1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR

The five times World Drivers Champion Juan Manuel Fangio was featured at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994 with a display of some of the cars that he drove in the 1940s and 50s, and the car below was one that was in that display.

Not the actual car that Fangio drove, this is the Mercedes-Benz 300SLR with which Stirling Moss and co-driver Denis Jenkinson won the 1955 Mille Miglia - Fangio, driving solo, finished in second place over half an hour behind in second place in an identical car. The car is being driven here by John Surtees in a parade of the cars from the display, in which Stirling Moss drove one of the 1955 Mercedes-Benz W196 Grand Prix Cars.

Juan Manuel Fangio

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting of July 1994 at Silverstone featured a tribute to Juan Manuel Fangio and had a display of some of the cars with which he was associated.

On the left is the Mercedes Benz 300SLR with which Stirling Moss, accompanied by Denis Jenkinson, won the 1955 Mille Miglia – his team mate Fangio finished in second place in a solo drive. The red car is an Alfa Romeo 158, representing the later Alfa Romeo 159 with which Fangio won his first World Championship in 1951 and next to that is one of the cars with which he won two of his World Drivers’ Championship victories, the Mercedes Benz W196 which he drove in 1954 and 1955, although he started the 1954 season with a Maserati 250F. When Mercedes Benz withdrew from racing at the end of the 1955 season Fangio moved to the Ferrari team where he won the 1956 Championship driving a Lancia-Ferrari, but at the time of this tribute there were none left in existence, although since then several of the earlier Lancia D50s and the Lancia-Ferrari have been recreated. In 1957 he moved to the Maserati team where he won his last title with a 250F, one of which featured in this display, but was taking part in a track display when I took this photograph. Behind the W196 is a car from his earlier exploits in Argentina before he came to Europe. This blue and yellow car is a 1949 Ferrari 166 F2 car, Enzo Ferrari's first single seat racing car. It is thought to be one of the cars that Fangio drove early in his career before he came to Europe and joined the Alfa Romeo F1 team, and had been fully restored by Tony Merrick in the 4 years before this appearance.

1955 Mercedes Benz 300SLR

The theme for the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994 was Juan Manuel Fangio, and there was a display of several of the cars he drove during a career in which he won the Formula One Drivers' World Championship five times. He also finished in second place in the 1955 Mille Miglia and on display at Silverstone was the car with which his teammate Stirling Moss won that race - the Mercedes-Benz 300SLR.

The Mille Miglia was run on one lap of a course of almost 1000 miles from Brescia, down the east coast of Italy, across to Rome, then back to Brescia up the west coast. Excluding the wartime 1940 Mille Miglia which took place over nine laps of a course between Brescia, Cremona and Mantua and was won by Huschke von Hanstein and Walter Bäumer in a BMW 328 Berlinetta Touring, the Mille Miglia was only won twice by a non-Italian - in 1931 by Rudolf Caracciola and Wilhelm Sebastian in a Mercedes-Benz SSK, and in 1955 by Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson in the 300 SLR. The cars started at 1 minute intervals and the number 722 on this car indicates that Stirling Moss started the race at 7.22am. Fangio opted not to have a co-driver and his car was only fitted with a single headrest. It was numbered 658 indicating a 6.58am start, 24 minutes before Stirling Moss, but after mechanical problems he finished 8 minutes after the winning car, in second place but 32 minutes behind his team mate. Before the mid 1950s it was compulsory to have a co-driver in the Mille Miglia, but this was changed for the 1954 race which was won by Alberto Ascari driving alone in a Lancia D24.

Mercedes-Benz W196

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994 featured a tribute to Juan Manuel Fangio with a display of some of the cars that he drove to win his five World Championships, for two of which, in 1954 and 1955, he was a member of the Mercedes-Benz team.

This is one of the Mercedes-Benz W196 cars that he drove in those two seasons and in which I remember seeing him finish in second place to his team-mate Stirling Moss in the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree.

The programme of the event had this to say about Fangio:

'The five times World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio is to be honoured by the British Racing Drivers' Club this weekend. Now aged 83, Fangio is no longer able to travel long distances, so he will be represented by his nephew, the 1992 & 1993 IMSA GTP Champion Juan Manuel Fangio II. On his uncle's behalf, he will receive one of the BRDC's prestigious Gold Stars for lifetime achievement.

This will be presented on Sunday by Lord Hesketh, President of the BRDC, on the grid. Juan Manuel Fangio II will also be seen in action on the track when he takes to the wheel of the Maserati 250F that his uncle used to win the 1957 German Grand Prix and thereby clinch his fifth and final World Championship.

The younger Fangio will lead the demonstration of famous racing cars, together with Stirling Moss who will drive a 1955 Mercedes-Benz W196, the type that both he and Fangio raced so successfully.'

This is Stirling Moss at Luffield corner during the demonstration run.

The car behind the W196 here is, of course, the Mercedes-Benz 300SLR with which Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson won the 1955 Mille Miglia. Fangio finished in second place in that race.

Mercedes-Benz 300SLR

The theme for the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994 was Juan Manuel Fangio, and there was a display of several of the cars he drove during a career in which he won the Formula One Drivers' World Championship five times. He also finished in second place in the 1955 Mille Miglia and on display at Silverstone was the car with which his teammate Stirling Moss won that race - the Mercedes Benz 300 SLR.

The Mille Miglia was run on one lap of a course of almost 1000 miles from Brescia, down the east coast of Italy, across to Rome, then back to Brescia up the west coast. Excluding the wartime 1940 Mille Miglia which took place over nine laps of a course between Brescia, Cremona and Mantua and was won by Huschke von Hanstein and Walter Bäumer in a BMW 328 Berlinetta Touring, the Mille Miglia was only won twice by a non-Italian - in 1931 by Rudolf Caracciola and Wilhelm Sebastian in a Mercedes-Benz SSK, and in 1955 by Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson in the 300 SLR.

The cars started at 1 minute intervals and the number 722 on this car indicates that Stirling Moss started the race at 7.22am. Fangio opted not to have a co-driver and his car was only fitted with a single headrest. It was numbered 658 indicating a 6.58am start, but after mechanical problems he finished 8 minutes after the winning car, in second place but 32 minutes behind Moss.

I seem to recall that until the mid 1950s it was compulsory to have a co-driver in the Mille Miglia, but I can't find anything saying when that rule was changed. The first race I can find where the results list shows cars without co-drivers is the 1954 race which was won by Alberto Ascari driving alone in a Lancia D24.