1954 Syracuse Grand Prix

The 1954 Syracuse Grand Prix was a non-championship Formula One race, held at the Syracuse Circuit on April 26, 1954. It was notable for being the first of two Formula 1 victories for the private Asso di Fiori team and the heavy accidents of Carroll Shelby and Jan Flinterman, with the first suffering career-ending injuries. Shelby would never walk again, but would go on to create his own cars.

Race report

Giovanni de Riu stalled on the grid with a broken clutch, becoming the first retirement of the race. Bettenhausen led from the start and was still leading at the end of the first lap. Fangio also had a good start to the race, making it to third place by lap 2. Sanesi was soon right behind the defending champion, but he didn't have to overtake him as the American suffered from an oil leak and was forced out of the race early on. Fangio was promoted to second place, but crashed out heavily two laps later, ending JAMR's day very early indeed. To add insult to injury, Fangio was visibly in pain and had to be taken to the hospital. Rudi Fischer, by that point, was in sixth place, having an excellent day for Balkan Eagle.

In a battle for 13th place, Shelby and Moss were having a rough battle and touched wheels a few times, notably on lap 8. On the same lap, Flinterman and Bayol tangled. The Frenchman turned the Dutchman on his side and Flinterman's HWM was launched by the Maserati's front wheel. The car was sent into a series of barrel rolls, catching fire in the process. The Dutchman was thrown out of the car and landed in the grass besides the circuit. He was sent to hospital by ambulance, unconscious. Bayol was also out of the race and showed tremendous sportsmanship by immediately rushing to help Flinterman. Everyone else slowed to avoid the wreckage, but Aldo Gordini braked far too late, spinning out and lightly clipping his teammate Rudi Fischer in the process.

Two laps later, the teammate collisions continued as Parnell tried too hard to pass Serafini for second place, colliding with him in the process. Both cars ended up locked together at the side of the track, both drivers loudly shouting at each other. De Filippis spun out on oil at the same place and apparently found some popcorn to chew on while watching the shouting match. Sanesi was left with a gigantic lead from Villoresi, Fischer, Ramos and Marimon. But their argument was stopped soon afterwards, as a cloud of smoke had just appeared...

Carlo Gazzabini had just suffered a gearbox failure on lap 14 when Carroll Shelby span on oil and was sent into the side ditch at full speed. The HWM burst into flames on impact and Shelby knocked out, trapped inside his burning car. Gazzabini immediately ran to his fellow driver's aid, but he took a very long time to get there. He managed to pull the unconscious Shelby out of his wreckage 45 seconds after the accident and the ambulance arrived soon afterwards to transport him to the nearest hospital. We have no news on the American's state of health. Jacques Swaters retired a lap later, partly on oil, partly from disgust after seeing the scene of the accident. This left ten drivers in the race, then nine on lap 19 as da Silva Ramos span out amateurishly.

On lap 22, Consalvo Sanesi retired, having dominated the entire race from lap 3, by spinning into a dirt bank. He got out by himself, luckily, obviously mad at himself. This left Luigi Villores in the lead ahead of the unlikely Fischer, Marimon, Wharton, Rol, Harrison, Mantovani and Moss. Harrison then promptly overtakes Franco Rol for fifth position. The Italian immediately attempts to pass the Brit again, but ends up running into the back of him. Harrison continued, but Rol's suspension was snapped. Race over. From that point on, the race settled down with long gaps between every driver, with the exception of Stirling Moss, who gave his all to finally overtake Sergio Mantovani for sixth place a couple of laps before the end. Dorino Serafini walked away with the fastest lap, but everyone's thoughts were elsewhere as Jan Flinterman and Carroll Shelby were both fighting for their lives in the nearby Rizza Hospital.

Classification

Entry list

No	Driver	Entrant	Chassis	Engine
2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing	Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
4	Luigi Villoresi	Asso di Fiori	Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
6	Reg Parnell	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 555	Ferrari 555 2.5 L4
8	Dorino Serafini		Ferrari 555	Ferrari 555 2.5 L4
10	Ken Wharton	F.H. Warden Competition	Bentley Speed 3	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
12	Élie Bayol	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati AM53	Maserati 200F 2.0 L6
14	Maria Teresa de Filippis	Maria Teresa de Filippis	Bentley Speed 3	O.S.C.A. 3000V8 3.0 V8
16	Franco Rol	Redman Racing Team	Maserati AM53	Maserati 200F 2.0 L6
18	Rudi Fischer	Balkan Eagle	Alfa Romeo AR160	Balkan Lion F154 1.5 L4
20	Aldo Gordini		Alfa Romeo AR160	Balkan Lion F154 1.5 L4
22	Jacques Swaters	Ecurie Nationale Belge	O.S.C.A. 53	O.S.C.A. 3000V8 3.0 V8
24	Consalvo Sanesi	/ Alexander Racing Team-Gordini	Gordini G-953	Gordini ART-004 3.0 V6
26	Hernando da Silva Ramos		Gordini G-953	Gordini ART-004 3.0 V6
28	Tony Bettenhausen	Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing	Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
30	Onofre Marimón	Erne Racing Development	Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
32	Bruno Sterzi	Bruno Sterzi	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
34	Carroll Shelby	Carroll Shelby	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
36	Guerino Bertocchi	Guerino Bertocchi	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
38	Jan Flinterman	Racing for Holland	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
40	Cuth Harrison	Cuth Harrison	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
42	Giovanni de Riu	Giovanni de Riu	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
44	Franco Cortese	Franco Cortese	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
46	Stirling Moss	Stirling Moss	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
48	Ivor Bueb	Ivor Bueb	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
50	Sergio Mantovani	Sergio Mantovani	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
52	Carlo Gazzabini	Carlo Gazzabini	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
54	Alfonso de Portago	Alfonso de Portago	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
56	Joaquin Palacio	Joaquin Palacio	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
58	Clemar Bucci	Clemar Bucci	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4
60	Rodney Nuckey	Rodney Nuckey	HWM 53	Alta GP 2.5 L4

