Guy Moll
Born in Algeria he began racing a lorraine-Dietrich in local events. In 1932 his friend Marcel Le Houx invited him to race his Bugatti in the Marseilles GP at Miramas, he finished 3rd behind Ray Sommer and Nuvolari. 1933 began in Europe at Pau, in a snowstorm he finished second. He soon bought a Monza Alfa Romeo in which he finished 3rd in Nice, Comminges, Miramas and 2nd in Monza.
For 1934 he drove for Ferrari in the P3 single seater Alfa, he won the Monaco GP and then in the streamlined P3 he won at the Avusrennen on the banked circuit outside Berlin he had a 3rd in the French GP 2nd in the Targa Florio and 2nd in the Coppa Ciano beating Nuvolari
He died in 1934 racing a P3 Alfa when it left the road during the Coppa Acerbo. His friend Le Houx died 2 years later in an ERA
Jimmy Murphy
Born in San Fransico in 1894 his first vehicle, a motorcycle interested him enough to encourage him to start a small garage near Los Angeles. Because of his small size (5ft 7in and 10 stone) he was asked in 1916 to be riding mechanic for Omar Toft in the Corona races, the car was banned from racing on the morning of the race. Up stepped Eddie O’Donnell of the Duesenburg Team they raced together and won. This led to a permanent place riding with Tommy Milton and Eddie Rickenbacker. In 1919 he raced his first Duzy he crashed, but was give another chance and in 1920 he won at the Beverley Speed Way almost running out of fuel. At the end of 1920 he set the world land speed record of 152 MPH at Daytona. 1921 saw him in the French GP with broken ribs from an accident the week before, he won despite the pain a puncture and a stone going through the radiator he was the first American to win a GP in Europe.
In 1922 in a Miller engined Duzy he won, at the Beverly, Uniontown and Tacoma board tracks and also the Indy 500.
I n 1923 he won at Beverly, Fresno, Kansas City, Altoona and a dirt track race at Reedville and managed 3rd at Indianapolis.
He disliked racing on dirt tracks and as he made an attempt to take the lead on the Syracuse track his car skidded and he was killed when he hit the fence, a piece of wood went through his heart he was 30 years old
Barny Oldfield
Born in 1898 he became a professional cyclist winning many events, in 1902 he was given a petrol engined Tandem to race in Salt Lake City by Tom Cooper. Cooper was building racecars with Henry Ford and Oldfield was asked if he would like to race one, he did, the Ford 999 He also drove the Winton Bullet, the Peerless Dragon and the Christie Front Wheel Drive.
In 1903 he covered a mile a minute the first American to do so.
He retired in 1908 but returned in 1909 with a 120hp Benz this was changed for the Blitzen 200hp Benz in 1920. He used this to set the 1mile, 2 mile and the Kilometre records at Ormond Beach.
He finished 4th in the 1912 Indy 500 driving David Bruce Browns Fiat.
1913 saw him with the Mercer team he finished 2nd in the 445mile Santa Monica.
In 1914 he came 2nd with a Mercer in the Vanderbilt cup, 2nd with a Maxwell in the Corona road race, he won the 1914 Cactus Derby (670 miles) in a Stutz and the 1915 Venice Road race driving a Maxwell
In 1915 he withdrew his Bugatti from the Indy 550 as it was not fast enough but he came 5th in a Delage in 1916
1917 saw him driving the green Dragon an enclosed cockpit car.
He lost most of his money in the Wall Street crash of 1929. He died in 1946
