1954 RAC Tourist Trophy
# 1954 RAC Tourist Trophy

The 1954 RAC Tourist Trophy was a motor race for Sports Cars which took place on 11 September 1954 on the roads around Dundrod, (County Antrim, Northern Ireland). It was the 21st RAC Tourist Trophy and the fifth race of the 1954 World Sportscar Championship. The Tourist Trophy was awarded to handicap winners Paul Armagnac and Gérard Laureau driving a D.B. HBR Panhard however the overall race win for championship points was attained by Mike Hawthorn and Maurice Trintignant driving a Ferrari 750 Monza.

Going into the race, Ferrari was leading the World Sportscar Championship by eight points from Lancia. Victory by the Italian marque gave it the title for the second season running.

## Report

### Entry

A grand total of 56 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 52 arrived for practice and qualifying. Unlike 1953, many of the top European teams travelled to Northern Ireland from mainland Europe. Scuderia Ferrari, who could win the World Championship on the streets of County Antrim, entered two Ferrari 750 Monzas for the Le Mans winners José Froilán González and Maurice Trintignant, back-up by Mike Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli. Hoping the keep the championship alive, Scuderia Lancia sent two of their D24s and two D25s (re-bodied D24s) over. Amongst their line-up was Juan Manuel Fangio and Alberto Ascari. From England, the two work teams of Jaguar Cars Ltd. and Aston Martin. The team from Coventry arrived with three cars, Jaguar D-Types for the all British pairings of Tony Rolt/Duncan Hamilton; Stirling Moss/Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead/Ken Wharton. David Brown also brought along three of his team’s DB3S, with Reg Parnell pairing up alongside Roy Salvadori. Graham Whitehead/Dennis Poore and winners of last year’s RAC Tourist Trophy, Peter Collins/Pat Griffith made up the crew of the other two Astons. Also from England came works entries from Automobiles Frazer Nash, Lotus Engineering, HWM and Kieft Cars. There were joined manufactures teams from Maserati, Osca and Deutsch et Bonnet.

### Race

Following an accident in practice, the Ferrari 750 Monza of González, did not start and Trintignant was transferred into the remaining car of Hawthorn. This resulted in Maglioli also missing out.

Although World Championship points were awarded based on scratch positions, the race itself was run as a handicap race, so the distance each car needed to complete depended on engine capacity. The race was scheduled for 94 laps, however no car started from scratch, the largest engined vehicles being the Lancias with a handicap of 4 laps and 5 minutes, 11.7 seconds. The race would end after the first car completed 94 handicap laps.

The race was held in drying conditions, but rain returned during the race. Despite this, the Italian teams would finish in the first three places. Car number 15 (Scuderia Ferrari), driven by Mike Hawthorn and Maurice Trintignant took an impressive victory, winning in a time of 7hrs 14:13 mins., averaging a speed of 90.703 mph. Second place went to the Lancia of Piero Taruffi and Juan Manuel Fangio their D24, just 2:16 minutes behind. The podium was completed by another Lancia, that of Robert Manzon and Eugenio Castellotti, two laps adrift. Meanwhile, the HWM Jaguar 108 of George Abecassis and Jim Mayers were the best of the English entrants, finishing in fourth place, with the best of the works-Jaguars further behind in sixth.

This year’s Tourist Trophy could come up with a sport historical particularity. Similar to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the handicap index rating was extended in the TT. In this rating, power and engine capacity of the vehicle in relation to the weight were set. This led to a handicap for large-displacement vehicles. This index score was extended parallel to the overall rating. Although the overall standings was used for the World Sportscar Championship, the index score was used to the decide the outcome of the Tourist Trophy. Thus this was won by the small D.B. HBR Panhard by Paul Armagnac and Gérard Laureau , who finished only 21st place in the overall standings.

Having won the scratch race, Ferrari gained the necessary points advance over Lancia to take the World Championship for Manufacturers title for the second season in a row, with one round remaining in Mexico. Should Ferrari win the 1954 Carrera Panamericana, they would have the maximum score available due to have the points are awarded, as only the best 4 results out of the 7 races could be retained by each manufacturer.

