1956 French GP

## Track Facts

* Name – Reims
* Location – France
* Corners – 7
* Laps – 61
* Base (Worst) Lap Time – 4:00.000
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 2:20.400 (Juan Manuel Fangio)
* Lap Record (F1R) – 2:12.411 (Onofre Marimon)
* Pit Lane Length – 45 seconds
* Fuel Consumption – Low
* Tyre Wear – Medium

## Qualifying

After an intense qualifying session Gerard is pipped to the post, as Toulo de Graffenried claims his 1st ever pole position! In his illustrious career the Swiss has never before topped a qualifying session, which is a milestone he achieves today!!!

Gerard does start 2nd though, and will be a potent threat for the race - as will the Vanwall duo of Salvadori and Collins; though particularly the latter who didn't use all his laps, and thus we haven't really seen his true pace as yet…

Fangio in the Connaught is in a creditable 5th place, and well positioned for points after the run-out he had in the F2 race the weekend before. Bayol and the Emeryson duo occupy places 6th through 8th, with Bonnier putting his Connaught inside the top 10 and looking very racy whilst doing it! Rounding out that top 10 is von Trips, who keeps out the Maserati of Perdisa and his team-mate Brabham.

Fairman puts in a good performance for Cooper to be 13th, and at last he is not the only Cooper to qualify for a race, as Taruffi joins the party - though his lack of race running means he can only manage 25th and back of the grid. In front of him are the Gordini duo of da Silva Ramos and Hawthorn sandwiching the lone BRM of Simon.

Also running alone is Flockhart's Bugatti in 20th place, who is himself sandwiched between the slower Emeryson pair of Emery and Godia. The former will be looking to make up for his qualifying blunder with a strong race.

Finally we have an interesting group of 5 drivers, all of whom have shown potential this season - and could get involved in the top 10 shake-up during the race. These are the Connaughts of Piotti (14th) and Landi (15th), the Ferrari of Menditeguy (16th), the Vanwall of Brooks (17th) and the Maserati of Castellotti (18th).

## Grid

What a way to celebrate your 40th race! Toulo de Graffenried takes his 1st ever pole position in his otherwise illustrious career, as he catches current championship leader Bob Gerard napping at the end of a qualifying session, where all along it looked like Collins in the Vanwall would be his biggest threat!

However Collins doesn't run all of his laps, and doesn't even start top Vanwall as Salvadori puts in a strong performance to qualify 3rd. Fangio in the Connaught in 5th is a brilliant effort too.

The Emeryson duo of Villoresi and Maglioli will have Bayol in the Maserati to contend with ahead of them, whilst Bonnier and von Trips round out the top 10 after solid attempts by both those drivers to qualify effectively. Taruffi returns this race, but is right at the back of the grid and appears to be having issues with his car whilst they wait on the grid for starters orders…

## Race Commentary

In a thrilling qualifying session – de Graffenried in his 40th race takes 1st ever pole position. Gerard has challenges on all sides, including Collins, Salvadori, Fangio, possibly even Bayol and the Emerysons too!

*Lap 1* – De Graffenried gets away at the start, Collins also gets away brilliantly – passes both Gerard and Salvadori who are now 3rd/4th with Fangio keeping hold of 5th

Landi up to 6th after AMAZING start where he gains 9 positions off the line, Bayol 7th, Villoresi 8th, Menditeguy slots in behind Landi at the start and benefits by moving up to 9th with Bonnier still inside the top 10.

Von Trips down to 11th, Maglioli gets wheel spin and drops to 12th, Perdisa down to 13th, Brabham down to 14th, Piotti down to 15th and Fairman down to 16th

Castellotti passes Brooks, Hawthorn moves inside top 20 as chaos near the back in the 1st corner – Flockhart is crashed into by Godia, who collects Taruffi as he tries to come back onto the circuit. Da Silva Ramos up to 21st/22nd as a result.

