British Empire Trophy

Douglas, 26 May 1949

All cars are 1.5-litre s/c F1 or 4.5-litre F1^† unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. ERA B Type [R14B] (Bob Gerard): Johnny Wakefield 1938-39 and then Bob Gerard's main ERA from 1946 to 1953. Then via Jimmy Stuart to Donald Day in 1959. Apart from a short period, Day has owned it ever since. Recent drivers include Ted Rollason, Goff Tidball and Paul Richardson. Retained 2007.
2. ERA B Type [R11B] (St. John Horsfall): For Reggie Tongue and Hon Peter Aitken before the war then various owners including Reg Parnell in 1948 and then Peter Bell for hillclimbs. Driven by Ken Wharton 1951-53 and then through a chain of owners to Martin Morris in 1962. Owned by David Morris since his father's death in 2005
3. Maserati 4CLT-48 [1593] (Fred Ashmore): Shown in Maserati records as Alberto Ascari's early 1948 car. To Reg Parnell 1949 for Fred Ashmore then raced in 1950 by David Hampshire and others as part of Scuderia Ambrosiana. Then David Murray's car for 1951. Crashed in practice at the Nürburgring for the 1951 German GP and not seen again.
4. ERA C Type [R8C] (Cuth Harrison): Built in 1938 using mechanical parts from R8B and raced by Earl Howe 1938 and until a crash in the 1939 International Trophy. Then to Reg Parnell for 1946, Cuth Harrison from 1947 to 1951, Brian Shawe-Taylor 1951 and 1952; then a chain of other owners until acquired in 1977 by Bruce Spollon. Rebuilt to correct C-type specs and raced from 1981 to 2003.
5. ERA B Type [R10B] (Peter Walker): Peter Whitehead's regular B Type from 1936 to 1952 (also driven by Peter Walker and Graham Whitehead). Then via other UK and US owners to Nick Mason who raced and demonstrated it for more than 20 years from 1980. With Paddins Dowling by 2006. Retained 2007.
6. ERA B Type [R12B] (David Hampshire): Built by White Mouse Stable in 1939 on a new factory B-Type chassis and using the mechanical parts from R12C. Raced by Bira 1946-47 as 'Hanuman II' then to David Hampshire and David Murray for 1949 and 1950. Through a chain of mainly Scottish owners and then to Sam Tingle in Rhodesia in 1957. Then via Allan Gillespie back to Britain for Bill Morris in 1962. Campaigned by Morris up to 1998 then to David Wenman in 1999. Retained 2007.
7. Talbot T26C [110 011] (Johnny Claes): Talbot-Lago T26C chassis '110 011' was Johnny Claes car in 1948-50 and then sold to Duncan Hamilton (and Fotheringham-Parker) and raced 1951-53. Stored in France until 1955 when Hamilton sold it to Allan Freeman in New Zealand who raced it through to 1961. It was bought by Joe Hepworth in 1963 and returned to England; then via other UK and French owners until sold to Bernie Ecclestone 1996. Retained 2002.
8. ERA B Type [R9B] (Geoff Ansell): A customer car for Denis Scribbans and then Bob Ansell up to 1949. Guest drivers included Brian Shawe-Taylor, who then bought the car and raced it 1950-51. Then via Irish and UK owners, entering historic racing in 1955. Raced by the Mann brothers from 1976 to 1993, then to Switzerland for four years, back to Peter Mann and then to Rainer Ott (Germany) in 2005. Retained 2007.
9. Alta GP [No 1] (John Heath): Alta 'GP1' was built for George Abecassis and raced in 1948 and 1949. Later formed the basis of a HW-Alta-Jaguar sports which went to Phil Scragg and registered as RPG 418. Three owners later the car went to Kenya, returning to the UK in 1973. It was owned by Chris Lunn in 2005. The 'GP1' Alta in the Donington Museum was built up from some parts of GP1 plus a frame of unknown origin. (Source: Powered by Jaguar 2nd Ed 2005, Nye)
10. RRA (Geoff Richardson): Built by Geoff Richardson using mechanical parts of an ex-works Riley raced before the war by Percy Maclure, in a new Richardson-built frame. Raced initially with the engine from the White Riley, and sometimes therefore called the ERA-Riley. Richardson continued to race the car, mainly in small English events, until 1955, replacing the engine with a 2.5 Riley in 1954 and a 2.0 Alta in 1955. The car was then dismantled but reassembled by Keith Knight, still with Alta engine, in 1965. Retained by Knight into this century.
11. ERA A Type [R2A] (George Nixon): A works 1100cc car in 1934, usually raced by Humphrey Cook and then re-engined as a 1500 for 1935 and raced mainly by Mays. Then via Nicky Embiricos, Con Pollock, HW Motors (Abecassis and Heath) 1947 and Reg Parnell (1948) to George Nixon for 1948/49. Also owned by George Hartwell, Harry Kaley and Ted Lloyd-Jones before entering historic racing in the late 1950s. Through a chain of other owners and owned by Rodney Smith (US) since 1997. Retained by his family 2007.
12. Maserati 4CL [1569] (David Murray): Delivered on 29 May 1939 to Johnny Wakefield who campaigned it successfully up to the outbreak of war. After Wakefield's death in 1942, purchased by Reg Parnell. Raced by extensively Parnell between 1946 and 1948, after which it was raced by David Murray in 1948/49. Fitted by Parnell with twin-stage supercharged engine, then Ambrosiana team spare during 1950 before passing via John Green to Bobby Baird in 1951. To George Weaver in USA, then via British, Swiss and German owners to Georg Kaufmann (Switzerland). Retained 2005
