Race report – 1929 Coppa Pietro Bordino

GRAND PRIX GOSSIP: THE GRANDEUR AND GRIT OF THE COPPA PIETRO BORDINO!

Alessandria, 22 November 1929 — The tenth round of the Golden Era Championship was settled today upon the treacherous dust of the Circuito di Pietro Bordino, simulated upon the demanding Fonteny dirt track. Under brilliant Italian spring skies, offering near-perfect conditions, the race quickly devolved into a brutal test of mechanical stamina and driving fortitude, proving once again that in this Golden Era, survival is often the finest measure of speed.

The drivers bravely mounted their magnificent machines for the 10-lap contest, shod universally in the High Stud (HS) tires required for this dusty terrain. The Delage 15S8 motor-car, in its various 1927 specifications, was considered the dominant chassis of the day, with the Talbots, Bugattis, and the newly potent 1929 Mercedes SSK viewed as plucky underdogs.

The Opening Catastrophe

The grid, determined by the period’s standard ballot, saw Kuusela (Alfa Romeo P2), Lázaro (Bugatti T35B), and Lindholm (Delage 15S8) seize the favored positions. But the traditional standing start quickly ushered in an era of chaos!

Joni Lindholm launched his Delage to a spectacular lead in P1. Yet, the first few bends saw mayhem unfold, with multiple incidents recorded in a frantic dash for position. Several promising contenders—including Lindholm, who was deemed one of the hardest to beat prior to the start—found themselves out of the running almost before the dust settled. Amongst the early casualties were Lubomirski, Pekkanen, and the new driver Nestia.

The first lap was particularly brutal, claiming five drivers through accidents or forced retirement. Indeed, Kari Uotila, who started deep in P23, was involved in the early lap one “crash”, making contact that resulted in front and rear damage, though it fortunately did not drastically affect his speed.

Smith Shows Speed, Uotila Gains Ground.

As the field stretched and mechanical woes pruned the leaders, Hayley Smith (Delage 15S8) surged to the front, displaying truly blistering pace. Smith commanded the race distance, setting the overall best lap time of 11:31.886. Her strategy, simply put, was to “don’t crash”.

The race settled into a battle of survival, a hallmark of the challenging Golden Era circuits. Throughout the middle stages, the sheer consistency of the Delage drivers proved vital. While Smith led, Anssi Hyytiäinen (Delage 15S8) established himself as the outright fastest man on the track, setting a monumental best lap of 11:24.302. Unfortunately, Hyytiäinen suffered issues late, finishing a commendable sixth.

Meanwhile, Kari Uotila, having survived the opening melee, began his relentless charge from the rear of the grid. The gentleman confessed he was solely focused on keeping the car on the track and driving a consistent race.

The underdogs, though competitive in spirit, struggled with the track’s demands. Zan Darling (Mercedes SSK) and Ruy Lázaro (Bugatti T35B) engaged in a lengthy, back-and-forth tussle, often resulting in Darling taking “a little trip off into a field” shortly after an overtake. Darling and the powerful Mercedes had difficulty avoiding “off track adventures,” though he ultimately managed a ninth-place finish despite multiple collisions with the environment.

The Plight of the Fast Men

Even among the fastest Delage pilots, the sheer brutality of the circuit and the inherent fragility of these magnificent machines took a heavy toll.

Anssi Hyytiäinen (Delage 15S8) demonstrated phenomenal, if fleeting, speed, setting the outright best lap of the day at 11:24.302. Unfortunately for the Ruutulippu ace, raw velocity was insufficient. Despite his scorching pace, Hyytiäinen suffered issues that culminated in a catastrophic Lap 5, consuming over eighteen minutes of time (18:09.848) and plunging him from contention. He endured further slow laps later in the race (13:55.387 on Lap 7), yet his grit allowed him to wrestle the car home for a respectable sixth place finish.

Similarly, Markus Peltonen (Delage 15S8), who set a scorching personal best of 11:28.601 and started well, found his aspirations continually dashed by delays. Peltonen endured several slow laps due to likely pit calls or mechanical distress (Laps 3, 5, 8, 9, and 10 were all significantly over 12 minutes). He was noted to have dashed into the pits early on, allowing others to pass, and was observed to be struggling in the closing minutes, losing P3 to a rapid Hayley Smith late on, and ultimately P4 on the final stretch. He brought the car across the line in fifth, but only after completing his final lap with a time of 13:29.673, underlining the difficulties faced by those who drove hard in the early stages.

