Back to normal
After a cancelled edition in 2020 and one run in what was effectively a lockdown the following year, things were thankfully back to normal for the thirteenth Monaco Historic Grand Prix. As always, the event was a celebration of the very rich history of the Monaco Grand Prix. First held on the streets of the principality back in 1927, the original event is one of the most prestigious on the Formula 1 calendar. New for the 2022 edition of the Historic Grand Prix was an additional grid for three-litre F1 cars, extending the cut-off year to 1985. Although it made perfect sense, it was a little sad that this final group was open only to the naturally aspirated Grand Prix cars of the era.
Having been unable to attend the twelfth Monaco Historic Grand Prix in 2021, we were very glad to be trackside again this year. The results are this action-packed,
170-shot gallery of all eight races.
Front engined machines
Serie A1 featured the earliest cars in action over the weekend. The grid featured a colourful mix of Maseratis, Bugatti, Alfa Romeos and a pair of ERAs. At the sharp end of the grid, the two British
voiturette racers of Nick Topliss and Mark Gillies diced it out for victory. Eventually, it was Gillies in his A-Type that took the victory.
The post-War Grand Prix were found in Serie A2. Here it was German ace Claudia Hürtgen who impressed. She had taken over the 1960 Italian Grand Prix winning Ferrari from the owner at the last minute and managed to convert pole position into a well-deserved victory. In an eventful race, she beat Tony Wood in the Tec-Mec Maserati.
A final grid of front-engined machines was the Serie C for early 1950s sports cars. Marking the one Monaco Grand Prix run for sports cars, it boasted a packed field. Fred Wakeman in his Jaguar-engined Cooper crossed the line in first, beating a pair of 300S Maseratis.
Mid-engine marvels
Cooper spearheaded the mid-engine revolution during the late 1950s. The first 'Serie' to cover these cars was 'B' from 1961-1965 Formula 1 cars and the previous generation Formula 2 cars, which were built to the same regulations. The 27-strong field consisted mainly of British-built, Coventry-Climax engined machines from the likes of Lotus, Brabham and Cooper. Among them was the, long to believed to be lost, Cooper T73, which was recently completely restored.
A rare exception to the British armada was the Ferrari 1512 F1 driven by Joe Colasacco. His American team have managed to turn the flat-12 engined machine into a very competitive car, even relying on original designer Mauro Forghieri for help. The car had already won at Goodwood and Colasacco managed to qualify the screaming Ferrari on pole position. In the race, he faced fierce opposition from Mark Shaw in the ex-Jim Clark Lotus 21 but the Ferrari eventually came through to score a very popular victory.
The three-litre era
The remaining four fields were all for three-litre Grand Prix cars, which were first introduced in 1966. This period was dominated by the ubiquitous Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 engine, which was introduced in 1967 and used through to the mid-1980s. Especially early in this era, there were several exceptions, which were certainly found in Serie D with several BRMs, Matras and Ferraris. Starting from pole position was Stuart Hall, in the DFV-powered McLaren M19A. He briefly lost the lead of the race due to a false start of Jordan Grogor in a Matra but Hall powered through to claim his first win of the weekend.
In the next race (1973 - 1976), Hall once again started from pole position, this time in a McLaren M23. He was chased hard all race by three-time Le Mans winer Marco Werner in a Lotus 76 but Hall managed to make it two for two with his ex-Denny Hulme McLaren. Just missing out on the podium was Roberto Moreno, who was behind the wheel of a Grand Prix car for the first time in many years.
The subsequent Serie F covered the 1977 - 1980 period, which was saw the introduction of ground-effect aerodynamics. In this light, it was great to see one of the pioneering Lotus 78s on the grid. A museum piece for many years, this car was driven to Grand Prix wins in period by Swedes Ronnie Peterson and Gunnar Nilsson. Now entrusted to Lee Mowle, it finished an impressive third in the highly competitive field. Scoring the win, again from pole position, was Michael Lyons, who has become a bit of a Monaco specialist with the Penthouse liveried Hesketh 308E.
Raced at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix for the first time were the 1981 - 1985 Grand Prix cars found in Serie G. It was another fascinating field with a pair of Alfa Romeo 182s providing the V12-exception to the DFV V8 rule. Frank Stippler finished fourth in the Alfa Romeo he had been entrusted with by its German owner following a complete rebuild. In this grid Marco Werner did manage to score victory, heading an all-Lotus podium with his JPS-liveried Type 87B.
Final thoughts
With little margin for error, the Monaco circuit is very challenging but it is not necessarily the track but rather the unique atmosphere, which makes the events at the Principality so popular. It was exactly this that had lacked in 2021, which was why everyone was so happy that normality had finally returned for the thirteenth edition of the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. We have already made a note in our agenda for May, 2024 but until then our
170-shot gallery should suffice.