1948 French Grand Prix

The 1948 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race, held at Reims on 18 July 1948. The race was won by Jean-Pierre Wimille, driving an Alfa Romeo 158.

1948 French Grand Prix
Race details
Date 18 July 1948
Official name XXXV Grand Prix de l'ACF
Location Reims
Course Reims-Gueux
Course length 7.774 km (4.831 miles)
Distance 64 laps, 497.536 km (309.155 miles)
Pole position
Driver Alfa Romeo
Time 2:35.2
Fastest lap
Driver France Jean-Pierre Wimille Alfa Romeo
Time 2:41.2
Podium
First Alfa Romeo
Second Alfa Romeo
Third Alfa Romeo

Report

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Official practice was held in very wet conditions. In spite of this Jean-Pierre Wimille was able to set a time of 2:35.2, not far from the record set in 1939 in dry conditions, nearly 10 seconds faster than Alberto Ascari and nearly 20 seconds faster than the fastest non-Alfa Romeo, Philippe Étancelin's Talbot-Lago.

As expected, the three Alfa Romeos lead at the start from the Talbot-Lagos. However, Luigi Villoresi's Maserati, which started from near the back of the grid, quickly moved up into third place ahead of Consalvo Sanesi in the third of the Alfas. Villoresi was starting to challenge Ascari for second place when forced to pit for what would be the first of many mechanical issues. This allowed Alfa Romeo to take an easy 1-2-3 win, two laps ahead of the best Talbot-Lago. Although Wimille and Ascari would swap for the lead a few times, mostly as a result of pitstops, they finished in the order decided by team manager Giovanni Guidotti which required Ascari to slow and allow Sanesi to pass him just before the finish.[1]

Classification

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Pos Driver Car Laps Time/Retired Grid[1]
1   Jean-Pierre Wimille Alfa Romeo 158 64 3:01:07.5 1
2   Consalvo Sanesi Alfa Romeo 158 64 + 24.5 3
3   Alberto Ascari Alfa Romeo 158 64 + 25.0 2
4   Franco Comotti Talbot-Lago T26C 62 + 2 laps 6
5   "Georges Raph" Talbot-Lago T26C 62 + 2 laps 8
6   Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago T26C 60 + 4 laps 10
7   Luigi Villoresi
  Tazio Nuvolari
Maserati 4CLT/48 59 + 5 laps 16
8   Eugène Chaboud Delahaye 135S 59 + 5 laps 9
9   Louis Chiron Talbot-Lago T26SS 56 + 15 laps 5
10   Charles Pozzi Talbot-Lago T26SS 45 + 19 laps 13
Ret   Juan Manuel Fangio Simca-Gordini T11 41 Engine 11
Ret   Nello Pagani Maserati 4CL 37 Oil leak 19
Ret   Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot-Lago 150C 31 Fuel Tank 7
Ret   Philippe Étancelin Talbot-Lago T26C 22 Engine 4
Ret   Soave Besana Ferrari 166SC 19 Engine 14
Ret   Emmanuel de Graffenried Maserati 4CL 11 Oil leak 15
Ret   John Heath Alta GP 7 Clutch 18
Ret   Pierre Veyron Simca Gordini T11 5 Engine 17
Ret   Raymond Sommer Maserati 4CM 2 Oil pressure 12
DNP   Eugène Martin CTA-Arsenal Not present
DNP   B. Bira ERA B-Type Not present

References

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  1. ^ a b Hodges, David (1967). The French Grand Prix. pp. 135–138.
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1948 Swiss Grand Prix
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1948 Italian Grand Prix
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