William Grover-Williams - Monaco
Posted by: 
Narayan,
N 43° 44.201 E 007° 25.303
32T E 372903 N 4843837
Statue of William Grover-Williams, the winner of the first Grand Prix of Monaco.
Waymark Code: WMY3WY
Location: Monaco
Date Posted: 04/15/2018
Views: 9
Grand Prix motor racing, today also known as Formula One, is the largest and most known organized automotive racing competition worldwide. It started in France in 1894 and quickly evolved to an annual tournament hosted on race tracks all over the world.
The racetrack of Monaco "Circuit de Monaco", also known as "Monte Carlo", has been established in 1929 for the Grand Prix racing series. It is a challenging and dangerous street circuit through Monte Carlo and other city districts of Monaco with hairpin curves and tunnel sections. The track has been modified multiple times but is still being used annually as venue for the Formula One.
The first Grand Prix of Monaco was held on 4/14/1929, which was won by the driver William Grover-Williams. Williams was born in 1903 in France and drove races of the Grand Prix between 1926 and the late 1930s, mostly with the pseudonym "W Williams". His career included seven Grand Prix wins, as car he used several models of Bugatti. In the Second World War, he was a special agent for the French Special Operations Executive. The Germans executed him in 1945 in the KZ Sachsenhausen.
Here, at the intersection of Rue Grimaldi, Boulevard Albert 1er, Avenue d'Ostende, and Avenue John F. Kennedy right at the racing track, a statue has been built to commemorate Williams and his historic victory at the first Grand Prix of Monaco. It shows a life-size exact replica of Williams racing car at that time, a Bugatti 35 B, and Williams steering it through a curve. The statue is made of bronze and accompanied by a plaque describing the details of the event and showing a historic photo of the scene, which is depicted in the statue. It has been inaugurated by Prince Rainier III. in 2001.