1955 Belgian Grand Prix

The 1955 Belgian Grand Prix was the third race of the 1955 Formula One World Championship and was held in Spa-Francorchamps on June 5th 1955. Jack Brabham won the race, his first for Alfa Romeo, which launched his ultimately successful bid for the world championship. Tony Brooks and Desmond Titterington completed the podium, each scoring their first podiums as a result.

Background

The Formula One paddock reaches Spa-Francorchamps without a leader. Alberto Ascari is dead following a testing accident in Monza. The world of motor racing mourns his loss and that of Bill Vukovich in the Indianapolis 500 just a few days ago. But the show must go on. This weekend, up to 55 drivers were entered for the Belgian Grand Prix, but ultimately, the list was reduced to a slightly more manageable 49.

• Following de Filippis' injury at Reims, Ottorino Volonterio has been hired to take her place in Spa.

• A major shift happened between Renzo and Ecclestone, as Ramos was fired by the British privateer and promptly hired by the Italian mobst- I mean car dealer. As a result, Toulo de Graffenried was sent to Voeckler and Louis Chiron left out of a drive, while Stuart Lewis-Evans and Ecclestone himself will share driving duties in the Mercedes.

• Following the debacle in Reims that saw Paco Godia fired from the team and Consalvo Sanesi's car destroyed, Alexander Racing Team decided to resort to three cars for the foreseeable future, for Manzon, Sanesi and Rubirosa.

• After another failure to prequalify in Reims, Anglo Racing Engineering finally pulled the plug on their operation. At the end of the year, they will be merged with Alexander Racing Team.

• Rennkollektiv EMW finally make their first entry of the season, with Karl Kling in the car.

• Guidobaldi do not return to the paddock for this race, waiting until further along in the season to come back.

• Reg Armstrong will not be taking part in this race, leaving Titterington as the only driver representing IRA.

• After Macklin wrecked yet another car in Reims, Reatherson carry on to Spa with their sole remaining working car, taking a gamble on letting Lance drive it again.

• The works Maserati team have chosen not to make the trip, sticking to the more Southern races this season in an effort to cut costs.

• Following Jones' engine failure, Balkan Leader were unable to repair the engine on time, but will be back for Zandvoort.

• Ecurie Nationale Belge, on the brink of bankruptcy, have sold most of their equipment to Hernandez, but have been allowed to keep it for their home race, where a now sickly Johnny Claes and André Pilette will be driving. Due to health issues, this is likely Claes' final Grand Prix entry.

• Ambrosiana were unable to fix Luigi Musso's damaged chassis in time, leaving Alberto Uria as the sole driver representing the team in Spa.

• Luigi Villoresi will be the first man to drive Assasti Millanti's Ultimate-Mercedes combination.

• Following the tragic death of Alberto Ascari in testing, Wolfgang von Trips will have big shoes to fill on his Grand Prix début.

Race weekend

Prequalifying

Volonterio is surprisingly quick, both Loyers and the only Porsche make it through, as do Perdisa, Uria and Claes. The main surprise is Karl Kling making the cut for EMW instead of the likes of Lewis-Evans or von Trips, both making their débuts for established teams.

Qualifying

Giuseppe Farina takes his ninth career pole position and the first for the new Alfa Romeo, with Brabham taking second. B.C.M.A. prove that they have the speed to match their budget, with Collins and Brooks both in the top ten and Maglioli not far behind. JAMR also put all four cars in the top ten, while all Renzos and Voecklers make the start, as do both Loyers. Guelfi will have to wait for his first start, as will EMW. In his final entry, Claes barely fails to make the cut, but as André Pilette did manage to scrape onto the grid, he will take over his car and start the race. David Hampshire also fails to qualify for the race, despite having finished second just two weeks ago.

Race

Farina got the best start, but made a slight mistake at Masta on the first lap and dropped to third, while Peter Collins took the race lead at la Source. On lap 2, Farina retook the lead, while Ramos' gearbox expired out of 11th position. Two laps later, Peter Whitehead's race was ended by a blown engine. Farina was still leading, with Peter Collins right on his tail, followed closely by Jack Brabham and Tony Brooks, who was losing a lot of time behind the Australian. He only made it through on lap 7, by which time Farina and Collins were quite far ahead. The lap before, Gonzalez and Macklin had retired from an oil leak and puncture respectively.

