1956 Irish Grand Prix
The 1956 Irish Grand Prix was the sixth race of the 1956 Formula One World Championship and was held at the Wicklow Circuit on September 23rd 1956. This was the first occasion on which the Irish Grand Prix was on the World Drivers Championship calendar, and it occurred during a stressful time for the sport as the 1956 season was the scene of four driver fatalities and many more injuries. After securing three podiums the previous year, Tony Brooks won his first and only championship race, perishing in the Scottish Grand Prix one week later. Stirling Moss lost a fierce battle for the win to score a fourth podium for O.S.C.A. in as many races, while Tony Gaze bagged his first podium after moving to Ferrari.
Background
Once again, the entire paddock must deal with the loss of a family member. This time, though, the driver killed was not a top driver like Dries van der Lof, or a pre-War established name like Luigi Fagioli or Yves Girau-Cabantous. André Milhoux's relative anonymity will sadly continue. As a sport, the racing community has pledged never to forget André's sacrifice for the sport he loved.
The discussion surrounding safety in motorsport, meanwhile, rages on as the paddock rolls on to Wicklow, recognised as one of the most dangerous circuits in the world. Don Beauman was killed here just last year, and the sudden organisation of a championship race here (coinciding with the rise of Irish Racing Cars and Desmond Titterington) seems premature. In any case, the race is set to happen, seven full weeks after the controversial East German Grand Prix, and 38 drivers have made their way to the venue.
- After skipping the East German Grand Prix due to political reasons, Ferrari return to the paddock with a reduced team. Ramos is injured, Bettenhausen has been released and building a new fifth car couldn't be justified. As a result, the core team of Juan Manuel Fangio, Paco Godia and Tony Gaze will be joined by reserve driver Umberto Maglioli for the time being.
- After an abortive entry in the Scottish Grand Prix last year, David Murray makes the trip to Ireland to take advantage of the large grid, entering Hernandez's Cooper with a Climax engine in Ireland and Scotland at least.
- Hernandez itself, without the services of Maglioli and reluctant to re-emply Mières or Menditéguy, have struck a deal with Deutsch & Bonnet to enter Gilberte Thirion to the race.
- Citing "feminine solidarity", BRUNEL have also entered this race with de Filippis in their O.S.C.A.-Jaguar.
- For their home race, Irish Racing Cars have wheeled out three cars. Titterington is in the first car, Irish-born Duncan Hamilton in the second, and local sportscar driver Joe Flynn in the third Lancia.
- Local rally driver Cecil Vard has also entered, driving an O.S.C.A. package loaned from an unknown source.
- Alfred Owen, who was the original man behind BRM (before the sale to BERO), found some funds to loan an O.S.C.A.-BRM package for these British rounds, entering Jack Fairman with the permission of Vanwall.
- Benefiting from a Vanwall engine owned by IRC, Halford has managed to enter both cars, with Halford himself and another local driver, 1954 Leinster Trophy winner Bill Lacy.
- Following Paul Frère's sensational podium in Rostock, BRM were expected to come back strong. Instead, an administrative mix-up with the car entries have meant that only Flockhart will drive, with Paul Frère and Paul Emery being struck from the entry list.
- Gordini were completely demoralised following Rostock. All six cars were damaged, André Simon was injured and André Milhoux was dead. But this would not stop Amédée Gordini, who brought back five cars to compete in Wicklow, for the omnipresent Sanesi, Brabham and Castellotti, joined on this occasion by youngster Jo Bonnier and local experienced hand Red Gallagher.
- Despite being in rumoured dire financial straits, Cooper have brought two T41s to Wicklow for Parnell and Schell to drive.
- Vanwall, replacing Fairman and Cliff Allison, have now hired British F3 champion and club racer Les Leston.
- After missing Rostock due to personal reasons known only to Henry Reatherson, his eponymous Racing Developments have returned, with Cabianca behind the wheel. Perdisa has now been officially dismissed.
- After the mysterious entries in Rostock, B.C.M.A. are back with their usual line-up, almost as if nothing had happened. The mystery surrounding the real identities of Arbuthnott, Wellesley and Berwick still stands.
- Following Peter Whitehead's injury in Rostock, O.S.C.A. had to find a replacement. Ferrari's concomitant dismissal of Tony Bettenhausen provided O.S.C.A. with the perfect opportunity, although Masten Gregory was widely touted as a potential candidate.
- One of the biggest stories of this race weekend is the first appearance of Connaught in a championship race. The manufacturer, already present in sportscars, F2 and non-championship races, has entered its Type B with Climax engines for Stuart Lewis-Evans and Bob Gerard.
Four drivers will therefore fail to qualify for this race.
Race weekend
Qualifying
Peter Collins scores his third pole position of the season, ahead of Stirling Moss in the O.S.C.A.. Some good surprises in the results, notably Giulio Cabianca outqualifying the likes of Fangio and Godia in the works cars. All the local Irish drivers make the grid, while the drivers left on the sidelines aren't extremely surprising. David Murray's getting old and entering irregularly, Flockhart's BRM is ill-prepared, de Filippis' car is outdated, and Bruce Halford just had an off day. All this combines to ensure that Connaught make the grid at their first attempt, as does Alfred Owen's team.