## Official Classification

### Scratch Race (for Championship points)

Class Winners are in Bold text.

| Pos | No | Class | Driver | Driver | Entrant | Chassis | Laps | Reason Out |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1st | 15 | S3.0 | Mike Hawthorn | Maurice Trintignant | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 750 Monza | 7hr 14:13, 84 | |
| 2nd | 3 | S5.0 | Piero Taruffi | Juan Manuel Fangio | Scuderia Lancia | Lancia D24 | 7hr 16:26, 84 | |
| 3rd | 4 | S5.0 | Robert Manzon | Eugenio Castellotti | Scuderia Lancia | Lancia D24 | 7hr 16:27 82 | |
| 4th | 9 | S5.0 | George Abecassis | Jim Mayers | H. W. Motors | HWM Jaguar 108 | 79 | |
| 5th | 57 | S2.0 | Luigi Musso | Sergio Mantovani | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati A6GCS/53 | 79 | |
| 6th | 6 | S3.0 | Ken Wharton | Peter Whitehead | Jaguar Car Ltd. | Jaguar D-Type | 79 | |
| 7th | 11 | S5.0 | Jacques Swaters | Roger Laurent | Ecurie Francorchamps | Jaguar C-Type | 78 | |
| 8th | 19 | S3.0 | Graham Whitehead | Dennis Poore | David Brown | Aston Martin DB3S | 78 | |
| 9th | 31 | S2.0 | Bob Said | Masten Gregory | Bob Said | Ferrari 500 Mondial | 75 | |
| 10th | 35 | S2.0 | Alan Brown | Mike Keen | Robert J. Chase | Cooper-Bristol T20 Sports | 74 | |
| 11th | 37 | S1.5 | Redmond Gallagher | Don Beauman | Redmond Gallagher | Gordini T15S | 73 | |
| 12th | 32 | S2.0 | Dick Odlum | Cecil Vard | Automobiles Frazer Nash Ltd. | Frazer Nash Le Mans Replicas Mk II | 72 | |
| 13th | 10 | S5.0 | Joe Flynn | Torrie Large | Joe Kelly | Jaguar C-Type | 72 | |
| 14th | 20 | S3.0 | Stirling Moss | Peter Walker | Jaguar Cars Ltd. | Jaguar D-Type | 71 | |
| 15th | 39 | S1.5 | Ken McAlpine | Jack Fairman | Kenneth McAlpine | Connaught AL/SR | 71 | |
| 16th | 45 | S1.5 | Ian Burgess | Tony Palmer-Morewood | Bob Said | Osca MT4 1350 | 70 | |
| 17th | 30 | S2.0 | Brian McCaldin | Charles Eyre-Maunsell | Brian McCaldin | Triumph TR2 | 69 | |
| 18th | 27 | S2.0 | John Johnstone | Ian Titterington | J.B. Johnstone | Triumph TR2 | 69 | |
| DNF | 1 | S5.0 | Alberto Ascari | Luigi Villoresi | Scuderia Lancia | Lancia D25 | 69 | Differential |
| 19th | 28 | S2.0 | Ted Lund | Tom Blackburn | Ted Lund | Triumph TR2 | 68 | |
| 20th | 29 | S2.0 | Bob Dickson | W. Ken Richardson | Robert Dickson | Triumph TR2 | 68 | |
| 21st | 52 | S750 | Paul Armagnac | Gérard Laureau | Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet | D.B. HBR Panhard | 67 | |
| 22nd | 25 | S2.0 | Leslie Brooke | James Scott Douglas | Leslie Brooke | Triumph TR2 | 67 | |
| 23rd | 38 | S1.5 | Raymond Flower | Ernie McMillen | Raymond Flower | Porsche 356 | 66 | |
| 24th | 26 | S2.0 | Ray Merrick | John Maurice Tew | Ray Merrick | Triumph TR2 | 65 | |
| DISQ | 58 | S2.0 | Cesare Perdisa | Benoît Musy | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati A6GCS | 63 | Assistance |
| 25th | 47 | S1.1 | Bob Ferguson | Alan Rippon | Kieft Cars Ltd. | Kieft-Climax 1100 | 60 | |
| NC | 23 | S2.0 | Colin Davis | Horace Gould | Gilby Engineering | Maserati A6GCS | 60 | |
| 26th | 54 | S750 | Guy Allegre | Albert Barbey | Marocaine | Panhard Dyna Z | 58 | |
| DNF | 17 | S3.0 | Reg Parnell | Roy Salvadori | David Brown | Aston Martin DB3S | 57 | Accident |
| DISQ | 22 | S2.0 | J. E. Byrnes | Ronnie Adams | J. E. Byrnes | Kieft-Bristol | 48 | Mechanical |
| DNF | 51 | S750 | René Bonnet | Élie Bayol | Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet | D.B. HBR Panhard | 47 | Accident |
| DNF | 46 | S1.1 | Dick Steed | Peter Scott-Russell | Lotus Engineering | Lotus-MG Mark VIII | 46 | Wheel |
| DNF | 56 | S2.0 | Luigi Bellucci | Giorgio Scarlatti | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati A6GCS | 37 | Cooling system |
| DNF | 5 | S5.0 | Tony Rolt | Duncan Hamilton | Jaguar Cars Ltd. | Jaguar D-Type | 34 | Oil pressure |
| DNF | 49 | S1.1 | Peter Reece | Jackie G. Reece | Giacomo Caprara | Osca MT4 1100 | 33 | Accident |
| DNF | 36 | S1.5 | Jack Westcott | Tommy Bridger | Kieft Cars Ltd. | Kieft-MG | 32 | Gearbox |
| DNF | 42 | S1.5 | Nigel Allen | Mike Anthony | Lotus Engineering | Lotus-MG Mark VIII | 20 | Track rod |
| DNF | 50 | S1.1 | Harry Merkel | Luc Buchberger | Harry Merkel | Porsche 550 | 19 | DNF |
| DNF | 18 | S3.0 | Peter Collins | Pat Griffith | David Brown | Aston Martin DB3S | 15 | Final drive |
| DNF | 41 | S1.5 | Colin Chapman | Michael Costin | Lotus Engineering | Lotus-MG Mark VIII | 15 | Accident |
| DNF | 43 | S1.5 | Brian Naylor | George Pitt | Brian Naylor | Cooper-MG T29 | 15 | Engine |
| DNF | 55 | S750 | Pascal Berinstein | Georges Trouis | Franco-Brittanique | D.B. HBR Panhard | 14 | DNF |
| DNF | 16 | S3.0 | Joe Kelly | Desmond Titterington | Joe Kelly | Ferrari 750 Monza | 13 | Gearbox |
| DNF | 53 | S750 | Jean Lucas | Jean-Pierre Feuz | Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet | D.B. HBR Renault | 13 | DNF |
| DNF | 2 | S5.0 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Eugenio Castellotti | Scuderia Lancia | Lancia D25 | 11 | Engine, oil leak |
| DNF | 8 | S5.0 | Tony Gaze | John Riseley-Prichard | H. W. Motors | HWM Jaguar 105 | 9 | Engine |
| DNF | 21 | S2.0 | Roberto Sgorbati | Lance Macklin | Automobili Osca | Osca 2000S | 9 | Ignition |
| DNF | 34 | S2.0 | Peter Wilson | Tony Brooks | Henry Ohara Moore | Frazer Nash Sebring | 9 | DNF |
| DNF | 48 | S1.1 | Don Parker | David Boshier-Jones | Kieft Cars Ltd | Kieft-Climax 1100 | 6 | Suspension |
| DNF | 44 | S1.5 | Peter Jackson | Peter Lane | Peter Jackson | Cooper-MG T29 | 5 | Engine |
| DNS | 14 | S3.0 | José Froilán González | Maurice Trintignant | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 750 Monza | | Accident in practice |

