Racing in the fifties

[D-Type]

On the Trivia thread @Rollo asked these questions about Eugenio Castellotti:

(1) Is there a reason why 548 had a yellow nose in the Mille Miglia?
(2) How many times did he pair with Fangio?
(3) Is the story of Vittorio Marzotto winning the 1952 Monaco GP true because of a can of Coke true? That just seems a little too fantastic to be true.
(1) This was common practice in both sports car and grand prix racing so that it was possible to distinguish between cars at a distance or at speed. The colours generally had no particular significance.

(2) In grands prix, on two occasions in 1956 (Monaco and Monza) Fangio had taken over Peter Collins' car as his own was giving trouble and Castellotti, who had already retired in his own car, was sent out in the repaired Fangio car to see what place (and prize money) the team could salvage. These will appear in statistics as shared drives.
In sports cars he and Fangio regularly co-drove a car, including
1954 Sebring: Lancia - DNF
1954 Tourist Trophy: Lancia - DNF (both transferred to other cars)
1956 Buenos Aires 1000km: Ferrari - DNF
1956 Sebring: Ferrari - 1st
1956 Nurburgring 1000km: Ferrari - 2nd
1956 Supercortemaggiore race, Monza: Ferrari 500 - 1st
1956 Swedish GP: Ferrari - DNF

(3) It looks as if you got the information from 8W who are generally reliable for facts. However, this particular piece is more of a "magazine article" than a biography. Remember that Coke cans hadn't been invented in 1952 and it's also doubtful whether Coke (in bottles) would have reached Monaco that early. David Hodges' Monaco GP history doesn't mention a stop for a drink. By halfway point all the serious opposition had fallen by the wayside and the two Ferraris had a commanding lead. He and Marzotto then passed and repassed each other several times. Then he says "Both stopped for fuel with 20 laps to go. Castellotti took over a minute, Marzotto 45 sec. That margin decided the race ..."
Draw your own conclusions.
I'll have a look at the Motor Sport report and see if that says anything.

[FAL]

Remember that Coke cans hadn't been invented in 1952 and it's also doubtful whether Coke (in bottles) would have reached Monaco that early.

Wasn't bottled Coke around in Europe with US forces towards the end of WW2? Don't know whether it was on sale in Monaco in 1952 but photo exists of Stirling Moss loading packs of 4 bottles into the Humber Super Snipe used for the "15 Countries (including Monaco) in 90 hours" record attempt in 1952 and he probably had it with him in the Sunbeam Talbot 90 on the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally.

[D-Type]

I agree that Coke had reached Europe in the fifties courtesy of the US forces but don't know whether it would have been readily available in Monaco. Substitute "a drink" for "a can of Coke" in the 8W piece and the substance of the story is the same anyway.

[Rollo]

(3) It looks as if you got the information from 8W who are generally reliable for facts. however, this particular piece is more of a "magazine article" than a biography.

I think I remember reading this in a copy of Motor Sport some time ago. The problem I have with stories like this is that although they might or might not be true, they tend to be fibs.


Wasn't bottled Coke around in Europe with US forces towards the end of WW2?

Coca-Cola - Our Company - The Coca-Cola System - History of Bottling (http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/historybottling.html)
1920s and 30s … International expansion
Led by longtime Company leader Robert W. Woodruff, chief executive officer and chairman of the Board, the Company began a major push to establish bottling operations outside the U.S. Plants were opened in France, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Belgium, Italy, Peru, Spain, Australia and South Africa. By the time World War II began, Coca-Cola was being bottled in 44 countries.

It would be reasonable to assume that a fashionable place like Monte Carlo would have at very least been able to import Coke from France or Italy.

[Don Capps]

Contrary to what seems to be the belief expressed elsewhere, Coca-Cola was well-entrenched in Europe by the Thirties, its popularity only being heightened after the war by the large American presence in Europe. Its main competitor, Pepsi-Cola, was a bit slower off the mark in Europe (and elsewhere), but it was also readily available in Europe by the late Forties.

Coca-Cola was also available in canned form during the mid to latter Fifties, although only in relatively small quantities compared to the bottled variety. Canned Coca-Cola was available in Europe; however, it was almost exclusively sold through US military commissaries in Europe, but it could be found on occasion in local European markets.

If one pays attention to the contemporary photographs of the 30s, 40s, and 50s in Europe, one will soon find that the ubiquitous Coca-Cola bottle is in relative abundance.

[BDunnell]

Most interesting, Don. I had no idea it was around on European shores quite as early as that.

[D-Type]

So, Castellotti could have had a drink of Coke at his pit stop. He might even have been able to have a can of Coke. But did he?

[D28]

So, Castellotti could have had a drink of Coke at his pit stop. He might even have been able to have a can of Coke. But did he?
I had a look for various accounts of the 1952 race. One from History of the Monaco grand prix by Roy Hulsbergen describes:
"A ballet of regular pit stops is orchestrated to add water to cars and drivers in the scorching heat. Finally the victor of the battle is Count Vittorio Marzotto".

Could possibly be coke, for Castelotti, but it is still described as routine pit stops.

An article on Castelotti in Sports Car International 1990 by Graziella Diana Ferrero, mentions him achieving "a superb second place in Monaco in 1952". Again no mention of stopping for a coke.
There are other accounts of stopping for a drink because he felt like it, but they seem to me to be less reliable, Facebook Pages and so on. Just my opinion.

I of course have no clue of what really happened, but I tend to side with the idea of him going full out for the win. That seems to fit with the overall impression of the man, from the Ferrero profile.