Race
Consalvo Sanesi's engine failed at the start, causing massive confusion behind him. This allowed many drivers to get a head start, and Stirling Moss led the first lap, ahead of Brooks, Bira, Gaze, Titterington and Brabham. Collins dropped down to eighth place. On lap 3, Juan Manuel Fangio retired from the race with a burnt-out clutch. Collins and Brabham started gaining ground again, while Flynn got off to a great start, reaching the top 15 very quickly. Lap 5 saw the field reduced substantially. Duncan Hamilton retired with suspension failure, while Lewis-Evans pulled out complaining of gearbox failure. On the front straight, Maglioli closed the door on Mike Hawthorn, causing both drivers to spin out of the race. At this point in time, Collins was the fastest man on track, catching and passing Gaze, Brooks and Bira in quick succession and subsequently setting the fastest lap of the race.
Tony Gaze then gained some pace and took third place. Colin Chapman retired from the race on lap 8 with an oil leak, while his teammate Trintignant pulled off a great lap to reach seventh place. On lap 10, Collins finally caught Moss and passed him without much trouble. That same lap, Ottorino Volonterio pulled up by the side of the track with a gearbox failure. Halfway through the race, Collins was extending his lead, with Gaze catching Moss. Bira was fourth, holding up Brooks behind him. On lap 14, Bira finally cracked under pressure, missing his braking point and going down an escape road, stalling and subsequently retiring the car. With a free track ahead of him, Brooks gained a whole load of time, catching and passing Gaze within one lap.
On lap 15, Tony Bettenhausen attempted to pass González, but a misunderstanding took place between the two teammates. Bettenhausen came off the worst, colliding with an earth bank and retiring. He walked away, but with a painful look on his face. But González's day wouldn't stop being eventful, as he attempted an optimistic move on Titterington the very next lap, taking the Ulsterman out of the race in the process. David Hampshire's day ended that same lap, with an electrical failure. Around that point, Collins had a spin, but kept going. This mistake allowed Moss and Brooks to catch up almost instantly, sparking a three-way battle for the lead. Brooks took the initial upper hand, taking the lead on lap 17. Behind them, the championship battle was stymied when Jack Brabham joined Desmond Titterington on the sidelines with an engine failure. Joe Flynn, taking advantage of all the accidents ahead of him, found himself in fifth position at this point.
While one local driver was doing great, Bill Lacy retired with a gearbox failure, soon after Giulio Cabianca also retired with a steering failure. Further back, Jack Fairman was holding up Les Leston and Gilberte Thirion. In the chaos, the latter two collided, and Leston span off, colliding with a tree. Much like Bettenhausen, he exited his car unaided, but limped back to the pits in pain. Jack Fairman, who caused this mess, retired soon after with a throttle failure. At the very front, things changed dramatically as Tony Brooks pulled away and Peter Collins ran out of fuel, probably after having spent his whole race playing catch up. He was sadly joined on the sidelines by Joe Flynn, who had fought his way into the points from 22nd place on the grid, with a gearbox failure.
With three laps remaining, Paco Godia pulled into the pits with suspension damage caused by a violent puncture, followed by Roy Salvadori, whose insides had overheated. Gilberte Thirion was the last driver to retire, on the final lap, after running out of fuel. She was running in a highly creditable ninth place, and would be classified in tenth place. But the main talking point was the fight for the lead, as while Tony Brooks' lead was healthy with five laps to go, Stirling Moss started catching up rather quickly. Going into the final lap, the gap was of ten seconds, but with only a couple of kilometres left, Moss was right behind Brooks. Brooks, however, was able to use the full (and rather small) width of the circuit to his advantage, and finally managed to come home and score his very first victory, and B.C.M.A.'s first of the season. Tony Gaze finished third for Ferrari, ahead of Trintignant, González and Castellotti. Cooper had a good day, finishing seventh and ninth, while Connaught's Bob Gerard at least had the composure to make the finish.
Classification
Entry list
Championship standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1= |  Jack Brabham
|
18 |
| 1= |  Desmond Titterington
|
18 |
| 3 |  Consalvo Sanesi
|
13 |
| 4 | Tony Brooks
|
12 |
| 5 | Stirling Moss
|
10 |
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gordini
|
28 |
| 2 | O.S.C.A.
|
22 |
| 3 | Lancia
|
18 |
| 4 | B.C.M.A.
|
18 |
| 5 | Lotus-B.C.M.A.
|
11 |
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Racing Team-Gordini
|
28 |
| 2 | Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili
|
22 |
| 3 |  Irish Racing Cars
|
18 |
| 4 | British Commonwealth Motorsport Association
|
18 |
| 5 | Team Lotus
|
11 |
- Only the top five positions are listed.
| Previous race: 1956 East German Grand Prix |
Alternate Formula 1 World Championship 1956 Season |
Next race: 1956 Scottish Grand Prix |
| Previous race: None |
Irish Grand Prix | Next race: 1957 Irish Grand Prix |