51°21′5.5″N 0°28′9.5″W / 51.351528°N 0.469306°W
| 1937 Campbell Trophy Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Layout of the Brooklands circuit | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 1 May 1937 | ||
| Official name | I Campbell Trophy | ||
| Location |
Brooklands Weybridge, United Kingdom | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 3.648 km (2.267 miles) | ||
| Distance | 100 laps, 364.8 km (226.7 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | P. Whitehead | ||
| Time | 1:52.2 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Richard Penn, 5th Earl Howe and Raymond Mays |
ERA ERA | |
| Time | 1:53.0 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Prince Chula of Siam | ||
| Second | E. Rayson | ||
| Third | A. Powys-Lybbe | ||
The 1937 Campbell Trophy (formally known as I Campbell Trophy) was a Grand Prix that was held on 1 May 1937 at Brooklands near Weybridge, United Kingdom. It was the fourth round of the 1937 Grand Prix season, but it did not count towards the championship. The race, contested over 100 laps of 3.65 km, was won in the Class over 1500cc by Prince Bira, the only non-British driver in this event, driving a Maserati 8CM after starting from fourth position on the grid. The victory in the 1500cc Class was taken by Teddy Rayson, driving a Maserati 4C.
Entries
editQualifying results
edit| Pos. | Driver | Car Constructor | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Walker | ERA | 1:52.2 |
| 2 | Earl Howe | ERA | 1:52.2 |
| 3 | Chris Staniland | Alfa Romeo | 1:52.3 |
| 4 | Prince Bira | Maserati | 1:53.0 |
| 5 | Raymond Mays | ERA | 1:54.2 |
| 6 | Austin Dobson | Alfa Romeo | 1:56.6 |
| 7 | Charles Brackenbury | Alfa Romeo | 1:57.2 |
| 8 | Arthur Dobson | ERA | 1:57.6 |
| 9 | Anthony Powys-Lybbe | Alfa Romeo | 1:57.6 |
| 10 | Denis Scribbans | ERA | 1:57.8 |
| 11 | Ian Connell | ERA | 2:00.4 |
| 12 | Teddy Rayson | Maserati | 2:00.4 |
| 13 | Marquis de Belleroche (Took over from Anthony Hamilton in this session) |
Alfa Romeo | 2:01.0 |
| 14 | Wilkie Wilkinson | Alfa Romeo | 2:01.0 |
| 15 | Kenneth Evans | Alfa Romeo | 2:01.0 |
| 16 | Charlie Dodson | Dixon Spl. | 2:02.8 |
| 17 | Cyril Mervin White | Bugatti | 2:04.0 |
| 18 | Francis Ashby | Alfa Romeo | 2:07.2 |
| 19 | Peter Aitken | Maserati | 2:08.0 |
| 20 | Philip Jucker | Alta | 2:08.2 |
| 21 | Reggie Tongue | ERA | No Time |
| 22 | Robin Hanson | Maserati | No Time |
- Drivers shown in cursive drove in the 1500cc class.
Race report
editAt the start of the race, Aitken stalled his Maserati, so it was pushed away to be started elsewhere. After just one lap, Bira had taken the lead followed by Howe and Walker. However, Walker's engine stopped and, after eight laps, his gearbox broke, so he retired. Likewise did Mays (brake problems) and Dodson (overheated engine).
Bira kept the lead until Howe, who celebrated his fifty-third birthday on this day, overtook him in the nineteenth lap. However, six laps later Howe hit an earth bank on the Vickers bridge and the front of the car hit the palisade. The car then bounced to the other side of the track and ended up on its right side. Howe suffered injuries on the head, arm, shoulder and ribs.
At this point Bira was again first, with Austin Dobson and Rayson behind him, until Dobson's clutch broke in the thirty-first lap. Staniland fell back due to brake problems, as did Arthur Dobson, who had a cup of tea while his mechanics changed the front brake shoes on his ERA. He eventually retired. As for drivers changes, during the fuel stops Jack Duller took over from Ashby, Mays switched seats with Fairfield, as did Fleming with Wilkinson and Hamilton went on in De Belleroche's car.
After eighty laps eleven drivers had retired. Among the last was Evans who had to park his Alta at Hill Bend without brakes and with broken transmission. Bira eventually won the race over two and a half minutes in front of Rayson, who took victory in the voiturette 1500cc class, and Powys-Lybbbe became third.
Race results
edit| Pos. | Driver | Car Constructor | Time (Diff.)/Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prince Bira | Maserati | 3:16:52.6 |
| 2 | Teddy Rayson | Maserati | +2:36.8 |
| 3 | Anthony Powys-Lybbe | Alfa Romeo | +8:01.2 |
| 4 | Denis Scribbans | ERA | +10:14.4 |
| 5 | Charles Brackenbury | Alfa Romeo | +1 lap |
| 6 | Reggie Tongue | ERA | +2 laps |
| 7 | Francis Ashby/Jack Duller | Alfa Romeo | +4 laps (DNF - engine) |
| 8 | Raymond Mays/Patrick Fairfield | ERA | +8 laps |
| 9 | Cyril Mervyn White | Bugatti | +9 laps |
| 10 | Robin Hanson | Maserati | +9 laps |
| 11 | Chris Staniland | Alfa Romeo | +21 laps (DNF - brakes/clutch) |
| 12 | Wilkie Wilkinson/R.C. Fleming | Alfa Romeo | +26 laps (DNF - gearbox) |
| 13 | Kenneth Evans | Alfa Romeo | +30 laps (DNF - transmission) |
| 14 | Ian Connell | ERA | +31 laps |
| 15 | Peter Aitken | Maserati | +52 laps (DNF - fuel feed) |
| 16 | Marquis de Belleroche/Anthony Hamilton | Alfa Romeo | +56 laps (DNF - engine) |
| 17 | Philip Jucker | Alta | +57 laps (DNF - supercharger) |
| 18 | Arthur Dobson | ERA | +68 laps (DNF - brakes) |
| 19 | Austin Dobson | Alfa Romeo | +69 laps (DNF - transmission) |
| 20 | Earl Howe | ERA | +75 laps (DNF - crash) |
| 21 | Charlie Dodson | Dixon-Riley | +89 laps (DNF - clutch) |
| 22 | Peter Walker | ERA | +92 laps (DNF - gearbox) |
- Drivers shown in cursive drove in the 1500cc class.
Sources
edit- The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing - 1937 Campbell Trophy (Archived 2013-07-13)
- Racing Sports Cars - Drivers. The page of each of the aforementioned drivers was consulted. (Archived 2013-07-13)
- The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing - Drivers. The page of each of the aforementioned drivers was consulted. Archived 11 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine