Maserati A6GCM

A few days ago I showed some photographs of the Maserati 250F V12 which I had taken at Donington Park in 2005. Here are some photographs of its predecessor which I took at the VSCC Boulogne and Hawthorn Trophies Race Meeting at Oulton Park in June 2006.

It's a 1953 Maserati A6GCM, a development of the original A6GCM which was introduced in 1951 to compete in Formula 2 races. When Alfa Romeo pulled out of racing after the 1951 season leaving Ferrari as the only credible Formula 1 team the FIA decided to abandon the 4½ litre Formula 1 for the 1952 World Championship for Drivers in favour of the 2 litre Formula 2 cars, and Maserati produced this uprated version of the A6GCM to compete in the 1953 season's races. The car made its debut at the non-championship Naples Grand Prix in the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio and José Froilán Gonzáles.

This car is finished in the Siamese racing colours of Prince Bira who had owned A6GCM serial number 2044, which was apparently converted to a 250F in 1954. This is possibly that car as it is shown in the programme of the Oulton Park meeting as having a 2½ litre engine, although it's listed as an A6GCM.

Here's the owner, David Bennett, at Britten's chicane during the race leading Richard Last in a 1933/38 MG Parnell K3, Harvey Sykes in a 1957 Cooper T43 and Peter Mann in a 1952 Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica.