Casablanca, October 27th.
To conclude the 1957 Formula 1 season the Royal Automobile Club of Morocco organised an event at Casablanca, on a scale equal to any of the Grandes Epreuves held this year, though the event did not count towards the Championship. Much effort and money was poured into the meeting in the hope that next year it will receive Grande Epreuve status. In a matter of weeks a new circuit was laid out at Anfa, just on the edge of Casablanca, and pits, grandstands and control tower all showed a permanent frame of mind in the construction. The circuit itself, of tarmac, was smooth and fast, having many high-speed bends rather than long straights, and it undulated over 7.618 kilometres of the sandy desert soil on the Moroccan coast. The only serious fault was in not providing a sharp dividing line between the edge of the track and the sandy infield, such as a bevelled kerb, for many drivers used quite a lot of the sandy edges, throwing sand and gravel on to the road. Only at the sharper corners were straw bales used and these were the only scenery around the circuit, the general decor being rather barren and arid.
Getting to Casablanca presented a major project in itself, some of the teams travelling by boat from Bordeaux or Marseilles, the more adventurous driving their lorries to Gibraltar, taking a ferry to Tangier and driving down the coast, while most of the drivers and important personnel travelled direct by air. By Thursday, all the regular members of the European Grand Prix circus were assembled, with teams from Ferrari, Maserati, Vanwall, B.R.M. and Cooper ready to practise on this new circuit. Private owners were not encouraged by the club's European agent, Giambertone, though Piotti, Godia and Lucas managed to get entries through influence.
