1952 Belgian Grand Prix

Belgium  1952 Belgian Grand Prix
Race details
Race 3 of 8 in the 1952 World Drivers' Championship
Date 22 June 1952
Official name XIV GROTE PRIJS VAN BELGIE
Location Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps, Belgium
Course Grand Prix Circuit
Course length 14.12 km (8.774 mi)
Distance 36 laps, 508.320 km (315.864 mi)
Weather Rain
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 4:37.0
Fastest lap
Driver Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari
Time 4:54.0
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Ferrari
Third Gordini

The 1952 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 22 June 1952 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was the third round of the 1952 World Drivers' Championship, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.

Report

Maserati's new A6GCM was still not ready, and, to compound this, their lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio had suffered back injuries at the non-championship Monza Grand Prix. This meant that Ferrari were once again favoured for success in the race, with their driver lineup consisting of Alberto Ascari (in place of André Simon), Nino Farina and Piero Taruffi. There were also two privateer Ferrari entries: local driver Charles de Tornaco of Ecurie Francorchamps, and Louis Rosier. The Gordini team expanded their lineup to include Belgian driver Johnny Claes, alongside Behra, Manzon and Bira. American Robert O'Brien also drove a Simca-Gordini for this race. HWM also recruited a pair of Belgian drivers — Paul Frère and Roger Laurent — who raced alongside regular drivers Peter Collins and Lance Macklin. Stirling Moss switched from HWM to ERA for this race. A handful of other privateer entrants also took part, including future World Champion Mike Hawthorn, who made his debut in a Cooper-Bristol.

Ascari headed an all-Ferrari front row, with teammates Farina and Taruffi in second and third, respectively. The Gordinis of Manzon and Behra made up row two, while the third row consisted of Hawthorn, Ken Wharton (in a Frazer-Nash), and Frère, who was the highest qualifier of the five Belgian drivers on the grid.

Taruffi started badly in the rain, dropping to ninth by the end of the first lap, while Behra overhauled the two leading Ferraris to take the lead of the race. Moss also started well, before his car broke down half way through the first lap. Behra's lead was short-lived, as both Ascari and Farina overtook him on the second lap, subsequently holding first and second for the remainder of the race. Behra dropped to fourth when the recovering Taruffi passed him on lap 13. On the following lap Taruffi spun at Malmédy and Behra hit him, causing both to retire. Manzon overtook Hawthorn to assume what was now third place. Despite suffering from fuel leakage problems, Hawthorn was able to maintain fourth place until the end of the race. His fellow debutant Paul Frère also finished in the points, in fifth.[1]

Ascari's win (with fastest lap), and Taruffi's retirement, meant that the two now shared the lead of the Championship, on nine points each. Indianapolis 500 winner Troy Ruttman was in third, while Farina's second-place finish raised him to fourth in the standings, three points adrift of the joint Championship leaders.

