1956 Belgian GP

## Track Facts

* Name – Spa-Franchorchamps
* Location – Belgium
* Corners – 13
* Laps – 36
* Base (Worst) Lap Time – 5:00.000
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 4:09.800 (Juan Manuel Fangio)
* Lap Record (F1R) – 4:12.008 (Onofre Marimon)
* Pit Lane Length – 40 seconds
* Fuel Consumption – High
* Tyre Wear – Very High

## Qualifying

In a session that started cold and dry, and finished cold and wet, it's perhaps no surprise that many drivers elected to stay inside and not make the trip to the challenging Spa-Francorchamps circuit. These included no less than 3 of the BRM, Bugatti and Cooper drivers, along with Volonterio's Vanwall and Behra's Gordini. For the 2nd race in a row the top driver in the championship not to qualify is 10th placed Gonzalez in the Cooper.

But for those who did it was a day that was dominated by Gerard's Maserati - the Englishman loves this circuit so much he has a house in the vicinity and is a double winner here too no less. He takes Pole Position by over a second to underline his dominance, and is surely a firm favourite for the race now (even with the weather conditions likely to play a part).

Behind him come the Emeryson duo of Maglioli and Villoresi, who will be delighted with a 2-3, even if their team-mates were rather more at sea in 20th and 21st respectively as both Godia and Emery struggled to utilise the pace of the Emeryson as effectively as their Italian counterparts.

Ferrari meanwhile must settle for a 4-5 starting place for de Graffenried and Brabham, whilst Menditeguy's return sees him line up in a very impressive 10th place! Von Trips in 13th will be disappointed to be outside the top 10 though. Vanwall are in a similar situation, with Collins (on his 30th race start) and Salvadori 6th and 7th, whilst Brooks struggled to get to grips with the course in 17th place.

The Connaught onslaught wasn't as successful this race as it has been elsewhere, as Fangio can only manage 8th (still a creditable result though), with Landi 11th, Piotti 15th and Bonnier 16th. Meanwhile Maserati are spread far throughout the field, besides Gerard on pole they have Perdisa in a solid 9th, Bayol in 14th and Castellotti way down in 18th position!

The lone Cooper of Fairman lines up 12th, with the lone Bugatti of Flockhart 22nd and the lone BRM of Simon in 23rd position. All around them are the Gordini trio, with Hawthorn 19th (as he becomes the 6th most experienced F1R driver ever here!), Pilette 24th and da Silva Ramos in 25th bringing up the rear of the grid.

## Grid

The drivers are lined up on the grid, ready for an exciting race - after a torrential downpour at the end of qualifying, the rain is yet to abate and is still falling steadily at this point. Gerard wont be daunted though, given that he has a residence here he's used to the unpredictable local weather and will be expected to make the most of his talent and local knowledge to take a 3rd win of the season here.

Who could challenge him? Well, the Emeryson duo of Maglioli and Villoresi looked quick in the dry, but are an unknown quantity in the wet. Gerard's auld adversary de Graffenried may only be starting from 4th place, but he is no slouch around here (indeed he set Fastest Lap in the '52 race!) and will look to make his way up as quickly as possible.

Collins in the Vanwall is another who has looked strong this season, with a podium last time out - but he's down in 6th place behind Jack Brabham - with the Australian looking for his 1st Top 10 finish of the season. Salvadori, Fangio, the feisty Perdisa (who won the non-championship round at Indianapolis of course) and Menditeguy completes the top 10. The latter making his return at one of the toughest tracks of the season in the wet! Good luck to him, and all the other drivers, for the race to come…

## Race Commentary

Gerard red hot favourite to take his 3rd win of the season here – but are the elements conspiring against him? Collins meanwhile is one of his key contenders, and is celebrating his 30th race start today. Grid set in dry conditions predominantly, so likely to be much overtaking at start.

*Lap 1* – Gerard easily ahead from the start – but behind him utter chaos! Hawthorn starts well, but collides with Piotti and both must come into pit, lucky for them this gives them both a chance to put on rain tyres, as they were previously both starting on dries!!!

Meanwhile the Emeryson duo look all at sea, and plummet down the order as they fail to negotiate the opening corners effectively. De Graffenried takes advantage initially, but is overtaken by Collins who is up to 2nd place. Perdisa has a fantastic start to go from 9th to 4th, with Brabham holding on to 5th place.

