1956 Thai Grand Prix

The 1956 Thai Grand Prix was the tenth and final race of the 1956 Formula One World Championship and was held in Bangkok on December 2nd 1956. Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss, the two remaining championship contenders (following Desmond Titterington's decision to retire from motorsport prior to the event), started the race in the first two positions. Brabham stalled on the grid, but Moss failed to capitalise as his car failed early in the race, earning Brabham his second world title. Brabham's Gordini teammate Consalvo Sanesi took his final race victory, tying Brabham, B. Bira and Giuseppe Farina for the all-time record. Moss' teammate José Froilán González finished second, with Umberto Maglioli third for Ferrari. This was the first World Championship event to be held in Asia.

Background

What a season it has been. Jack Brabham has been far and away the fastest driver, as shown by his five pole positions, four fastest laps and three race victories. However, as his Gordini has proven to be very unreliable, this has meant that he has been unable to pull away in the title fight. In fact, Desmond Titterington led the championship for a certain amount of time. Brabham had a shot at sealing the title in Monza, but by retiring, he ensured the title would go to Bangkok, the race that no one wanted to attend.

And yet, here we are.

Following the devastating deaths of André Milhoux, Paco Godia, Tony Brooks and Dries van der Lof, as well as 7 spectators in Rouen, Desmond Titterington understandably retired from motorsport after the Italian Grand Prix, despite having a distinct title chance. This leaves Stirling Moss as the unexpected sole challenger to Brabham's dominance, five points adrift. This, along with O.S.C.A. being a single point behind Gordini in the teams' championships, has ensured that the intrigue would last a fair while longer.

Due to the large distance between Thailand and mainland Europe and the astronomical rise in cost associated with the Suez Crisis, many teams simply decided not to bother, leaving the field wide open for privateers seeking a piece of glory. Including the works teams, only 24 drivers will be competing this weekend.

• In a bid to seal all championships, O.S.C.A. have decided to field a full four-car operation, with regulars Volonterio, Moss, González and Manzon competing. Troy Ruttman was not retained despite his fifth place finish in Monza.
• One of many local drivers competing, recent Macau Grand Prix winner Doug Steane, from Hong Kong, will be entering a spare Gordini.
• Arsenio Laurel, from the Philippines, also loaned a Gordini (having driven for them in Singapore in 1955) for his own Ecurie Pinoy.
• Team Lotus, banking on the home advantage of B. Bira, have decided to field a full team with Bira, Gregory and Davison, who will likely take the opportunity to visit his family in Australia.
• The glorious Union of Socialist Soviet Republics has returned to the paddock, Vasiliy Kuznetsov back behind the wheel of the GAZ in Thailand.
• Returning to Macau Grand Prix winners, local business magnate Theodore Yip has entered old Aston Martin-Jaguars for the race's first two winners, Eduardo de Carvalho and Robert Ritchie, from Portugal and the UK.
• While O.S.C.A. are entering with full force, Gordini are entering the bare minimum of Brabham and Consalvo Sanesi to act as a buffer against the Italian onslaught.
• Frederico Hernandez, unable to attend the race himself, decided to loan his car to countryman Juan Galvez, who will make his début.
• As Ferrari will only be entering this race with one works car, Tony Gaze decided to loan one of the team's chassis for himself.
• Umberto Maglioli will be the sole works Ferrari driver following his brilliant podium in Silverstone.
• Over four years after his unremarkable début, John Riseley-Prichard will be making his second F1 appearance in an unusual Cooper-DB combination sponsored by wealthy privateer Sir Jeremy Boles.
• Announcing the team's dissolution following the race, Henry Reatherson has decided to finish his F1 involvement with a two-car entry for Ken Wharton and Giulio Cabianca, thanks to the benevolence of Ferrari.
• Similarly, BRUNEL will be spending the last of their money on sending Maria Teresa de Filippis to Bangkok in the O.S.C.A.-Porsche.
• Finally, Bruce Halford will also be digging into the depths of his bank account to send himself and Australian motorcycle rider Ken Kavanagh to Bangkok, seeing a good opportunity to net a good result.

With the circuit being only 3.2km long and winding around the royal palace and government buildings, only the fastest 20 drivers will make Sunday's race.

Race weekend

Qualifying

The stage is set for a brilliant race tomorrow, with the two title contenders in the top two spots and the underdog on pole, but their teammates are very close behind. In general, it wasn't hard to make the grid, but John Riseley-Prichard's F3 car had no hope in the first place, and Teddy Yip's 1953 Aston-Jags had little chance. In fact, it was only a brilliant effort from Arsenio Laurel that prevented him from suffering the same fate in the 1953 Gordini, instead forcing Vasiliy Kuznetsov in the controversial Soviet entry to sit out the race.

Race

Jack Brabham stalled on the grid, which was later attributed to a terminal clutch failure. The title was wide open for Stirling Moss and O.S.C.A. to take.

Robert Manzon led the first lap from the fast-starting González and Maglioli, with Moss lagging behind in fourth. Moss fell back further, preserving his car, while González took the race lead on lap 4. As Moss lost positions, the order was shuffled continually. Juan Gálvez then retired when he smashed into one of the palace walls on lap 8. He was sent to the hospital in pain, but conscious. Many drivers refused to overtake for a long time, unfamiliar with the new circuit, and at the front, González made a mistake on the uneven surface at the final corner of lap 14. He kept the car running, but lost the lead to Umberto Maglioli in the Ferrari.

