 Immediately after the start, from the second row Fiat driver Pietro Bordino overtook first Guinness, then Thomas to take the early lead, completing his first lap in 9 minutes and 45 seconds, faster than any driver had done in practice, and already had a lead of 41 seconds over Guiness, followed at some distance by a close pack in the order Thomas, Enrico Giaccone (Fiat), Carlo Salamano (Fiat), Segrave (Sunbeam), Albert Divo (Sunbeam), Albert Guyot (Rolland-Pilain) and Ernest Friderich (Bugatti).Overheating caused Thomas to drop back, while the two other Fiats moved up into third and fourth place.Segrave also dropped back during his third lap due to a slipping clutch, an issue which existed even for the start of the race due to an incorrectly adjusted clutch pedal.