Salvadori is another who had very little wet running and is struggling and dropping far down the pack – Fangio is now up to 6th as a result, with Maserati really capitalising to put Bayol into 7th and Castellotti into 8th. Menditeguy shows no signs of rustiness, as he moves up to 9th place with von Trips rounding out the top 10.

Bonnier now 11th, Brooks 12th, with Landi dropping to 13th and Fairman down to 14th ahead of the Emerysons, who are sandwiched around the lone Bugatti of Flockart, and Salvadori. Following them are the Gordini duo of Pilette and da Silva Ramos (the latter with dry tyres on!), then come Simon and the other Emeryson duo of Emery and Godia (latter also on dry tyres!). Finally those who were involved in early accident.

*Lap 2* – Brabham right behind Perdisa in battle for 4th place

Bayol overtakes Fangio for 6th place

Von Trips on the trail of Menditeguy in all-Ferrari fight for 9th, with Bonnier and Brooks close behind (latter even tries a move, but to no avail)

Flockhart passes Villoresi for 15th place

Godia right behind Emery in fight for 22nd place

Piotti gaining hand over fist on Godia, with Hawthorn also making up serious ground

*Lap 3* – Brabham right behind Perdisa now in fight for 4th place

Von Trips makes move on Menditeguy for 9th but the Argentine defends with ease

Brooks takes Bonnier for 11th

Piotti passes both Emeryson’s of Emery and Godia with utter ease, Hawthorn follows him through

*Lap 4* – New FL for Gerard of 5:09.8 – now a 20 second lead!

Flockhart hounding Fairman for 14th place

Piotti takes both Simon and the dry-shod da Silva Ramos to re-enter the top 20

*Lap 5* – Perdisa now seems to have measure of Brabham and is pulling away for 4th place

Von Trips at last makes the move on Menditeguy to claim 9th place – Brooks and Bonnier still close behind

Flockhart still behind Fairman

Hawthorn gaining hand-over-fist on Simon, and is now less than 1/10 of a second behind!

*Lap 6* – Menditeguy dropped by von Trips, and now has Brooks gaining on him

Flockhart has a look at Fairman, but has no luck in getting past

Piotti gaining on home favourite Pilette, but is still about 20 seconds down

Hawthorn passes both Simon and dry-shod team-mate da Silva Ramos

*Lap 7* – New FL for Gerard as rain seems to be dying down

Flockhart right behind Fairman after another unsuccessful move – but stays close this time

Piotti still hauling Pilette in at a rate of 8 seconds per lap!

*Lap 8* – First sub 3:00 lap for Gerard, with rain definitely ceasing

Another effort for Flockhart, another door shut by Fairman

Piotti halves the remaining deficit to Pilette

(Emery and Godia both lapped by rampant Gerard)

*Lap 9* – Another FL for Gerard (4:53) with hardly any rain now, and track drying up

Bayol gaining on Brabham for final points position

Piotti passes Pilette for 19th place

Hawthorn pits for the 2nd time, and decides to stay on wets despite drying track, comes out in 23rd place behind da Silva Ramos and Simon

*Lap 10* – Gerard pits, comes in and puts on wet tyres! Despite the dry track!!!

He comes out in the lead, by a mere 0.2 seconds ahead of Collins – but how will his wet tyres stand up to this?

Bayol has a go at Brabham for 5th place, but to no avail

Flockhart still right on Fairman for 13th!

Bonnier pits, comes out in 16th place

Piotti passes Salvadori for 18th place at a canter

Da Silva Ramos at last pits, and puts on dry tyres, comes out in 23rd place, now a lap down but does not refuel

Hawthorn gaining on Simon again by a huge amount (15 seconds per lap)

*Lap 11* – Gerard comes back in to put on dry tyres, at the same time as everyone behind him also comes in. Only ones staying out are Castellotti, von Trips, Brooks, Salvadori and Godia (other than those already pitted)

Castellotti now leads the race from von Trips incredibly!

Collins passes Gerard in the pits, with the Vanwall into 3rd place as a result (but doesn’t refuel)

Brooks up to 5th as not pitted, with de Graffenried out in 6th, Brabham out in 7th ahead of Perdisa thanks to Ferrari mechanics.

Bayol slowed up significantly thanks to queue behind Perdisa – and lucky to get out ahead of Fangio (who doesn’t refuel) in 9th and 10th respectively!

