„Place your bets!“ And 230 select racing cars came to the GP MONACO HISTORIQUE 2022 in Monte Carlo to compete in eight categories, named after famous GP winners in the principality. The sports car race was dedicated to Count Vittorio Marzotto, who had won a Grand Prix here in 1952 in a Ferrari 225S, which had been held for sports cars instead of Formula 2 at the time. This – likely deemed too „insignificant“ – was unceremoniously denied guest status.
Louis Chiron, winner in 1931 on a Bugatti 51 ahead of Luigi Faglioli, Maserati 8C-2500, was the namesake for a showdown of pre-war GP cars and voiturettes, which American Mark Gillies won in an ERA R3A, after his fiercest competitor, Briton
Nicholas Topliss, ERA R4A, had to retire in the eighth lap. The Maserati honor was saved by the Swiss driver Anthony Sinopoli in a 6CM/4CM. The best Bugatti—and there were 16 cars from the Molsheim marque at the start in 1931—to finish was the 1927 Type 35B, driven by Austrian Martin Halusa. Countess Nicola von Dönhoff's Type 51 managed to make it into the top ten. Juan Manuel Fangio, winning a beautifully designed trophy here in 1957 in a Maserati 250F, naturally appealed to Claudia Hürtgen just as much as the TAG Heuer winner's watch and the big „cup.“ Already in qualifying, she took 0.25 seconds off Tony Wood's Tec-Mec F415 with her Ferrari 246, provided by Methusalem Racing, and clearly relegated the Spaniard Joaquin Folch-Rusinol in a Lotus 16 from Clive Chapman's Classic Team Lotus Ltd. to third place. Speaking of Lotus: In honor of founder Colin Chapman, who died in 1982, there was a parade of Lotus cars competing that weekend – 34 monopostos with significant history gathered. With Stirling Moss in 1960/61 and Ayrton Senna in 1987, Lotus had achieved seven Monaco victories.
Claudia's Ferrari Masterpiece at the 2022 Monaco Historic Grand Prix
Max Smith-Hilliard, the man with the Graham Hill helmet, quickly corrected a false start on his own and fell back behind a quartet led by Claudia Hürtgen, including Messrs. Tony Wood, Joaquin Folch-Rusinol, and his compatriot Guillermo Fiero-Eleta. While Claudia's Dino gained some distance and Brit Andrew Haddon, with the only Scarab F1 on the grid, targeted his frontrunners, Marino Franchitti had to say goodbye with his Maserati 250F. This left only four examples of this car, with which Fangio had won his fifth world championship title, still in the race. A slight oil slick in the „Mirabeau“ corner caused the Scotsman Ewen Sergison – another wearing a Hill helmet – to spin precisely where Graham Hill always told jokes standing on a table before the Monaco GP. Klaus Lehr's Talbot-Lago T26C also suffered here. He rolled backward out of the danger zone. A mass crash blocked the „Antony Noghes,“ the corner leading to the finish straight, named after the mastermind of the GP de Monaco, on the seventh lap. Brit Michael Birch's Connaught spun and involved the Lotus 16s of Marshall Bailey and Joaquin Folch-Rusinol. Max Smith-Hilliard somehow managed to „escape“ and slip through a gap on the left. Red flag due to traffic jam! Claudia's victory, with a one-second lead over Tony Wood, was thus secured. Enthusiastically embraced by the „Methuselah“ gentlemen, she proceeded to the awards ceremony. Forgotten was the practice mishap with the Ferrari 312B the previous day, when she had crashed it head-on into the guardrail in "Sainte Devote" – the name of the church built there in 1870.
Accident at the 2022 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco: Charles Leclerc demos Ferrari
The most unusual crash was produced by the Monegasque Ferrari star Charles Leclerc, who appeared at the pit lane at 11:30 AM with his girlfriend Charlotte Sine. Afterward, he took his place in the Ferrari 312T, which Niki Lauda had driven to victory in 1975, for demonstration laps. These ended with him reversing into the „Rascasse“ guardrail. Charles: „Apparently I have no luck here at home, and I'm glad it didn't happen to me in a faster section. Somehow the brakes failed.“ No wonder, because Methuselah discovered that a relatively new Brembo brake pad with perhaps 50 kilometers of use had come loose on its own. Nevertheless, Charles enjoyed his trip into Ferrari's past so much that he kissed the steering wheel as he got out. Jacky Ickx, in a Ferrari 312B/2, with which he had achieved two podium finishes in Monaco in 1971 and '72 and also excelled at the Nürburgring, consoled the young man. Jacky felt very comfortable in the car provided by Uwe Meissner, the head of Modena Motors, almost like he was at home. After all, they know each other personally.
