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Monza 4 hours

Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Italy

Date: 25/3/1973
Track length: 5.750 m
Attendance: 22.000-40.000
Entries accepted: 45 (ETCC)
Starters: 26 (ETCC); 24 (700); 22 (1150); 17 (1600)
Finishers: 9, 11 classified (ETCC); 17 (700); 15 (1150); 15 (1600)

Pole position: Stewart, 1.38,2 (ETCC)
Fastest lap: Mass and Brambilla, 1.38,5 (ETCC); Mazzeschi in 2.19,9 (700); Pasolini in 2.03,1 (1150); Pozzo in 1.53,8 (1600)

Distance: 4 hours (ETCC), 14 laps (700, 1150 and 1600)
Average speed: 202,862 kmh (ETCC); 146,667 kmh (700); 165,865 kmh (1150); 178,448 kmh (1600)
Weather: Sunny but cool
Ruleset: Group 2/70
Car info: 1973 Cars

 

The debut race for a classic season. BMW had a works team for the first time in many years. But the 1300 cc class had been axed.
The entry list showed some really big names. Fastest in practice was Brambilla in the Schnitzer CSL, with a shocking 1.37,7 in free practice. It was could be explained by Brambillas local knowledge, the single set of Firestone qualifiers or an illegal oversized engine - the crankshaft which would make it possible to have 3500 cc would not be homologated until July 1.

Official practice put things right a little, Brambilla sticking in second place with 1.38,4, a tick slower than Stewart/Glemser in the fastest Capri, Goodyear-shod. They were followed by Capri 2 of Mass/Scheckter, BMW 1 of Stuck/Amon, Capri 3 of Birrell/Fitzpatrick, BMW 2 of Hezemans/Quester and the white Alpina CSL of Lauda/Muir.
Ford had difficulty getting a good set-up, and in the end 50 mm was cut off from the front spoiler, despite the testing and wind tunnel work in the winter. BMW had troubles with sticking throttle slides on the Hezemans car, and here the set-up was difficult too. Alpina had the same problem; and they used a 3-litre engine opposite to the 3,3 engines of the works and (hopefully) by Schnitzer. The two litre class was less spectacular: a single works Escort (Bourgoignie/Brodie) competing against 16 valve BMW 2002’s of Schnitzer and GS.

24 cars took the start, Brambilla in the lead after a very early start. Soon he was sandwiched between Capri 1 and Capri 2, followed by Stuck who slowed after lap 13. Already, Capri 3 had retired with a blown head gasket and the GS-16 valve 2002 lost its water. The second works BMW was a frequent pit visitor, Hezemans complaining of the feeling that he would loose a wheel soon. It was retired.

While the Ford duo and Brambilla led the race, Lauda overtook Stuck’s BMW - Stuck retired soon afterwards with a blown head gasket. More BMW drama, the car of Brun/E. Brambilla retiring as well as the early leader Vittorio Brambilla - and as the icing on the cake the Schnitzer 2002 broke its engine.
Now the Capri duo and the Alpina car were left over, followed by a horde of elder Capris. And this was only after one hour of racing.
After three hours and no changes, alarm at the Ford pits. Mass’ water pump belt had broken, it had to be replaced just at the moment Stewart came in for fuel. It could not be reached by the fuel hose since Mass stood in the way. After a lengthy stop, Stewart went out again, still leading, Mass soon afterwards but he had been passed by Lauda.

When Stewart rolled out at Lesmo with an engine failure, Lauda had the lead and even Mass at full speed was unable to catch up. The Alpina car, none withstanding its small engine, turned out to be in far better shape than the works cars had been all day. A well deserved victory indeed.