*Lap 2* – Landi passes team-mate Fangio for 5th

Menditeguy getting to grips with the Ferrari, passes Villoresi for 8th and Bayol for 7th in space of 1 lap!

Perdisa has a look at Maglioli for 12th

Castellotti gaining on Fairman for 16th

Gerard fastest lap 2:44.0

*Lap 3* – Collins passes de Graffenried for the lead and sets a fastest lap in the process!

Perdisa blocked by Maglioli for 12th again

Collins fastest lap 2:43.7

*Lap 4* – Gerard gaining on de Graffenried for 2nd

Bonnier takes Villoresi for 9th after small mistake from the Emeryson

Perdisa at last passes Maglioli for 12th – poor lap for Emeryson!

Collins fastest lap 2:43.6

*Lap 5* – Only 1 second between top 3!

Maglioli recovers from mistake, gets Perdisa straight back for 12th!

Castellotti catching Fairman for 16th place

*Lap 6* – De Graffenried edges closer to Collins

Landi catching Salvadori for 4th

Castellotti tries to pass Fairman for 16th, but the Cooper JUST holds onto the place!

*Lap 7* – Landi just a couple of tenths down on Salvadori now in fight for 4th

Collins fastest lap 2:43.2

*Lap 8* – De Graffenried exchanging blows with Collins, and the Ferrari is faster this time. Gerard struggling to keep with this pair!

Castelotti right behind Fairman still – can’t get close enough though.

*Lap 9* – Perdisa gaining on Maglioli again in fight for 12th

Landi now just 0.1 seconds down on Salvadori in 4th place fight

*Lap 10* – Landi gains on Salvadori again, RIGHT behind him now.

Perdisa re-passes Maglioli for 12th place

Another Collins 2:43.2! Almost matched by de Graffenried though.

*Lap 11* – Gerard gains on de Graffenried, only 1.5 seconds down now

Landi almost level with Salvadori down the straight!

Maglioli passes Perdisa again, as this battle continues to rage!!!

Castellotti now just 0.3 down on Fairman in 16th place fight

Andre Simon 1st man to be lapped here – BRM way off the pace without star drivers to develop the car

*Lap 12* – Collins strides away from de Graffenried – about 1 second quicker! Gerard takes gap to de Graffenried by .5 of a second to 1 second total!

Landi has a go at Salvadori, but the door is slammed shut.

Collins FL 2:42.8 – still only 3 seconds separate top 3

*Lap 13* – Gerard has gap to de Graffenried down to under 1 second

Landi makes a move on Salvadori for 4th, and makes the pass stick this time!

Perdisa re-takes Maglioli for 12th, battle not over yet! Lucky for them Brabham in 14th not quick enough to capitalise at this stage

Castellotti JUST squeezes past Fairman for 16th place

FL for Collins 2:42.7

*Lap 14* – Maglioli re-passes Perdisa – ding-dong battle!

Da Silva Ramos now been lapped for Gordini

*Lap 15* – Salvadori hounding Landi for his 4th place back

Another 2:42.7 for Collins and another FL, now 4.3 ahead of de Graffenried in 2nd, who’s more worried about Gerard behind him!

*Lap 16* – Salvadori passes Landi to reclaim 4th

Maglioli finally has some distance between him and Perdisa of nearly 1 second!

Fairman pursuing Castellotti

*Lap 17* – Fairman re-takes 16th from Castellotti

*Lap 18* – Bonnier pits from 9th, emerges in 19th place – LONG pit-lane here! But was a solid stop.

