Grand Prix Insider

26th of May - Team Lotus had to endure a poor start into the year 1974. The brand new Lotus 76 proved to be a huge disappointment in the season’s first five rounds. Its electronic clutch system was too complicated and fragile, also the drivers didn’t fancy its twin brake pedal layout. The only option was reverting to last year’s model while the 76 underwent a substantial overhaul. Ronnie Peterson, however, was glad to have his trusty old Lotus 72E back that he stormed to an unexpected win at the 1974 Monaco Grand Prix. Not bad at all for a concept that dates as far back as the first pencil drawings in 1969…

26/5/1955, Alberto Ascari dies.

Alberto was the son of race driver Antonio Ascari who died at the 1925 Grand Prix de Monthléry, aged 37. Nickamed “Ciccio”, the young Ascari took part in his first race, the Mille Miglia, aged 22 at the wheel of a Ferrari and matured into Juan Manuel Fangio’s fiercest opposition in Fórmula 1. Racing for the Scuderia he won two world championships in 1952 and 1953. It was during those years that he established an still unbeaten record of 9 consecutive Grand Prix wins. In 1954, Ascari left Ferrari for Lancia, tempted by their innovative D50 project. But the car presented a series of glitches that hindered Alberto to achieve significant results.

At the second round of the 1955 World Championship Ascari survived a bizarre accident in Monte Carlo when his Lancia crashed into the yacht harbor. While he was lucky enough to suffer nothing but a couple of bruises and a broken nose, four days later he didn’t have the same luck. While testing Castellotti’s Ferrari at Monza he suffered another fierce crash. He was thrown from the car with such violence the Ciccio died instantly. The tragedy rocked Italy and the Formula 1 scene. Following the terrible news, Lancia announced their withdrawal from the sport and handed all of their equipment, including six D50s, over to Ferrari. Alberto Ascari died at almost the same age than his father and is considered as one of the last great Italian heroes of Formula 1.

Born: 13th of July 1918 in Milan in Italy;
Died: 26th of May 1955 at the Monza circuit in Italy, aged 36.

26/5/2001, Vittorio Brambilla dies.

The Italian F3 Champion of 1972 moved through F2 into F1 in 1974. His moment came in Austria when he scored the March factory team’s first-ever championship Grand Prix win in pouring rain at the Osterreichring. Swapping March for Surtess in 1977 he also drove for Alfa Romeo in the World Sports Car Championship scoring four wins with the T33 and winning the Championship for the team.

Vittorio was involved in the start crash in Monza 1978 which claimed the life of Ronnie Peterson, suffering severe concussion which kept him out of the cockpit for almost a year, before Alfa Romeo brought him back for the last three races of the season. He made two more appearances for them in 1980, but it was painfully obvious that his days as a Grand Prix driver were over, though he did race the Osella sports car in a few rounds of the World Championship of Makes, before phasing himself out completely in 1981. He died of a heart attack at the age of 63 while working in his garden.

Born: 11th of November 1937 in Monza, Italy
Died: 26th of may 2001 in Camparada di Lesmo, aged 63.

2/10/1937, 70 years ago, Paul Hawkins is born.

A tough Australian racer, a very capable single seater driver but really stood out in sports cars, driving Ford GT40s and Lola T70s. At his Formula 1 debut at the 1965 Monaco GP he showed plenty of ability but also drew the public attention by imitating Alberto Ascari’s feat to submerse his car in the yacht harbour. Hawkeye, as he was called due to his excellent vision, died in a fiery accident at Oulton Park’s Tourist Trophy in 1969 with his Lola T70.

Born: 12th of October 1937 in Melbourne, Austrália;
Died: 26th of May 1969 at Oulton Park, UK, aged 31.

24/4/1941, Silvio Moser is born in Zürich, Switzerland.

Successful in junior formulaes, Moser’s Formula 1 debut came at the British Grand Prix in 1967 at the wheel of an uncompetitive Cooper-ATS. The following year he bought an ex-factory Brabham and finished 5th at the Dutch GP and a 6th place at the 1969 United States Grand Prix. For 1970 he made the bold move to commission his own F1 car with Guglielmo Bellasi, but the car was only ready for the Dutch GP, where Silvio failed to qualify. Same at the French and German GPs. Although he made it onto the grid for the Austrian GP, it bacame clear the needed vast imrovements. The Bellasi returned for the 1971 Italian GP and at the end-of -year non-championship Grande Premio de Argentina. In a serious crash with a Lola T292 sportscar in the 1974 Monza 1000km race, Silvio suffered serious head and internal injuries the kept him a month long in a coma. Sadly he never recovered consciousness and died after a month.

Born: 24th of April 1941 in Zürich, Switzerland;
Died: 26th of May 26 1974 in Milan, Italy, aged 33.
26/5/1944, Samuel Posey is born in New York, USA.

Sam Posey was a properous racer but earned himself a fine reputation racing successfully in many categories, like Can-Am, Trans-Am, ICM, Formula A, IMSA and Formula 5000 as well as taking part in the 24 Hours of Daytona, 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Indy 500 and the Bathurst 1000. He took part in the 1971 and 1972 US Grands Prix, each tié driving a Surtees. Later he won the 12 Hours of Sebring sharing a BMW CSL with Brian Redman, Alan Moffat and Hans Stuck. After retiring from racing, Sam became a renowned TV comentator.

26/5/1906, Maurice Rose is born in Colombus, EUA.

Mauri Rose was an auto engineer who happened to also be a race driver, working for a period for General Motors. He took part in the Indianapolis 500 15 times and won the race three times – 1941, 1947 e 1948. From 1950 on the event also counted for the Formula 1 World Championship and Mauri entered F1 stats by finishing third that year. He was a remarkable man who considered his proudest accomplishment not winning the Indy three times, but his invention of a device that allowed amputees to drive an automobile. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994, and Motorsports of Hall of Fame of America in 1996.

Born: 26th of May 1906 in Colombus, USA.
Died: 1st of January 1981 in Royal Oak, EUA, aged 74.

26/5/1917, Paul Alfons Maria Clemens Lothar Philippus Neri Felix Nikomedes 6th Prince of Metternich-Winneburg, 5th Duke of Portella, Count of Königswart and Spanish Grande of 1st rank is born Vienna, Austria.

Paul Alfons Prince of Metternich-Winneburg was an amateur racing driver turned president of the German auto club AvD turned president the World Automobile Sports Federation (FISA), a role he maintained over tem years, from 1975 to 1986.

Born: 26th of May 1917 in Viena, Austria.
Died: 29th of September 1992 in Geneva, Switzerland, aged 75.

26/5/1938, Peter Westbury is born London, UK.

Westbury was a regular in European Formula 2 with his privateer Brabham BT30 and finished fifth in his class at the 1969 German GP. A year later he had a shot at Formula 1 at the wheel of a BRM P153 but failed to qualify for US GRand Prix at Watkins Glen.