On lap 16, however, it was evident that Moss wasn't holding back intentionally. He pulled into the pits with an ill-sounding car, his gearbox having been failing since the very beginning. He pulled out of the race when he had reached last place, ensuring the Jack Brabham could once again break out the champagne. In the meantime, Giulio Cabianca span out from a puncture caused by debris from Gálvez's accident, putting an end to a fine race up to that point. They were closely followed by Bira, whose engine caught fire, prompting the race attendance figures to take a nosedive. Bira was in fourth place at the time. Ken Wharton retired from another engine failure on the following lap.

González and Sanesi began fighting over second place, allowing Maglioli to pull away in the lead momentarily. Behind them, Lex Davison had worked his way up to fifth place, but retired on lap 27 with faulty steering. Doug Steane followed him with an oil leak. Umberto Maglioli lost his lead, with González and Sanesi catching up by lap 32, but Maglioli suddenly pulled away again without relinquishing the lead. With a lack of frontrunners (and Volonterio having a shocking race), Ken Kavanagh, Maria Teresa de Filippis and Onofre Marimón were fighting for sixth. Volonterio's race was mercifully ended on lap 49, when he pulled into the pits, demoralised at the lack of overtaking opportunities on the circuit. On lap 53, González and Sanesi caught Maglioli once again, but the Italian managed to keep them behind a while longer. The field was reduced to 10 when de Filippis' gearbox failed from eighth.

The dream ended on lap 62 when Sanesi found a way past Maglioli on the twisty street circuit. Bruce Halford was the next man to retire on lap 71, when he pulled into the pit with suspension failure, having briefly run in sixth place, and leaving teammate/employee Ken Kavanagh in sixth himself. Robert Manzon then retired with a clutch failure. No places were changing hands at this point, as the race settled into a procession. Then, around lap 85, González started to gain time. On lap 91, he easily left Maglioli in his dust and set about catching Sanesi. Further back, Kavanagh caught and passed Tony Gaze for what was now fourth place. Ultimately, Maglioli was unable to keep the pace at all, while González couldn't quite find the speed to challenge Sanesi, ending the fight in the top three and securing all titles for Gordini. Tony Gaze ran out of fuel less than ten laps from the end, leaving Kavanagh and Marimón to battle hard for fourth place. Sadly, with two laps to go, Kavanagh's engine failed, though he was still classified in fifth place. Masten Gregory claimed the final point, having been mired in the tight midfield battle and lost time behind slower cars. Arsenio Laurel was the last remaining runner, a very distant seventh.

Classification

Entry list

No	Driver	Entrant	Chassis	Engine
1	Ottorino Volonterio	Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili	O.S.C.A. F156A	O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
2	Stirling Moss		O.S.C.A. F156A	O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
3	José Froilán González		O.S.C.A. F156A	O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
4	Robert Manzon		O.S.C.A. F156A	O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
5	Doug Steane	Douglas Steane	Gordini Type 56	Gordini G258/A 2.5 L8
6	Arsenio Laurel	Écurie Pinoy	Gordini G-953	Gordini ART-004 3.0 V6
7	B. Bira	Team Lotus	Lotus 10	B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
8	Masten Gregory		Lotus 10	B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
9	Lex Davison		Lotus 10	B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
10	Vasiliy Kuznetzov	State Committee for Sports and Body Culture of USSR	GAZ OK01	GAZ M650 2.5 L4
11	Eduardo de Carvalho	Theodore Yip	Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
12	Robert Ritchie		Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
14	Jack Brabham	Alexander Racing Team-Gordini	Gordini Type 56	Gordini G258/A 2.5 L8
15	Consalvo Sanesi		Gordini Type 56	Gordini G258/A 2.5 L8
16	Onofre Marimón	Asso di Fiori	O.S.C.A. F156A	O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
17	Juan Gálvez	Escuderia Hernandez	Hernandez Tipo 56	Hernandez H258/A 2.5 L8
18	Tony Gaze	F.A.O. Gaze	Ferrari R560	Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
19	Umberto Maglioli	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari R560	Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
20	John Riseley-Prichard	Sir Jeremy Boles	Cooper T40	DB 84-1 0.5 V2
21	Ken Wharton	Reatherson Racing Developments	Ferrari R560	Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
22	Maria Teresa de Filippis	Brits Under No European Legislation	O.S.C.A. F154	Porsche 755 1.5 L4
23	Giulio Cabianca	Reatherson Racing Developments	Ferrari R560	Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
24	Bruce Halford	Halford Auto Racing Team	Vanwall VW55	Bentley 16VL-1 3.0 V16
25	Ken Kavanagh		Vanwall VW56	Vanwall 254 2.5 L4

Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Jack Brabham	27
2	Consalvo Sanesi	22
3	Desmond Titterington	22
4	Stirling Moss	22
5	José Froilán González	18

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Gordini	47
2	O.S.C.A.	43
3	B.C.M.A.	31
4	Lancia	26
5	Ferrari	23

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Alexander Racing Team-Gordini	47
2	Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili	43
3	British Commonwealth Motorsport Association	31
4	Irish Racing Cars	25
5	Scuderia Ferrari	23

• Only the top five positions are listed.

Previous race: 1956 Italian Grand Prix	Alternate Formula 1 World Championship 1956 Season	Next race: 1957 Moroccan Grand Prix
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