History Auto racing 1894-1942

Friedrich (Fritz) Gockerell (1889-1965)





Targa Floria:

1926 in an 1100cc 4cylinder








http://www.meisterdinger.de/kon/gockerell/index.htm


1925 in a 5litre 6 cylinder:




http://www.meisterdinger.de/kon/gockerell/index.htm

A man of many talents.

 

The car is the P2 Modificato, one of three built. It would more than likely be 1930 as that's the only year they ran that car?
Besides Ferrari and Nuvolari, the next guy could be Prospero Gianferrari?
Not sure what the occasion is. I couldn't recall the little man driving that P2 but all the Nuvolari books are at my parents' house...I can check at Christmas.
Great car. I always thought they looked way cooler than the original P2, almost like a more beefy, modern Fiat 806.

Cris

 

Old German plates.......

IIA is Munich

IA Berlin

Cris the two guys on the far right are the mechanic/body makers. As the years went on they spoke to eachother less and less (something about too much wine and one's sister) in any case this explains why, as time went on, the right side of the body doesn't match the left!

Merry Christmas

 

Varzi won the 1930 Targa Florio in one of those P2s eh? This is supposedly the 1931 start but Nuvo won that in an 8C 2300.

 

That shot would appear mis-labled.
Yeah ehdubya, to your point, Nuvolari won the '31 event in a VERY different car, #2111007, probably the world's coolest doodlebug.
That could be a picture from testing? Possibly before the Trieste-Opicina hillclimb? Or maybe earlier in the season after they finished building the cars?
Again, wish I had the Nuvolari books here. All I have are the Moore and Cherrett books which only lightly touch on the P2 Modificato.

By the way, Varzi's 1930 winner is in the AR museum at Arese (or at least their P2 M is painted to look like it.)

Cris

 

Interesting press photo captioned the first Ford racing car and employees.....

 

So that is the Ford "Sweepstakes" without the body, great photo, never saw it before.

 

That ALFA is odd in that it has no numbers, nor the Alfa Corse, nor Scuderia Ferrari insignia. The cowl louvers are like a 6C 1750 and I've never seen them on a P2 or Monza. If that's a spare on the back, it could be a Targa Florio or Mille Miglia car.

BTW at least one Monza was retrofitted with a 1750 motor for the 2-liter class in the MM.

If it's from 1930, then Nuvolari is just visiting -- I don't think he raced for Alfa until 1931. He was alrady quite famous though, having won everything on two wheels there was to win. Maybe Enzo was just sweet talking him.

 

Harry,
At first I had a few of the same reactions you did...including the 1930 Nuvolari question. But he did quite a few races with AR in that year, and ran most in that model car.

Most know the P2 to be a very different-looking car with a bit of a bullnosed grille. The original P2 (six built) was done in the mid '20s. After they were of no use to Alfa Corse, they were sold. Later, the factory bought 3 of the P2s back and made them into the car in the photo, the P2 Modificato. The grille is 6C-ish in appearance but also foretells the 8c 2300.

If you find any Alfa race result from 1930 that lists "P2" then it's this iteration of the car, not the original one.

Oh, one other thing, I don't think these ever ran under the Scuderia; every mention I've read has the cars running directly under the factory (though ostensibly with Ferrari managing.)

I could be wrong but I don't think they ever ran that car in the Mille Miglia. In 1930 most Alfas in that race were 6Cs. By 1931, the 8c was ready to go; the P2 Modificato was far too long in the tooth to be effective.

Which Monza had the 1750 engine? I know there was a 1750 that supposedly had an 8c 2300 engine mounted in it (an SF-numbered chassis).