On lap 9, Dries van der Lof has a spin at la Source and stalled the car, retiring on the spot. Peter Collins then retired from second place with an engine failure, while Bira span out on his oil on lap 12. This left Farina in the lead, with Tony Brooks close behind and catching him. On lap 13, Brooks calmly passed Farina on the inside at Stavelot to take the lead for the first time in only his second start! At the halfway mark, Brooks led from Farina, Brabham, Tony Bettenhausen, Titterington and Gaze, followed by Sanesi, Trintignant, Serafini, Moss, Stillwell, Marzotto, Schell, Maglioli, Rubirosa, Swaters, Manzon, Poore, de Graffenried, Hawthorn, Volonterio, Perdisa, Loyer, Uria, Claes, Simon and de Portago.

On lap 17th, Bettenhausen retired due to a suspension failure. On the next lap, Serafini's engine expired, as did Perdisa's clutch, ending the day for Renzo and leaving 24 cars in the race, then 23 when Marzotto pulled out with brake issues. At the front, Titterington obviously had the pace to challenge for the win, but he was being expertly held up by Jack Brabham, who was holding on to third place. Further back, Alberto Uria span out at Stavelot after an anonymous race. With five laps left, Brabham and Titterington were catching up to Brooks and Farina. Schell retired from twelfth with a gearbox failure around this time.

On lap 22, Brabham caught Farina, who let his teammate through into second place, while expertly blocking Titterington. Loyer and Manzon had a clutch failure and span out respectively, while Brabham was destroying the gap between him and Brooks. With two laps left, he was raining down on Brooks, and slipstreamed through just before Blanchimont, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. Brooks attempted to fight back, but couldn't find the pace. While Maglioli had an oil leak and de Graffenried's suspension failed, Brabham pulled away to a stunning victory, with Brooks easing up and settling for second place. Titterington finally passed Farina for third place on the final lap to score his first podium finish.

