The 1924 Grand Prix season saw Grand Prix motor racing spread further across Europe and North America. In Italy a number of new open-road events were held. In France two new circuits were opened – at Montlhéry near Paris and Miramas near Marseille.
After Fiat's dominance the previous year with its supercharged Type 805, most teams adopted supercharging with their new cars. Significantly the French teams of Bugatti, Delage and Rolland Pilain chose not to.
The first major event of the year, at the Targa Florio on Sicily, saw a big German contingent, led by Mercedes, arrive to take on the Italian teams. From the staggered start it became a duel between Christian Werner and Antonio Ascari's Alfa Romeo. But in a repeat of the previous year, his car stopped within sight of the finish line. Pushed by the spectators he was disqualified, giving victory to the Mercedes.
The entry list for this year's Indianapolis 500 was dominated by Millers. They were up against Fred Duesenberg's team with his new supercharged straight-8. Joe Boyer's Duesenberg initially took the lead until supercharger issues forced him to pit. The Millers of Jimmy Murphy and Earl Cooper then traded the lead for most of the race. Boyer meanwhile had swapped cars with his teammate L. L. Corum and gradually reeled in the leaders, taking the lead with 24 laps to go. Boyer and Corum won at a record pace and gave Duesenberg their first Indianapolis victory, also being the first drivers given a shared victory in the race.
The French Grand Prix, this year's European Grand Prix, maintained its pre-eminence with a strong international field. The race was held again in Lyon, which had held the epic 1914 race. Most works teams arrived with new cars including Bugatti with its iconic Type 35 and Alfa Romeo with the P2. After Pietro Bordino initially led, Antonio Ascari took over and dominated the race. The challenges from Sunbeam and Fiat wilted over time. Then with just three laps to go, Ascari slowed and had to pit but was unable to restart. His veteran teammate Giuseppe Campari came through and won, barely a minute ahead of Albert Divo's Delage.
Having been beaten at their own Grand Prix yet again, the French had high hopes of victory at the San Sebastián Grand Prix. Fiat and Alfa Romeo stayed away to prepare for their national GP. But it was Henry Segrave in the Sunbeam who narrowly won from Meo Costantini's Bugatti and André Morel in a Delage.
The dominance of Alfa Romeo dissuaded Bugatti and Delage from the Italian Grand Prix. Injuries to their drivers then caused Fiat to pull out and Mercedes were not ready yet so the organisers postponed the race for six weeks. Only four teams arrived for the race in October which would be a contest between Alfa Romeo and the new Mercedes. But when Louis Zborowski crashed his Mercedes and was killed, the rest of the team was withdrawn. Ascari won, leading a 1-2-3-4 result for Alfa Romeo.
With the increased Interest in the 2-litre formula, voiturette racing fell back into the background predominantly for local and lead-in races. This year the results were shared between the Talbot 70, the Salmson VAL and new arrival Amilcar.