Mechanical Treachery Strikes the Leaders

As the event neared its dramatic conclusion, the mechanical fragility of the early 1920s motor-cars began to play its hand. Smith, who held a substantial lead, was struck first by a spark plug failure as she crossed the line to begin Lap 6, followed quickly by a fuel pump failure early in Lap 7. These necessary repairs cost her the lead and dropped her to fourth place momentarily.

This turn of fate thrust Kari Uotila into the lead, having managed a faultless run after his early scrape. Uotila, however, was in deep jeopardy: he had gambled on a no-stop strategy but discovered too late that he could not complete the full race distance.

The Last Chance Saloon and the Finish

The final moments of the race were defined by a heart-stopping race against the fuel gauge. Uotila, forced into extreme fuel-saving mode, nursed his Delage to the pits for a critical splash-and-dash. He made the stop on the penultimate lap, narrowly managing to motor his car to the pit lane with “0 something fuel left”.

Smith, meanwhile, was driving with renewed vigor after her repairs, closing the gap rapidly, but Uotila’s phenomenal cushion proved sufficient.

Kari Uotila crossed the line to claim the victory in his 1927 Delage 15S8 with a total race time of 01:59:56.521. He credited his triumph to luck and the mechanical failures of his competitors.

Hayley Smith finished second, only 12 seconds adrift, a superb achievement given her mid-race mechanical setbacks.

The final podium spot was seized by Vesa Tolonen (Delage 15S8), who survived a brief tire puncture and fought off a late-race assault from Moisés Pereira. Tolonen admitted he lacked the pace of the faster Delages, but his consistency secured P3. Pereira secured P4, overtaking Markus Peltonen on the final run to the line, leaving Peltonen in fifth.

Pereira’s Ascendancy and the Durable Duo

A true hero of consistency was Moisés Pereira (Delage 15S8), who started a lowly 17th position on the grid and performed a spectacular advance of thirteen places to claim fourth at the chequered flag. Pereira survived the brutal opening lap, which claimed five drivers, and drove a steady, measured pace. Though his fastest lap was 12:09.398, a conservative time for a Delage, his flawless execution secured the advantage. In a truly thrilling conclusion, Pereira mounted a final-lap assault on the ailing Peltonen, commanding the lead by over two seconds as they crossed the line to secure P4. This impressive gain showed that reliability and perseverance could defeat outright speed on this temperamental circuit.

Just behind the top performers, Ville Korkiakoski (Delage 15S8) and Daniel Withoeft (Delage 15S8) delivered heroic drives defined by survival.

Korkiakoski started in P7 and finished precisely where he began. His tenacity was truly tested when he suffered a rear left puncture on Lap 3. He was forced to pull over to mend the wheel, an action that threatened to ruin his race entirely. Despite this delay, which resulted in a 15-minute lap time, the lead Korkiakoski had built was sufficient to retain his position and finish a commendable seventh.

Withoeft, meanwhile, displayed remarkable recovery after being relegated to the back of the grid. He fought a close contest in the mid-race stages until his machine suffered a devastating blow. Withoeft made heavy contact with the environment at speed (114 km/h), resulting in the failure of two front tires. Sparks were seen flying from the chassis as he struggled to nurse his wounded Delage to the pits for repairs. Although this mechanical calamity cost him many precious minutes (his Lap 4 was 16:03.461 and Lap 5 was 14:27.855), his pit crew’s efforts allowed him to rejoin and finish eighth, gaining 12 positions from his starting P20.

The Underdogs’ Endurance

The challenge posed by the Fonteny dirt track highlighted the valiant effort of the “underdog” drivers, particularly those campaigning older or non-dominant machinery like the Talbots, Bugattis, and the potent but unstable Mercedes SSK.

Heru Lah (Talbot 700, 1926 Specification) drove a strong, clean race, ascending five places from P14 to finish ninth. He completed 9 laps of the 10-lap distance.

The powerful Mercedes SSK, driven by Zan Darling, was noted for its difficulty in avoiding “off track adventures”. Darling endured multiple incidents (five collisions recorded), including laps taking well over 16 minutes, yet demonstrated determination to pilot the heavy machine to a tenth-place finish, gaining 8 positions from his starting P18.

Further down the classification, drivers like Gijsbert Joossens (Bugatti T35, 1925 Specification) finished P11, having dramatically gained 15 positions from P26. Even Drik Crozet (Delage 15S8, 1926 Specification), who was caught up in the Lap 1 chaos and endured a disastrous 35-minute Lap 2, continued to battle, completing eight laps to secure P14.

The race underscored the primary rule of Golden Era racing: that the ultimate prize is awarded not merely for speed, but for the prudence and gentle hand required to outlast these temperamental, yet magnificent, motor-cars.

Race results

Race broadcast