Menditeguy out in 11th, Bonnier up to 12th, Landi out in 13th, Salvadori up to 14th but still on wet tyres

Fairman out in 15th, Villoresi 16th, Flockart out in 17th (but not refuelled)

Maglioli out in 18th, Piotti out in 19th, Pilette out in 20th, da Silva Ramos up to 21st, Simon out in 22nd, Hawthorn out in 23rd but a lap down

*Lap 12* – Von Trips gaining on Castellotti in battle for the lead, but both passed by rampant Gerard who sets easy FL of the race with a 4:51 now he’s on the right tyres

Collins comes in to refuel, drops to 9th place behind Bayol

Brooks on wet tyres is passed by de Graffenried who is now up to 4th place

Fangio comes in to refuel, drops to 13th position behind 2 other Connaughts

Villoresi now able to use his dry pace and is gaining hand over fist on Fairman, Maglioli also moving up in 17th place

Flockhart comes in to refuel, drops to 19th place

Da Silva Ramos pits to refuel, drops to 24th position and a lap down

(Godia now ahead of Emery as hasn’t pitted and has dry tyres on!)

*Lap 13* – Von Trips pits to move over to dry tyres and re-fuel, possibly best course of action as Castellotti, who stays out drops down to 3rd behind de Graffenried. Ferrari out in 8th ahead of Menditeguy still

Brooks also pits and comes out in 12th place

Collins passes Bayol for 6th place

Salvadori finally comes in to put on dry tyres, drops down to 17th place

Villoresi right behind Fairman for 14th

Piotti pits for scheduled stop, drops to 19th behind Flockhart

Pilette makes a mistake at Eau Rouge and pits to fix damage – comes out in 20th still

(Hawthorn gaining on Simon now dry track ahead!)

(Emery gaining on Godia thanks to fresh tyres and better cornering approach all round)

*Lap 14* – New FL for Gerard of 4:50.2

Castellotti continues to drop down behind Brabham (now 3rd) and Perdisa (4th) to 5th place

Fangio gaining heavily on Brooks for 12th place (3 seconds per lap)

Villoresi passes Fairman for 14th place

Comfortable pass for Piotti on Flockhart for 18th place

(Simon pits for scheduled stop, drops to 23rd place)

(Emery pits for scheduled stop from last place)

*Lap 15* – De Graffenried comes in for scheduled stop, drops to 7th place

Castellotti has Collins right behind him now, in fight for 4th place

Villoresi now gaining on Fangio for 13th place

Maglioli catching Fairman for 15th place

Salvadori makes scheduled stop, drops to 18th behind Piotti

(Hawthorn gaining heavily on Pilette, as home favourite struggles and is lapped)

(Simon right behind Godia and moving more quickly)

(Emery gaining heavily on da Silva Ramos too)

*Lap 16* – Perdisa makes scheduled stop, drops to 11th place

Collins passes wet-shod Castellotti for what is now 3rd place, Bayol now up to 4th and de Graffenried 5th now

Menditeguy gaining on von Trips also for 7th place

Villoresi almost up to Fangio now in fight for 13th place

(Hawthorn minor incident at Eau Rouge, issue with car, but still catching Pilette!)

(Simon passes Godia for 22nd place)

(Emery really catching da Silva Ramos, should pass him easily next lap)

*Lap 17* – Brabham pits from 2nd place, drops to 5th place

Von Trips latest to pass Castellotti, with Menditeguy following him through and almost on the back of his team-mate in fight for 6th

Perdisa passes Landi for 10th on fresh tyres

Villoresi passes Fangio for 13th place

(Emery passes da Silva Ramos with ease for 24th place, and is now gaining heavily on Godia for 23rd)

*Lap 18* – De Graffenried catching Bayol for 3rd place, Brabham also catching the pair of them too!

Menditeguy re-passes von Trips for 6th place

Bonnier passes Castellotti (still on wets – mechanics shaking heads!) for 8th place

Perdisa catching Bonnier for now 8th, but Castellotti in between them still providing respite for the Connaught

Villoresi pits, as does Fairman – moves Fangio up to 13th, Maglioli up to 14th, Villoresi out in 15th, Fairman out in 16th

*Lap 19* – Over 1 minute lead for Gerard, who has rather relaxed up front

De Graffenried right behind Bayol now

Castellotti finally pits to change to dry tyres, drops to 13th place

Perdisa now right behind Bonnier 8th place

Fangio catching Brooks for 11th place

Maglioli pits, comes out in 16th right on the back of Fairman!

(Pilette and Hawthorn pit – latter to fix his damage)

(Emery passes Godia for 23rd and Simon for 22nd in 1 lap!)

