In 1930, the Bugattis are still very competitive and Louis Chiron remains loyal to the make from Molsheim.
That year, however, he looses to a rising young driver, René dreyfus, with a privately owned Bugatti 35 B.
The latter is going to give him a hard time during the Monaco Grand Prix 1931.
For that event and under pressure of his son, Jean, Ettore Bugatti has produced the new type 51 model, equipped with a double overhead camshaft.
With 16 Bugattis in a field of 23 cars, the Monaco Grand Prix in 1931 was pretty close to a single-brand race !
Among those 16 there are four factory-team 51-types driven by the Monegasque Louis Chiron, the italian Achille Varzi and the French Divo and Guy Bouriat.
The real challenge comes from the Maseratis 8C 2500 driven by René Dreyfus, the Italian Luigi Fagioli and Clemente Bondietti. Rudolf Caracciola with his huge Mercedes SSKL (Super Sport Short Light-Weight) doesn't stand a chance.
The acronym is misleading, because the car is neither short nor light.
It is oversized for the scenic Monaco ride.
The victory will be fought for by the blue from Molsheim and the red from Modena.
René Dreyfus leads the attack of the Sainte Dévote climb, before being passed by Williams with a Bugatti and winner of the 1929 Grand Prix. Suddenly, a broken valve spring makes an end to the ride of the Brit.
Achille Varzi and Caracciola start chasing René Dreyfus and Varzi manages to overtake the Frenchman in the 7th lap. Caracciola and his Mercedes get into serious problems and in the 53 rd lap its clutch gives way.
Almost absent from the start, Louis Chiron finally displays his talent ; little by little he wins back lost ground and in doing so beats the lap record of 1930, like Luigi Fagioli a bit later. He catches up with all his opponents and leaves them behind.
The native driver finishes the race some 5 minutes ahead. Jean Bugatti doesn't control his joy, jumps over the parapet of the bleachers and falls into Louis Chiron's arms. For the Monegasque, this victory really confirmed his reputation.
|
the T51 racing on a 1930 Video 
