# 1937 Campbell Trophy

51°21′5.5″N 0°28′9.5″W﻿ / ﻿51.351528°N 0.469306°W﻿ / 51.351528; -0.469306
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

| No. | Driver | Entrant | Car | DNA/DNS |
| 1500cc Class |||||
| 1 | Bill Humphreys | B. Humphreys | MG | DNA - rear axle |
| 2 | Prince Bira | "B Bira" | Delage | DNA - car not ready |
| 3 | Arthur Dobson | A.C. Dobson | ERA B-Type | |
| 4 | Ian Connell | I. Connell | ERA B-Type | |
| 5 | Reggie Tongue | R. Tongue | ERA B-Type | |
| 6 | Denis Scribbans | D. Scribbans | ERA B-Type | |
| 7 | Peter Walker | P. Whitehead | ERA B-Type | |
| 7 | Peter Whitehead | P. Whitehead | ERA B-Type | DNS - Walker started in his car |
| 8 | Earl Howe | Earl Howe | ERA B-Type | |
| 9 | Raymond Mays | H.W. Cook | ERA B-Type | |
| 10 | Patrick Fairfield | H.W. Cook | ERA | DNS - brake problems |
| 11 | Andrew Leitch | Hon P. Aitken | Maserati | DNA |
| 12 | Peter Aitken | Hon P. Aitken | Maserati 6CM | |
| 14 | Robin Hanson | Mrs. M.E. Hall-Smith | Maserati 6CM | |
| 15 | Teddy Rayson | E. Rayson | Maserati 4CM | |
| 16 | Mrs Gwenda Hawkes | Mrs G. Hawkes | Derby | DNA |
| 17 | "Jack" Bartlett | J. Bartlett | Alta | DNA |
| 18 | Philip Jucker | P. Jucker | Alta | |
| 18 | Alan Sinclair | P. Jucker | Alta | DNS - Jucker started in his car |
| Class over 1500cc (Voiturette class) |||||
| 19 | Charlie Dodson | F.W. Dixon | Dixon-Riley Special | |
| 20 | Cyril Mervyn White | C. Mervyn White | Bugatti T51 | |
| 21 | Anthony Powys-Lybbe | A. Powys-Lybbe | Alfa Romeo Monza | |
| 22 | Anthony Hamilton | A. Hamilton | Alfa Romeo Monza | |
| 23 | Wilkie Wilkinson | R.C. Fleming | Alfa Romeo Monza | |
| 24 | Christopher Staniland | C. Staniland | Alfa Romeo Tipo B | |
| 25 | Charles Brackenbury | C.E.C. Martin | Alfa Romeo Tipo B | |
| 26 | Kenneth Evans | K. Evans | Alfa Romeo Tipo B | |
| 26 | "Bill" Everitt | K. Evans | Alfa Romeo Tipo B | DNS - Evans started in his car |
| 27 | Prince Bira | Prince Chula of Siam | Maserati 8CM | |
| 28 | Francis Ashby | A.F. Ashby | Alfa Romeo Tipo B | |
| 29 | Austin Dobson | Hon P. Aitken | Alfa Romeo Bimotore | |
| 29 | Austin Dobson | Hon P. Aitken | Maserati | DNS - He started in another car |

## Qualifying results

| 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

At 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

| 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

* 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