*Lap 20* – Bayol pits from 3rd, out in 11th place after slow stop for Maserati

De Graffenried now 3rd, Brabham 4th and Menditeguy in 5th place as Ferrari have all 4 cars in the top 6 places!

Perdisa passes Bonnier for 7th place

Villoresi catching Castellotti heavily for 13th place

Maglioli passes Fairman for 15th place

(Hawthorn now right behind Pilette in fight for crucial top 20 place)

*Lap 21* – Menditeguy points position short-lived, he pits from 5th comes out in 12th place – still 3 Ferraris in the points though!

Fangio catching Bayol for 10th place

(Flockhart lapped by Gerard)

(Hawthorn passes Pilette for 20th place – crowd subdued)

(Godia pits, comes out in 24th still – just ahead of Hawthorn)

*Lap 22* – Bonnier pits from 7th, comes out in 14th place

Bayol now catching Brooks, with Fangio in hot pursuit! Fighting over 8th now.

Villoresi passes Castellotti for 12th place

(Emery has a go at Pilette, but Gordini driver uses local knowledge to block the Emeryson – who will have to try again)

*Lap 23* – De Graffenried hauling in Collins for 2nd place

Brooks – Bayol – Fangio fighting over 8th all line-astern

Villoresi catching Menditeguy for 11th place

Maglioli catching Bonnier for 14th place

(Emery passes Pilette for 21st place)

*Lap 24* – Gerard pits, comes out still in the lead, starting to struggle for pace though and getting tired

Landi pits from 7th, comes out in 11th place

Bayol passes Brooks for what is now 7th place

Fangio and Menditeguy both pit (the latter for 2nd time in 4 laps – what on earth?!?), come out in 13th and 15th respectively with fast-moving Maglioli in between

Villoresi now up to 9th and catching those in front as he’s the fastest man on track by a long way!

*Lap 25* – De Graffenried pits from 3rd, comes out in 6th place

Perdisa gaining on von Trips for what is now 5th place

Fangio catching Bonnier in fellow Connaught for 12th place

Maglioli has a go at Fangio, though fails to make it past him

Piotti pits, comes out in 18th place behind Salvadori

(Flockhart pits, stays 19th – looks good for Top 20 place)

*Lap 26* – Brabham now catching Collins for 2nd place, but has 12 second gap to make up

Perdisa pits from 5th, comes out in 9th place

Maglioli passes Fangio for 13th place, now behind Bonnier

((Da Silva Ramos pits from last place – race to forget for the Gordini))

*Lap 27* – Collins and Brabham both pit, drop to 3rd and 5th respectively

Von Trips now into 2nd place, de Graffenried 4th

Brooks pits from 7th, out in 13th place

Maglioli passes Bonnier for 11th place

(Emery pits from 21st – stays 21st)

(Simon pits from 23rd, out in 23rd)

*Lap 28* – Collins gains on von Trips for 2nd place

Brabham still catching de Graffenried, who is in 4th place at the moment

Bayol and Villoresi both pit, come out in 10th and 14th respectively

Maglioli passes Landi for what is now 8th place

Fangio catching Brooks at rate of 2 seconds per lap

*Lap 29* – Von Trips pits from 2nd, comes out in 6th place on wet tyres!

Landi up to 7th, Bayol up to 8th, Bonnier up to 9th, Brooks up to 10th

Castellotti and Maglioli both pit, come out in 16th and 15th respectively (the former on wet tyres!)

Fangio has a go at Brooks for 10th but to no avail

Salvadori pits for wet tyres, comes out in 18th place behind Piotti

(Hawthorn pulls over to side of the track, clearly out of fuel)

*Lap 30* – Von Trips losing time to Landi behind him

Fangio passes Brooks, but Villoresi overtakes both to move into 10th position!

*Lap 31* – Dark clouds overhead at this point

Landi passes von Trips for 6th place, with Bayol also up to 7th, and Villoresi putting pressure on them all too!

