1921 Grand Prix season
Wealthy privateer Conte Giulio Masetti, gave FIAT's only win in the Targa Florio, heading home a big field including a strong challenge from Max Sailer’s Mercedes.
For the third year in a row, Ralph DePalma recorded the fastest time in practise (driving for Ballot), but it was former Duesenberg driver Tommy Milton who comfortably won for Louis Chevrolet’s Frontenac team, on his way to claiming the AAA championship for 1921.
Those cars had innovative hydraulically operated four-wheel brakes giving them a decided advantage on the sharp corners of the Le Mans course.
Never seriously challenged in the race, Murphy became the first driver to win both an American and European Grand Prix, with DePalma coming home second for Ballot.
A promising field for the first Italian Grand Prix evaporated leaving just six cars – a two-way battle between Ballot and FIAT.
Sources:[2][3][4][5][6] The regulations set up by the AIACR (forerunner of the FIA) the previous year remained in force: an engine limit of 3.0-litres, with a minimum weight of 800 kg.
In the first, the northern Circuito del Garda, was entered a 30-year old motorcyclist, now trying his hand at four-wheel racing – Tazio Nuvolari, driving an Ansaldo.
It included a number of Italian grand prix and sports cars, as well as a 1914 works Mercedes driven by Max Sailer from Stuttgart for the event.
[15] The FIAT team had a pair of 3-litre 801s for Ferdinando Minoia and Pietro Bordino, while wealthy privateer, the Conte Giulio Masetti drove a S57/14B.
Sunbeam had three cars for René Thomas, André Boillot and Ora Haibe while another for former champion Dario Resta did not eventuate.
French veteran Albert Guyot joined Jimmy Murphy, Joe Boyer and Roscoe Sarles (both latterly of Frontenac).
For the third year running, DePalma set the fastest qualifying lap, sharing the front row with Milton's Frontenac and Ira Vail’s Miller-engined special.
To prove a point to his former team, Milton slowed to let him pass before blasting straight back around him and then cruised off to take a comfortable victory of nearly four minutes.
[17][18] Without doubt, the premier event of the year was the return of the French Grand Prix, in what promised to be an exciting showdown between some of the best cars from Europe and the United States.
The ACO, having held the Coupe des Voiturettes the previous year on its new circuit just south of Le Mans, was awarded the honour of the first post-war Grand Prix.
When Murphy's mechanic noticed the Ballot had smaller brakes at the rear, the team made a similar change and greatly improving performance.
Jimmy Murphy became the first American to win both a Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500, a feat not matched until Mario Andretti repeated it in 1971.
[20][25] In September Italy's inaugural Grand Prix was the headline to open the Brescia Speed Week – a lavish festival of motor racing.
[31][20][16] This left Goux in the lead and he took the victory five minutes ahead of teammate Chassagne with Wagner's FIAT the sole other finisher.
However, Ettore Bugatti, ever-mindful of the brand-image, scratched his team to prevent any loss of face from a race defeat.
Built as a test circuit, it was essentially the two 9 km long straights of a motorway dual carriageway linked at each end by tight hairpins.
At the end of the season the team followed Peugeot, withdrawing from Grand Prix racing to focus on touring cars to better support its road-car sales.
Open to 4-seater 3-litre cars, it started the popular move into touring-car racing that would have a considerable impact in years to come.
