1953 Spa 24 Hours

The 1953 24 Heures de Spa Francorchamps took place on 25 and 26 July 1953, at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, (Belgium). It was also the fourth round of the FIA World Sports Car Championship. This was the first time the event had taken place since Luigi Chinetti and Jean Lucas won in 1949. The race was not run again until 1964.[1]

Although the 1953 season places two 24 hour races in two months would not be an easy maneuver. But, Spa is a favourite amongst the drivers and teams, therefore, the event would be a popular one, not to be missed by the top teams and their star drivers[2]

Report

Entry

The race was won by a Ferrari 375 MM, similar to that pictured

A grand total 43 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 40 arrived for practise and qualifying. From Italy, the two work teams of Scuderia Ferrari and S. P. A. Alfa Romeo. The Scuderia from Maranello arrived with three cars, all 375 MM's. In the cockpits sat the driver pairings, Giuseppe Farina / Mike Hawthorn, Luigi Villoresi / Alberto Ascari and Umberto Maglioli with Piero Carini . Alfa Romeo brought two cars to Belgium, which went into different classes at the start. Juan Manuel Fangio and Consalvo Sanesi piloted an Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM in the sports car category. Max Thirion, together with Mario Damonte were entered in an Alfa Romeo 1900 in the touring car class.[3] The host country was represented by the Ecurie Francorchamps, which entered a Jaguar C-Type and a Ferrari 212 Export.[3]

Qualifying

The Ferrari 375 MM of Mike Hawthorn took pole position, averaging a speed of 113.871 mph around the 8.77 mile circuit. However, following an accident in practise, the Fiat 1100 of “Thillios” and Johnny Claes was withdrawn, leaving 39 cars to start.[1][3]

Race

The day of the race would be warm and dry, but that would mean very little as the team prepared for the start at 4pm. As the field took off, it wouldn’t be long before the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps would prove to be a greater threat, even to the best teams and drivers in the race.[2]

A number of privateers entries would fall out of contention early into the race, but then, the factory efforts and the bigger privateers began to run into trouble. Roger Laurent and Jacques Swaters would retire their C-Type with a blown engine. Fangio and Sanesi would be out following an accident in their Alfa Romeo 6C. The Ferrari pairing of Maglioli and Carini would be amongst the casualties with value troubles. It did not get any easier for the top drivers as even Ascari and Villoresi would retire with clutch failure.[2][4]

Although two of the three works Ferraris had retired during the race, Scuderia victory was never seriously threatened. After Fangio/Sanesi accident after only 22 laps, the Ferrari was without any close competition. Farina and Hawthorn would remain in the lead throughout the whole race, even when the rain came late on in the race. At the finish, Farina and Hawthorn had an 18 lap advantage over the Jaguar C-Type of the Scottish Ecurie Ecosse. In the end, the Ferrari margin of victory amounted to about an advantage of close to 90 minutes over James Scott Douglas and Guy Gale. A Belgian-entered Jaguar C-Type of Herman Roosdorp and Toni Ulmen was a further eleven laps down and finished third. In the touring car class, the Portuguese driver Viegas Vellagao and his Belgian co-driver, Vladimir Narichkine were victorious in their Mercedes-Benz 220. However, although they were fifth overall, they were 68 laps behind the winning Ferrari. The winning partnership, won in a time of 24hr 02:07.085mins., averaging a speed of 94.910 mph. They covered a distance of 2,281.182 miles.[2][3][5][6]

Official Classification

Class Winners are in Bold text.

