New posters from Bill Philpot
ALFA ROMEO ‘MONZA’ POSTER
The 1931 Italian Grand Prix was held at the ten kilometre Monza circuit and raced over a gruelling ten hour period, the winner being the car completing the greatest distance in that time.
Luigi Arcangeli was initially chosen to partner Giuseppe Campari in the red Alfa Romeo 8C 2300, but after the very popular and flamboyant Archangeli was tragically killed in practice the previous day, Attilio Marinoni was brought in as replacement second driver. However, when Tazio Nuvolari retired his brand new twelve cylinder Type A monoposto Alfa after 32 laps, Vittorio Jano, who managed the Alfa pits, did not accept that their top driver, Nuvolari, should now be left without a drive. So he decided to change the driver pairings again, which was permitted.
Achille Varzi and Louis Chiron in the Bugatti T51 led the race for most of the first 44 laps, but after they retired the lead fell to the Campari/Nuvolari pairing who hung on to the end.
This famous victory for the straight eight Alfa Romeo, having completed 155 laps (a total of over 1557 km), gave the name of ‘Monza’ to this mighty new car.
1931 BUGATTI TYPE 51 – SECOND VERSION
This is a variation on the Bugatti Type 51 poster.
The Bugatti Type 51 was manufactured between 1931 and 1935 with a total of only 40 models being produced in that period. They were Ettore Bugatti’s attempt to replace the ageing Type 35s with a more modern racing car boasting greater power and performance, with an engine modelled on the successful American car, The Miller 91.
In its first season the Type 51 emerged victorious at the Monaco and French Grand Prix among others, with Louis Chiron and Achille Varzi as principal drivers in the team. This was followed by victory in the 1933 Monaco Grand Prix with Varzi at the wheel, beating Chiron, who had defected to the mighty Alfa Romeo camp, into fourth place.
But these were among the few highlights of its racing career. The more powerful Alfa Romeos, Maseratis, and Mercedes were becoming far too dominant, and Bugatti was finding it difficult to compete with teams that had government support such as the Germans and Italians.