1956 Scottish Grand Prix
The 1956 Scottish Grand Prix was the seventh race of the 1956 Formula One World Championship and was held at the Holyroodhouse Street Circuit in Edinburgh on September 30th 1956. This race was the second and last Scottish Grand Prix held as part of the World Championship, and the only race held on the 10-kilometre layout of the circuit. Heavy rain and an unfamiliar and unsafe circuit lead to numerous severe accidents, two of which proved fatal and resulted in the deaths of Tony Brooks and Paco Godia. The race was won by Stirling Moss, the Englishman's first victory as well as that of O.S.C.A.. B. Bira finished second and scored the fastest lap for the second time of the season, while Desmond Titterington's third place gave him a three-point championship lead.
Background
The inaugural world championship Irish Grand Prix proved to be a success. Fears over track safety were ultimately unfounded, and while there were a few incidents leading to injuries, Bettehausen and Leston will have recovered by the start of next season. There was also a thrilling race at the front, with Stirling Moss leading at first, Peter Collins and Tony Brooks then taking the position, leading to a terrific (but ultimately unsuccessful) comeback drive from Moss. In the end, though, it was 24-year-old Tony Brooks who scored his maiden Grand Prix victory. In the championship, joint leaders Jack Brabham and Desmond Titterington both retired, leaving the title fight in a deadlock with four rounds remaining.
The seventh race out of this ten-race season is the third Scottish Grand Prix, and the second to be held both in Edinburgh and as a World Championship race. Last year, Robert Manzon won his fourth Grand Prix here. However, as he is injured, someone else must take the win, and the dominant Gordini is certainly the odds-on favourite to do so. 41 drivers will be competing this weekend.
- After skipping the Irish Grand Prix due to admin reasons, Ecurie Maghreb return to the paddock with André Guelfi behind the wheel of the O.S.C.A.
- Similarly, Scuderia Adriatica missed Wicklow due to a mix-up regarding the period of entries. Gerini and Serafini are back in Holyroodhouse, though.
- For the British rounds, despite heavy financial issues, Bruce Halford has managed to secure a free Bentley engine from Connaught to be used by local driver Paul Emery in the second car.
- Bristolian garage owner and regular non-championship contender Horace Gould has finally decided to make the jump to the World Championship, sourcing the unused Hernandez chassis and a spare Vanwall engine from Cathal Byrne's garden shed. Best of luck to him.
- Following the injury of Vanwall driver Les Leston, Tony Vandervell, rather than employing Cliff Allison once more, has resorted to hiring British Formula Three champion Jim Russell for the job.
- After a disappointing performance in Wicklow, Ecurie Ecosse founder David Murray decided to call it a day on his F1 career and instead hand the drive in Edinburgh to Scottish driver and sportscar ace Ninian Sanderson, who makes his Formula One début.
- Once again, O.S.C.A. have been affected by injuries, as Tony Bettenhausen was injured in his first race with the team. Faced with only one week to find a replacement, they managed to secure the services of Troy Ruttman, who, without any racing in America, happened to be attending the race weekend.
- Undoubtedly the big story this week is the arrival of the newly-announced Soviet GAZ, widely suspected to be a stolen Ferrari, to Edinburgh, to be driven by Vasiliy Kuznetzov, who finished fourth (and last) in Rostock. This entry is widely expected to be a failure, but the Soviet government have been bolstered by Kuznetzov's supposed performance, testing the waters before a rumoured full-time entry by Volga from next season.
- After a brief return in Wicklow, Reatherson have not appeared in Edinburgh, for unknown reasons.
- In one of the more surreal incidents in Formula One, Asso di Fiori have appeared to the paddock...in Wicklow. Evidently thinking the Irish Grand Prix was happening this weekend, they have therefore missed both Wicklow and Edinburgh. They won't be making that mistake again!
With 34 cars on the grid, 7 drivers will fail to qualify for this race. Like in Wicklow, the qualifying session will have drivers set multiple laps, with a maximum of ten.
Race weekend
Qualifying
Jack Brabham scores his fourth career pole position, while the front half of the grid doesn't have very many surprises. Troy Ruttman will start in the top 15 in his first race back in Formula One. Gilberte Thirion reaches new heights in the Hernandez, starting the race in 22nd place, while Hampshire, Gould and Emery set good times to make the grid from a good position. The two drivers who may have surprisingly failed to qualify are Roy Salvadori and Ninian Sanderson, both of them being unable to set representative lap times due to recurring technical issues.
