Each car had to drive sixteen laps (200 kilometres (120 mi)) at an average speed of at least 146 km/h (91 mph) from a standing start.
René Dreyfus was hired by Lucy O'Reilly Schell's Écurie Bleue team to drive a Delahaye 145 in testing and in the competition itself in which he risked death by setting a literally-blistering pace, wearing the special Dunlop tires down to the fabric but handily overwhelming all competitors except the Bugatti team.
After spending most of the day repairing various mechanical problems, the Bugatti took to the track for its run towards sundown, accompanied by Dreyfus in the Delahaye in an attempt to protect his incipient victory.
The victorious Delahaye 145, known as the "Million Franc Delahaye", was driven by Dreyfus in 1938 at the Pau Grand Prix, a tight circuit running through village streets, where he beat the legendary Rudolf Caracciola and his all-conquering 480 hp (358 kW) Silver Arrow, becoming a national hero in France.
The car was sold in 1945 to an unknown Nazi sympathizer, who commissioned Franay to design and build a low-slung attractive roadster body on the old Type 145 chassis.