56th, Nuvolari's Masterclass: Alfa Romeo Sweeps Coppa Ciano Podium
Early in 1936 the Silver Arrows battle seemed to have gone Auto Union’s way, with the inexperienced but spectacular Bernd Rosemeyer winning the European Championship and plenty of races in between.
1936 Coppa Ciano
August 2, Livorno
Grids began to dwindle as Mercedes withdrew its entries, but Alfa Romeo was still out in force with Nuvolari leading the way.
The Coppa Ciano was held in Livorno for the first time in ’36 and Nuvolari sat in the middle of the front row in between the Auto Unions of Varzi and Rosemeyer. At the start the two German machines took the lead with the third car of Stuck following through; Nuvolari suffered a broken rear axle and returned to the pits in a rage.
The tiny Italian tore through the Scuderia Ferrari pits demanding a replacement car, threatening to leave the team if not given one. After three laps Carlo Pintacuda was called in and Nuvolari roared out of the pits in his team-mate’s less powerful car to begin one of his greatest charges.
Rosemeyer retired after six laps, apparently so nervous about his new wife’s trans-continental flight he couldn’t concentrate. As drivers swapped and cars failed Nuvolari pushed his Alfa as far as it could go, first unlapping himself, then moving into second place behind arch-rival Varzi.
When Varzi’s brakes started to wilt Nuvolari took the lead and kept on pushing. By the end it was a Ferrari-Alfa 1-2-3 with Stuck the only AU driver left, three minutes adrift after jumping in Rosemeyer’s car. Nuvolari’s legend was built on races such as these. ACH
1st Tazio Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo)
2nd Antonio Brivio (Alfa Romeo)
3rd René Dreyfus (Alfa Romeo)
Winner’s time & speed 1hr 44min 40sec, 74.81mph
Pole position Achille Varzi (Auto Union), 3min 22sec