Pre-1952 Grand Prix Cars at Silverstone

This is a photograph that I took at Luffield Corner during the Pre-1952 Grand Prix Cars Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

Leading is the 1932 Alfa Romeo Monza of Terry Cohn with Tony Bianchi’s 1948 Talbot Lago T26C on the outside and the 1939 Maserati 4CL of Norbert Schmitz-Koep at the rear.

1947 Talbot Lago T26C

This car competed in the Allcomers Scratch Race for Vintage and Historic Racing cars at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1965.

It’s the 1947 Talbot Lago T26C of Anthony Brooke which has a 6-cylinder inline 4,485cc unsupercharged engine. The Talbot Lagos took part in the 1948 (pre-World Championship) Grand Prix races but were generally outnumbered and outclassed by the Ferraris and Maseratis, although Louis Rosier won the Belgian Grand Prix and Louis Chiron the French Grand Prix in one of these cars.

1949 Talbot Lago T26C

This was one of the competitors in the Cheshire Building Society's Allcomers Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in July 1987.

It's the 1949 Talbot Lago 26C of Colin Crabbe, chassis 110008. The Grand Prix regulations for 1946 to 1949, and for 1950 and 1951 after the World Drivers' Championship was introduced, stipulated a maximum capacity of 4½ litres for unsupercharged engine and 1½ litres for those with superchargers.

1948 Talbot Lago T26C

This was one of the competitors in the HGPCA Pre-61 Front Engine Grand Prix Cars race at the Silverstone Classic meeting in July 2010.

It's the 1948 Talbot Lago T26C of Klaus Lehr, chassis 110004, which has a 6-cylinder inline 4,482cc unsupercharged engine. The Talbot Lagos took part in the 1949 (pre-World Championship) Grand Prix races but were generally outnumbered and outclassed by the Ferraris and Maseratis, although Louis Rosier won the Belgian Grand Prix and Louis Chiron the French Grand Prix in one of these cars.

1949 Talbot Lago T26C

This was one of the competitors in the Pre '52 Grand Prix Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival at Silverstone in July 1995.

It's the 1949 Talbot Lago T26C of Tony Bianchi which has a 6-cylinder inline 4,482cc unsupercharged engine. The Talbot Lagos took part in the 1949 (pre-World Championship) Grand Prix races but were generally outnumbered and outclassed by the Ferraris and Maseratis, although Louis Rosier won the Belgian Grand Prix and Louis Chiron the French Grand Prix in one of these cars. Tony Bianchi’s Talbot-Lago T26C is chassis #110 008 which was Philippe Etancelin's car in 1949 and then passed to Jean Achard in November 1950. Achard moved to Brazil, taking the car, and sold it there to Pinheiro Pires who raced it in Brazil from 1951 to 1954. The car came to the UK via Colin Crabbe in the 1980s and then via other UK owners to Tony Bianchi in the 1990s.

1953 Talbot Lago T26C

This was one of the competitors in the Allcomers 12 Lap Scratch Race for Historic Racing Cars at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1971.

It's the 1953 Talbot Lago T26C of T.A.Roberts and was driven in the race by Bill Morris. The Grand Prix regulations for the 1947 season allowed for engine capacities of 4½ litres for unsupercharged cars and 1½ litres for those with superchargers. Antonio Lago increased the capacity of the Talbot straight-6 engine from just under 4 litres to 4,482cc and created the Talbot Lago T26C, a car that was reasonably successful, particularly in the 1949 season when the all-conquering 1½ litre supercharged Alfa Romeo 158 cars did not compete. The programme of this event shows the Talbot Lago to be a 1953 car, but I would have thought that since World Championship races in 1952 and 1953 were run to Formula 2 regulations it is more likely to date from 1949 or 1950.

Friday's Ferrari

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000 celebrated 50 years of Formula One and today's photograph shows two cars in the pit lane setting out as part of a parade of cars round the circuit marking the event.

