Alexandru Berlescu, the pilot of the Romania I bob that placed 19th at the 1928 Olympic Winter Games, became one of the first Romanian pilots to compete in the Monte Carlo Rally. In 1926 he made the first automobile tour of Romania, in an Oldsmobile, covering 2,447 km in 50 hours. In 1934-35 he built a car with an all-aluminum body on a Ford chassis, using it to take part in the Coppa D’oro del Littorio, a 6,000 km race around Italy. After leading at the 800 km mark, he was stopped by an accident at a railway crossing. In 1934, he also participated for the first time in the Rally Monte Carlo placing 18th. The next year, he had to abandon the race, but in the following two years, he was 19th and 14th, respectively. In addition, he had many top 10 rankings in various rallies, mostly using Fords and Citroens. Berlescu was a lieutenant-colonel in the Romanian Army.
Romania