Click on photos to enlarge - far superior
The
House Pod Gigantami (Under the Giants) where we had the CCC dinner is situated in Ujazdowskie Avenue 24, part of the Royal Way.
It was built between 1904 and 1907 by Władysław
Marconi.
The original interior was preserved during WW II as it had the function a
Nazi Officers' Club.
The House takes its name from the supporting statues of giants at the entrance.
 |
| 'The CCC Crew' assembled in the King Stanislaw Augustus Poniatowski Room |
For this particular meeting we moved rather upmarket to a Michelin Restaurant in the diplomatic heart of the capital. The family of one of the members of our club, Mirek Staniszewski, managed the restitution of their family home in Aleja Ujazdowski which is now partly a fine restaurant called Pod Gigantami ('Under the Giants'), the remainder of the building converted to flats. At the beginning of the meal he gave a talk on the fascinating history of the building and his family part in this story.
During dinner we discussed the brief Agenda.
Unknown to me we had a 'secret club secretary' among us who was busy with a sketch pad - Mr. Mathieu Spencer.
I will allow his sketches to speak with some additional commentary.
There was a mixed reception for the idea of having a stand at the Warsaw classic car event running for two days in May known as Autonostalgia. I think I will put out a survey to canvas any support among the membership for the idea. It will be necessary to arrange some members to 'stand guard' in rotation, who might prepared to exhibit their car or cars and who would share the insignificant costs. The idea of employing a lithe female pole dancer to deter boredom was enthusiastically discussed by the more chauvinistic among us.
More ambitious was an idea floated by Blazej Zulawski for an International Concours d'Elegance in Warsaw at a prestigious venue in the city in 2016. This would be the first time this has been attempted in Warsaw probably since World War II. This idea similarly received rather a mixed reception, mainly centering on the various alternatives possible for organisation and financing. Piotr Frankowsi, Blazej Zulawski and Michael Moran will explore this idea further, push it forward and report back.
Blazej Zulawsi suggested the idea of holding some more spontaneous dinner meetings in the summer at 'the growing number of interesting themed and eccentric restaurants evolving in Warsaw'. This idea was enthusiastically adopted.
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Detail of the superb inlaid floor at Pod Gigantami originally laid in a palace owned by the aristocratic Lubomirski family |
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Mirek Staniszewski Esq., at Pod Gigantami seated in front of a copy of the famous painting of that great Polish aesthete, King Stanislaw Augustus Poniatowski.
Marcello
Bacciarelli (1731–1818). Bacciarelli was a Polish-Italian painter
of the Late Baroque and Neoclassical periods.
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After what was a truly excellent meal with an extraordinarily wide-ranging choice for a prix fixe menu we were treated to an excellent talk on the Lwów Grand Prix of the 1930s by Mr. Piotr Frankowski - linguist, teacher, writer, magazine editor, racing driver, motor sport and aviation 'encyclopaedist' and all round nice guy. The less than rosy present situation in Ukraine made it appropriate to recall better days when Lwów was Polish.
I include a selection of brilliant photographs which give not only a picture of these heroic Polish Grand Prix drivers and their frankly fast and dangerous machines but also the sophisticated, stylish and cultivated European atmosphere of motor sport events in Poland before the catastrophe of WW II. Many Polish aristocrats with their love of risk and adventure (as well as money) raced Bugattis and other marques before WW II. Piotr told us some excellent stories. We only touched on the subject of 'Fast Women' - female racing drivers before the war. Another lecture needed for this!
Mr. Piotr Frankowski in lecture mode concerning the Lwów Grand Prix
All photographs © Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
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A typical Polish military family attending a Lwów Grand Prix
|
The Start
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The cobbles and tram tracks played havoc with skinny tires and cart suspensions.
Note the number of Bugattis. |
All rather glamorous and chic at Lwów - quite overturning absurd ideas about the complete backwardness of Polish society before the horrors of
World War II were unleashed. The country was predominantly agricultural of course but life in any country has many facets. The general world view of Poland remains myopic and profoundly influenced by the terrors of WW II. In his talk Mr. Frankowski certainly opened a much needed corrective window...
The German racing driver Hans Stuck (1900-1978) in the Mercedes 7.1 litre SSKL. His son and two grandsons all became racing drivers.
