Unusual facts of yesteryear

There are certain peculiar scenes in old time racing that were never properly recorded or documented. Some were funny, others tragic and sad.  Others happened so long ago that you wonder whether they were the product of a hyperactive creative mind

It is said that Jules Goux, winner of the 1913 Indy 500 stopped in the pits to gobble up some champagne in the middle of that very race. In Brazil there was a very slow driver who used to refuel his Simca in long distance races at a gas station outside Interlagos. There are many other funny stories in Brazil, one of the Opalas that raced in the first Stockcar event in Cascavel was so standard it actually had A/C, while a DKW driver from Brasilia used to smoke a cigarette while racing. 

Everything is so professional and organized today...however, not so long ago Taki Inoue was run over more than once during his short Formula 1 career. And rabbits, dogs and other animals visit tracks even during GPs. Even the Singaporegate of a few years back appears somewhat comic and unbelievable.

Nowadays everything is very fast. When the difference between P1 and P2 in quali is 0.5 sec we believe it is a huge gap, but back in the old days several seconds could separate drivers on a first row. And I am not even talking about long tracks such as Nurburgring, Spa and Pescara, but rather, shorter tracks.

When only twenty cars were left to race in F1, it seemed the world would end for some fans.  

In the early years of the sport even the top racing had a great air of improvisation, and things were taken much slower, even in racing.

Campari in 1925

The first world racing championship took place in 1925. It had a few races, and the champion was Alfa Romeo. There was no driver championship, the winner scored 1 point, second place, 2. In other words, the reverse of what we have today. 

In the first edition of the Belgian GP, besides Alfa, cars from Delage, Sunbeam and Bugatti were entered. However, come race day, only seven cars started, four Delage and three Alfas.

The race was long. GPs at the time were not "Made for TV", which did not even exist at the time. In this specific case, the race was a whopping 800 km long and it took more than six hours!

Eventually, all four Delage retired, and so did  Brilli Peri's Alfa. So only two cars remained in the track, the  Alfas of Antonio Ascari and Giuseppe Campari.

The public did not like this development, and the two surviving heroes were nastily booed.   Alfa 's crew reaction was funny. They prepared a sumptuous lunch, and the two drivers stopped in the pits at the same time, stuffed their face (apparently very slowly), until the public began missing the two cars on track.  They eventually came back, and Ascari finished first Campari, second.

Talk about romantic.