1954 Pau Grand Prix

The 1954 Pau Grand Prix was a non-championship Formula One race, held at the Circuit de Pau on April 26, 1954. Like the Syracuse Grand Prix held concurrently, it was noted for a large amount of accidents, which would presage the high quantity of wrecks over the following three seasons of Formula 1. The race was won by eventual 1954 champion B. Bira.

Race report

From the front row, Manzon got the best start and led the first lap from Bira and Collins, while Ecclestone and Anne Hall made the best overall starts. Collins was clearly lacking pace and was already down in seventh position by the end of the second lap. Gonzalez and Ecclestone were third and fourth at that point, followed by Dries van der Lof. On lap 5, Brabham and Chiron tangled for seventh place and both of them retired on the spot. Meanwhile, Roger Laurent was climbing up the standings from 11th on the grid, up to fifth place by lap 6.

On the following lap, Gonzalez took the lead at the first corner with a brilliant move on Bira, while Wojciechowski retired with a blown engine out of 16th place. Dries van der Lof also came to life, passing both Laurent and Ecclestone in the same brilliant move, followed by Fitch, who took advantage of the "hole" created by the Dutchman. A couple of laps later, Robert Manzon took second place from Bira, while Hermann Roosdorp retired from last place with a gearbox failure, having occupied last place for the entire race. At the same time, Mieres retired while defending from Loyer and Herrmann also span out while trying to pass Vukovich, leaving 14 drivers. On the very next lap, the field was reduced to 13 when Bernie Ecclestone lost control of his Mercedes at Lycée while trying to pass Roger Laurent on the outside, and to 12 when Geoff Richardson punted Paco Godia out of 11th place!

On the very next lap, the crash-fest continued as Peter Collins threw his Gordini into the wall while attempting to overtake Anne Hall... But meanwhile, Dries van der Lof consecutively passes Robert Manzon and Gonzalez to take the race lead. Bira also passed Manzon for third place on lap 15. On the following lap, Manzon passed Bira again while Gonzalez took the lead from van der Lof, who took it back on lap 18. On the next lap, the Argentine took the lead again while Bira passed Manzon for third place. Van der Lof continued to trade the lead with Gonzalez from then on until lap 23, when Bira passed both of them in one fell swoop. On the next lap, Anne Hall nerfed Roger Laurent out of sixth position, leaving just ten drivers with 50 laps still to go...

On lap 31, Manzon passed Gonzalez for third place. On the following lap, the field was reduced to 9 as Adolfo Schwelm-Cruz threw his car off the road. Manzon and Gonzalez nearly did the same a lap later, but twas little more than a brush. Then, Dries van der Lof once again took the lead from Bira! Meanwhile, the remaining spec car drivers were having a nice scrap until Geoff Richardson left the track in a big way, leaving just 8 drivers on track. On lap 38, Bira took the lead once again, showing some of the fire that made him World Champion two years ago. Five laps later, Gonzalez passed Manzon for third place and van der Lof took the lead again on the following lap.

The Dutchman and the Siamese prince would continue to swap the lead. On lap 52, John Fitch span off at the Chicane, reducing the field to just seven drivers. By lap 56, Bira was well in the lead, and while van der Lof was close, he just couldn't find a way through. Just behind, Robert Manzon finally found a way past Gonzalez on lap 60, and the Argentine tried too hard to make it through again, spinning off on the next lap, ending a great performance by an embarrassing event. The positions stayed pretty much the same from then on. On lap 68, Bill Vukovich finally caught and passed Roger Loyer after spending the better part of the race in last place, before having an engine failure on the very next lap. Manzon attempted to catch van der Lof, but came a lap short. Anne Hall and Roger Loyer were the remaining finishers.

Classification

Entry list

No	Driver	Entrant	Chassis	Engine
2	Maurice Trintignant	Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing	Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
4	Dries van der Lof	Asso di Fiori	Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
6	Hans Herrmann	Rennkollektiv EMW	EMW 01	Mercedes UM153 4.5 V10
8	Jack Brabham	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 555	Ferrari 555 2.5 L4
10	Anne Hall	BRUNEL	Bentley Speed 3	Bentley 163-1 3.0 V16
12	Ron Flockhart	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati AM53	Maserati 200F 2.0 L6
14	José Froilán González	O.S.C.A. Automobili	O.S.C.A. 53	O.S.C.A. 3000V8 3.0 V8
16	Bernie Ecclestone	Mercedes-Benz Team Europe	Mercedes-Benz WM-2	Mercedes UM153 4.5 V10
18	Roger Laurent	Ecurie Nationale Belge	Maserati AM53	Maserati 200F 2.0 L6
20	John Fitch	Assasti Millanti	Leader LF153	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
22	Louis Chiron	Leader	Leader LF153	O.S.C.A. 156s 1.5 L6s
24	Stan Jones	Balkan Eagle	Alfa Romeo AR160	Balkan Lion F154 1.5 L4
26	Robert Manzon	/ Alexander Racing Team-Gordini	Gordini G-953	Gordini ART-004 3.0 V6
28	Peter Collins		Gordini G-953	Gordini ART-004 3.0 V6
30	B. Bira	Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing	Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
32	Roberto Mieres	Erne Racing Development	Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
34	Ottorino Volonterio	Ottorino Volonterio	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
36	Geoff Richardson	Geoff Richardson	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
38	Duncan Hamilton	Duncan Hamilton	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
40	Roger Loyer	Roger Loyer	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
42	Alan Brown	Alan Brown	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
44	Herman Roosdorp	Herman Roosdorp	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
46	Dennis Poore	Dennis Poore	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
48	Vladimir Wojciechowski	Vladimir Wojciechowski	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
50	Bill Vukovich	Bill Vukovich	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
52	Simone des Forest	Simone des Forest	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
54	Francesco Severi	Francesco Severi	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
56	Paco Godia	Paco Godia	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
58	Juan Jover	Juan Jover	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
60	Adolfo Schwelm-Cruz	Adolfo Schwelm-Cruz	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid
1	30	B. Bira	Aston Martin-Jaguar	69	2:00:33.03	3
2	4	Dries van der Lof	Aston Martin-Jaguar	69	+19.53	5
3	26	Robert Manzon	Gordini	69	+20.25	4
4	10	Anne Hall	Bentley	64	+5 laps	13
5	40	Roger Loyer	HWM-Alta	62	+7 laps	20
Ret	50	Bill Vukovich	HWM-Alta	18	Engine	18
Ret	14	José Froilán González	O.S.C.A.	15	Spin	6
Ret		John Fitch
Ret		Geoff Richardson
Ret		Adolfo Schwelm Cruz
Ret		Roger Laurent
Ret		Peter Collins
Ret		Bernie Ecclestone
Ret		Paco Godia
Ret		Roberto Mieres
Ret		Hans Herrmann
Ret		Hermann Roosdorp
Ret		Vladimir Wojciechowski
Ret		Jack Brabham
Ret		Louis Chiron
DNS		Maurice Trintignant
DNS		Duncan Hamilton
DNQ		Juan Jover
DNQ		Simone des Forest
DNQ		Ottorino Volonterio
DNQ		Alan Brown
DNQ		Dennis Poore
DNQ		Francesco Severi
DNQ		Ron Flockhart
DNQ		Stan Jones