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| What the devil was that? A familiar tremor? Note again cobbles and tramlines! |
The full set may be viewed at :
* * * * * *
In my researches (after being galvanized into action after the talk) I came across this site which is an absolute treasure trove of highly detailed information and description of famous and more obscure Grand Prix from 1925-41. One in the set deals with the 1932 Lwów Grand Prix which featured the great German ace Rudolf Caracciola in a 2.3 litre Alfa Romeo Monza (the ultimate winner of 66 laps at an average speed of 86.08 km/h or 53.49 mph) and Hans Stuk in a 7.1 litre Mercedes Benz SSKL who retired.
Click on Diver's names (in orange) for more fascinating information about each one.
I GRAND PRIX MIASTA LWOWA
Lwów (PL), 19 Jun 1932.
66 laps
x 3041m (1.89 mi) = 200.71 km (124.7 mi)
No.
|
Driver
|
Entrant
|
Car
|
Type
|
Engine
|
|
|
Over
1500 cc:
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
Daimler-Benz
AG
|
Mercedes-Benz
|
SSKL
|
7.1
|
S-6
|
|
2
|
|
J.
Štasný
|
Bugatti
|
T35B
|
2.3
|
S-8
|
|
5
|
|
A.
Broschek
|
Mercedes-Benz
|
SSK
|
7.1
|
S-6
|
|
6
|
|
R.
Caracciola
|
Alfa
Romeo
|
Monza
|
2.3
|
S-8
|
|
|
|
J.
Kubiček
|
Bugatti
|
T35B
|
2.3
|
S-8
|
DNS -
raced in sports car class
|
|
1500
cc:
|
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
|
B.
Sojka
|
Bugatti
|
T37A
|
1.5
|
S-4
|
|
4
|
|
L.
Hartmann
|
Bugatti
|
T37A
|
1.5
|
S-4
|
|
7
|
|
S.
Hołuj
|
Bugatti
|
T37A
|
1.5
|
S-4
|
|
8
|
|
J.
Ripper
|
Bugatti
|
T37A
|
1.5
|
S-4
|
|
|
|
F.
Schmidt
|
Bugatti
|
T37A
|
1.5
|
S-4
|
DNS -
raced in sports car class
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
H-J
von Morgen
|
Bugatti
|
|
|
|
DNA -
fatal crash at Eifelrennen
|
|
|
Prince
Lobkowicz
|
Bugatti
|
|
|
|
DNA -
fatal crash at Avusrennen
|
|
|
C.
Jellen
|
|
|
|
|
DNA -
withdrew 17 June
|
|
|
M.
von Brauchitsch
|
|
|
|
|
DNA
|
|
|
J. de
Maleplane
|
|
|
|
|
DNA
|
|
|
E.
Burggaller
|
Bugatti
|
|
|
|
DNA
|
|
|
Count
Zichy
|
|
|
|
|
DNA
|
|
|
H.
Stuber
|
|
|
|
|
DNA
|
|
|
Mme
A-C Rose-Itier
|
|
|
|
|
DNA
|
|
|
W.
Wustrow
|
|
|
|
|
DNA
|
Caracciola
dominates Lwów street race.
Four
Grand Prix cars and four voiturettes took part in the racing class of the
1932 Lwów Grand Prix. Caracciola dominated the race with his Alfa Romeo,
leading from start to finish, while his only serious rival Hans Stuck had
to retire his Mercedes. German Mercedes privateer Albert Broschek managed
to come back to finish second after initial problems. Hungarian Lazlo
Hartmann was a lucky winner of the voiturette class after local driver
Ripper suffered a puncture.
|
Lwów
(Lviv) is a city in the region of Galicia in eastern Europe with a stormy
history. Founded in the 13th century by Daniil, King of Haliziya (modern
Western Ukraine), it has belonged to Poland, Austria, USSR and nowadays
Ukraine as well as being occupied several times by other countries. In the
era between the World Wars it was a part of Poland but in the contemporary
racing literature it is often referred to under its German name Lemberg.
