OSCA would enter one of their Formula 2 cars in the race but it would last just a couple of laps before it would retire. This would be followed by a retirement of a Maserati at just about 8 lap increments. Wolfgang Seidel would start it off retiring after 18 laps. Antonio Creus would follow after 26 laps suffering a crash. Giorgio Scarlatti would then last 33 laps before magneto troubles ended his race.
As a result of the attrition, Testut moved up the order. He was still well back at the end of the field but he was gaining valuable experience and was moving up the order nonetheless. When Masten Gregory retired after 36 laps, he would move up yet another position. Andre seemed on course for a good result in his first Formula One. Furthermore, he looked set to garner some much needed experience before the second round of the Formula One World Championship about a month away.
Musso would be out front and untouchable. After posting the fastest lap of the race, Luigi would settle into a consistently fast pace that would enable him to pull away from the 2nd place car. In reality, all of those still running would pull away from each other. There would be no close battles heading into the final moments of the race. The only battle left was against that of attrition.
Unfortunately for Testut, this would be a battle he just could not win. He would do his absolute best and would come close. However, with nine laps remaining in the race the six-cylinder engine in his Maserati would give up the fight. Testut was out of his first grand prix, but it had been a good performance and it provided some much needed experience.
Musso’s only battle would be against attrition and a lack of focus. However, he would not lose either battle and he would charge across the line to a very easy victory. Completing the race distance in just under two hours and three minutes, Musso would finish more than a lap ahead of Bonnier in 2nd place. Another lap would be the gap back to Francisco Godia-Sales finishing in 3rd place.
Testut’s first race would be a bittersweet experience. He had garnered a good deal of experience and time behind the wheel of the Maserati. He had also come close to finish his first race. But that would be the bitter pill he would have to swallow. He had come within just a couple of laps of finishing. He had put in all the hard work to end up just short. Still, for as much as the race in Syracuse may have been frustrating for Testut, his focus had always been on the race following a month later down the line.
Unfortunately for Testut, he had to repair and rebuild his Maserati’s engine before he could really think about the next race on his calendar. And, inching closer and closer to the event, Andre would need his Maserati working perfectly if he was just to make it into the field.
A couple of non-championship events followed the race in Syracuse. Both of those would come on English shores. The BARC ‘200′ and the BRDC International Trophy race offered Testut even more experience. However, he would forego both in order to fully prepare for the second round of the Formula One World Championship—the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Formula One World Championship had only just returned to the streets of the tiny principality before Andre started his racing career fully. But even with its hiatus from the World Championship, Monaco would always be the crown jewel in the series and would be the reason for a great deal of excitement in 1955. Three years later, it was Testut’s time to share in the excitement as he prepared for his home race for the first time.
Andre had earned a good deal of experience in long-distance sportscar events. He had taken part in races like the Mille Miglia which required great concentration around tight city streets. There were many sections of the Mille Miglia that paid drivers dearly for mistakes. The tight street circuit around the streets of Monte Carlo was no different. If anything, it was more difficult precisely because there was no break from it. The Monaco Grand Prix would be nothing but a couple of hours of being on edge. This is where the experience was very important and often made the difference between just making it into the race, or, being left on the sidelines.
The grand prix’s organizers only allowed 16 places on the grid. This meant there would be an epic battle in qualifying just to make it into the race. The Vanwalls would be quick, right along with the BRMs from Owen Racing and the mid-engined Coopers. Suddenly, the British marques were setting the pace around the 1.95 mile circuit. This was not good news for those driving the much older Maserati 250Fs, like Testut.
Monaco couldn’t have been any more different than the public road course used outside of Syracuse. Whereas the circuit outside of Syracuse was relatively wide-open and fast, the Monaco street circuit was tight, twisty and much slower. On top of that, the circuit didn’t allow for any mistakes. Testut was used to endurance races. Therefore, practice alone would be a new adventure and a race for Testut. Unfortunately, as the first couple of practice sessions drew to a close, Andre wasn’t any closer to 16th on the grid as he was to pole.
Jo Bonnier would be on the bubble having set a lap time of 1:45.0. Ron Flockhart would be close to the time in one of the Climax-powered Coopers. He would be just nine-tenths of a second off the time, but not fast enough to challenge Bonnier for the final spot on the grid. This was not a good sign for Testut. Andre would set out in the final practice session and would push as hard as he dared. The Maserati, adorned in an overall white livery with two red stripes running the length of the car would be in stark contrast to most cars out on the circuit. Unfortunately, the livery made it easier to judge the pace of Testut compared to others. And, unfortunately, it would be obvious a spot on the grid was likely going to be out of the question. Testut would give it his all but would only manage to set a time of 1:51.4. A spot in the Monaco Grand Prix was not for Andre.
Andre would realize he had no chance to make it into the race. However, that would not prevent his Maserati from being seen out on the circuit making a few laps. What would be surprising would be the person behind the wheel. Louis Chiron had won the Monaco Grand Prix back in 1931. He was also never far from other Formula One events always ready to offer animated advice and ‘expertise’. So when Testut came to the realization he wouldn’t be able to make it into the race, the famous Monegasque resident would take to the wheel to do a few laps of his own and to see where he stacked-up some thirties years after he first took part in a motor race.
Chiron and Testut had partnered together in the Mille Miglia and at other times, and had proven to be successful at more than one race. However, not even the great Chiron behind the wheel could get the Maserati into the race. Instead, Chiron and Testut provided their fellow Monacans a great sight and one more memory around the streets of the principality.
Although Testut would fail to qualify for the Monaco Grand Prix he would not put the car aside and not take part in another race. In fact, he would use the Maserati to great effect scoring a 2nd place result at La Faucille in the early part of September. Unfortunately though, the fewer number of non-championship races would be rather prohibitive to Andre garnering more and more experience behind the wheel of a single-seater. Instead, Testut would return to sportscar races for the remainder of the season.
