page_title: 1933 24 Hours of Le Mans
section_title: Entries
hierarchical_section_title: 1933 24 Hours of Le Mans / Entries
caption_attribution_description: Riley Brooklands 1930
context_page_description: The 1933 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 11th Grand Prix of Endurance. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 17 and 18 June 1933. Up against five strong privateer entries from Alfa Romeo, the opposition looked fairly weak, mostly being of 1920s vintage. There was a strong British contingent in the smaller classes. The big drawcard was the presence of top European drivers Louis Chiron and Tazio Nuvolari. The current European champion was paired with one of the previous year's winners, Raymond Sommer
  From the start, the Italian cars set a strong pace. Sommer broke the track-record several times building a two-minute lead over the Alfas of Chiron, Lewis, Chinetti and Moll. He had lapped the rest of the field by the end of the second hour. Chiron was delayed by an intransigent starter unit, but his co-driver Franco Cortese drove hard to bring the car back up to second going into the night. Most of the other large-engine contenders had fallen away, allowing Odette Siko in a 1.8-litre supercharged Alfa Romeo to move up to fifth. The British teams of Aston Martin, Riley and MG filled out the back end of the top-10.
context_section_description: The gradual economic recovery was signalled with a good initial list of 41 entries. However, a record thirteen entries were withdrawn before race-week. The ongoing struggles for the automotive industry were reflected by the fact that there were only four works teams present – a single French Tracta, as well three British Aston Martins, a Riley and a new Singer – none of which were of a pace to challenge for outright victory. So, this left the squadron of privateer Alfa Romeos as clear favourites.
  From the finishers in the 1932 race there were eight cars eligible for the Biennial Cup. Three Italian Alfa Romeos squared up against two Aston Martins and a Riley from Great Britain, and a Lorraine-Dietrich and Amilcar from France.
  Note: The first number is the number of entries, the second the number who started.
  At the end of 1932, the new government-appointed CEO of Alfa Romeo, Ugo Gobbato, had withdrawn the works team from racing. Thus, it fell to the privateers to maintain the company's dominance and they did not disappoint: the marque was the best represented in the entry list, with 9 cars. Last year's winners, Raymond Sommer and Luigi Chinetti were the organisers for Alfa racing in France. This year they were in separate cars: Sommer ran the Mille Miglia 4-seater version, again fitted with an oversized fuel tank that would allow 27 laps between refills. He scored a coup getting the current European Champion, Tazio Nuvolari, as his co-driver. Released from Scuderia Ferrari for the event, he had won the Mille Miglia earlier in the year and also came with support from Pirelli tyres. Chinetti, meanwhile, was hired by wealthy Russian émigré Philippe de Gunzberg to prepare and co-drive his corto 8C. A keen amateur racer, de Gunzberg raced under the pseudonym of "Philippe Varent". Chinetti was offered a bonus 60000 francs if they won the race. Louis Chiron was also back, with an 8C-2300 Le Mans, with a 4-seater lungo (long) touring body. This year he had formed a new racing team with Rudolf Caracciola. But the German ace had broken his leg at Monaco early in the season and for Le Mans Chiron was joined by former works driver Franco Cortese who had finished second at the Mille Miglia.
  There were three British Alfa entries, though only one arrived (Earl Howe, had cut his eye the week before at the French Grand Prix). With Talbot also withdrawing from motorsport, this year Arthur Fox entered an 8C tourer for his regular drivers Brian Lewis, Baron Essendon and Tim Rose-Richards. The other 8C was entered by wealthy Parisian banker, Pierre Louis-Dreyfus. He had crashed this car in last year's race, but it had been repaired and recently been sold to the up-and-coming star, French-Algerian Guy Moll. He was joined by his compatriot, former Amilcar driver Guy Cloitre, as his co-driver.
  Two, smaller, 6-cylinder Alfa Romeos were also entered, running in the 3-litre class. Miss Odette Siko made headlines the previous year finishing fourth, and she returned with Louis Charavel as her co-driver. They again ran their 1768cc supercharged SS model, while in a slightly smaller 1742cc GS saloon version was fellow Frenchman André Rousseau.
  Alfa Romeo's competition for outright honours was expected to come from Bugatti. Six cars were entered but only two arrived for scrutineering. Guy Bouriat entered one of the former works Type 50 with its big 5-litre supercharged straight-8 engine. Sadly, he was killed a month before Le Mans in the Picardy Grand Prix. So, his regular co-driver, Pierre Bussienne, was joined by another former E.H.P. works driver, Marie Desprez. The other was the first sports-car race for the new, unsupercharged 1.5-litre Type 51A. It was entered by the Polish émigré Count Stanisław Czaykowski, a regular Grand Prix racer in Bugattis and he teamed up with Jean Gaupillat, another privateer Bugatti driver.
  The biggest car in the race was an unexpected entry – the Duesenberg Model J was one of the most exclusive cars in the world. In 1932 the supercharged Model SJ was unveiled. The mighty 6.9-litre straight-8 twin-cam engine was based on
caption: Riley Nine Brooklands
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