Between 1930 and 1933 the Malopolski Klub Automobilowy (M.K.A.) in Lwów,
affiliated to the Automobilklub Polski in Warszawa, held four races in Lwów
on a tight street type circuit, of which the last two were for grand prix
cars
The 1932 race was initially scheduled for 12th June
but that would have clashed with the Kesselberg hill climb. The organizers
considered moving the event back a week, but in that case it would instead
have clashed with a local event. Finally the M.K.A. asked Automobilklub
Polski (A.P.) to move the race to the backup date of 19th June. The 1932
race was initially scheduled for 12th June but that would have clashed with
the Kesselberg hill climb. The M.K.A. asked Automobilklub Polski (A.P.) to
move the race to the backup date of 19th June. In that way Grand Prix Lwowa
was to be one of many sports events accompanying the Targi Wschodnie.
Before the Grand Prix two concentration events were to be held, Zjazd
Plakietowy for cars and Zjazd Gwiazdzisty for motorcycles.
The M.K.A. wanted the race to be the national Polish
Grand Prix, but was unable to come to an agreement with the A.P. and that
is why they decided to compromise on the name Grand Prix miasta Lwowa
(Grand Prix of the city of Lwów).
Some M.K.A. members visited the 1931 Brno and 1932
Monaco races to acquire knowledge about organizing a Grand Prix event. As a
result it was decided to scratch a planned touring car race and to hold
races for racing cars and sports cars at same time.
The selected track was roughly triangular shaped and
had a length of 3041 m. The start/finish line was at Pelczynska Street.
After some 600 m the track took a double right turn at Swietej Zofii
square, then continued upwards through the winding Stryjska street, turned
in on Kadecka Street and continued downwards, then after a sharp bend
returned to Pelczynska Street. The difference between the lowest and
highest point of the track was 55 m. The track was very demanding because
it went through narrow streets with sharp turns and partly paved slippery
road surfaces with tram rails. The course was bordered by houses,
lamp-posts and trees. All dangerous sections were protected with sand bags
to avoid serious accidents.
On race day 500 policemen ensured protection. There
were six marshalling posts, all of them with a telephone, and four
ambulances were on alert. Five grandstands were built - two near the
start/finish line for 1800 and 600 spectators and three others for 500
spectators each. Shortly before the race 700 m of the track surface was
remade with money from the city council.
The main source of the budget for the race came from
the city of Lwów even if M.K.A. club members put in 500 zloty each (1 USD =
8,86 zl) while Citröen as main sponsor contributed 15 000 franc. The winner
of the GP event would receive 5000 zloty, second 2000 zl; the winners of
the voiturette and sports car events 1000 zl each and another 1000 zl was
awarded to the best Polish driver to tempt local participation.
Ticket prices were 3-12 / 4-15 zl for the grandstands
(practice/race) and 1zl / 2 zl for standing places. The tickets included a
lottery with 10 bicycles to be won and 130 tickets were reserved for the
press.
|
|
Entries:
Initially there was a good entry list with a total of 30 drivers (20 for
the racing cars race) but in the end just four Grand Prix drivers and four
Voiturette drivers arrived with another seven drivers taking part in the
sports car class.
The organizers were lucky to get Caracciola to
participate. His works supported Alfa Romeo was white colored with a red
radiator shell. To challenge him the organizers wanted von Brauchitsch on
any of his terms but in the end von Brauchitsch for some reason decided not
to come. Also as Heinrich-Joachim von Morgen and Prince Lobkowicz had fatal
accidents, the quality of the field was suffering much and the organizers
thus tried to convince 1931 race winner Hans Stuck, who initially had made
a provisional entry to the sports cars race, to enter the GP race with his
Mercedes SSKL instead. As Stuck liked the circuit and the organization very
much, he agreed even accepting the original smaller amount of starting
money.
German Albert Broschek from Cologne in a Mercedes-Benz
SSK and Czech Josef Štasný with a Bugatti completed the Grand Prix class
entries. In the last minute the Czechoslovakian Bugatti drivers Florian
Schmidt and Jan Kubiček decided to switch to the sports cars class.