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	24	Consalvo Sanesi	Gordini	2:05.05	-
2	28	Tony Bettenhausen	Aston Martin-Jaguar	2:05.39	+ 0.34
3	6	Reg Parnell	Ferrari	2:05.53	+ 0.48
4	8	Dorino Serafini	Ferrari	2:05.69	+ 0.64
5	2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Aston Martin-Jaguar	2:05.74	+ 0.69
6	4	Luigi Villoresi	Aston Martin-Jaguar	2:10.08	+ 5.03
7	18	Rudi Fischer	Alfa Romeo-Balkan Lion	2:10.51	+ 5.46
8	26	Hernando da Silva Ramos	Gordini	2:10.65	+ 5.60
9	20	Aldo Gordini	Alfa Romeo-Balkan Lion	2:11.40	+ 6.35
10	30	Onofre Marimón	Aston Martin-Jaguar	2:11.64	+ 6.59
11	22	Jacques Swaters	O.S.C.A.	2:13.03	+ 7.98
12	14	Maria Teresa de Filippis	Bentley-O.S.C.A.	2:13.10	+ 8.05
13	10	Ken Wharton	Bentley-Jaguar	2:13.53	+ 8.48
14	46	Stirling Moss	HWM-Alta	2:13.84	+ 8.79
15	16	Franco Rol	Maserati	2:15.22	+ 10.17
16	42	Giovanni de Riu	HWM-Alta	2:15.70	+ 10.65
17	34	Carroll Shelby	HWM-Alta	2:15.71	+ 10.66
18	38	Jan Flinterman	HWM-Alta	2:15.83	+ 8.53
19	12	Élie Bayol	Maserati	2:16.10	+ 11.05
20	52	Carlo Gazzabini	HWM-Alta	2:16.58	+ 11.53
21	50	Sergio Mantovani	HWM-Alta	2:16.60	+ 11.55
22	40	Cuth Harrison	HWM-Alta	2:16.61	+ 11.56
23	48	Ivor Bueb	HWM-Alta	2:16.95	+ 11.90
24	36	Guerino Bertocchi	HWM-Alta	2:17.33	+ 12.28
25	32	Bruno Sterzi	HWM-Alta	2:17.45	+ 12.40
26	56	Joaquin Palacio	HWM-Alta	2:17.47	+ 12.42
27	54	Alfonso de Portago	HWM-Alta	2:18.21	+ 13.16
28	44	Franco Cortese	HWM-Alta	2:18.33	+ 13.28
29	58	Clemar Bucci	HWM-Alta	2:18.46	+ 13.41
30	60	Rodney Nuckey	HWM-Alta	2:19.08	+ 14.03

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid
1	4	Luigi Villoresi	Aston Martin-Jaguar	37	1:20:11.85	6
2	18	Rudi Fischer	Alfa Romeo-Balkan Lion	37	+ 1:07.85	7
3	30	Onofre Marimón	Aston Martin-Jaguar	36	+ 1 lap	10
4	10	Ken Wharton	Bentley-Jaguar	35	+ 2 laps	13
5	40	Cuth Harrison	HWM-Alta	34	+ 3 laps	22
6	46	Stirling Moss	HWM-Alta	34	+ 3 laps	14
7	50	Sergio Mantovani	HWM-Alta	34	+ 3 laps	21
Ret	16	Franco Rol	Maserati	22	Collision	15
Ret	24	Consalvo Sanesi	Gordini	21	Accident	1
Ret	26	Hernando da Silva Ramos	Gordini	17	Spin	8
Ret	22	Jacques Swaters	O.S.C.A.	14	Spin	11
Ret	34	Carroll Shelby	HWM-Alta	13	Accident	17
Ret	52	Carlo Gazzabini	HWM-Alta	12	Gearbox	20
Ret	6	Reg Parnell	Ferrari	11	Collision	3
Ret	8	Dorino Serafini	Ferrari	11	Collision	4
Ret	14	Maria Teresa de Filippis	Bentley-O.S.C.A.	11	Spin	12
Ret	20	Aldo Gordini	Alfa Romeo-Balkan Lion	8	Spin	9
Ret	38	Jan Flinterman	HWM-Alta	7	Collision	18
Ret	12	Élie Bayol	Maserati	7	Collision damage	19
Ret	2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Aston Martin-Jaguar	5	Accident	5
Ret	28	Tony Bettenhausen	Aston Martin-Jaguar	3	Oil leak	2
Ret	42	Giovanni de Riu	HWM-Alta	0	Clutch	16
DNQ	48	Ivor Bueb	HWM-Alta
DNQ	36	Guerino Bertocchi	HWM-Alta
DNQ	32	Bruno Sterzi	HWM-Alta
DNQ	56	Joaquin Palacio	HWM-Alta
DNQ	54	Alfonso de Portago	HWM-Alta
DNQ	44	Franco Cortese	HWM-Alta
DNQ	58	Clemar Bucci	HWM-Alta
DNQ	60	Rodney Nuckey	HWM-Alta