Villoresi now 9th and von Trips inside the top 10 and under pressure from next Emeryson of Maglioli

New Collins FL 2:42.5

*Lap 19* – Menditeguy has some good pace at this stage of the race as he gains on Fangio for 6th

Maglioli catching von Trips for 10th place

Piotti comes in for his 1st scheduled stop, comes out in 19th place 3 seconds ahead of Hawthorn

Castellotti has a go at Fairman, but the Cooper shuts the door

Bonnier makes light work of Emery, as he passes him for what is now 17th place

New Collins FL 2:42.3 – now leads by 6 seconds

*Lap 20* – A few drivers into the pits here; Salvadori from 4th, Fangio from 6th, von Trips from 10th and Fairman from 14th

Landi now 4th, Menditeguy 5th, Bayol 6th, Villoresi 7th, Maglioli 8th, Perdisa 9th, Brabham 10th, Castellotti 11th, Salvadori out in 12th, Brooks 13th, Fangio out in 14th after a good stop from Connaught, Bonnier 15th, Emery 16th, von Trips out in 17th, Piotti 18th, Fairman out in 19th just 1 second ahead of Hawthorn in 20th

*Lap 21* – Loads of action in the pits, with de Graffenried from 2nd, Landi from 4th, Menditeguy from 5th, Bayol from 6th, Brooks from 13th, and back-marker trio of Hawthorn, da Silva Ramos and Simon

Maglioli catching team-mate Villoresi for 7th place, with Perdisa also gaining on them both

Salvadori catching Castellotti, who is still yet to pit, for what is now 9th

Von Trips catching Emery, who is still yet to pit, for what is now 14th

Fairman catching Piotti for 18th place

Villoresi up to 3rd, Maglioli 4th, de Graffenried out in 5th place, Perdisa 6th, Brabham 7th, Landi brilliant stop to emerge in 8th place (crucially ahead of Salvadori!), Castellotti right behind in 9th but yet to pit. Salvadori 10th, Fangio 11th, Menditeguy out in 12th, Bonnier 13th, Emery 14th but yet to pit, von Trips 15th, an AWFUL stop for Bayol drops him to 16th place, Piotti 17th, Fairman 18th, Brooks out in 19th

Hawthorn now been lapped in 20th place

*Lap 22* – Villoresi pits from 3rd, as does Brabham from 7th

De Graffenried catching Maglioli for what is now 3rd place

Fangio gaining on Salvadori for what is now 8th place

Von Trips still catching Emery, but is yet to pass as they continue to fight for what is now 12th place, Bayol catching them both!

Villoresi out in 16th place, Brabham out in 15th place after good stop from Ferrari, but SLOW stop from Emeryson

Fairman still gaining on Piotti for what is now 17th place

New Collins FL 2:42.1 – 10 second lead for the Vanwall now over nearest challenger Gerard, but neither have pitted

*Lap 23* – Leader pits – Collins in! Castellotti also pits from 7th place

De Graffenried passes Maglioli for 3rd place

Landi catching Perdisa who is yet to pit

Von Trips passes Emery for what is now 11th place, Bayol right behind both of them and follows the Ferrari through to 12th place!

Villoresi catching Brabham for what is now 14th place

Fairman still catching Piotti (now just 3 seconds behind at rate of .5 seconds per lap)

Gerard now leads, with Collins out in 2nd place about 8 seconds ahead of de Graffenried

Castellotti out in 19th after ANOTHER very slow stop for Maserati – does NOT bode well for Gerard up front, who wisely stays out!

*Lap 24* – Maglioli (4th), Perdisa (5th) and Emery (13th) come in – only one yet to stop now is Gerard!

Bayol catching von Trips for 11th place

Piotti seems to have finally got his tyres up to temperature and pulls away from Fairman this lap

Castellotti right behind Brooks in fight for what is now 17th place

Landi now 4th, Salvadori 5th, Fangio 6th, Menditeguy 7th, Bonnier 8th, von Trips 9th, Bayol 10th, Brabham 11th, Villoresi 12th, Maglioli out in 13th, Perdisa out in 14th, Piotti 15th, Fairman 16th, Brooks 17th, Castellotti 18th, Emery out in 19th place but a lap down

*Lap 25* – Gerard pits from the lead (Emery un-laps himself!)