Division 1 and 2
Pos Pos in class # Team / Entrant
Car- Engine		 Drivers, Nationality Engine
vol. (cc)		 Engine
Type		 Group Distance,
time		 Qualifying position Qualifying time Fastest lap Reason out,
remarks
1 1 6 BMW-Alpina
BMW 3.0 CSL		 Niki Lauda, A
Brian Muir, AUS
 3003 L6 Div. 2 142 laps, 4:01.29,6 7 1.40,4    
2 2 12 Ford Köln
Ford Capri RS 2600 LW		 Jochen Mass, D
Jody Scheckter, ZA
 2983 V6 Div. 2 142 laps, 4:01.51,0 3 1.38,8 1.38,5  
3 3 19 Escuderia Pepsi
Ford Capri RS 2600		 Alberto Ruiz Giménez, E
Jaime Mesia, E
 2940 V6 Div. 2 135 laps, 4:02.53,6 12 1.45,8    
4 4 14 Ford Gerstmann Racing Team
Ford Capri RS 2600		 Albrecht Krebs, D
Hartmut Kautz, D
 2940 V6 Div. 2 134 laps, 4:02.50,8 8 1.42,2    
5 5    
Ford Capri RS 2600		 Klaus Fritzinger, D
Waltraud Odenthal, D
 2940 V6 Div. 2 132 laps, 4:01.47,0 11 1.45,8    
6 6 15 Squadra Caposcarico
BMW 2800 CS		 Urs Knecht, CH
Moritz Gerny, CH
 2996 L6 Div. 2 128? laps, 4:02.01,4 17 1.49,0    
7 1 26 Balduzzi
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTAm		 Drago Regvart, YU
Robert Lang, YU
 1999 L4 Div. 1 126 laps, 4:03.17,0 20 1.50,8    
8 2   Team Broadspeed
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Rafael Barrios, E
Umberto Grano, I
 1840 L4 Div. 1 125 laps, 4:02.10,6 14 1.47,8    
9 3   Formel Rennsport Club der Schweiz
BMW 2002		 René Herzog, CH
Angelo Pallavicini, CH
 1990 L4 Div. 1 122 laps, 4:02.00,8 26 1.57,0    
10 7 10 Ford Köln
Ford Capri RS 2600 LW		 Dieter Glemser, D
Jackie Stewart, GB
 2983 V6 Div. 2 116 laps, 3:15.09,2 1 1.38,2   Water pump belt
11 4    
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Aldo Valtellina ("Alval"), I
Gianfranco Palazzoli ("Pal Joe"), I
 1996 L4 Div. 1 109 18 1.49,7    
DNF     Team Schnitzer Motul
BMW 2002		 Wolfgang May, D
Sepp Manhalter, A
 1990 L4 Div. 1 26? 19 1.50,5   16v car; engine
DNF   34 Norman Reeves Ltd.
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Claude Bourgoignie, B
Dave Brodie, GB
 1996 L4 Div. 1 26 10 1.45,4   Ignition
DNF      
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Alberto Rosselli, I
Mario Ruoso, I
 1800 L4 Div. 1   15 1.48,4    
DNF      
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Goran Strok, YU
Marjan Kulundžić, YU
 1800 L4 Div. 1   16 1.49,0    
DNF      
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Franco Capietti, I
(Carlo Truci, I)
 1800 L4 Div. 1 5 23 1.53,8   Piston
DNF     Jolly Club
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Luigi Colzani, I
Martino Finotto, I
 1840 L4 Div. 1   27 1.58,8    
DNF     Team Broadspeed
Ford Escort RS 1600		 José Maria de Uriarte, E
(Hervé Le Guellec, F)
 1840 L4 Div. 1   24 1.53,8   Engine
DNF      
Ford Capri RS 2600		 "Esap", I
Guido Gatto ("Tatog"), I
 ca. 2900 V6 Div. 2   21 1.51,7   Injection; both practised a Commodore as well
DNF      
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTAm		 Ademaro Massa, I
Ulderico D'Angelo, I
 1999 L4 Div. 1   25 1.54,7    
DNF   5 Team Schnitzer Motul
BMW 3.0 CSL		 Vittorio Brambilla, I
Bob Wollek, F
 3303 L6 Div. 2 ca. 35 2 1.38,4 1.38,5 Head gasket
DNF   1 BMW Motorsport
BMW 3.0 CSL		 Hans-Joachim Stuck, D
Chris Amon, NZ
 3331 L6 Div. 2 31 4 1.39,4   Piston
DNF   11 Ford Köln
Ford Capri RS 2600 LW		 John Fitzpatrick, GB
Gerry Birrell, GB
 2983 V6 Div. 2 3 5 1.39,6   Head gasket
DNF   4 Team Schnitzer Motul
BMW 3.0 CSL		 Ernesto Brambilla, I
Walter Brun, CH
 3003 L6 Div. 2 15 9 1.42,9   Clutch/gearbox
DNF     Jolly Club/GS Tuning
BMW 2002		 Dieter Basche, D
Manfred Mohr, D
(Martino Finotto, I)
 1990 L4 Div. 1 2 13 1.47,0   16v car; overheating
DNF   2 BMW Motorsport
BMW 3.0 CSL		 Toine Hezemans, NL
Dieter Quester, A
 3331 L6 Div. 2 14 6 1.39,9   Wheel bearing
DNS      
Chevrolet Camaro		 Robert Eberhard, D
 5736 V8 Div. 2   22 1.53,0   Blown engine
DNQ      
Renault R 12 Gordini		 Giacomo Ricci, I
Paolo Monti, I
 1565 L4 Div. 1     2.03,4    
DNQ      
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Karl-Heinz Leibold, D
   L4 Div. 1     2.06,5    
DNQ      
Chevrolet Camaro		 Barretta
   V8 Div. 2     2.07,7    
DNQ      
Opel Manta 19 SR		 Sterzinger, I
 1897 L4 Div. 1     2.18,7    
DNQ      
Ford Escort RS 1600		 Müller
   L4 Div. 1     2.26,0    
DNQ      
Toyota		 Werner
   L4 Div. 1     2.36,0    
WDN      
Opel Commodore GS 2800		 "Esap", I
Guido Gatto ("Tatog"), I
 2998 L6 Div. 2     1.54,4   Both practised a Capri as well
WDN   3 BMW Motorsport
BMW 3.0 CSL		 Harald Menzel, D
 3331 L6 Div. 2         Reserve car, used for testing purposes only
WDN?      
Alfa Romeo 2000 GTAm		 Cordio, I
 1999 L4 Div. 1     1.56,3    
DNP?      
Opel Manta 19 SR		 Franz Heine, D
Gerrit de Vries, NL
 1897 L4 Div. 1     no time    

