racing in the 30's

ozpata Tue Nov 15, 2011 7:34 pm

Grand prix racing in the 30’s was a great spectacle, the cars were magnificent beast controlled by skillful and brave drivers, totally exposed on dangerous roads, the drivers were far easier to recognize, as they were in plain view and driving styles were more distinct, the teams however used color codes so they will have an easier time to identify their drivers as they approached the boxes , some radiators would get painted and the canvas helmet that the driver used was also color coded, by the same token teams will communicate to the driver by color signals also, that will give indications to the drivers to what to do or to get the information they were seeking, a green flag will indicate the driver to go faster and a red one to slow down a bit and a white flag with a red cross on it will indicate to the driver that it needed to make a pit stop.
Perhaps one of the greatest challenges from that time was the tire technology, manufacturers couldn’t build tires that were capable of withstand the horse power that the cars were capable of at full speed, this will force teams and drivers in different approaches to races, in essence the tires could last 2 to 3 laps if push too hard too quickly, choosing to go slower will give drivers a chance to go the distance and try to limit the amount of stops need ed, also on longer tracks the manufacturers and teams would provide a second pit box to change tires if it was required as they will get destroy kind of suddenly if push too quickly.
The rules on the road were simpler also and drivers were very respectful of these rules, slower cars will stick to the right lane usually and the driver in front was supposed to make room for the driver behind even if they were in the same lap, the discipline and code was well understood and the basis of avoiding big accidents, given that the braking systems were barely able to slow down the cars

wolfattack Fri Dec 02, 2011 12:23 pm

Some videos/review about the 1937 Grand Prix season:

LukasPaur Fri Dec 02, 2011 2:13 pm

Few screens from czechoslovak GP - Masaryk Circuit with the famous scene of Tazio Nuvolari driving without LR tyre

Great video from Tripoli GP in Libya

German GPs

One more with modern commentary

Belgian GP

Monaco (Japanese commentary)

The fastest race of all - Avus GP (terrible quality though)

Oh and let's not forget the brilliant History of motor racing documents

WINTER GP on ice!