1929 and the first Monaco Grand Prix
Archive footage from the dusty streets of Monte Carlo
Published by Mr. C
Joe Saward shared a video on Facebook over the weekend that I hadn't seen before and absolutely did not want to lose.
Pathé Newsreels, one of the oldest names in the motion picture industry, launched a YouTube channel last year and have been uploading all manner of archive clips ever since. This month they dug out a 2 minute vignette of the inaugural Grand Prix in Monaco, founded by Anthony Noghes.
The 1929 race featured 15 drivers and lasted 4 hours, and looked as insane to tackle in a racing car back then as it does today. The beauty of running a contemporary series on a circuit as steeped in history as Monaco is that so many of the landmarks are clearly recognisable to even the most casual modern day fan - the tight St. Devote corner, the climb to the Casino, the tunnel and more.
Enjoy this truly classic piece of footage and keep in mind the amount of dust visible off the racing line when drivers complain about marbles in the modern era.
The race was won by William Grover-Williams, a name fans of Joe's book Grand Prix Saboteurs will be more than familiar with. If you haven't read the book yet, be sure to grab yourself a copy.
That's a sensational find, so rare to get anything about this race, in fact I don't think I've seen any footage from it before.
I remember it wasn't even very long ago when nobody seemed to know who 'Williams' was, he was either a mystery in the 20s and 30s or someone forgetten in the mists of time, until very recently and probably only when Joe came along.
and great quality the footage is too.
I love the guy's face at the end.
Amazing. Absolutely amazing. Like Pat I don't think I have ever seen footage of this race and I certainly have never seen any of the winner. Despite having heard of the mysterious 'Williams' for the first time in the 1980s it was only when Joe's book came out that I found out his name and saw his face. I am stunned that this footage exits and is so good.
Until Joe published his book people, even knowledgeable people were guessing what his name was. You can get a racing licence with any made up name you like as long as you put the name in quote marks. So if you wish to be known as Fishcake you can have a licence and enter races as long as your name always appears as 'Fishcake'. Many people do this so that there families won't find out our so that their racing does not affect their businesses. So racing as 'Williams' was far from unusual. I saw journalists who were investigating the first Monaco race speculate his name was William Grover or William Williams or even Grover Williams but none of them seemed sure of what they were saying until Joe.
I am so pleased you have posted this.
This is incredible, wow!! Really stunning footage. Fitting that a Williams is in the first ever Monaco race, technically :)
If this post had a 'like' option, I would be hearting it. Archive footage is always awesome but this is something else.
WOW, WOW, WOW.
Great piece of motorsport history - available to one and all. The power of technology indeed.
didn't realise sky interviewed joe about this very subject over the weekend - www.youtube.com/w…tch?v=tU5DmNpRevo
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