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1952 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1952 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 22 June 1952 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was race 3 of 8 in the 1952 World Championship of Drivers, in which each Grand Prix was run to Formula Two rules rather than the Formula One regulations normally used. Report Maserati's new A6GCM was still not ready, and, to compound this, their lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio had suffered back injuries at the non-championship Monza Grand Prix. This meant that Ferrari were once again favoured for success in the race, with their driver lineup consisting of Alberto Ascari (in place of André Simon), Nino Farina and Piero Taruffi. There were also two privateer Ferrari entries: local driver Charles de Tornaco of Ecurie Francorchamps, and Louis Rosier. The Gordini team expanded their lineup to include Belgian driver Johnny Claes, alongside Behra, Manzon and Bira. American Robert O'Brien also drove a Simca-Gordini for this race. HWM also recruited a pair of Belgian drivers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has held a Grand Prix every year since 1985 (except 2003 and 2006). Spa also hosts several other international events including the 24 Hours of Spa, the World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. It is also home to the Uniroyal Fun Cup 25 Hours of Spa, one of the longest motor races in the world. The circuit has undergone several redesigns through its history, most extensively in 1979 when the track was modified and shortened from a circuit using public roads to a permanent circuit due to safety concerns with the old circuit. Despite its name, the circuit is not in Spa but lies in the vicinity of the town of Francorchamps within the boundaries of the municipality of Stavelot, with a part in the boundaries of Malmedy. Track c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecurie Francorchamps
Ecurie Francorchamps was a Belgian motor racing team. They are principally known for running privateer cars in Formula One and sports car racing during the 1950s and 1970s. The team was founded by racing driver Jacques Swaters. Between 1952 and 1954 Ecurie Francorchamps raced in Formula One, and raced in sports cars into the 1970s. Formula One Ecurie Francorchamps raced in Formula One between 1952 and 1954, and campaigned Ferrari cars. They won one race. Ecurie Francorchamps made their début at the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix with Charles de Tornaco as their driver. De Tornaco finished seventh at that event, retired from the 1952 Dutch Grand Prix, and failed to qualify for the 1952 Italian Grand Prix. Roger Laurent drove the team's Ferrari in the 1952 German Grand Prix, where he finished sixth. In 1953 Swaters and de Tornaco both entered the 1953 Belgian Grand Prix but neither started the race. Swaters finished seventh in the 1953 German Grand Prix, and retired from the 1953 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Racing Automobiles
English Racing Automobiles (ERA) was a British racing car manufacturer active from 1933 to 1954. Prewar history ERA was founded by Humphrey Cook, Raymond Mays, and Peter Berthon in November 1933 and established in Bourne, Lincolnshire, next to Eastgate House, the family home of Raymond Mays between Eastgate road and Spalding road. Their ambition was to manufacture and campaign a team of single seater racing cars capable of upholding British prestige in Continental European racing. With the cost of full Grand Prix racing prohibitive, they instead aimed ERA's efforts at the smaller voiturette—1500cc supercharged—class of motor racing, the Formula 2 equivalent of the day. Humphrey Cook financed the operation—using the wealth from the family drapery business, Cook, Son & Co., of St Paul's Churchyard, London. Berthon was responsible for the overall design of the cars, while Mays became its principal driver—having already successfully raced several other makes including Vaux ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of competition and has been described as "the greatest driver never to win the World Championship". In a seven-year span between 1955 and 1961 Moss finished as championship runner-up four times and in third place another three times. Early life Moss was born in London, son of Alfred Moss, a dentist of Bray, Berkshire, and Aileen (née Craufurd). His grandfather was Jewish, from a family that changed their surname from Moses to Moss. He was brought up at ''Long White Cloud'' house on the south bank of the River Thames. His father was an amateur racing driver who had come 16th in the 1924 Indianapolis 500. Aileen Moss had also been involved in motorsport, entering prewar hillclimbs at the wheel of a Singer Nine. Stirling was a gifted horse rider ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lance Macklin
Lance Noel Macklin (2 September 1919 – 29 August 2002) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1952. He was infamously involved in the 1955 Le Mans disaster, starting the initial chain reaction. Early life Macklin's father was the automotive entrepreneur Noel Macklin, founder of both the Invicta and Railton car companies, as well as Fairmile Marine, a manufacturer of motor gun and torpedo boats during World War II. Macklin was born in Kensington, and educated at Eton College. He volunteered for service with the Royal Navy in 1939 and (in line with his father's business) was assigned to work on motor gun boats. Motoring career On demobilisation after the Second World War, Macklin followed his early ambition and became a racing driver, although an early attempt to enter a race on the Isle of Man was refused on grounds that he had no experience. He secured an entry to the 1948 Grand Prix d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Collins (racing Driver)
Peter John Collins (6 November 1931 – 3 August 1958) was a British racing driver. He was killed in the 1958 German Grand Prix, just weeks after winning the RAC British Grand Prix. He started his career as a 17-year-old in 1949, impressing in Formula 3 races, finishing third in the 1951 Autosport National Formula 3 Championship. Early life and racing career Born on 6 November 1931, Collins grew up in Mustow Green, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The son of a motor-garage owner and haulage merchant, Collins became interested in motor vehicles at a young age. He was expelled from school at 16 owing to spending time at a local fairground during school hours. He became an apprentice in his father's garage and began competing in local trials races. In common with many British drivers of the time, Collins began racing in the 500 cc category (adopted as Formula 3 at the end of 1950), when his parents bought him a Cooper 500 from the fledgling Cooper Car Company. Succ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Laurent