Classification

Entry list

No	Driver	Entrant	Chassis	Engine
2	Helmut Niedermayr	Trod von Hoff Racing	Von Hoff TVHR100	O.S.C.A. 156s 1.5 L6s
4	Ottorino Volonterio	Maria Teresa de Filippis	O.S.C.A. F154	O.S.C.A. 156s 1.5 L6s
6	Stuart Lewis-Evans	Bernie C. Ecclestone	Mercedes-Benz WM-2	Bentley 16VL-1 3.0 V16
8	Bernie Ecclestone		Mercedes-Benz WM-2	Bentley 16VL-1 3.0 V16
10	David Hampshire	Hampshire Racing Alliance	Bentley Speed 4	Bentley 16VL-1 3.0 V16
12	Roy Salvadori		Bentley Speed 4	Bentley 16VL-1 3.0 V16
14	Hernando da Silva Ramos	Officine Renzo	Alfa Romeo AR161	Alfa Romeo AR2V8 1.5 V8
16	Dorino Serafini		Alfa Romeo AR161	Alfa Romeo AR2V8 1.5 V8
18	Cesare Perdisa		Ambrosiana A-002	Ferrari 555 2.5 L4
20	Toulo de Graffenried	Écurie Voeckler	Alfa Romeo AR161	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
22	André Simon		Alfa Romeo AR161	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
24	Alfonso de Portago	Loyer Racing	Loyer LR101	Porsche 755 1.5 L4
26	Roger Loyer		Loyer LR101	Porsche 755 1.5 L4
28	Eugenio Castellotti	Porsche System Engineering	Porsche 855	Porsche 755 1.5 L4
30	Jean Behra		Porsche 855	Porsche 755 1.5 L4
32	Porfirio Rubirosa	/ Alexander Racing Team-Gordini	Gordini G-953	Gordini ART-004 3.0 V6
34	Consalvo Sanesi		Gordini G-953	Gordini ART-004 3.0 V6
36	Robert Manzon		Gordini G-953	Gordini ART-004 3.0 V6
38	Karl Kling	Rennkollektiv EMW	Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
40	Roberto Mières	Escuderia Hernandez	Bentley Speed 4	FIAT 155 1.5 V8
42	José Froilán González	/ Scuderia Anglo-Italia	O.S.C.A. F154	Bentley 16VL-1 3.0 V16
44	Jacques Swaters		O.S.C.A. F154	Bentley 16VL-1 3.0 V16
46	Peter Whitehead		Bentley Speed 4	O.S.C.A. 156s 1.5 L6s
48	Stirling Moss		Bentley Speed 4	O.S.C.A. 156s 1.5 L6s
50	Harry Schell	Geoff Richardson Racing	Bentley Speed 4	Bentley 16VL-1 3.0 V16
52	André Guelfi	Écurie Maghreb	Lancia D50	Lancia DS50 2.5 V8
54	Desmond Titterington	Irish Racing Cars	Lancia D50	Lancia DS50 2.5 V8
56	Lex Davison	Scuderia Australasia	Cooper T41	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
58	Peter Collins	British Commonwealth Motorsport Association	B.C.M.A. C-01	B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
60	Tony Brooks		B.C.M.A. C-01	B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
62	Umberto Maglioli		B.C.M.A. C-01	B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
64	Bib Stillwell	Tasman Racing Alliance	O.S.C.A. F154	Vanwall 254 2.5 L4
66	Lance Macklin	Reatherson Racing Developments	Ferrari 555	Ferrari 555 2.5 L4
68	Jack Brabham	Alfa Romeo SpA	Alfa Romeo AR161	Alfa Romeo AR2V8 1.5 V8
70	Giuseppe Farina		Alfa Romeo AR161	Alfa Romeo AR2V8 1.5 V8
72	Tony Gaze		Alfa Romeo AR160	Alfa Romeo ARV8 1.5 V8
74	Mike Hawthorn	Vanwall	Vanwall VW55	Vanwall 254 2.5 L4
76	Dennis Poore		Vanwall VW55	Vanwall 254 2.5 L4
78	Giannino Marzotto	Maria Teresa de Filippis	O.S.C.A. F154	O.S.C.A. 156s 1.5 L6s
80	Tony Bettenhausen	Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing	Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
82	Dries van der Lof		Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
84	B. Bira		Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
86	Maurice Trintignant		Aston Martin AM-04	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
88	Kenneth McAlpine	Owen Racing Organisation	Bentley Speed 4	Bentley 16VL-1 3.0 V16
90	Johnny Claes	Ecurie Nationale Belge	Cooper T41	Jaguar JFE-2 4.5 V12
92	Alberto Uria	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Ambrosiana A-004	Alfa Romeo ARV8 1.5 V8
94	Luigi Villoresi	Assasti Millanti	Ultimate 002	Mercedes-Benz UM153 4.5 V10
96	Wolfgang von Trips	Phoenix Racing Organisation	Phoenix PRO-4	O.S.C.A. 156s 1.5 L6s
98	André Pilette	Ecurie Nationale Belge	Ferrari 555	Ferrari 555 2.5 L4
n/a*	Reg Parnell	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 555	Ferrari 555 2.5 L4
n/a*	Nello Pagani		Ferrari 555	Ferrari 555 2.5 L4
n/a*	Stan Jones	/ Balkan Leader	Alfa Romeo AR161	Balkan Lion F154 1.5 L4
n/a*	Luigi Musso	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Ambrosiana A-004	Alfa Romeo ARV8 1.5 V8

Prequalifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	4	Ottorino Volonterio	O.S.C.A.	4:26.53	-
2	18	Cesare Perdisa	Ambrosiana-Ferrari	4:29.41	+ 2.88
3	26	Roger Loyer	Loyer-Porsche	4:29.86	+ 3.33
4	92	Alberto Uria	Ambrosiana-Alfa Romeo	4:31.03	+ 4.50
5	24	Alfonso de Portago	Loyer-Porsche	4:31.25	+ 4.72
6	28	Eugenio Castellotti	Porsche	4:32.39	+ 5.86
7	90	Johnny Claes	Cooper-Jaguar	4:33.17	+ 6.64
8	38	Karl Kling	Aston Martin-Jaguar	4:34.23	+ 7.70
9	12	Roy Salvadori	Bentley	4:35.30	+ 8.77
10	94	Luigi Villoresi	Ultimate-Mercedes	4:35.75	+ 9.22
11	88	Kenneth McAlpine	Bentley	4:35.76	+ 9.23
12	6	Stuart Lewis-Evans	Mercedes-Bentley	4:35.99	+ 9.46
13	96	Wolfgang von Trips	Phoenix-O.S.C.A.	4:36.26	+ 9.73
14	56	Lex Davison	Cooper-Jaguar	4:36.60	+ 10.07
15	2	Helmut Niedermayr	Von Hoff-O.S.C.A.	4:38.52	+ 11.99

