STORY OF THE DAY: A Record Charge to the Maddalena Pass

Tazio Nuvolari won the Cuneo–Colle della Maddalena hill climb on 29 June 1930 in the number 14 Alfa Romeo P2. The exceptionally long course ran for approximately 66.5 kilometres from Cuneo toward the Alpine pass, and Nuvolari completed it in about 38 minutes 21 seconds. Luigi Fagioli’s Maserati finished second and Luigi Arcangeli placed third. The event formed part of the inaugural European Hill Climb Championship, although the season’s racing-car title ultimately went to Hans Stuck.

This was less a conventional short sprint than a sustained high-speed road trial through the Valle Stura. Nuvolari had to balance outright pace with the mechanical demands imposed by a climb lasting nearly forty minutes. His performance produced a record average of roughly 104 km/h and defeated Fagioli by more than a minute. Stuck and Achille Varzi were among those who failed to finish, strengthening the impression of a victory built upon both speed and endurance.

The P2 was Vittorio Jano’s successful two-litre Grand Prix design, powered by a supercharged 1,987 cc straight-eight with twin overhead camshafts. Alfa Romeo brought several surviving cars back for 1930 and revised them with changes including altered bodywork and cooling arrangements. Although conceived for circuit racing in 1924, the P2’s forceful supercharged delivery, relatively compact construction and proven high-speed durability made it a potent machine for the long ascent to the Maddalena Pass.

Italian driver Tazio Nuvolari came from Castel d’Ario and began his competitive career on motorcycles, winning the 350 cc European Championship in 1925 before concentrating increasingly on cars. By June 1930, victories in the RAC Tourist Trophy and Mille Miglia had already demonstrated his versatility. His association with Alfa Romeo and the young Scuderia Ferrari placed him in leading machinery, but the sustained precision required at Cuneo showed that his reputation rested on more than spectacular cornering alone.