Gare Nazionale - Group 2 under 700 cc
Pos Pos in class # Team / Entrant
Car- Engine		 Drivers, Nationality Engine
vol. (cc)		 Engine
Type		 Group Distance,
time		 Qualifying position Qualifying time Fastest lap Reason out,
remarks
1 1    
Fiat Giannini 650 NP Modena		 Renato Mazzeschi, I
 652 L2 Group 2 700 14 laps, 32.55,9     2.19,9  
2 2    
Fiat Giannini 650 NP Modena		 "York", I
 652 L2 Group 2 700 14 laps, 33.09,2        
3 1    
Fiat Giannini 590 GT Vallelunga		 "Piero", I
 586 L2 Group 2 600 14 laps, 33.59,3        
4 2    
Fiat Abarth 595 SS		 "Tibeli", I
 594 L2 Group 2 600 14 laps, 34.17,7        
5 3    
Fiat Abarth 595 SS		 Carlo Bettazzi, I
 594 L2 Group 2 600 14 laps, 34.42,5        
  3    
Fiat Giannini 650 NP Modena		 Carlo Betti, I
 652 L2 Group 2 700 13        
  4    
Fiat Giannini 590 GT Vallelunga		 "Kalogher", I
 586 L2 Group 2 600 13        
  1    
Fiat 500		 Rolando Ciardi, I
 499 L2 Group 2 500 13 laps, 34.02,4        
  2    
Fiat 500		 Franco Squarise, I
 499 L2 Group 2 500 13 laps, 34.09,5        
  3    
Fiat 500		 Benito Battilani, I
 499 L2 Group 2 500 13 laps, 34.11,2        
  4    
Fiat Giannini 500 TV Montecarlo		 "Pado", I
 499 L2 Group 2 500 13 laps, 34.13,0        
  5    
Fiat Giannini 500 TV Montecarlo		 Moricone, I
 499 L2 Group 2 500 13 laps, 34.13,2        
  6    
Fiat 500		 Corti, I
 499 L2 Group 2 500 13 laps, 34.49,4        
  7    
Fiat Giannini 500 TV Montecarlo		 Gonnelli, I
 499 L2 Group 2 500 13 laps, 34.56,8        
15 8    
Fiat Giannini 500 TV Montecarlo		 Rinaldo Drovandi, I
 499 L2 Group 2 500 12        
16 4    
Fiat Abarth 695 SS		 Marco Fasolino, I
 695 L2 Group 2 700 10        
17 5    
Fiat Giannini 650 NP Modena		 Vincenzo Gattafoni, I
 652 L2 Group 2 700 9        