Major races Sources:Rendall 1993, p.360
Date Name Circuit RaceRegulations RaceDistance Winner'sTime Winning driver Winningconstructor Report 13 Apr I Circuito del Tigullio Tigullio Formula Libre 225 km 4h 16m Tazio Nuvolari Bianchi 20 Report 20 Apr I Circuito di Alessandria Alessandria Voiturette 255 km 3h 18m Domenico Masino Fiat 501 S Report 27 Apr XV Targa FlorioThe Targa Florio and the Coppa Florio were run simultaneously over the same route. The Targa Florio comprised four laps of the 108 km route for a total of 432 km, and the Coppa Florio added a fifth lap, for a total of 540 km. It was possible to win one and not the other. Medio Madonie Targa Florio 432 km 6h 33m Christian Werner Mercedes M72/94 PP TF Report 27 Apr VII Coppa Florio Medio Madonie Targa Florio 540 km 8h 17m Christian Werner Mercedes M72/94 PP TF Report 4 May I Circuito del Belfiore Belfiore Formula Libre 255 km 2h 31m Antonio Masperi Bianchi 18 Report 18 May I Coppa della Perugina Perugia Formula Libre 245 km 2h 46m Emilio Materassi Itala 4.7L Special Report 25 May II Circuito di Savio Ravenna Formula Libre 360 km 3h 18m Enzo Ferrari Alfa Romeo RL SS Report 30 May XII International 500 Mile Sweepstakes Indianapolis AAA 500 miles (800 km) 5h 05m Joe Boyer L. L. Corum Duesenberg Report 1 Jun I Circuito del Polesine Polesine Formula Libre 300 km 2h 46m Enzo Ferrari Alfa Romeo RL SS Report 9 Jun II Circuito di Cremona Cremona Formula Libre 320 km 2h 02m Antonio Ascari Alfa Romeo P2 8C/2000 Report 15 Jun I Grand Prix de Suisse Voiturette Geneva Voiturette 400 km 3h 34m Kenelm Lee Guinness Talbot-Darracq 70 Report 13 Jul I Coppa Acerbo Pescara Formula Libre 255 km 2h 27m Enzo Ferrari Alfa Romeo RL TF Report 13 Jul I Coupe de l’Autodrome Miramas Formula Libre 150 km 1h 06m Martín de Álzaga Sunbeam GP Report 3 Aug XVIII French Grand Prix II European Grand Prix Lyon AIACR 810 km 7h 06m Giuseppe Campari Alfa Romeo P2 8C/2000 Report 17 Aug IV Coppa Montenero Montenero Formula Libre 180 km 2h 35m Renato Balestrero OM 665 Report 30 Aug IV Grand Prix de Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer VoituretteCyclecar 450 km * 4h 16m * Bunny Marshall Bugatti Type 22 Report 31 Aug V Circuito di Mugello Mugello Formula Libre 390 km 5h 56m Giuseppe Morandi OM 665 Report 20 Sep III Junior Car Club 200 Brooklands VoituretteCyclecar 200 miles (320 km) 1h 59m Kenelm Lee Guinness Talbot-Darracq 70 Report 27 Sep II Gran Premio de Velocidad de San Sebastián Lasarte AIACR 620 km 6h 01m Henry Segrave Sunbeam Report 19 Oct Grand Prix de l’Ouverture Montlhéry Voiturette 25 km 8m J. G. Parry-Thomas Leyland-Thomas Special Report 19 Oct** IV Italian Grand Prix Monza AIACR 800 km 5h 02m Antonio Ascari Alfa Romeo P2 8C/2000 Report 9 Nov IV Circuito del Garda Salò Formula Libre 250 km 3h 03m Guido Meregalli Diatto Tipo 20 S Report
Note *: Race reduced from 12 to 10 laps (375 km) because of bad weather. Note **: Race had been postponed from 7 September.Cimarosti 1997, p.65
Regulations and technical The third year of the AIACR (forerunner of the FIA) 2-litre regulations for Grand Prix races remained unchanged. In the United States, the American Automobile Association (AAA) stayed with the same regulations as well – the only difference being that the AAA no longer required a mandatory mechanic on-board so single-seater cars became popular.
The Targa Florio regulations remained open to any sized cars. The only change was that the smallest engine class (up to 1.1-litres) was further split to create an even smaller class up to 750cc.
Unsurprisingly, after the dominance of the supercharged Fiat 805 the previous year, many companies looked at creating their own supercharged model. Fiat continued to develop their successful supercharged 805 model, improving its power output from 130 to 145 bhp.Rendall 1993, p.108
Sunbeam installed a Roots supercharger to their Grand Prix engine, lifting its power output from 105 to 138 bhp. Instead of forcing air into the carburettor, this new supercharger forced a fuel-air mixture direct into the engine. Sunbeam were the first team to use this version of supercharging. The improved engine was placed into a new, lower chassis.Venables 2008, p.24
At Alfa Romeo, Vittorio Jano developed upon the ill-fated P1 model with the new P2. He designed a new twin-cam 2-litre straight-8 engine, with a Roots-type supercharger attached. This put out 145 bhp making it capable of 225 km/h, faster than any of its competition.Cimarosti 1997, p.64Montagna 1989, p.29 At the start of the year, Jano had hired the 20-year old Gioacchino Colombo as his apprentice and personal assistant. Together, the pair would develop some of the great racing cars of the 1920s and '30s.Cimarosti 1997, p.66
1924 also saw the advent of Ettore Bugatti's iconic Type 35, the car that would become his most successful racing model. The 2-litre straight-8 engine was an evolution of that of the Type 29 and could rev up to 6000rpm . It was also fitted with cast aluminium wheels with integral brake drums to allow both break discs and tyres to be replaced during a pit stop.Monkhouse 1953, p.4
The Delage V12 engine was designed by Charles Planchon, a cousin of Louis Delage. It had four overhead camshafts and twin carburettors. However, the chassis of the 2LCV was soon found to be unable to cope with the engine-power.Venables 2009, p.41 This year, the small company Rolland-Pilain adopted the innovative Swiss Schmid engine. The 2-litre twin-cam was a sleeve-valve engine that had eight valves on each of its six cylinders.Cimarosti 1997, p.66 All three French manufacturers deemed a supercharger an unnecessary addition.
Ferdinand Porsche, having recently arrived from Austro-Daimler, put a supercharger on the current racing Mercedes, the M72/94. Halfway through the season the new Mercedes M218 arrived. The supercharged 2-litre, straight-8 engine was fitted with four valves per cylinder and generated up to 7000rpm, a level unprecedented in grand prix cars to that time. Unlike other manufacturers, Porsche mounted the supercharger behind the engine.Ludvigsen 2009, p.42
Manufacturer ModelCimarosti 1997, p.71 Engine PowerOutput Max. Speed (km/h) Dry Weight (kg) Alfa Romeo P2 8C/2000 Alfa Romeo 1987cc S8 supercharged 145 bhp 225 750 Fiat 805-405 FIAT 1979cc S6 supercharged 145 bhp 680 Bugatti Type 35 Bugatti 1991cc S8 90 bhp 180 750 Delage 2LCV Delage 1983cc V12 120 bhp 215 1065 Rolland-Pilain GP Schmid 1980cc S6 Mercedes M72/94 PP TF Mercedes 1990cc S4 supercharged 120 bhp 185 870 Mercedes M218 Mercedes 1980cc S8 supercharged 170 bhp 210 660 Sunbeam GP Sunbeam 1988cc S4 supercharged 138 bhp 200 680 Duesenberg 122 Duesenberg 1984cc S8 supercharged Miller 122 Miller 1978cc S8 120 bhp 186 850
Another new circuit was constructed in 1924. French industrialist Alexandre Lamblin (who also owned the magazine L’Aero Sports) saw the merits of the closed circuits being built in other countries and the need for a test-track for French manufacturers. A 2.5 km banked oval was opened in the middle of the year at Montlhéry, about 30 km southwest of Paris. At the end of the year, the road-course extension was completed adding a further 10 km to the track.Venables 2009, p.40 The first display races were in October alongside the fourth Grand Prix du M.C.F. for cyclecars. Also in 1924 races were held at the new 5 km oval at Miramas, on the southern coast of France
Season review 1924 Targa Florio
The first chance for the prospective competition to meet was at the Targa Florio. Run across four laps the Madonie circuit from the coast to the mountains of northern Sicily. This year the associated Coppa Florio was merged in the same event, with entrants running an additional fifth lap of the circuit.
The Alfa Corse works team arrived with four of their successful RLTF sports cars. Their regular drivers Antonio Ascari and Giuseppe Campari were joined this year by Frenchman Louis Wagner, while gentleman-driver and 1921&22 winner Conte Giulio Masetti entered his own. They were joined by the Fiat team with supercharged 805-405 models for Pietro Bordino and Carlo Salomano, while Giuseppe Pastore raced a 5-litre Fiat 519.