Pos No Class Driver Entrant Chassis Laps Reason Out
1st 8 S Giuseppe Farina Mike Hawthorn Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 375 MM 260
2nd 19 S James Scott Douglas Guy Gale Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar C-Type 242
3rd 18 S Herman Roosdorp Toni Ulmen Herman Roosdorp Jaguar C-Type 231
DNF 6 S Luigi Villoresi Alberto Ascari Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 375 MM 216 Clutch
4th 32 S Marc Gignoux Claude Storez Deutsch et Bonnet D.B. HBR Panhard 211
5th 38 T Viegas Vallagao Vladimir Narichkine Mercedes-Benz 220 192
6th 51 T Marcel Lauga G. Averseng Simca Aronde 191
7th 49 T Luc Mahy Jean-Pierre de Nauville Peugeot 203 189
8th 44 T André Pilette Jacques de Wetter Borgward Hansa 1800 188
9th 57 T Roger Meunier Guy Sanders Panhard Dyna 187
10th 34 S René Philippe Faure Pierre Quetelart Deutsch et Bonnet D.B. HBR Panhard 186
11th 33 S Reggie Bovens Roger Giraud Automobiles Panhard et Levassor Panhard X85 184
12th 48 T Telesphore Georges Fernand Georges Peugeot 203 184
13th 62 S René Cotton Fernand Sigrand Panhard Dyna 180
14th 53 T Pauwels André Milhoux Fiat 1100 176
15th 55 T Robert Reip Louis Richard Fiat 1100 176
16th 54 T Gilberte Thirion Annie Bousquet Fiat 1100 175
17th 43 T Pierre Slosse Georges Berger Borgward Hansa 1800 157
18th 52 T Pierre Stasse Walter Deutsch Fiat 1100 138
NC 61 T Raymond Meignen Jacques Blanchet Panhard Dyna 125
DNF 20 S Tom Meyes Philip Fotheringham-Parker Tom Meyer Aston Martin DB3 Coupé 81 Clutch
DNF 15 S Juan Manuel Fangio Consalvo Sanesi SpA Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM 22 Accident
DNF 4 S C. Nias A. Brancart Talbot Oblin DNF
DNF 9 S Umberto Maglioli Piero Carini Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 375 MM Value
DNF 17 S Roger Laurent Jacques Swaters Ecurie Francorchamps Jaguar C-Type Engine
DNF 22 S Charles de Tornaco Onore Wagner Ecurie Francorchamps Ferrari 212 Export Engine
DNF 24 S Jean Ampoulié Jacques Gergaud Ford Siam Special Engine
DISQ 26 S Elyane Imbert Simone des Forest Porsche 356 1500 Super Disqualified
DNF 29 S Paul Frère Walter Hampel Porsche 356 Gearbox
DNF 35 S Georges Guyot “Reverse” Deutsch et Bonnet D.B. HBR Panhard Accident
DNF 36 S Louis Pons Jean Rédélé R.N.U. Renault Renault 4CV/1063 Engine
DNF 40 T “Radrizzi” “Tissot” Fiat 1900 DNF
DNF 41 T Max Thirion Mario Damonte SpA Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 1900 Electrics
DNF 43 T Boy Laloux Georges Berger Borgward Hansa 1800 Accident
DNF 46 T Barry Leavens Joyce Leavens Jowett Javelin Accident
DISQ 50 T “Eldé” Claude Collard Peugeot 203 Outside Assistance;Lost Wheel
DNF 58 T Roland du Roy de Blicky Olivier Gendebien Panhard Dyna DNF
DNF 59 T Gert Welter “Renant” Panhard Dyna Accident
DNF 60 T “de la Bourdonnaye” “Vandenberg” Panhard Dyna DNF
DNS T “Thillios” Johnny Claes Fiat 1100 Accident

[4][5][6][7]

Class Winners

Class Winners
Sports 8 Ferrari 375 MM Farina / Hawthorn
Touring 38 Mercedes-Benz 220 Vallagao / Narichkine

[1]

Standings after the race

Pos Championship Points
1 Ferrari 19
2 Jaguar 18
3 Cunningham 12
4 Aston Martin 8
5 Alfa Romeo 6
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included in this set of standings.

Championship points were awarded for the first six places in each race in the order of 8-6-4-3-2-1. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by additional cars. Only the best 4 results out of the 7 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table.

References

World Sportscar Championship
Previous race:
24 Hours of Le Mans
1953 season Next race:
1000km Nürburgring
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