# 1959 RAC Tourist Trophy

The 1959 RAC Tourist Trophy was contested on 5 September at the Goodwood Circuit, England. It was the fifth and final round of the 1959 World Sportscar Championship, and was the 24th RAC Tourist Trophy. The race was the title-decider in a three-way contest between Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche.

## Report
### Entry

A grand total 31 racing cars were registered for this event, of which all 31 arrived for practice and qualifying. The entrant for championship leaders, Scuderia Ferrari, entered four cars for the event. Among their squad include Phil Hill, Tony Brooks and Olivier Gendebien, and they were placed in two cars, spreading the Italian marques options. As for David Brown’s Aston Martins, they had actually ruled against racing in the championship due to the cost, but with a chance of the title, entered three DBR1/300s for Stirling Moss/Roy Salvadori, Carroll Shelby/Jack Fairman and Maurice Trintignant/Paul Frère. The third manufacturer in the title race, Porsche, also brought three cars, led by Jo Bonnier and Wolfgang von Trips.

### Qualifying

The Aston Martin DBR1/300 of Stirling Moss took pole position, averaging a speed of 94.737 mph around the 2.4 mile circuit.

### Race

The race was run in typically Goodwood Indian summer sun, which saw Aston Martin triumph again, retain the Tourist Trophy, when the combination of Shelby/Fairman, joined late in the race by Moss brought their DBR1/300 home in first place, but Bonnier/von Trips were second for Porsche from Gendebien/Hill/Brooks/Cliff Allison.
This does not tell the full story for at Salvadori’s first fuel stop, the car caught fire during refuelling, destroying it along with the pit et al. Graham Whitehead sportingly withdrew his privately entered Aston Martin so that the David Brown’s work cars would have a home, and Moss was transferred to the Shelby/Fairman motor; as a result of this win Aston Martin became the 1959 World Champions.
The winning trio of Sheby/Fairman/Moss won in a time of 6hr 00:46.8 mins., averaging a speed of 89.406 mph. They covered a distance of 537.6 miles. One lap adrift was the Bonnier/van Trips’s Porsche, with the first Ferrari home also one lap behind.

## Official Classification

Class Winners are in Bold text.
| Pos | No | Class | Driver | Driver | Entrant | Chassis | Laps | Reason Out |
| 1st | 2 | S3.0 | Carroll Shelby Stirling Moss | Jack Fairman | David Brown | Aston Martin DBR1/300 | 6hrs 00:46.8, 224 | |
| 2nd | 22 | S2.0 | Wolfgang von Trips | Jo Bonnier | Dr. Porsche | Porsche 718 RSK | 223 | |
| 3rd | 10 | S3.0 | Olivier Gendebien Cliff Allison | Phil Hill Tony Brooks | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 250 TR 59 | 223 | |
| 4th | 3 | S3.0 | Maurice Trintignant | Paul Frère | David Brown | Aston Martin DBR1/300 | 221 | |
| 5th | 9 | S3.0 | Tony Brooks | Dan Gurney | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 250 TR 59 | 220 | |
| 6th | 33 | S1.1 | Peter Ashdown | Alan Ross | Lola Cars | Lola-Climax Mk.1 | 210 | |
| 7th | 7 | S3.0 | Ron Flockhart | John Bekaert | Ecurie Ecosse | Jaguar D-Type | 209 | |
| 8th | 34 | S1.1 | Bob Hicks | Dick Prior | Lola Cars | Lola-Climax Mk.1 | 208 | |
| 9th | 36 | S1.1 | Mike McKee | J. Cedric Brierley | Elva Racing Team | Elva-Climax Mk V | 208 | |
| 10th | 35 | S1.1 | Bernard Cox | Colin Escott | Lola Cars | Lola-Climax Mk.1 | 202 | |
| 11th | 31 | S1.1 | Keith Greene | Tony Marsh | Team Lotus | Lotus-Climax 17 | 199 | |
| 12th | 23 | S2.0 | Edgar Barth | Umberto Maglioli | Dr. Porsche | Porsche 718 RSK | 197 | |
| 13th | 38 | S1.1 | John Brown | Chris Steele | Elva Racing Team | Elva-Climax Mk IV | 171 | |
| 14th | 39 | S1.1 | John Campbell-Jones | John Horridge | John Campbell-Jones | Lotus-Climax Eleven | 154 | |
| DNF | 6 | S3.0 | Jim Clark | Masten Gregory | Ecurie Ecosse | Tojeiro-Jaguar | | Accident |
| DNF | 5 | S3.0 | John Dalton | David Shale | John Dalton | Aston Martin DB3S | | Gearbox |
| DNF | 29 | S2.0 | Graham Hill | Alan Stacey | Team Lotus | Lotus-Climax 15 | | Accident |
| DNF | 24 | S2.0 | Hans Herrmann | Chris Bristow | Dr. Porsche | Porsche 718 RSK | | Accident |
| DNF | 8 | S3.0 | Peter Blond | Jonathan Sieff | Taylor & Crawley | Lister-Jaguar | | Oil leak |
| DNF | 40 | S1.1 | Peter Arundell | Jack Westcott | Cranham Service Station | Lotus-Climax Eleven | | Accident |
| DNF | 4 | S3.0 | Graham Whitehead | Henry Taylor | A.G. Whitehead | Aston Martin DBR1/300 | | Withdrawn |
| DNF | 1 | S3.0 | Stirling Moss | Roy Salvadori | David Brown | Aston Martin DBR1/300 | | Pit fire |
| DNF | 21 | S2.0 | Giorgio Scarlatti | Ludovico Scarfiotti | Scuderia Ferrari | Dino 196 S | | Rear suspension |
| DNF | 27 | S2.0 | Tom Dickson | Jim Mackay | Dickson Motors | Lotus-Climax 15 | | Gearbox |
| DNF | 28 | S2.0 | David Piper | Bruce Halford | Dorchester Service Station | Lotus-Climax 15 | | Accident |
| DNF | 25 | S2.0 | Jack Brabham | Bruce McLaren | John Coombs Racing Organisation | Cooper-Climax Monaco T49 | | Steering arm |
| DNF | 32 | S1.1 | Innes Ireland | Jay Chamberlain | Team Lotus | Lotus-Climax 17 | | Axle |
| DNF | 37 | S1.1 | Chris Threlfall | Tom Threlfall | Elva Racing Team | Elva-Climax Mk V | | Camshaft |
| DNF | 26 | S2.0 | Mike Taylor | Christopher Martyn | Taylor & Crawley | Lotus-Climax 15 | | Head gasket |
| DNF | 11 | S3.0 | Phil Hill | Cliff Allison | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 250 TR 59 | | Rocker |
* Fastest Lap: Stirling Moss, 1:31.2 secs (94.737 mph)

### Class Winners

| Class | Winners | | |
| Sports 3000 | 2 | Aston Martin DBR1/300 | Shelby / Fairman / Moss |
| Sports 2000 | 22 | Porsche 718 RSK | von Trips / Bonnier |
| Sports 1100 | 33 | Lola-Climax Mk.1 | Ashdown / Ross |

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Championship | Points |
| 1 | Aston Martin | 24 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 18 (22) |
| 3 | Porsche | 18 (21) |
| 4 | Maserati | 2 |
| 5= | Alfa Romeo | 1 |
| | Lola | 1 |
Championship points were awarded for the first six places in each race in the order of 8-6-4-3-2-1. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by additional cars. Only the best 3 results out of the 5 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table.