Continental Races

The weekend of May 22nd-23rd saw a wide variety of motoring events taking place on the International Calendar. At Bari, in the south of Italy, Froilan Gonzalez recorded his third successive Formula I victory by winning the Bari Grand Prix. Although Behra (Gordini) did his utmost and severely worried the second Ferrari team man, Trintignant, he was unable to approach the Argentinian, who covered the 60 laps of the 5.5-kilometre course with a surety that is very different from the rather wild Gonzalez of last year. Of the 12 starters seven completed the course and though Marimon tried hard to keep his Maserati with the Ferraris and Behra’s Gordini he eventually had to drop back when the Frenchman passed him during a record-breaking lap.

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In Belgium the Automobile Club of Spa held races for production cars on the Francorchamps Grand Prix circuit. Outstanding driver of the day was Paul Frere, who won the standard production-car event with a vast Chrysler New-Yorker, fitted with every conceivable type of ‘matic device to hinder high-speed driving. Having finished that “battle with science.” he then got into a TI Alfa-Romeo 1,900 saloon and won the race for standard cars of the more sporting type. To close the day of racing there was an event for sports cars and it produced net only a very interesting entry but also an exciting race. The entry included an A6G Maserati driven by the Swiss motor-cycle champion Benoit Musy, XK120C Jaguar, Alan Brown’s Cooper-Bristol driven by Jacques Swaters, Glockler and Olivier with Porsches, Mlle. Thirion with her Mille Miglia Gordini, a TR2 Triumph, Austin-Healey, numerous XK120 Jaguars, and a trio of Ferraris, one of which was a brand new “Mondial” model. Musy, in the Maserati, and Davids, in the XK 120C, soon ran away front the rest of the field and had a fierce battle which lasted the whole race, with victory going to the Jaguar.

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Once again Sicily echoed to the sound of super sports cars when the Targa Florio was run over eight laps of a closed circuit of 72 kilometres, on the northern shore of the island, not far from Palermo. Following his win in the Tour of Sicily earlier in the season, Piero Taruffi drove a 3.3.-litre Lancia to victory at a new record speed.