American wins with Ferrari
With a full field of 26 participants, the Series B race, a tribute to five-time Monaco winner Graham Hill, unfolded. Fourteen Lotus cars and six Coopers were present, but the accolades went to the sole Ferrari in the field, driven by American Joseph Colasacco. He certainly had his hands full with the Lotus-Climax 21 of Englishman Mark Shaw, who overtook twice from the slipstream after an impressive chase, only to be countered each time. Closely pressured by Colasacco, the Lotus scraped along the guardrail, stranded on the penultimate lap, clearing the way for the Cooper-Ford T71/73 of his countryman Christopher Drake. Behind them, Andrew Beaumont in a Lotus-Climax 24 and Dan Collins in a Lotus-Climax 21 from the Classic Team Lotus engaged in a fierce battle for the third podium spot, soon joined by Nick Taylor in his Lotus-Climax 18 (bearing Scuderia Colonia livery). Beaumont ultimately prevailed in the Lotus duel. Albert Streminski, the only German participant, finished in a rear position with his rare 1960 Emeryson-Climax.
In Marotto's Footsteps at the GP MONACO HISTORIQUE 2022
He was the best of four brothers involved in motorsport: Vittorio Emanuele Conte Marzotto, a regular Ferrari driver since 1950, winner of the 1952 Monaco Grand Prix for sports cars. He gave the C Series its name here. Since 29 cars entered, a rolling start was scheduled as a precaution. Maserati was represented by eight „warriors“ and one „rider“ – Claudia Hürtgen in a 300S from Methusalem Racing. Female racers included, as the year before, Katarina Kyvalova with her Cooper-Jaguar T33 (Mk1). Other Germans in the sports car roulette around the Casino of Monte Carlo: Dominik Roschmann and Ulrich Schumacher – both on Maserati A6GCS – Wolfgang Friedrich in his proven Aston-Martin DB3S, and Lutz Rathenow, driving the oldest vehicle, a 1948 Veritas RS2000. While the Briton Frederic Wakeman stormed ahead with gusto, the Spaniard Guillermo Fierro-Eleta constantly pressured the Austrian Lukas Halusa – both on Maserati 300S – and made a futile braking attempt before the chicane. On the sixth lap, Albert Otten's Kieft Sport – originally intended as a monoposto, requiring the driver to sit over the gearbox tunnel – permanently kissed the guardrails between „Sainte Devote“ and the former upscale lodging „Beau Rivage.“ He had to be brought to safety by five marshals on a transfer board, as cranes are no longer „in fashion“ in Monaco! The battle for victory among the trio Wakeman, Halusa, and Fierro-Eleta swayed until the penultimate lap. However, because the Spaniard brushed the guardrails while lapping Paul Malcom's Lotus Mk 10, costing him about six seconds, only the duel remained, which the Brit won by a car length. Niklas Halusa, in a Jaguar D-Type, finished fourth, ahead of Claudia Hürtgen, who just managed to reach the finish line before Richard Wilson's Maserati 250S.
„Banter“ - GP MONACO HISTORIQUE 2022
With an impact into the guardrail coming out of the „Piscine,“ which means swimming pool, the Japanese driver Katsuaki Kubota permanently deformed his former Peterson Lotus 72. There was also a training crash for Claudia Hürtgen, who slightly bent her Methusalem-Ferrari 312 in „Sainte Devote.“ Since Harald Becker's March 701 also failed to make it past the guardrail going uphill towards the Casino at „Massenet“ – named after a French composer with a close connection to the principality – the starting field of the „Jackie Stewart“ Series D was reduced to 15 single-seaters. After an early start by Jordan Grogor in the Matra MS120C, the race from the „Piscine“ was led by Stuart Hall in the McLaren M19A. Both cars are entered by Monégasque driver Roald Goethe, who himself was driving a McLaren M14A and finished seventh behind his fellow Monégasque Franco Meiners in a Ferrari 312B3. Grogor's eagerness at the start was later penalized with ten painful penalty minutes. The other Matra MS120C, driven by „Mister John of B,“ was already missing by the third lap. There was a yellow flag on the sixth lap because the former Pedro Rodriguez-BRM P153 driven by Mexican Esteban Gutierrez stalled in the middle of the „Nouvelle Chicane“ – its exact name. Jamie Constable's former Reutemann-Brabham BT37 even ended up sideways to the track after a spin at „Rascasse.“ But that wasn't the end of the guardrail encounters! At „Tabac,“ named after a long-standing kiosk there, David Shaw's former Mike Beuttler-March 721 lost a wheel on the penultimate lap. Stuart Hall's victory in the former Hulme-McLaren M19A was never in doubt, but Jordan Grogor was exactly ten penalty seconds short of second place, which therefore went to Michael Lyons in his mother Judith's Surtees TS9.
