Daily Graphic Goodwood Trophy

Goodwood, 27 Sep 1952

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

Notes on the cars:

1. BRM V16 Mk I 'P15' [No 3] (José Froilán Gonzalez): Raced by Ken Wharton 1952-53. Car very heavily damaged in his crash at Albi May 1953 and the wreck was scrapped. A car with this number has been in the Donington Collection since the mid 1990s.
2. BRM V16 Mk I 'P15' [No 1] (Reg Parnell): Raced by Ray Sommer 1950, Reg Parnell 1950-53, Fangio 1952-53 and Gonzalez 1952. Retired after the 1953 season but retained by Owen Organisation as an exhibition car. Bought by Dan Marguiles for a Greek consortium at Christie's Motorfair auction in October 1981. Subsquently sold to the National Motor Museum Trust. Retained 2007.
3. BRM V16 Mk I 'P15' [No 2] (Ken Wharton): Raced by Peter Walker 1950-51, Ken Wharton 1952-54, Gonzalez 1952-53, Moss and Reg Parnell 1952 and by Ron Flockhart once in 1954. Damaged during Wharton's win at Glover Trophy, Goodwood Apr 1954, stripped and scrapped.
4. ERA C Type [R8C] (Graham Whitehead): 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. Delage 15S8 [WMG102] (Tony Rolt): Numbered '5' by Alan Burnard in his histories as a continuation of the works numbering but also logically 'WMG 102'. The second 1937 White Mouse Garages ifs car, using parts from ex-works 1926/27 GP 2,3 and 4 on a new chassis. Possibly not completed until acquired by Reg Parnell during the war. Driven in 1946 sprints by his nephew Roy Parnell, then by Dick Habershon in club events 1947-49 and Rob Walker (driver Tony Rolt) 1949. Fitted with E-Type ERA engine and campaigned by Walker as the ERA-Delage 1951-53, usual driver Rolt but also Peter Walker, Eric Thompson, Roy Salvadori and, in occasional sprints, Rob Walker himself. Alan Burnand in sprints 1954-56 then in historic racing with Joe Goodhew, Ray Potter, Patrick Lindsay, Anthony Mayman and, since 1993, Bruce Spollon.
6. ERA A Type [R4A] (Bob Gerard): Pat Fairfield's customer A Type then via Norman Wilson to reg Parnell in 1942 and Bob Gerard as a hillclimb car in 1945 to Rhodesian owners in the 1950s. Returned to the UK in the mid-1960s and raced in historic events with 2-litre engine by Peter Brewer 1954-65 and Sir John Venables-Llewellyn 1967-93. Via another UK owner to Jöst Wildbolz (Switzerland) in 1999. Retained 2007.
7. ERA A Type [R1A] (Alastair Birrell): The original 1934 prototype, this car was driven by Mays, Cook, Seaman and others before the war. Later to John Heath (HW Motors) 1946, Reg Parnell's team 1947, David Hampshire 1948-51 and then to Alistair Birrell and Ron Flockhart in Scotland in 1952. Into historic racing when it was owned by Sandy Murray from 1959 to 1982 and frequently raced by Tony Merrick. Then through a further chain of owners until acquired by Dean Butler in 2005.
8. Ferrari 125 [10C] (Bill Dobson): 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.

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.