Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari was an Italian racing driver. He first raced motorcycles and then concentrated on sports cars and Grand Prix racing. Originally of Mantua, he was nicknamed il Mantovano Volante and Nuvola ("Cloud"). His victories—72 major races, 150 in all—included 24 Grands Prix, five Coppa Cianos, two Mille Miglias, two Targa Florios, two RAC Tourist Trophies, a Le Mans 24-hour race, and a European Championship in Grand Prix racing. Ferdinand Porsche called him "the greatest driver of the past, the present, and the future".
Pierre Raymond Sommer was a French racing driver. He raced both before and after WWII with some success, particularly in endurance racing. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in both 1932 and 1933, and although he did not reach the finishing line in any subsequent appearance at the Le Mans, he did lead each event until 1938. Sommer was also competitive at the highest level in Grand Prix motor racing, but did not win a race. He won the French Grand Prix in 1936, but the event that year was run as a sports car race.
Jean-Pierre Wimille was a French racing driver and a member of the French Resistance during World War II. He was a two-time victor of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning in 1937 and 1939. He is generally regarded as one of the best French drivers of his era.
Luigi Cristiano Fagioli, nicknamed "the Abruzzi robber", was an Italian motor racing driver. Having won his last race at 53 years old, Fagioli holds the record for the oldest Formula One driver to win a race. He is also the only Formula One Grand Prix winner born in the 19th century, and the only Grand Prix racing driver to have won a championship race in both the AIACR European Championship and the World Drivers' Championship.
Philippe Jean Armand Étancelin was a French racing driver, and a winner of the 1934 24 Hours of Le Mans. He competed primarily on the Grand Prix circuit, and was an early Formula One driver.
Giuseppe Campari was an Italian opera singer and Grand Prix motor racing driver.
Baconin Borzacchini was an Italian racing driver who often competed under the nom de courseMario Umberto Borzacchini.
The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing.
The 1936 Grand Prix season was the third year of the 750 kg Formula. The next iteration of the Mercedes-Benz did not prove successful and the team withdrew during the season to instead prepare for the next one. It therefore fell to the resurgent Auto Union team to dominate the racing. In particular, it was their young, new superstar, Bernd Rosemeyer, who mastered the tricky car and who showed superlative skill in wet conditions. Rosemeyer easily won this season's European Championship by winning three of the four Grands Prix.
Count Carlo Felice Trossi di Pian Villar was an Italian racing driver and auto constructor.
The Alfa Romeo P3, P3 monoposto or Tipo B was a classic Grand Prix car designed by Vittorio Jano, one of the Alfa Romeo 8C models. The P3 is considered to be the world's first genuine single-seat Grand Prix racing car and was Alfa Romeo's second monoposto after the Tipo A monoposto (1931). It was based on the earlier successful Alfa Romeo P2. Taking lessons learned from that car, Jano went back to the drawing board to design a car that could last longer race distances.
Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the opportunity for some compelling driving performances against superior machinery. The name translates to "Free Formula" – in Formula Libre races the only regulations typically govern basics such as safety equipment.
During its history, Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in many different categories of motorsport, including Grand Prix motor racing, Formula One, sportscar racing, touring car racing and rallies. They have competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entries and private entries. The first racing car was made in 1913, three years after the foundation of A.L.F.A., the 40/60 HP had 6-litre straight-4 engine. Alfa Romeo quickly gained a good name in motorsport and gave a sporty image to the whole marque.
Ferdinando "Nando" Minoia was an Italian racing driver with an exceptionally long, distinguished and varied career. In 1907, he won the Coppa Florio driving an Isotta Fraschini. In 1923, he drove the world’s first mid-engine Grand Prix car, the Benz Tropfenwagen. In 1927, he won the inaugural Mille Miglia driving an OM. Finally, in 1931 he became the first European Champion, driving for Alfa Romeo, but without winning a single event.
The 1931 Grand Prix season was a watershed year, with the advent of the AIACR European Championship. After several years of Grand Prix racing in the doldrums with little technical development, 1931 saw new models come from all three main manufacturers: Bugatti, Maserati and Alfa Romeo.
The Alfa Romeo 12C or Tipo C was a 12-cylinder Grand Prix car. The 12C-36 made its debut in Tripoli Grand Prix 1936, and the 12C-37 in Coppa Acerbo 1937. The 12C-36 was a Tipo C fitted with the new V12 instead of the 3.8 litre straight-eight of the 8C-35. The 12C-37 was a new car, with a lower chassis and an engine bored and stroked to 4475 cc, now with roller- instead of plain bearings and two smaller superchargers instead of a single large one. The car suffered poor handling, which could not be cured in time for the 1937 Italian GP, and thus was not successful. This is given as the reason for Vittorio Jano's resignation from Alfa Romeo at the end of 1937. The 12C-36 used the existing six Tipo C chassis. Four examples of the 12C-37 were built, although only two were actually assembled for the 1937 Coppa Acerbo and Italian GP. Early in 1938, the Tipo C chassis were modified into 308s, with the straight-eight engine fitted lower in the chassis and a completely new body. The four 12C-37 chassis were instead assembled into 312 and 316 formula race cars.
The 1928 Grand Prix season saw the Monegasque driver Louis Chiron, and his Bugatti, take seven Grand Prix victories.
Giovanni “Johnny” Lurani Cernuschi, VIII Count of Calvenzano was an Italian automobile engineer, racing car driver and journalist.
Attilio Marinoni was an Italian racing driver.
George Hepburn Robertson was an American racing driver. His father ran one of New York's first big garages and Robertson grew up surrounded by Mors, Panhards and other cars.
Antonio Brivio (Scuderia Ferrari)
Jean-Pierre Wimille (Bugatti)
