with its 3-litre car, and Austro-Daimler. The new Austro-Daimler Sascha was designed by Ferdinand Porsche. Among the four drivers of the 1.1-litre voiturette included a young Alfred Neubauer.
The other significant entry was a pair of the new Ballot 2LS. These were prepared for the new 2-litre Grand Prix formula and the French team sent Jules Goux and Giulio Foresti to race them. The field was filled out with a number of privateers. Among them was the previous year's winner, Conte Giulio Masetti, who had swapped his FIAT for one of the Mercedes GP/14 cars.
The biggest crowd since the inaugural event in 1907 turned out for the race, run over four laps of the 108km circuit. This ran from the coast near Palermo up into the Madonie mountains. Setting off at one-minute intervals, at the end of a blistering first lap it was Masetti in the lead based on elapsed time. He had set a new lap record and made up over four minutes on Sailer's Mercedes that had started six minutes earlier. Fondi 2006, p.76 Goux, who had started earlier, had also put in a strong opening lap and was pressing on. He took the lead at the end of the second lap when Masetti had to stop at the pits for five minutes to re-affix his bonnet that had flown up. Refuelled and with new tyres he took off after Goux. Going into the fourth and final lap he was two minutes behind. The Ballot's brakes and tyres were getting worn but Goux could not afford to stop. On the downhill run to the coast they finally gave out and put Goux into a ditch. Helped back onto the track by the bystanders, he raced on down the twisting roads then on the coastal straight from Campofelice to the finish at up to 200 km/h. The crowd was ecstatic when Masetti appeared soon after. A great lap gave him the win by just under two minutes after nearly 7 hours of racing. With consecutive victories, Masetti became a national hero. He was the embodiment of the gentleman-racer and named the “Lion of the Madonie”. Goux was second and his teammate Foresti finished third, while Ascari (Alfa), Enrico Giaccone (private FIAT) and Sailer (Mercedes) filled the next places. Fondi 2006, p.338-9