1948 Swiss Grand Prix
The 1948 Swiss Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Circuit Bremgarten, near Bern, on 4 July 1948. Despite racing for nearly two hours, at the finishing line Frenchman Jean-Pierre Wimille was only 0.2 seconds behind the race winner, the Italian driver Carlo Felice Trossi. Trossi's compatriot Luigi Villoresi finished over two and a half minutes behind the pair, in third place.
| 1948 Swiss Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race details | |||
| Date | 4 July 1948 | ||
| Official name | Grand Prix d'Europe | ||
| Location | Bern | ||
| Course | Circuit Bremgarten | ||
| Course length | 7.262 km (4.512 miles) | ||
| Distance | 40 laps, 290.48 km (180.50 miles) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Alfa Romeo | ||
| Time | 2:54.2 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Jean-Pierre Wimille | Alfa Romeo | |
| Time | 2:51.0 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Alfa Romeo | ||
| Second | Alfa Romeo | ||
| Third | Maserati | ||
This race proved to be one of the darkest post-WWII Grands Prix ever run. Pre-World War II star driver Achille Varzi was killed when he crashed during practice. Five hours after Varzi's crash, reigning 500cc European motorcycle champion Omobono Tenni died after hitting a tree during practice for a support motorcycle race. Wealthy Swiss privateer Christian Kautz died in an accident during the race. Maurice Trintignant also had a serious accident during a support race in which he was ejected from his car and thrown in the air, landing in the middle of the race track. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, but he survived, woke up after a week-long coma, and returned to racing in 1949.