The Voiturette class featured an all Bugatti T37A
field with Polish drivers Jan Ripper and Stanisław Hołuj challenged
Hungarian László Hartmann and Chech driver Bruno Sojka. Ripper's car was
white with a red tail.
|
|
Practice:
All drivers were accommodated at the Georges' hotel. Practice sessions were
scheduled as early as 4 a.m. each day and were commented as was the race on
radio while loudspeakers around the track kept the spectators informed. The
first unofficial session was run on Wednesday, 15 June, with only local
sports car drivers Bogucki and Cienski taking part. During the day the
Czech drivers arrived: Štasný (who made a mini-show of his arrival), Sojka,
Schmidt and Kubicek, the latter after having first got lost on the Polish
roads!
The Thursday timed practice was cancelled due to rain.
On that day Polish drivers Hołuj and Ripper arrived. Late in the evening
Stuck, on his way to the event, run over and killed a 5 year old boy who
was playing on the road. Stuck finally arrived at Lwów near midnight.
On Friday there was finally some serious practice with
several drivers, including Stuck, Horwill and Kubicek, taking part in front
of a huge crowd. Kubicek escaped from a minor accident.
Caracciola arrived by train and after having checked
out the circuit, he held a press conference where he said he was satisfied
with the preparations while his wife Charly expressed her worries about
sports cars racing together with the much faster grand prix cars.
The last practice on Saturday was darkened by the fact
that motorcycle racer Edward Josef Kustanowicz had a sudden heart attack
and died within an hour. All drivers participated in the final practice.
Caracciola set the fastest time of 2m03s. Broschek crashed his
Mercedes-Benz SSK into a lamppost and damaged the left fender, suspension
and radiator. Caracciola assisted Broschek, who had a minor head injury, to
the nearest medical car and Stuck's mechanics towed the damaged car back to
the paddock. Broschek received a plaster over his left eye and a 70
Reichsmark bill from the doctor!
|
|
Race:
The grid for the racing cars was situated 100 m before the finish line with
the sports cars grid 50 m further behind. The sport cars were to start 30
seconds after the racing cars. The cars were to be lined up in order of
acceptance of entry application, i.e. in number order. However, Caracciola
having race number 6 was dissatisfied of being placed on the third row
behind the voiturettes so after some discussions the organizers agreed to
re-arrange the grid so that the GP class started in front of the
voiturettes.
On a sunny day 50 000 to 60 000 spectators turned up
including the Mayor, Governor of province and other dignitaries.
The motor cycle race started at half past two while
the car race was scheduled for 16:15. Caracciola's nimble Alfa Romeo was
the recognized favorite over the huge Mercedes SSKs on the narrow streets.
In the sports cars class there was an immediate upset as the engine of
favorite Maurycy Potocki's Bugatti stalled on the way to the grid so he was
not even able to start.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5
Broschek
Mercedes-Benz
|
6
Caracciola
Alfa Romeo
|
1
Stuck
Mercedes-Benz
|
|
|
3
Sojka
Bugatti
|
2
Štasný
Bugatti
|
|
|
8
Ripper
Bugatti
|
7
Hołuj
Bugatti
|
4
Hartmann
Bugatti
|
|
|
The
start was given with both a flag and by a cannon shot. As the cannon roared
Caracciola immediately took the lead followed by Stuck, Broschek, Štasný,
Hartmann, Hołuj, Ripper and Sojka. Broschek's SSK immediately suffered from
ignition troubles and on the second lap he was forced to enter the pits for
adjustments.
As expected Caracciola soon opened up a small gap to
Stuck. By lap five Ripper passed Hołuy for 6th position and went on to
challenge Hartmann. Soon Broschek was once again back into the pits.
Caracciola was leading comfortably with Stuck some 250m behind, [comma]
followed by Štasný, Hartmann and Ripper.
On the 12th lap Štasný made a mistake while trying to
lap Florian Schmidt's sports car and crashed into a lamppost, badly damaging
his Bugatti but the driver luckily escaped without any injuries.
From about the 15th lap Stuck made a serious effort to
close the gap to Caracciola, but Caracciola answered by setting the fastest
lap of the race of in 2min2.85s. Stuck continued to do his best to keep up
the pace even if he was unable to challenge the Alfa driver. At the 36th
lap the gap was 17 seconds and on the next lap the big Mercedes came slowly
rolling back to the pits with a broken radiator.