Fangio passes Bonnier for 10th place

*Lap 32* – The heavens open, and everyone is into the pits! With the exception of von Trips already on wet tyres, Bonnier, Brooks, Castellotti (already on wets), Salvadori (already on wets), Godia and da Silva Ramos

Gerard out in the lead, Collins 2nd, de Graffenried 3rd

Brabham queued behind de Graffenried but does come out in 4th place ahead of von Trips

Bonnier up to 6th, Brooks up to 7th, Perdisa, Bayol, Castellotti in 8th through 10th for Maserati after some slow stops for the former pair

Landi out in 11th, Fangio 12th, Villoresi 13th, Menditeguy 14th, Fairman 15th, Maglioli 16th, Salvadori up to 17th

*Lap 33* – Brabham gaining on de Graffenried again with new vigour for place on podium

Bonnier and Brooks on dry tyres in 6th and 7th look like sitting ducks right now as the rain pours down

Fangio gains on Landi for 11th place

Menditeguy right behind Villoresi for 13th place

(Piotti out in 18th a lap down, Flockhart out in 19th)

*Lap 34* – Gerard looks to have this sown up!

Bonnier finally pits, comes out in 14th place

Brooks stays out on dry tyres, stays 7th after Perdisa moves up to 6th place

Fangio right behind Landi now for final top 10 place

Menditeguy passes Villoresi for 13th place

((Emery out in 20th, Pilette out in 21st, Godia up to 22nd, Simon out in 23rd))

*Lap 35* – Brabham catching de Graffenried, but running out of time

Brooks finally pits for wet tyres, drops from 7th to 14th place

Fangio passes Landi for 9th place

Bonnier catching Villoresi for 12th place

((Pilette gaining on Emery hand over fist for 20th place! Will there be enough time?))

((Simon gaining on Godia for 22nd place))

*Lap 36* – Bonnier passes Villoresi for 12th place on final lap!

((Godia crashes out at La Source))

*+1* – ((Pilette passes Emery for 20th place, to roars from home crowd))

## Race Setups

**How close setups were to perfect**

* 0.1632276 Bob Gerard
* 0.504168 Elie Bayol
* 1.429584 Cesare Perdisa
* 1.792432 Eugenio Castellotti
* 2.6319152 Tony Brooks
* 3.0404828 Joakim Bonnier
* 4.1191872 JM Fangio
* 4.202496 Peter Collins
* 4.220344 Carlos Menditeguy
* 4.4631658 Luigi Piotti
* 5.954036 Toulo De Graffenried
* 5.9583 Jack Brabham
* 6.3233802 Wolfgang von Trips
* 6.3679376 Jack Fairman
* 11.270528 Luigi Villoresi
* 12.910528 Umberto Maglioli
* 15.4637248 Mike Hawthorn
* 17.08281 Ron Flockhart
* 17.17189 Chico landi
* 22.939424 Roy Salvadori
* 26.7680384 Andre Pilette
* 27.641832 Hermano da Silva Ramos
* 27.6831072 Paul Emery
* 32.7769536 Paco Godia
* 44.7349568 André Simon

## Milestones

* 20th race entry for Louis Rosier
* Taruffi up to 8th on the all-time list (moving ahead of Claes and Pietsch)
* 30th race start for Peter Collins
* Hawthorn up to 6th on all-time starts list ahead of Pietsch
* Because Gonzalez does not start, then Salvadori replaces him in top 10 of all-time starts
* Gonzalez passes Claes for 4th on that same list
* Because Brabham scores points, Musso takes his place in top 10 drivers without points
* Schell, Manzon and Pilette overtake Parnell in most races without points for 4th, 5th and 6th respectively
* Collins moves into 7th (because Moss fails to score), and moves past Herrmann also in the Most Points Ever
* Points finish for Collins moves him into 8th on all-time list (as Bayol fails to score)
* Collins becomes the driver with the most points without a win (as Moss fails to score)
* Gerard and Collins achieve 3rd race scoring points in a row this season
* Win for Gerard makes it 3rd time he has won 3 races in a row
* Gerard won twice in Belgium before (’51 and ’53), Pietsch, Rol, Herrmann and Wharton (all retired) won in ’50, ’52, ’54 and ‘55, respectively.
* Fastest lap for Gerard makes him 1st person to ever take 10 FLs
* FL for Gerard makes it 3 in a row, only he and Wharton have done that before
* FL at Belgium in ’50 was Gerard and ’52 was de Graffenried, also ’51 was James, ’53 was Mantovani, ’54 was Marimon, ’55 was Wharton (all now retired)
* Only Wharton has ever managed 3 poles in a row – Gerard equals this
* Pole at Belgium in ’51 was Gerard and ’52 was Bayol, also ’50 was Pietsch, ’53 was Mantovani (retired), ’54 was Marimon (retired), ’55 was Wharton (retired)
* Podium for Gerard makes it 3 in a row
* Podium for Collins would be the 2nd time he’s managed consecutive podiums (1st in ’55)