The 1948 Zandvoort Grand Prix was a non-championship Formula One race held on 7 August 1948 at Circuit Zandvoort.
Report
The event consisted of two 24-lap heats and a 40-lap final. The cars were split based on their racing numbers, the lower numbers competing in Heat 1 and the higher numbers in Heat 2. A qualifying session determined the grid for each heat. Bob Gerard did not start the event; it is unclear whether he competed in his heat.
Cuth Harrison secured pole position for Heat 1 at 2:03.8, but retired with a broken half-shaft and the heat went to Reg Parnell from Tony Rolt and John Bolster, Bolster setting the fastest lap at 1:57.9. George Abecassis retired with valve trouble.
Prince Bira secured pole position for Heat 2 at 2:00.2. He won with the fastest lap at 1:53.6, the fastest time of the weekend, with David Hampshire second and Duncan Hamilton third. Peter Walker retired with gearbox issues, while Leslie Johnson was a non-starter due to shock absorber trouble and getting sand in his supercharger.
In the final, Rolt led into the first corner but Bira assumed the lead by lap 3. Bira's engine was not 100% fit, preventing him from pushing hard. Rolt applied intense pressure, closing the gap consistently throughout the race but lacking the pace advantage to make an overtake. The two were separated by a single car length at the chequered flag, Bira's engine screaming as he did not want to risk losing ground with a gear change. Leslie Brooke ran third before stopping for oil and going on to finish 6th. Kenneth Hutchinson was 10th despite only having top gear for most of the race. Michael Chorlton, whose car struggled with carburation issues all day, reached the finish albeit nine laps down.
Entries No Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis 1 George Abecassis George Abecassis Alta Alta GP 2 Geoff Ansell Geoff Ansell ERA ERA R9B 3 Archie Baring Archie Baring Maserati Maserati 6CM 4 Kenneth Bear Kenneth Bear Bugatti Bugatti 59 5 John Bolster John Bolster ERA ERA R5B 6 Bob Gerard Bob Gerard ERA ERA B 7 Cuth Harrison Cuth Harrison ERA ERA B 8 Kenneth Hutchinson Kenneth Hutchinson Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Tipo B 9 Reg Parnell Scuderia Ambrosiana Maserati Maserati 4CL 10 Tony Rolt Tony Rolt Alfa Romeo-Aitken Alfa Romeo 8C 11 Bob Ansell Bob Ansell Maserati Maserati 4CL 12 Prince Bira Princa Chula Maserati Maserati 4CL 14 Leslie Brooke ERA Ltd ERA ERA R7B 15 David Hampshire David Hampshire ERA ERA R1A 16 Leslie Johnson ERA Ltd ERA ERA GP2 E-Type 17 Duncan Hamilton Duncan Hamilton Maserati Maserati 6CM 18 Fred Ashmore Reg Parnell Racing ERA ERA R2A 19 Roy Salvadori Roy Salvadori Maserati Maserati 4CM 20 Gordon Watson Gordon Watson Alta Alta F2-2 21 Peter Walker Peter Walker ERA ERA R10B 22 Michael Chorlton Michael Chorlton Bugatti Bugatti 51A Sources:
Classification Heat 1 Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/retired 1 9 Reg Parnell Maserati 24 50:17.8 2 10 Tony Rolt Alfa Romeo-Aitken 24 +3.6 3 5 John Bolster ERA 24 +5.4 4 8 Kenneth Hutchinson Alfa Romeo 24 +43.0 5 2 Geoff Ansell ERA 24 +2:00.4 6 3 Archie Baring Maserati ? 7 4 Kenneth Bear Bugatti ? Ret 7 Cuth Harrison ERA ? Half-shaft Ret 1 George Abecassis Alta ? Valves DNS 6 Bob Gerard ERA ? Source:
Heat 2 Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/retired 1 12 Prince Bira Maserati 24 50:24.3 2 15 David Hampshire ERA 24 +59.5 3 17 Duncan Hamilton Maserati 24 +1:07.5 4 18 Fred Ashmore ERA 24 +1:26.6 5 14 Leslie Brooke ERA 24 +1:53.2 6 20 Gordon Watson Alta ? 7 22 Michael Chorlton Bugatti ? 8 19 Roy Salvadori Maserati ? Ret 11 Bob Ansell Maserati ? Gearbox Ret 21 Peter Walker ERA ? Gearbox DNS 16 Leslie Johnson ERA Supercharger Source:
Final Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/retired Grid 1 12 Prince Bira Maserati 40 1:25:22.2 4 2 10 Tony Rolt Alfa Romeo-Aitken 40 +0.1 2 3 9 Reg Parnell Maserati 39 +1 lap 1 4 17 Duncan Hamilton Maserati 39 +1 lap 7 5 18 Fred Ashmore ERA 39 +1 lap 8 6 14 Leslie Brooke ERA 38 +2 laps 10 7 15 David Hampshire ERA 38 +2 laps 6 8 2 Geoff Ansell ERA 38 +2 laps 9 9 4 Kenneth Bear Bugatti 37 +3 laps 12 10 8 Kenneth Hutchinson Alfa Romeo 37 +3 laps 5 11 22 Michael Chorlton Bugatti 31 +9 laps 14 12 3 Archie Baring Maserati 28 +12 laps 11 Ret 20 Gordon Watson Alta ? 13 Ret 5 John Bolster ERA ? 3 DNS 19 Roy Salvadori ERA DNQ 1 George Abecassis Alta Ret Heat 1 DNQ 7 Cuth Harrison ERA Ret Heat 1 DNQ 6 Bob Gerard ERA DNS Heat 1 DNQ 11 Bob Ansell Maserati Ret Heat 2 DNQ 21 Peter Walker ERA Ret Heat 2 DNQ 16 Leslie Johnson ERA DNS Heat 2 Sources:
Footnotes
References