With Stuck gone there was no one left who had a chance
to challenge Caracciola. Hartmann in second position with his voiturette
Bugatti was already 4 laps down. After having done a further three pit
stops Broschek had finally got the ignition on his Mercedes to work as he
wanted and he started to climb up in the results list passing car after car
On lap 50 he caught Hartmann, who was suffering from ignition problems, and
overtook him for 2nd position.
Pushed on by the spectators, Polish driver Jan Ripper
had also started an inspired drive and caught Hartmann on the 58th lap and
overtook him on the next causing the crowd to go wild.
But then on the next lap: catastrophe! Ripper had a
flat tyre and was forced to stop on the track. He managed to change the
tyre himself in less than two minutes and was able to save third position.
Hołuj who by then had nearly caught him was obviously confused by the
scoreboard that hung from the walkover bridge near the finish line as it
gave wrong number of laps so he didn't understand he was racing for
position.
Caracciola took the flag after 66 laps, being totally
dominant while Broschek in second place was the only other driver in the GP
class and finished six laps behind. Hartmann won the voiturette race from
Ripper who was closely followed by Hołuy. Soijka was the last finisher.
|
|
Results
Pos.
|
No.
|
Driver
|
Entrant
|
Car
|
Type
|
Engine
|
Laps
|
Time/Status
|
Diff
|
|
1.
|
6
|
|
R.
Caracciola
|
Alfa
Romeo
|
Monza
|
2.3
|
S-8
|
66
|
2h19m53.410s
= 86.08 km/h (53.49 mph)
|
|
2.
|
5
|
|
A.
Broschek
|
Mercedes-Benz
|
SSK
|
7.1
|
S-6
|
60
|
2h34m21.495s
|
|
3.
|
4
|
|
L.
Hartmann
|
Bugatti
|
T37A
|
1.5
|
S-4
|
58
|
2h37m05.440s
|
|
4.
|
8
|
|
J.
Ripper
|
Bugatti
|
T37A
|
1.5
|
S-4
|
58
|
2h38m22.9s
|
|
5.
|
7
|
|
S.
Hołuj
|
Bugatti
|
T37A
|
1.5
|
S-4
|
58
|
2h38m29s
|
|
6.
|
3
|
|
B.
Sojka
|
Bugatti
|
T37A
|
1.5
|
S-4
|
57
|
2h42m24s
|
|
DNF
|
1
|
|
Daimler-Benz
AG
|
Mercedes-Benz
|
SSKL
|
7.1
|
S-6
|
37
|
radiator
|
|
DNF
|
2
|
|
J.
Štasný
|
Bugatti
|
T35B
|
2.3
|
S-8
|
12
|
crash
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fastest
lap: Caracciola (Alfa Romeo) in 2:02.85 = 89.11 km/h (55.37 mph)
Winner's medium speed:
Weather: sunny, warm
|
|
|
|
|
In
retrospect:
After the race Caracciola praised the organization, making comparisons to
Monaco, and said that he had had full control over the race, never
considering Stuck to be a real challenge. The sports car event, lasting 33
laps, was won by Florian Schmidt.
The celebrations and prize ceremonies took part in the
evening but by then both Caracciola and Brocheck were already on the train
for the 18-hour long journey home to Berlin.
|
|
The
main sources have been Arten Atoyan's excellent "Grand Prix Lwowa
1930-1933", Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung and Paul Sheldon's A Record
of Grand Prix and Voiturette Racing. A great thanks to Oleksiy Hrushko for
all his assistance including translating sections of Atoyan's book from
Ukrainian for me. Also a great thanks for Andrzej Jakubaszek for sorting up
some errors.
© 2014 Leif Snellman, Hans Etzrodt
|
|
Still under construction this site is absolutely brilliant. Spend a few hours...
The 15 CCC members present at the dinner:
Paul Ayre
Iain Batty
Paul Blackman
Sean Briggs
Ian Booth
Michael Moran
Blazej Zulawski
Piotr Frankowski
Bill Flint
Eric Hallgren
Mirek Staniszewski
Mathieu Spencer
Michael Wrobel
Artur Gabor
Jonathan Bowring
Michael Motz, Guy Pinsent, Przemek V, Andy Fincham and Harvey Curtis sent their apologies.
Michael Moran (Chairman)