13. Maserati 4CLT-48 [1596] (Reg Parnell): Maserati records list this as Reg Parnell's car dated 14 Sep 1948. Raced by Parnell from 1949 to 1951, under the Scuderia Ambrosiana banner in 1950 and 1951, also by Hampshire in 1951. Sold or leased to Bobby Baird mid-1951 and then sometime after 1952 sold to Count Johnny Lurani. Lurani sold it in 1955 to Pat Hoare in New Zealand where it raced until the mid-1960s and then spent many years in the Queenstown Motor Museum. It was sold in 1982 and returned to Europe in 1989. Sold at auction a number of times in the late 1980s and 1990s. Owned by Max Lustenberger (Switzerland) from 1999. Retained 2004.
14. CDL (Michael Chorlton): The CDL was built for the 1949 F1 season by Centaur Developments Ltd, a London firm led by James Boothby, designer Michael Chorlton and Charles Brookes. The car is believed to have been built using one of Chorlton's Bugatti 51 chassis and engines but the Bugatti expert Hugh Conway was unable to resolve this to his satisfaction. The Bugatti bits of the CDL were later removed by Martin Dean to build up a Bugatti which is now accepted by the Bugatti Owners Club as 51126. The rest of the CDL was sold in 1994 and rebuilt around a replica Bugatti chassis and a 2.5-litre Alta engine. It is now known as the Chorlton Special. This is why OldRacingcars.com doesn't cover Bugattis.
15. Alta GP [No 1] (George Abecassis): Alta 'GP1' was built for George Abecassis and raced in 1948 and 1949. Later formed the basis of a HW-Alta-Jaguar sports which went to Phil Scragg and registered as RPG 418. Three owners later the car went to Kenya, returning to the UK in 1973. It was owned by Chris Lunn in 2005. The 'GP1' Alta in the Donington Museum was built up from some parts of GP1 plus a frame of unknown origin. (Source: Powered by Jaguar 2nd Ed 2005, Nye)
16. CDL (James Boothby): The CDL was built for the 1949 F1 season by Centaur Developments Ltd, a London firm led by James Boothby, designer Michael Chorlton and Charles Brookes. The car is believed to have been built using one of Chorlton's Bugatti 51 chassis and engines but the Bugatti expert Hugh Conway was unable to resolve this to his satisfaction. The Bugatti bits of the CDL were later removed by Martin Dean to build up a Bugatti which is now accepted by the Bugatti Owners Club as 51126. The rest of the CDL was sold in 1994 and rebuilt around a replica Bugatti chassis and a 2.5-litre Alta engine. It is now known as the Chorlton Special. This is why OldRacingcars.com doesn't cover Bugattis.
17. ERA B Type [R11B] (John Bolster): For Reggie Tongue and Hon Peter Aitken before the war then various owners including Reg Parnell in 1948 and then Peter Bell for hillclimbs. Driven by Ken Wharton 1951-53 and then through a chain of owners to Martin Morris in 1962. Owned by David Morris since his father's death in 2005
18. ERA E Type [GP2] (Leslie Johnson, TASO Mathieson): The second E-Type, first raced by Leslie Brooke 1947, then taken over by ERA Ltd and raced by Leslie Johnson 1948-50, latterly for TASO Mathieson. Peter Walker 1951, then went with GP1, appearing in Scotland with Jaguar engine in 1962. To Gordon Chapman in 1966 and still owned by the Chapman family in 2000.
19. Ferrari 125 [10C] (Peter Whitehead): Peter Whitehead bought 10C new for 1949 and used it through 1949 and 1950 before buying a newer ex-works 125. This car was raced by Dobson in 1951 and later sold to David Murray. Whitehead later bought a 1949/50 LWB Tipo 125 renumbered 0114; it is this latter car that spent many years in the Donington Collection.
20. Maserati 4CLT-48 [1594] (Luigi Villoresi): Maserati records say this was Luigi Villoresi's 1948 car and then identified as Villoresi's Scuderia Ambrosiana entry early in 1949 and then a Scuderia Milan entry at the 1949 Italian GP. Subsequent history unknown, making it the earliest 4CLT to disappear.
21. Alta IFS [69IS] (Gordon Watson): Alta chassis 69IS was a single-seat Alta with independent suspension all round built for Lady Mary Grosvenor in 1939. It was not completed before the outbreak of war and was later built up post war and raced by Gordon Watson and Robert Cowell. It was rebodied with post-war bodywork and, according to Denis Jenkinson writing in 1987, then disappeared. Ted Walker has identified 69IS as the car driven by The Noble Louis Count Manduca, a member of the Maltese nobility, in 1952 and 1953 but suggestions that it was the car that went to Gib Barrett in Australia do not appear to be correct. In 2006, it was said to be owned by Paul Jaye.

Formula 1 events 1948-1953

The results published here were compiled by David McKinney and Adam Ferrington from a range of sources including Autocourse, Motor Sport and Autosport, as well as the F1 Register's A Record of Grand Prix and Voiturette Racing Volume 5 covering 1950 and 1951. Individual car identities were then meticulously checked against their enormous libraries of books and photographs, notably Talbot-Lago de Course by Pierre Abeillon, Les Gordini by Robert Jarraud, Gordini – Un Sorcier, Une Equipe by Christian Huet and The History of English Racing Automobiles by David Weguelin.

David has also contributed extensively from his notes on car identities compiled over 40 years of research, Michael Müller has contributed immaculately researched histories of all the 1948-1950 Ferrari 125s, and Doug Nye, both through his books and his personal assistance on HWM, has also been of great help.

Please note that since David's sad death in 2014, Adam and Allen have agreed that these pages will remain unaltered from now on, as a lasting testimony to David's expertise.