Gare Nazionale - Group 2 700-1150 cc
Pos Pos in class # Team / Entrant
Car- Engine		 Drivers, Nationality Engine
vol. (cc)		 Engine
Type		 Group Distance,
time		 Qualifying position Qualifying time Fastest lap Reason out,
remarks
1 1    
Fiat Abarth 1000 TCR		 Enrico Pasolini, I
 982 L4 Group 2 1000 14 laps, 29.07,2     2.03,1  
2 2    
Fiat Abarth 1000 TCR		 Giuseppe Tambone ("Tambauto"), I
 982 L4 Group 2 1000 14 laps, 29.08,1        
3 1   Trivellato Racing
Fiat 128 coupé 1100		 Paolo Cozzarolo, I
 1148 L4 Group 2 1150 14 laps, 29.08,3     2.03,2  
4 2    
Fiat 128 Berlina		 Romeo Galmozzi, I
 1148 L4 Group 2 1150 14 laps, 30.21,9        
5 3    
Fiat Abarth 1000 TCR		 Alessandro Binati, I
 982 L4 Group 2 1000 14 laps, 30.24,2        
6 1    
Fiat Abarth 850 TC		 Arnoldo Savoia, I
 847 L4 Group 2 850 13 laps, 29.16,9        
7 2    
Fiat Abarth 850 TC		 Vittorio Bernero, I
 847 L4 Group 2 850 13 laps, 29.17,0        
8 3    
Fiat Abarth 850 TC		 Pietro Biselli, I
 847 L4 Group 2 850 13 laps, 29.17,7     2.10,3  
9 4    
Fiat Abarth 850 TC		 Folin, I
 847 L4 Group 2 850 13 laps, 29.59,8        
10 5    
Fiat Abarth 850 TC		 Francesco Pera, I
 847 L4 Group 2 850 13 laps, 30.07,3        
  4    
Fiat Abarth 1000 TCR		 Rino Amighini, I
 982 L4 Group 2 1000 12        
  3    
Fiat 128 Berlina		 Enzo Santucci, I
 1148 L4 Group 2 1150 12        
13 6    
Fiat Abarth 850 TC		 Carbone, I
 847 L4 Group 2 850 11        
14 7    
Fiat Abarth 850 TC		 Gino Ravinale, I
 847 L4 Group 2 850 10        
15 4    
Fiat 128 Berlina		 Alfio Frasson, I
 1148 L4 Group 2 1150 9        

Gare Nazionale - Group 2 1150-1600 cc
Pos Pos in class # Team / Entrant
Car- Engine		 Drivers, Nationality Engine
vol. (cc)		 Engine
Type		 Group Distance,
time		 Qualifying position Qualifying time Fastest lap Reason out,
remarks
1 1   Monzeglio Squadra Corse
Alfa Romeo 1300 GTA Junior		 Luigi Pozzo, I
 1290 L4 Group 2 1300 14 laps, 27.04,0     1.53,8  
2 2   Monzeglio Squadra Corse
Alfa Romeo 1300 GTA Junior		 Giancarlo Galimberti, I
 1290 L4 Group 2 1300 14 laps, 27.04,2        
3 3   Autodelta S.p.A.
Alfa Romeo 1300 GTA Junior		 Mario Litrico, I
 1290 L4 Group 2 1300 14 laps, 27.04,3        
4 1    
Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV		 Angelo Chiapparini, I
 1570 L4 Group 2 1600 14 laps, 27.37,1     1.57,2  
5 4    
Alfa Romeo 1300 GTA Junior		 Antonio Invernizzi, I
 1290 L4 Group 2 1300 14 laps, 27.43,5        
6 5    
Fiat 128 coupé 1300		 Dante Gargan, I
 1290 L4 Group 2 1300 14 laps, 28.14,8        
7 2    
Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV		 Matteo Cormio, I
 1570 L4 Group 2 1600 14 laps, 28.23,5        
8 6    
Fiat 128 coupé 1300		 Mario Grilli, I
 1290 L4 Group 2 1300 14 laps, 28.27,8        
9 3    
Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV		 Vincenzo Zanini, I
 1570 L4 Group 2 1600 14 laps, 28.28,1        
10 4 15  
Renault R 12 Gordini		 Gianfranco Ricci, I
 1565 L4 Group 2 1600 14 laps, 28.55,7        
  7    
Fiat 128 coupé 1300		 Cuccaro, I
 1290 L4 Group 2 1300 13        
  8    
Alfa Romeo 1300 GTA Junior		 Duilio Ghislotti, I
 1290 L4 Group 2 1300 13        
  9    
Alfa Romeo 1300 GTA Junior		 Verdoia, I
 1290 L4 Group 2 1300 13        
  5 30  
BMW 1602		 Ricciardo Ricci, I
 1573 L4 Group 2 1600 13       Accident
  6    
Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV		 Franco Comin, I
 1570 L4 Group 2 1600 13        
DNS      
Alfa Romeo 1600 GTV		 Cantarelli, I
 1570 L4 Group 2 1600          
DNS      
BMW 1602		 Ubaldo Smittarello, I
 1573 L4 Group 2 1600          

Remarks: Spanish TCC coefficient: 10,2