Maserati Try-Out at Monza

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

At the end of the practising period for the Italian Grand Prix a number of drivers were allowed to try the spare Maserati for a few laps, and immediately other drivers began to take notice. On the Monday after the race the queue for accepting the invitation was quite long. While all the rest of the equipe had returned to Modena, the car that Mantovani and Musso had driven into seventh place in the Grand Prix was left behind, with a lone mechanic to look after it. Lugo, the team chief, got various “foreign” drivers to sign a blood-chit and then let them take the car round for five laps. With braking-point marker boards removed and various hazards around the track, such as straw bales and workmen, times did not mean anything, but the line of drivers who just wanted to “see what it was like” included Wharton, Salvadori, Rosier, Schell, Trintignant, Claes, Fitch and an unknown gentleman who seemed the only likely one to be in a position to purchase the car. As the car had completed 80 laps the day before, drivers were asked to respect a rev.-limit of 8,000 r.p.m.; in the race it had been taken to well over 9,000 r.p.m.

Changing into top along the finishing-straight, at 8,000 in third gear brought everyone to the beginning of the line of pits as they changed, whereas in the race Mantovani had gone well past the pits before changing into top. Altogether the car covered 104 laps in the hands of the various drivers and during that time it never missed a single beat, nor had it done during its 80 laps the day before. By the end of the day it had become rather dirty, a certain amount of play had developed in the steering-box, the rear suspension had begun to wear, causing some instability, and one front brake was showing a tendency to snatch on. The shock-absorbers and springing were still functioning perfectly, the plugs were looking extremely comfortable, and the brakes were only adjusted once. Before Trintignant put in 10 serious laps to complete the day the mechanic had a quick look round all the possible weak points in the car and could find nothing wrong. It was certainly an impressive demonstration of the reliability of the A6G Maserati, and if the impression was gained that Lugo was viewing Trintignant as a possible member of the 1951 Maserati team, then I hope it was a correct one. — D.S.J.