Double success with a Goethe car
The Yardley-McLaren M23 – of course, also by Roald Goethe – had put Stuart Hall on pole position for the „Niki Lauda“ Series E. Behind him, Nelson Piquet's childhood friend, 63-year-old Roberto „Pupo“ Moreno, was racing in a Lola T370. Lurking behind them Marco Werner, in his then unsuccessful Lotus 76, Michael Lyons, McLaren M26, and Nick Padmore, Lotus 77. Also in a Type 77, but failed to qualify: US driver Christopher Locke. After an additional formation lap, the Greek driver John Inglessis's Lotus 72E had to be pushed, and Moreno botched the actual start. Hall and Werner pulled away slightly on the second lap and engaged in a thrilling duel for the entire 17-lap distance, which Hall won by one and a half seconds. The fight between Lyons and Padmore, who managed to keep Moreno a few car lengths behind, ended almost to the tenth of a second. „Pupo“ had expected a bit more, not to mention Emanuele Pirro. The former F1 driver and five-time Le Mans winner – two of them with Marco Werner – had to retire his Shadow DN1 on the third lap.
Winning combination Lyons-Hesketh at the 2022 GP MONACO HISTORIQUE
In the „Qualy“ of Series F„Gilles Villeneuve“There was a very close encounter between Jamie Constable's Shadow DN8 and Frederic Lajoux's Arrows A1B, which meant Lajoux could barely practice. Steven Brooks also experienced this, having to park his Lotus 81 with a broken suspension bolt, though it was minor damage that was easily repaired. Monaco F1 debutant Miles Griffith, in a Fittipaldi F5A owned by Max Smith-Hilliard, had sensationally captured pole position. He failed to finish due to a gearshift problem on the formation lap. Following the ritual of having a refreshing, strong gulp of sparkling water poured into the collar of his overalls before the start in Monaco, Michael Lyons launched a spirited attack in his Penthouse-Rizzla-Hesketh 308E. A few car lengths behind followed Michael Cantillon's Tyrrell 10. The Dutchman Frits van Eerd received some mental encouragement for the race in his garage from World Champion Max Verstappen. Max also watched some races with great interest. Until Jamie Constable's retirement on lap 13, the Dutchman in the ex-Rosberg-Fittipaldi F7 had been having a spirited fight with the Brit, ultimately finishing in a respectable sixth place behind Steven Brooks. Skol! Before that, there had been a yellow flag because Mark Hazelberg's Williams FW07B had crashed into the guardrail on the right going uphill at „Beau Rivage“ and had to be recovered on a trolley. Benefiting from the yellow, Michael Cantillon was naturally able to catch up to the Hesketh again. But Lyons, already in the ChromeCars outfit for the last race, didn't let anything get past him. Lee Mowle in the Lotus 78 of the Classic Team finished third, almost a minute behind. The Monegasque Lajoux in the Arrows A1B missed the victory podium by just one second. Harald Becker, in an Arrows A3, finished ninth.
ChromeCars-Triple at the MONACO HISTORIC GRAND PRIX 2022
The „Ayrton Senna“ series race had already hinted at the dominance of the Lotus cars from ChromeCars in Thuringia. Marco Werner in the Type 87B had set a „blistering time“ of 1:30.932, beating Michael Lyons in the Type 92 by a full second. Nick Padmore in the 88B, however, had to give way to David Shaw in the Arrows A4. But – to get ahead of ourselves – Shaw crashed violently into the right-hand barrier in the 13th lap after hitting a piece of debris near the swimming pool, tearing off the entire right side of the Ragno-Arrows. Christophe d'Ansembourg, another contender for top positions, had touched another car in the tunnel on the previous lap. His Williams FW07C limped back to the pit lane with a broken rear left suspension. Cleanup work caused delays. In the final phase of the race, Frank Stippler in Thomas Steinke's Alfa Romeo 182 had worked his way up to within 20 seconds of a podium spot. Eight seconds behind him in fifth place was Katsuaki Kubota in the Lotus 91, closely followed by Ken Tyrrell's Tyrrell 11 from Florida. Werner, Lyons, Padmore: It was a unique triumph that would have filled Colin Chapman with pride and visibly delighted his son Clive, who was present, although with a bittersweet note, as Clive's Classic Team's Lotus 91, driven by Dan Collins, never managed to shine and retired on the 14th lap.
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Photos: Tom/Slickpix, Peter Heil, Michael Summerer