Roger Laurent (21 February 1913 – 6 February 1997) was a racing driver and motorcycle racer from Belgium. He was born in Liège and died in Uccle. Laurent competed aboard a Moto Guzzi in the 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, entering the Belgian Grand Prix. He also participated in two World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 22 June 1952. He scored no championship points. Complete Formula One World Championship results (key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...) References 1913 births 1997 deaths Belgian racing drivers Belgian Formula One drivers Hersham and Walton Motors Formula One drivers Ecurie Francorchamps Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 500cc World Championship riders Belgian motorcycle racers Sportspeo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Frère
Paul Frère (30 January 1917 – 23 February 2008) was a racing driver and journalist from Belgium. He participated in eleven World Championship Formula One Grands Prix debuting on 22 June 1952 and achieving one podium finish with a total of eleven championship points. He drove in several non-Championship Formula One races, winning the 1952 Grand Prix des Frontières and 1960 VI South African Grand Prix. He also won the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving for Ferrari with fellow Belgian teammate Olivier Gendebien. Life Frère was born at Le Havre in 1917. He drove for the Ferrari works team, with Peter Collins. After retiring from active racing in 1960, he worked as an automotive journalist based in Europe (he was the European Editor for ''Road & Track'' magazine). He had numerous acquaintances amongst vehicle design engineers, especially in Japan at Honda and Mazda and also worked as a consultant to automobile manufacturers. He also had the opportunity to test numerous road ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hersham And Walton Motors
Hersham and Walton Motors (HWM) is the world's longest established Aston Martin business, having acquired the franchise in 1951. As a racing car constructor, HWM competed in Formula One and Formula Two, and in sports car racing. Motor Racing Hersham and Walton Motors was founded in 1938 by John Heath, an excellent race driver and talented engineer. Heath was joined by George Abecassis in 1946. Together, they moved the business into a building based on New Zealand Avenue in Walton on Thames which was previously used by Vickers during the war as part of their aircraft construction facility. George Abecassis and John Heath went racing together from 1946 and in 1948 they built a streamlined sports racing car on the chassis of a Sports Alta, and thus embarked upon the construction of racing cars and racing sports cars at the Walton-on-Thames works. The 1948 car gave them encouraging results and so new car, this time called an HW-Alta, was constructed and raced in 1949; this car was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simca-Gordini
Gordini () is a division of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979), nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer). Gordini became a division of Renault in 1968 and of Renault Sport in 1976. History Amédée Gordini tuned cars and competed in motor races since the 1930s. His results prompted Simca (the French assembler of Fiat) to hire him for its motorsport program and to develop road cars. Their association continued after World War II. In 1946, Gordini introduced the first cars bearing his name, Fiat-engined single-seaters raced by him and José Scaron, achieving several victories. In the late 1940s, the company opened a workshop at the Boulevard Victor in Paris, entering sports car and Grand Prix races. Gordini and Simca started to diverge in 1951 because of political conflicts. Gordini competed in Formula One from 1950 to 1956 (with a brief return ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert O'Brien (auto Racer)
Robert O'Brien (April 11, 1908 – February 10, 1987) was a racing driver from the United States. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix. Career O'Brien was born in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. He mostly raced sports cars in the US, finishing fourth in the 1952 12 Hours of Sebring in a Ferrari 166 MM shared with Richard Cicurel. He later made a few appearances in Europe through his contacts in Belgium. This included an appearance at the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix driving a Simca-Gordini T15 at Spa-Francorchamps. Qualifying slowest of the 22 entrants, 1 minute 23 seconds slower than the fastest time of Alberto Ascari, O'Brien circulated at the back and finished 14th of the 15 finishers. He subsequently drove (and retired) the same car in a race at the Grenzlandring in Germany before returning to the US. O'Brien is one of the more obscure drivers to have participated in the Formula One World Championship, and unsubstantiated rumours ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birabongse Bhanudej
Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh ( th, พีรพงศ์ภาณุเดช; ; 15 July 191423 December 1985), better known as Prince Bira of Siam (now Thailand) or by his ''nom de course'' B. Bira, was a member of the Thai royal family, racing driver, sailor, and pilot. Birabongse raced in Formula One and Grand Prix races for the Maserati, Gordini, and Connaught teams. He was the only Southeast Asian driver to compete in Formula One until Malaysia's Alex Yoong joined Minardi in 2001, and the only Thai driver to compete in Formula One until Alexander Albon made his debut in 2019. Birabongse also competed in sailing events at four Summer Olympic Games, and flew from London to Bangkok in his own twin-engine Miles Gemini aircraft in 1952. Early life Prince Birabongse's parents were Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse and his second wife. Birabongse's paternal grandfather was King Mongkut, loosely portrayed in the Hollywood movies ''The King and I'' and ''Anna and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
