The Cornwall MRC Formula 1 Race was a series of non-championship

motor race Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

s run according to

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, ...

rules, held at

Davidstow Circuit Davidstow Circuit is a disused motor racing circuit and airfield built in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. The circuit was built on the site of a World War II RAF Coastal Command base, RAF Davidstow Moor, opened in 1942. Davidstow circuit opened ...

, in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, UK.

History

was built on the site of former

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 ...

base

RAF Davidstow Moor Royal Air Force Davidstow or more commonly RAF Davidstow Moor is a former Royal Air Force station located north east of Camelford, Cornwall and west of Launceston, Cornwall, England. It was used from late 1942 until 1945 and despite a few ...

, using the perimeter roads and runways of the airfield, and held its first race meeting in 1952. The circuit was renowned for its poor weather conditions, thick fog and torrential rain being a frequent occurrence, and its altitude. The circuit was almost 1000 ft above sea level and situated near

Brown Willy Brown Willy (possibly meaning "hill of swallows" or meaning "highest hill") is a hill in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The summit, at above sea level, is the highest point of Bodmin Moor and of Cornwall as a whole. It is about northwest ...

, the highest point on

Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor ( kw, Goon Brenn) is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough Tor, a s ...

. Facilities at the track were basic – latrines were dug into the ground, and spectators were separated from the race track by waist-high scaffolding bars. The

race was first held on 7 June 1954 and was staged on two more occasions, a second fixture in 1954 and one in 1955, before the event was abandoned. Following the last of these events the circuit ceased to host motor racing events. These races marked the first victories in Formula One for both

Lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...

and

Connaught Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbh ...

. Although officially classified as Formula One races, the majority of drivers competed in obsolescent 2-litre

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 ...

cars. In fact over the course of the three F1 races held at the circuit, only a single Formula One car took part:

Leslie Marr Sir Leslie Lynn Marr of Sunderland, 2nd Baronet (14 August 1922 – 4 May 2021) was a British landscape artist, painter and racing driver. Early life, education and military service Marr was born in Durham, England, the son of Lieutenant Colon ...

drove his streamlined Connaught to a comfortable victory in the 1955 event.

Results

The Formula One races at Davidstow generally had very small fields due to its remote location and rudimentary facilities. The 1955 event had just six starters, as did the second race of 1954, while the inaugural event saw seven cars on the grid for the start.

References

{{reflist Formula One non-championship races