Bayol now just 1/10 of a second behind von Trips for 9th!

Awful stop for Gerard, as Maserati are just not at the races today – Collins leads from de Graffenried by 9.6 seconds, Gerard out in 3rd at least, but is now 23 seconds behind race leader, and only 4 seconds ahead of Landi in 4th!

*Lap 26* – Bayol passes von Trips for 9th place

Perdisa catching Maglioli for 13th place

Castellotti right on the back of Brooks now for 17th!

*Lap 27* – Bayol now catching Bonnier for 8th but 6 seconds to make up there

Villoresi catching Brabham for 11th place, 3.5 seconds down, Maglioli and Perdisa gaining on both of them

Castellotti tries to pass Brooks for 17th place, but the door is slammed shut

*Lap 28* – Salvadori gaining on Landi for 4th place – only 1.2 seconds down now!

Bayol still catching Bonnier at a rate of .5 seconds per lap

Villoresi takes nearly a second out of Brabham in fight for 11th place, Maglioli and Perdisa both struggling to keep with the pace now

Castellotti passes Brooks for 17th position

*Lap 29* – Villoresi now 1.5 seconds behind Brabham

*Lap 30* – Trio at the front starting to struggle for pace, with Landi fastest man on track now but 30 seconds down

Perdisa 1.4 seconds behind Maglioli in fight for 13th place

*Lap 31* – Collins fastest again, but Landi still gaining on Gerard and only 4.3 seconds behind

Menditeguy catching Fangio for 6th, 3.7 seconds down

Von Trips gaining on Bayol slowly for 9th

Perdisa takes a second out of Maglioli as they fight over 13th place – 0.5 seconds between them

*Lap 32* – Landi now just 2.9 seconds behind Gerard, Salvadori not quicker than Landi but is gaining on 3rd placed championship leader

Perdisa passes Maglioli for 13th place

Emery lapped by the leaders

*Lap 33* – Perdisa now catching Villoresi for 12th

*Lap 34* – Landi takes another .8 seconds out of Gerard, just 1.8 seconds behind him now

Menditeguy takes 8/10 out of Fangio, so now 2.8 seconds down

*Lap 35* – Gerard to Landi now 1.1 second gap with Salvadori only 3 seconds further down

Menditeguy to Fangio 2.3 seconds now in fight for 6th place

Von Trips now just 1.8 seconds behind Bayol

Perdisa takes a full second out of VIlloresi, now just 2 seconds behind

*Lap 36* – Up front Collins has a 16 second lead and is getting away

Gerard responds to Landi’s pace, but still loses 0.3 seconds to the Connaught

1.7 seconds Menditeguy to Fangio

1.2 seconds von Trips to Bayol

Perdisa takes 1.4 seconds out of Villoresi, just 0.5 seconds behind him now in fight for 12th

Piotti catching Maglioli for 14th, now 5.5 second behind him

(Da Silva Ramos gets it all wrong at hairpin and damaged his car)

*Lap 37* – Landi passes Gerard for 3rd, championship leader in some difficulties here! Salvadori not that far behind either!

Menditeguy 1.1 behind Fangio

Von Trips 0.9 behind Bayol

Perdisa passes Villoresi for 12th place

Piotti 5.1 behind Maglioli for 14th position

*Lap 38* – Landi now gaining on de Graffenried for 2nd place, 14.4 seconds down on him though

Salvadori 7 tenths quicker than Gerard this time around, 4 seconds gap there now

Fangio has responded to Menditeguy’s pace – 1 second gap there now

Perdisa catching Brabham for 11th place, 3 seconds down now

*Lap 39* – Landi a whole second quicker than de Graffenried last time – he could catch him still!

