Anything can happen and it usually does

1 April 14 1929

A landmark day in motor racing history, as the first Monaco Grand Prix took place on a course slightly shorter than the one we know today, though much of the layout hasn’t really altered. Englishman William Grover-Williams, racing simply as ‘Williams’, fought off an early challenge from Rudolf Caracciola’s Mercedes SSK and led for most of the 100 laps. His Bugatti T35B crossed the line more than a minute ahead of Georges Bouriano’s T35C, with Caracciola having slipped to third.

2 April 19 1931

Alfa Romeo withdrew in the wake of a tyre row (it was contracted to Pirelli, but wanted to run on Dunlops), but there were strong entries from Maserati and Bugatti. The latter’s T51s were favourites, but with grids still being drawn by ballot, Achille Varzi and Louis Chiron, above, started on row four. Varzi worked his way to the front, but a broken wheel handed the initiative to Chiron. He led thereafter and became the first and only