Cris

 

From the middle of page 2 of 5 re Scuderia Ferrari serial numbers, very confusing and makes me dizzy. Part of the context was cars that Alfa bought back from customers and may have renumbered

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/alfa-romeo-history/50299-alfa-sf-cars-2.html

SF-24 = 8C 2600 Monza #? [retrofitted 6C-1750 for the MM ]
Simon Moore mentions "this is the earliest of the cars I can find which have been given chassis and engine numbers by Scuderia Ferrari." Moore continues that this car was registered as a 6C1750 by the Scuderia Ferrari on 05-Apr-1933, together with three 2.3 cars that were used in the Mille Miglia. The original license plate for SF24 was MO 6310 (presumably MM race #63, Foligno and Comotti). Within about a year of SF registering the car, the car must have changed hands to Gurgo Salice who registered it under TO 31043. After the 1935 MM, Salice sold the car to Carlo Solveni of Venice, where it was registered in August 1936 as VE 7339. The car was sold in 1939 to Lancia in Turin (TO57813). Simon Moore points out that there is a bit of a mystery about this car that leaves room for speculation that this car might be a Monza chassis with a 6C1750 engine: Angela Cherrett lists this car as a 2300, but registration records point to a 6C1750. Salice ran the car in the 1934 MM in the "under 2000cc" class, which would confirm a 6C1750. No chassis number given.

I reckon they're talking about this car:

 

The car in the photo is supposedly Varzi's 1930 Targa Florio winner (P2 Modificato).
Note the differences in the frame width, spring mounts, etc. from 8c cars. Plus, this motor has a hand crank which neither the 6c or 8c motors would have had.

Thanks for looking up the SF thing...I was too lazy to go upstairs to get the Moore books.

Cris

 

the story goes that the tank was holed in the haste of removing the spare and weight for the last leg and it crossed the line on fire...

 

Here's a new 2300

 

Maybe those deef dawgs had trouble sign'n the south rail team mit those big gloves.

 

... no story, off to bed

 

I would guess that nose down prevents oil leaking out the rear main and off the clutch....

 

Correct and correct.
The gentleman standing next to Nuvolari is Renato Balestrero, next to him is a mystery and of course the two mechanics Eugenio Siena and Francesco Severi.

The photo is marked as '1930s Scuderia Ferrari' as is the 1st photo below showing Nuvolari and Luigi Arcangeli enjoying a drop with Ferrari and Balestrero looking on, happily. Obviously this was a common occurance as Bluto suggested previously.

Cris and Harry, i believe you are both correct, the car is a P2 1750 Modificato but i'll leave it to the two of you to fill in the gaps if you wish as i have no idea when or where the photo was taken. The photo Ehdubya posted showing Nuvolari looking back is in fact from testing in 1931 but i don't know from where. Is it possible this is from the Targa Florio where the car was fitted with a 2300 engine in a last minute effort to combat the larger displacement Mercedes?

Second photo is Varzi and Tabacchi at the 1930 Targa Florio.

 

Yeah, i've seen that but there has to be something else out here in cyber space. I was thinking maybe from an older publication similar to the Dykes Auto Encyclopedia.

Thanks anyway.

 

Super cool photo.

 

The best info I have ever read is in the MTFCA magazine some time back....

 

I've read that too but there has to be more.

 

Sneak peak...

 

"LA RICOSTRUZIONE DELLA SECONDA SOSTA Varzi si ferma per la seconda volta sul traguardo di Cerda al penultimo giro. E' in testa, ma Chiron su Bugatti lo supera e passa al comando. Vittorio Jano (2) gli da istruzioni. Varzi lo rassicura. Ghersi (3) e Maggi (7) sono sempre pronti di riserva, mentre Giannella (6) chiede da bere al n.5. Contemporaneamente il numero 4 riempie il serbatoio di benzina e il numero 9 collabora con un altro meccanico a cambiare una gomma anteriore. Bassi (8) regola i freni anteriori."




http://images.forum-auto.com/mesima...lorio_-_achille_varzi_alfa-romeo_p2_1st_5.jpg



1930 Targa Floria - Mrs Floria, wearing hat.
​

 

<CENTER></CENTER><CENTER> </CENTER><CENTER>http://www.targaflorio.info/21.htm</CENTER><CENTER> </CENTER><CENTER>"Achille Varzi on Alfa Romeo P2 goes through the country of Collesano, despite the perforation of the reservoir of the fuel the big pilot from the perfect style succeeds to dominate the 30^ Targa Florio"</CENTER><CENTER> </CENTER><CENTER> </CENTER>

 

http://www.forum-auto.com/sport-auto/theme40/sujet378358-210.htm