George Edgar Abecassis (21 March 1913 – 18 December 1991) was a British racing driver, and co-founder of the HWM

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

team.

Pre-1946 career

Born in Oatlands,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, Abecassis was educated at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

. He began circuit racing in 1935 in a modified Austin Seven which became known as ''The Einsitzer''. After taking 1937 as a year away from the track, he acquired an Alta and made a name for himself in English national racing during the 1938 and 1939 seasons. In 1939, he won the Imperial Trophy

Formula Libre Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppor ...

race at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, driving his Alta, defeating

Prince Bira 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 ...

, in the E.R.A. known as ''Romulus'', in a wet race, "that being the only time it was beaten by a car in the British Isles." At one point, Abecassis held the Campbell circuit lap record at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

at On 3 July 1938 Abecassis broke the Prescott Hill Climb record with a climb of 47.85 seconds in his supercharged 1½-litre Alta. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

broke out he joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, as a member of the Volunteer Reserves, and became an experienced pilot, ultimately becoming a member of the secret "Moon Squadrons", ferrying secret agents in and out of occupied countries in Europe with specially-modified Halifax and Stirling aircraft. During the course of his wartime service Abecassis was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

with the following citation: Abecassis achieved the rank of

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

, and, following the war, continued as a member of the RAF Volunteer Reserves prior to his discharge in 1953.

Post-1946 career

After World War II Abecassis went back to racing, initially with pre-war machinery. He won a race at Gransden Lodge in a road-going 3.3-litre

Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars w ...

on 15 June 1946. In 1947, Abecassis finished second in the Swedish Grand Prix, held on a frozen lake at Vallentuna, driving an E.R.A. In 1948, he finished second to

Bob Gerard Frederick Roberts Gerard (19 January 1914, Leicester – 26 January 1990, South Croxton, Leicestershire) was a racing driver and businessman from England. He participated in numerous top-level motor racing events on either side of World War II ...

in the Jersey International Road Race.''Motor Sport'', June 1948, cover. He became a partner, with John Heath, in

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 Her ...

Ltd., a motor dealership and garage in

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

. Building on his pre-war association with the Alta marque, Abecassis and HWM assisted in the development of the

Alta GP The Alta Car and Engineering Company was a British sports and racing car manufacturer, commonly known simply as Alta. Their cars contested five FIA World Championship races between 1950 and 1952, as well as Grand Prix events prior to this. They ...

car, designed to comply with the recently introduced

regulations. After the failure of this enterprise, Abecassis and Heath decided to construct their own cars under the HWM banner, but retaining Alta engines. Initially the HWM cars were designed to compete in the

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...

class, but when the World Championship switched to Formula Two regulations in HWM cars became eligible to compete in the Grand Prix events. During their prime, HWM employed such future stars as

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 comp ...

and Peter Collins, and the Belgian

Johnny Claes Octave John Claes (11 August 1916 – 3 February 1956) was an English-born racing driver who competed for Belgium. Before his fame as a racing driver, Claes was also a jazz trumpeter and successful bandleader in Britain. Early life and jazz c ...

scored their first victory, in the

Grand Prix des Frontières The Grand Prix des Frontières was a motor race held at a street circuit in Chimay, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered ...

at a

street circuit A street circuit is a motorsport racing circuit composed of temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor races. Airport runways and taxiways are also sometimes part of street circuits. Facilities such as the p ...

Chimay Chimay (, wa, Chimai) is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. In 2006, Chimay had a population of 9,774. The area is 197.10 km2 which gives a populatio ...

, Belgium. Abecassis's HWM team also took a notable victory in the

International Trophy The International Trophy is a prize awarded annually by the British Racing Drivers' Club to the winner of a motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit, England. For many years it formed the premier non-championship Formula One event in Britain, ...

race at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

in 1952, this time with

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 disaste ...

at the wheel. With the reintroduction of Formula One cars to the World Championship in , Abecassis and Heath attempted to produce a competitive car using the 2.5-litre version of the Alta engine but it was not a success; HWM cars only contested two further Grand Prix events after 1953. It was with his own HWM cars that Abecassis raced in his only two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, at the Bremgarten circuit, in the

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and

1952 Swiss Grand Prix The 1952 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 18 May 1952 at Bremgarten Circuit. It was the first round of the 1952 World Championship of Drivers, in which each Grand Prix was run to Formula Two rules rather than the Formula One regulat ...

. He was more successful as a sports car driver with

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

and won his class at the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

in , sharing his DB2 with Macklin. He also finished second in the

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...

in 1953, partnered by

Reg Parnell Reg or REG may refer to: * Reginald (disambiguation) * Reg or desert pavement * Raising for Effective Giving, a charity * Random event generator (parapsychology) * Raptor Education Group * Regal Entertainment Group * Regular language * .reg MS Wind ...

. In 1953, Abecassis constructed an HWM sports car for his own personal use, powered by a

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

straight-6 The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine bal ...

engine, with which he successfully contested many national British races until 1956. In 1956, Heath was killed in an accident in the

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...

and Abecassis retired from racing, turning his attention to running the HWM operations. He was the

Facel Vega Facel S.A. was a French manufacturer of pressed steel automobile components, later complete automobiles of their own design. To intensify its World War II war effort, French subcontracting company for military aeronautics Bronzavia created a s ...

importer for Britain, while his motor industry connections were aided by the fact that he was married to Angela, the daughter of Aston Martin chairman Sir David Brown. He died aged 78, in

Ibstone Ibstone (previously Ipstone) is a village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills on the border with Oxfordshire, about south of Stokenchurch. The village name is Anglo Saxon in ori ...

, near

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. In September 2010 his son David Abecassis published a comprehensive biography of his father under the title ''A Passion for Speed''. His grandson, Jonathan Abecassis, has an active interest in vintage sports car racing. He competes in the Fifties Sports Car Racing Club ("FISCAR") series, driving an Austin Healey 100/4.

Racing record

Career highlights

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 ...

)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

Complete Mille Miglia results

Complete 24 Hours of Spa results

Complete 12 Hours of Reims results

Complete 12 Hours of Hyères results

References

External links

George Abecassis Racing Driver with a Passion for Speed
(georgeabecassis.com), 2010.
Our History
HWM of Walton on Thames, West London. *
Fast motoring in a Facel Vega
'',

Motor Sport Magazine ''Motor Sport'' is a monthly motor racing magazine, founded in the United Kingdom in 1924 as the ''Brooklands Gazette''. The name was changed to ''Motor Sport'' for the August 1925 issue. The magazine covers motor sport in general, although from ...

, August 1958. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abecassis, George 1913 births 1991 deaths English Formula One drivers Hersham and Walton Motors Formula One drivers English racing drivers Grand Prix drivers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers 12 Hours of Sebring drivers Mille Miglia drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers English aviators Royal Air Force squadron leaders People educated at Clifton College Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Chertsey Brighton Speed Trials people Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Formula One team owners Military personnel from Surrey British World War II bomber pilots