* Fastest Lap: Mike Hawthorn, 4:49.000secs (92.916 mph)

### Scratch Race - Class Winners

| Class | Winners | | |
| - | - | - | - |
| Sports 5000 | 3 | Lancia D24 | Taruffi / Fangio |
| Sports 3000 | 15 | Ferrari 750 Monza | Hawthorn / Trintignant |
| Sports 2000 | 57 | Maserati A6GCS/53 | Musso / Mantovani |
| Sports 1500 | 37 | Gordini T15S | Gallagher / Beauman |
| Sports 1100 | 47 | Kieft-Climax 1100 | Ferguson / Rippon |
| Sports 750 | 52 | D.B. HBR Panhard | Armagnac / Laureau |

### Overall Positions (Handicap event / adjusted result)

Top Six :

| Pos | No | Class | Driver | Driver | Entrant | Chassis | Laps |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1st | 52 | S750 | Paul Armagnac | Gérard Laureau | Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet | D.B. HBR Panhard | 94 |
| 2nd | 15 | S3.0 | Mike Hawthorn | Maurice Trintignant | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 750 Monza | 90 |
| 3rd | 57 | S2.0 | Luigi Musso | Sergio Mantovani | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati A6GCS/53 | 89 |
| 4th | 3 | S5.0 | Piero Taruffi | Juan Manuel Fangio | Scuderia Lancia | Lancia D24 | 89 |
| 5th | 6 | S3.0 | Ken Wharton | Peter Whitehead | Jaguar Car Ltd. | Jaguar D-Type | 87 |
| 6th | 4 | S5.0 | Robert Manzon | Eugenio Castellotti | Scuderia Lancia | Lancia D24 | 87 |

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Championship | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Ferrari | 30 |
| 2 | Lancia | 20 |
| 3 | Jaguar | 10 |
| 4 | O.S.C.A. | 8 |
| 5 | Maserati | 7 |

* 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 four results out of the six races could be retained by each manufacturer.