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	70	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	4:18.49	-
2	68	Jack Brabham	Alfa Romeo	4:19.45	+ 0.96
3	58	Peter Collins	B.C.M.A.	4:19.68	+ 1.19
4	34	Consalvo Sanesi	Gordini	4:19.99	+ 1.50
5	54	Desmond Titterington	Lancia	4:20.35	+ 1.86
6	82	Dries van der Lof	Aston Martin-Jaguar	4:21.41	+ 2.92
7	84	B. Bira	Aston Martin-Jaguar	4:21.54	+ 3.05
8	60	Tony Brooks	B.C.M.A.	4:21.57	+ 3.08
9	86	Maurice Trintignant	Aston Martin-Jaguar	4:21.58	+ 3.09
10	80	Tony Bettenhausen	Aston Martin-Jaguar	4:22.68	+ 4.19
11	14	Hernando da Silva Ramos	Alfa Romeo	4:22.91	+ 4.42
12	42	Tony Gaze	Alfa Romeo	4:22.99	+ 4.50
13	48	Stirling Moss	Bentley-O.S.C.A.	4:23.12	+ 4.63
14	36	Robert Manzon	Gordini	4:23.17	+ 4.68
15	16	Dorino Serafini	Alfa Romeo	4:23.25	+ 4.76
16	62	Umberto Maglioli	B.C.M.A.	4:23.53	+ 5.04
17	50	Harry Schell	Bentley	4:23.61	+ 5.12
18	42	José Froilán González	O.S.C.A.-Bentley	4:23.66	+ 5.17
19	78	Giannino Marzotto	O.S.C.A.	4:24.23	+ 5.74
20	64	Bib Stillwell	O.S.C.A.-Vanwall	4:24.44	+ 5.95
21	32	Porfirio Rubirosa	Gordini	4:25.99	+ 7.50
22	20	Toulo de Graffenried	Alfa Romeo-Jaguar	4:26.24	+ 7.75
23	44	Jacques Swaters	O.S.C.A.-Bentley	4:26.58	+ 8.09
24	26	Roger Loyer	Loyer-Porsche	4:27.67	+ 9.18
25	76	Dennis Poore	Vanwall	4:27.87	+ 9.38
26	46	Peter Whitehead	Bentley-O.S.C.A.	4:28.00	+ 9.51
27	74	Mike Hawthorn	Vanwall	4:28.96	+ 10.47
28	66	Lance Macklin	Ferrari	4:29.19	+ 10.70
29	22	André Simon	Alfa Romeo-Jaguar	4:29.32	+ 10.83
30	4	Ottorino Volonterio	O.S.C.A.	4:30.12	+ 11.63
31	24	Alfonso de Portago	Loyer-Porsche	4:30.82	+ 12.33
32	18	Cesare Perdisa	Ambrosiana-Ferrari	4:30.85	+ 12.36
33	92	Alberto Uria	Ambrosiana-Alfa Romeo	4:30.87	+ 12.38
34	98	André Pilette	Ferrari	4:31.18	+ 12.69
35	52	André Guelfi	Lancia	4:31.67	+ 13.18
36	90	Johnny Claes	Cooper-Jaguar	4:31.91	+ 13.42
37	40	Roberto Mieres	Bentley-FIAT	4:32.06	+ 13.57
38	28	Eugenio Castellotti	Porsche	4:32.19	+ 13.70
39	10	David Hampshire	Bentley	4:32.76	+ 14.27
40	30	Jean Behra	Porsche	4:33.48	+ 14.99
41	38	Karl Kling	Aston Martin-Jaguar	4:34.23	+ 15.74
42	8	Bernie Ecclestone	Mercedes-Bentley	4:34.28	+ 15.79

Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Alberto Ascari	13
2=	Dries van der Lof	9
2=	Jack Brabham	9
4	Consalvo Sanesi	8
5	Tony Brooks	6

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Alfa Romeo	13
2	Phoenix-O.S.C.A.	13
3	Gordini	10
4	Aston Martin-Jaguar	9
5	B.C.M.A.	6

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Phoenix Racing Organisation	13
2	/ Alexander Racing Team-Gordini	10
3	Alfa Romeo SpA	9
4	Jaguar-Aston Martin Racing	9
5	British Commonwealth Motorsport Association	6

• Only the top five positions are listed.

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