There were two Ferrari Dino 246 F1 cars listed in the Pre 1961 Grand Prix Cars Race in the programme of the event, that of Nigel Corner, chassis #0007, number 52 in the race, and Robin Lodge's car, chassis #0006. Robin Lodge has two cars listed for this race, the Ferrari and his recently re-created 1954 Lancia D50, both numbered 42, because of a doubt about the eligibility of the Lancia to take part. In the end Robin Lodge drove the Lancia and the Ferrari took part in the race driven by Willie Green, and it looks as if it was renumbered as 54 - the highest numbered car in the race programme being 53. The blue car behind the Ferrari is the 1949 Talbot Lago T26C of Tony Bianchi that took part in the Pre 1952 Grand Prix Cars Race, and is chassis #110 008.

Talbot Lago T26C

This car competed in the Corporate Jets Historic Grand Prix Car 100-Mile race at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

Seen here at Luffield Corner, it's the 1948 4½ litre Talbot Lago T26C of Belgian François d'Huart, a car which Louis Rosier drove in the 1948 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Originally a Talbot works car it was later raced for Écurie Rosier by Maurice Trintignant.

On 27 September 2015 and 9 January 2016 I showed photographs of this car at Silverstone in 1994 and 1999.

Talbot Lago T26C

The entry list for the 12 Lap Allcomers Scratch Race at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in July 1987 included three of the 1940s 4½ litre straight-6 Talbot Lago T26C cars, and I took photographs of all three.

The Talbot Lago T26C was produced from 1948 to 1950 and this is Richard Pilkington's 1950 model, chassis 100057, a car that could be used for Grand Prix racing but also due to its offset driving position, with motorcycle mudguards and rudimentary lighting equipment it could be used in Sports Car racing. One such car, driven by father and son Louis and Jean-Louis Rosier, won the 1950 Le Mans 24 Hour race. On 21 September 2017 I showed a photograph of this car at Donington Park in 2006.

This is Colin Crabbe's 1949 model, probably chassis 110008. The Grand Prix regulations for 1946 to 1949, and for 1950 and 1951 after the World Drivers' Championship was introduced, stipulated a maximum capacity of 4½ litres for unsupercharged engine and 1½ litres for those with superchargers.

This is Kerry Wilson's car, described in the programme of the event as a 1945 model - presumably a misprint as the T26C didn't make an appearance till 1948.

Kerry Wilson being pushed from the paddock to the pits prior to a practice session.

Kerry Wilson at Lodge Corner during the race.

Talbot Lago T26C

This car took part in the Cheshire Building Society Allcomers race at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1982.

It's Chris Mann's 1950 4½ litre Talbot Lago T26C. These cars competed in the World Championship for Drivers in its first two years, 1950 and 1951, but the cars were generally outclassed by the 1½ litre supercharged Alfa Romeos. The blue car behind the Talbot is Hamish Moffatt's 1926 Bugatti T35B.

Here's Chris Mann during the race at Knickerbrook corner.

Talbot Lago T26C

This is a car I photographed in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999.

It's the 1948 Talbot Lago T26C of François d'Huart which took part in the Maserati UK Race for Pre-1961 Grand Prix Cars. It's finished in the yellow racing colours of Belgium and according to the programme of the event it's the car with which Louis Rosier took fourth place in the 1948 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, although  Louis Rosier was actually third in that race and in fourth place was the Talbot Lago T26C of Philippe Étancelin. On 27 September 2015 I showed a photograph of this car in the pit lane at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in 1994. This site gives a brief history of all the Talbot Lago T26C cars.

Talbot Lago T26C

Here's a photograph of a car leaving the pits during a practice session for the Chopard 100-Mile Grand Prix Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994.

It's Belgian François d'Huart in a 1950 Talbot Lago T26C, raced as a works car by Eugene Martin, Eugene Chaboud and Yves Giraud-Cabantous, and later by Maurice Trintignant for Écurie Rosier. The car is in the yellow racing colours of Belgium.