Race
Collins led the rainy start and took advantage of the spray to pull away a short lead at the end of the first lap, ahead of Sanesi, González, Brabham and Titterington. But the race was soon to be marred by another heavy accident. On the second lap, Paco Godia attempted to pass Troy Ruttman in Holyroodhouse Park, but the American closed the door, surprised by a suddenly slowing Joe Flynn. The Ferrari driver lost control and span into the trackside trees, getting thrown from the car. Godia was taken to a nearby hospital, unconscious. Gilberte Thirion, who witnessed the accident, pulled into the pits, claiming a gearbox failure that the Hernandez mechanics would never find.
On lap 3, Colin Chapman misjudged a move on Ruttman and crashed close to where Godia did, and in a very similar fashion. He was also taken to hospital, though he was conscious. Simultaneously, Horace Gould span off, potentially from a puncture caused by debris. The race kept on getting worse when Tony Brooks span off trying to pass Hawthorn. He collided with a lamp post, and was also taken to hospital, unconscious. On that same lap, Maurice Trintignant crashed while trying to pass Flynn, and Stuart Lewis-Evans took out not one but both Adriatica cars. Eight retirements, three of them in serious accidents, and only four laps had been completed.
Eugenio Castellotti pulled into the pits at this point, citing steering issues. On lap 10, Volonterio retired with gearbox failure, closely followed by Reg Parnell, whose engine expired. On the following lap, an already tragic race for B.C.M.A. ended on an even deeper low, Peter Collins' engine expiring from the race lead and Mike Hawthorn spinning out. This left Consalvo Sanesi to take the race lead ahead of the hard-charging O.S.C.A.s of Moss and González. Sanesi soon cracked under pressure, and at the start of lap 12, he made a mistake, allowing Moss through into the race lead. Further back de Filippis ruined a fine drive in 13th place when she desperately tried to block Jo Bonnier, losing a wheel in the process. The car, now out of control, bounced back onto the racing line. Joe Flynn tried to avoid it, but his rear wheel tagged one of the O.S.C.A.'s wheels, pitching the Lancia into a roll. The car landed on its wheels and Flynn exited the wreck on his own, although in visible pain. At this point, the rain stopped.
But the water didn't disappear by any means. Redmond Gallagher followed his countryman onto the sidelines, spinning out under the bridge. Troy Ruttman's engine expired a bit later, leaving just half the field still racing. On lap 19, Brabham attempted to pass teammate Consalvo Sanesi, trying a move on the inside line, but Sanesi clipped Brabham's rear tyre, spinning the Australian into the trackside hay. David Hampshire subsequently pulled into the pits with an oil leak. On the very next lap, Jim Russell's promising début was ended when his engine failed out of eleventh position. Then, Sanesi's race ended when he span out trying to pass González, eliminating both front-running Gordinis in just two laps. This left a battle for second place involving Titterington and González, with Bira catching up. At this point, Tony Gaze crashed out at the slowest point of the circuit, while Stuart Lewis-Evans completed his hat trick by spinning Harry Schell out of the race. André Guelfi followed them on the sidelines soon thereafter, spinning out as well. Umberto Maglioli also retired, with a gearbox failure.
On lap 29, Bira pulled off a brilliant move to pass both González and Titterington and reach second place. Simultaneously, the gallant hard-trying Paul Emery pulled into the pits with a clutch failure, leaving only eight cars running. Crucially, this was reduced to seven when José Froilán González pulled into the pits with a steering failure. This left Moss in a comfortable lead, with a charging B. Bira in a nevertheless distant second. The order would no longer change, and Desmond Titterington finished the race in third place, taking the championship lead by three points from Moss. Duncan Hamilton finished fourth, having passed Juan Manuel Fangio with a handful of laps remaining. Jo Bonnier, sole remaining Gordini driver, finished sixth in the 1953 car, while Stuart Lewis-Evans finished seventh and last, not having made any friends throughout the race.
Classification
Championship standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Desmond Titterington
|
22 |
| 2 | Stirling Moss
|
19 |
| 3 |  Jack Brabham
|
18 |
| 4 |  B. Bira
|
14 |
| 5 |  Consalvo Sanesi
|
13 |
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | O.S.C.A.
|
31 |
| 2 |  Gordini
|
29 |
| 3 | Lancia
|
22 |
| 4 | B.C.M.A.
|
18 |
| 5 | Lotus-B.C.M.A.
|
17 |
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili
|
31 |
| 2 | Alexander Racing Team-Gordini
|
29 |
| 3 |  Irish Racing Cars
|
22 |
| 4 | British Commonwealth Motorsport Association
|
18 |
| 5 | Team Lotus
|
17 |
- Only the top five positions are listed.
| Previous race: 1956 Irish Grand Prix |
Alternate Formula 1 World Championship 1956 Season |
Next race: 1956 British Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1955 Scottish Grand Prix |
Scottish Grand Prix | Next race: none |