Tripoli Grand Prix

Poster promoting the 1933 edition of the Grand Prix.

The Tripoli Grand Prix in Libya was first held in 1925 and concluded in 1940 following the onset of World War II. Part of the Grand Prix circuit, the race was first held on a 71.10 kilometer road course in Tripoli until 1933 when a new track was built, bringing the best drivers in the world to compete for the £80,000 purse, a substantial amount at the time.

With Libya becoming a colony of Italy, the new circuit was opened at Mellaha Lake on May 7th, 1933 by the country's governor, Marshal Italo Balbo. The new track was a 8.165 mile long (13.140 kilometer) affair with 15 turns situated in a salt basin between Tripoli and Tajura. From 1933 to 1938 the race was held as a Formula Libre event, meaning no weight or engine restrictions were enforced on what was then the fastest track in the world. By 1939 the Italians had tired of Germany's domination and they turned the event into a Voiturette race for smaller, 1500cc cars ^[1]. Still, a specially-built W165 Voiturette Mercedes driven by Hermann Lang won. In 1940, with only the factory Alfa Romeo and Maserati teams plus independents in attendance, Dr. Giuseppe Farina took his only major pre-war victory on a 158. The race was never held again.

1933 - Accusation of Foul Play

The Grand Prix was held in conjunction with the Libyan state lottery and, in the case of the inaugural Mellaha Lake event, there have long been accusations of result fixing. From October of 1932 to April 16th of 1933, the government sold 12 lire lottery tickets and, after taking their cut, they put up the rest as the prize for a special lottery based on the outcome of the race. Thirty attendance tickets were drawn at random eight days before the event and assigned to a corresponding race entry. The holder of the winner's entry would receive three million lire, second place two million, and third one million. The story, first publicized in Alfred Neubauer's 1958 book Speed Was My Life (Männer, Frauen und Motoren: Die Erinnerungen des Mercedes- Rennleiters), alleged that Tazio Nuvolari, Achille Varzi and Baconin Borzacchini, along with their respective ticket holders, conspired to decide the outcome of the race in order to split some seven and a half million lire together. Research suggests that the story is a popular myth ^[2].

Winners

By year

Year	Driver	Constructor	Location	Report
1940	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	Mellaha	Report
1939	Hermann Lang	Mercedes-Benz	Mellaha	Report
1938	Hermann Lang	Mercedes-Benz	Mellaha	Report
1937	Hermann Lang	Mercedes-Benz	Mellaha	Report
1936	Achille Varzi	Auto Union	Mellaha	Report
1935	Rudolf Caracciola	Mercedes-Benz	Mellaha	Report
1934	Achille Varzi	Alfa Romeo	Mellaha	Report
1933	Achille Varzi	Bugatti	Mellaha	Report
1930	Baconin Borzacchini	Maserati	Mellaha	Report
1929	Gastone Brilli-Peri	Talbot	Mellaha	Report
1928	Tazio Nuvolari	Bugatti	Mellaha	Report
1927	Emilio Materassi	Bugatti	Mellaha	Report
1926	François Eysermann	Bugatti	Mellaha	Report
1925	Renato Balestrero	OM	Mellaha	Report

Notes

• Leif Snellman. XIII° Gran Primo di Tripoli
• H. Donald Capps. Tripoli 1933 - A Hard Look at the Legend

External links

• Grand Prix History, Gran Premio di Tripoli
• Grand Prix History, Triumph: A Victor's Report

Winners

• 1925 - Renato Balestrero (O.M.)
• 1926 - François Eysermann (Bugatti)
• 1927 - Emilio Materassi (Bugatti)
• 1928 - Tazio Nuvolari (Bugatti)
• 1929 - Gastone Brilli-Peri (Talbot)
• 1930 - Baconin Borzacchini (Maserati)
• 1933 - Achille Varzi (Bugatti)
• 1934 - Achille Varzi (Alfa Romeo)
• 1935 - Rudolf Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz)
• 1936 - Achille Varzi (Auto-Union)
• 1937 - Hermann Lang (Mercedes-Benz)
• 1938 - Hermann Lang (Mercedes-Benz)
• 1939 - Hermann Lang (Mercedes-Benz)
• 1940 - Giuseppe Farina (Alfa Romeo)

External links

• Grand Prix History, Gran Premio di Tripoli
• Grand Prix History, Triumph: A Victor's Report