Entries

No Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre
2 Italy Nino Farina Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
4 Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
6 Italy Piero Taruffi Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
8 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn Leslie D. Hawthorn Cooper-Bristol Cooper T20 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
10 United Kingdom Alan Brown Ecurie Richmond Cooper-Bristol Cooper T20 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
12 United Kingdom Eric Brandon Cooper-Bristol Cooper T20 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
14 France Robert Manzon Equipe Gordini Gordini Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 E
16 France Jean Behra Gordini Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 E
18 Belgium Johnny Claes Gordini Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 E
20 Thailand Prince Bira Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 E
22 France Louis Rosier Ecurie Rosier Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 D
24 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HW Motors HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
26 United Kingdom Peter Collins HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
28 Belgium Paul Frère HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
30 Belgium Roger Laurent HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
32 United Kingdom Stirling Moss English Racing Automobiles Ltd. ERA-Bristol ERA G Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
34 Belgium Charles de Tornaco Ecurie Francorchamps Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 E
36 United Kingdom Ken Wharton Scuderia Franera Frazer Nash-Bristol Frazer Nash FN48 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
38 Belgium Arthur Legat Arthur Legat Veritas Veritas Meteor Veritas 2.0 L6 E
40 United Kingdom Robin Montgomerie-Charrington Robin Montgomerie-Charrington Aston-Butterworth Aston NB41 Butterworth F4 2.0 L6 D
42 Australia Tony Gaze Tony Gaze HWM-Alta HWM 51 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
44 United States Robert O'Brien Robert O'Brien Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 E
Sources: [2][3]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 4 Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari 4:37.0
2 2 Italy Nino Farina Ferrari 4:40.0 + 3.0
3 6 Italy Piero Taruffi Ferrari 4:46.0 + 9.0
4 14 France Robert Manzon Gordini 4:52.0 + 15.0
5 16 France Jean Behra Gordini 4:56.0 + 19.0
6 8 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn Cooper-Bristol 4:58.0 + 21.0
7 36 United Kingdom Ken Wharton Frazer Nash-Bristol 5:01.0 + 24.0
8 28 Belgium Paul Frère HWM-Alta 5:05.0 + 28.0
9 10 United Kingdom Alan Brown Cooper-Bristol 5:07.0 + 30.0
10 32 United Kingdom Stirling Moss ERA-Bristol 5:07.6 + 30.6
11 26 United Kingdom Peter Collins HWM-Alta 5:09.0 + 32.0
12 12 United Kingdom Eric Brandon Cooper-Bristol 5:11.0 + 34.0
13 34 Belgium Charles de Tornaco Ferrari 5:14.5 + 37.5
14 24 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 5:17.1 + 40.1
15 40 United Kingdom Robin Montgomerie-Charrington Aston Butterworth 5:19.3 + 42.3
16 42 Australia Tony Gaze HWM-Alta 5:22.8 + 45.8
17 22 France Louis Rosier Ferrari 5:25.7 + 48.7
18 20 Thailand Prince Bira Simca-Gordini-Gordini 5:28.4 + 51.4
19 18 Belgium Johnny Claes Gordini 5:31.1 + 54.1
20 30 Belgium Roger Laurent HWM-Alta 5:37.9 + 60.9
21 38 Belgium Arthur Legat Veritas 5:45.0 + 68.0
22 44 United States Robert O'Brien Simca-Gordini-Gordini 5:51.0 + 74.0

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 4 Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari 36 3:03:46.3 1 9
2 2 Italy Nino Farina Ferrari 36 +1:55.2 2 6
3 14 France Robert Manzon Gordini 36 +4:28.4 4 4
4 8 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn Cooper-Bristol 35 +1 lap 6 3
5 28 Belgium Paul Frère HWM-Alta 34 +2 laps 8 2
6 10 United Kingdom Alan Brown Cooper-Bristol 34 +2 laps 9
7 34 Belgium Charles de Tornaco Ferrari 33 +3 laps 13
8 18 Belgium Johnny Claes Gordini 33 +3 laps 19
9 12 United Kingdom Eric Brandon Cooper-Bristol 33 +3 laps 12
10 20 Thailand B. Bira Simca-Gordini-Gordini 32 +4 laps 18
11 24 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 32 +4 laps 14
12 30 Belgium Roger Laurent HWM-Alta 32 +4 laps 20
13 38 Belgium Arthur Legat Veritas 31 +5 laps 21
14 44 United States Robert O'Brien Simca-Gordini-Gordini 30 +6 laps 22
15 42 Australia Tony Gaze HWM-Alta 30 +6 laps 16
Ret 40 United Kingdom Robin Montgomerie-Charrington Aston Butterworth 17 Engine 15
Ret 6 Italy Piero Taruffi Ferrari 13 Accident 3
Ret 16 France Jean Behra Gordini 13 Accident 5
Ret 36 United Kingdom Ken Wharton Frazer-Nash-Bristol 10 Spun off 7
Ret 22 France Louis Rosier Ferrari 6 Transmission 17
Ret 26 United Kingdom Peter Collins HWM-Alta 3 Halfshaft 11
Ret 32 United Kingdom Stirling Moss ERA-Bristol 0 Engine 10
Source: [4]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Italy Piero Taruffi 9
41 2 Italy Alberto Ascari 9
1 3 United States Troy Ruttman 8
26 4 Italy Nino Farina 6
2 5 Switzerland Rudi Fischer 6

References

  1. "Belgian GP, 1952 Race Report". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  2. "1952 Belgian Grand Prix - Race Entries". manipef1.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  3. "1952 Belgian GP - Entry List". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  4. "1952 Belgian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
Previous race:
1952 Indianapolis 500
FIA Formula One World Championship
1952 season
Next race:
1952 French Grand Prix
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1951 Belgian Grand Prix
Belgian Grand Prix Next race:
1953 Belgian Grand Prix
Previous race:
1951 French Grand Prix
European Grand Prix
(Designated European Grand Prix)
Next race:
1954 German Grand Prix
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