Although there were fourteen editions of the Tripoli motor-racing Grand Prix, only the last eight earned the event international renown. The reason for this success, after a very stuttering start, undoubtedly lies with the national Lottery which was later attached to the race. The Lottery was tremendously successful and turned the Grand Prix into the Corsa dei Milioni - The Race of Millions (of Italian lire).
This brought the Tripoli Grand Prix to the attention of the whole of Italy and brought it widespread popularity, favoured by the fact that during those years there were not many other such spectacles.
The mirage of Fortune, itself a great attraction, was enhanced even further by the exotic background against which the race was staged, the colonial backdrop of palm groves and dark-skinned women and, unquestionably, the allure of the motor-racing world itself. None of these elements ever failed to appear in the stunning publicity posters displayed all over, both in Italy and in its Colonies overseas.
The Tripoli Lottery was devised to please more or less everyone: the ticket-holders hoping for fabulous winnings; the independent racing drivers and the car manufacturers hoping in their turn to balance a years' racing accounts with the participation fee alone; finally, the organisers, who could count upon a fresh source of income every year to improve the racetrack and its structures.
The Mellaha Circuit was one of the first "European" motor-racing circuits (albeit geographically African) with photo electrically operated timing devices and traffic lights at the start and for other signals.
Grand Prix Tripoli 1925 - 1940 by Valerio Moretti, published in 1994, chronicles the fourteen editions of the Tripoli Grand Prix in a detailed and comprehensive way, with a rich iconographic set of stunning b/w images and various documentation concerning the competition.
In an appendix, the bibliographical sources, for each edition, the entrants at the start grid, and final results.
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