Bonnier pits from 8th, good stop – out in 15th place JUST ahead of Fairman

Von Trips 0.8 seconds down on Bayol now

Perdisa 2.4 seconds down on Brabham in 11th place fight

*Lap 40* – Salvadori pits from 5th, von Trips pits from 9th, Piotti pits from 14th, Fairman pits from 16th

Another second out of de Graffenried for Landi – 12.4 seconds down now

Menditeguy just 0.7 seconds behind Fangio for what is now 5th place

Perdisa now 1.9 seconds behind Brabham

Fangio up to 5th, Menditeguy 6th, Salvadori out in 7th, Bayol still 8th, Brabham up to 9th, Perdisa 10th, Villoresi 11th, Maglioli 12th, Bonnier up to 13th, von Trips out in 14th, Castellotti up to 15th, Brooks into 16th. Piotti 17th and Fairman 18th are out of the pits and now a lap down.

*Lap 41* – Several drivers pit – Fangio from 5th, Menditeguy from 6th, Bayol from 8th, Brooks from 16th, Emery pits to mend damage from 19th, da Silva Ramos pits from 21st

Landi has gap down to 11.9 seconds to de Graffenried

Salvadori back to 5th, Fangio out in 6th, Menditeguy out in 7th after great stops from Connaught and Ferrari, Brabham up to 8th, Perdisa 9th, Villoresi 10th, Maglioli 11th, Bonnier 12th, von Trips 13th, Castellotti 14th and Bayol after another poor Maserati stop is down to 15th and last man on the lead lap

(Emery crashes and has sustained damage, will need to pit to mend that)

*Lap 42* – Leading trio all pit on the same lap! Collins, de Graffenried and Landi all into the pits.

1.2 seconds between Fangio and Menditeguy now

Perdisa only 0.1 down on Brabham now for 8th place – though neither have pitted yet

Gerard leads now, leading trio all out in same order – though Landi took 2 more seconds out of de Graffenried in the pits and is now 9.6 seconds down!

(Piotti up to 16th, Fairman up to 17th, Brooks out in 18th, Hawthorn up to 19th, Emery out in 20th place)

((((Simon comes up to un-lap himself from the ailing da Silva Ramos, trips over him and has to pit!))))

*Lap 43* – Landi still quicker – 0.5 seconds faster than de Graffenried, gap just 9.1 seconds

Perdisa pits from 9th, out in 15th place – Villoresi and Maglioli up to 9th and 10th now

(Hawthorn pits from 19th, out in 20th behind Emery)

*Lap 44* – Landi 8.2 seconds behind de Graffenried in fight for what will become 2nd place

Brabham and Villoresi both pit from 8th and 9th

Brabham out in 14th place, Villoresi out in 16th place – means Maglioli 8th, Bonnier 9th and von Trips 10th

*Lap 45* – Gerard pits from the lead, Maserati stops have cost them serious points here! He comes out in 5th place behind Salvadori! Luckily has a 9 second lead over Fangio.

Landi takes a second out of de Graffenried in fight for what is now 2nd place again!

Brooks catching Fairman for 17th place, but now a lap down the Vanwall may run out of time if he doesn’t speed up!

*Lap 46* – 6.7 seconds behind de Graffenried now is Landi

Gerard quicker than Salvadori but does he have enough laps to make up an 8 second gap?!?

Bonnier 8 seconds behind Maglioli and going about 0.5 seconds quicker – touch and go as to whether he has enough time left

Castellotti pits from 11th, out in 18th place a lap down

((((Simon pits from last place))))

*Lap 47* – 6 seconds between de Graffenried and Landi!

Menditeguy to Fangio 1.1 seconds

Bonnier 0.5 seconds quicker than Maglioli ahead, who’s still yet to pit

*Lap 48* – 5.4 seconds betweend 2nd and 3rd place – 13 laps to go!

Maglioli pits from 8th, out in 15th behind Villoresi. Bonnier now 8th, von Trips 9th, Bayol 10th

Villoresi catching Piotti for 14th place, only 0.3 seconds behind him now!

((((Simon makes another mistake, and must pit again to fix it))))

*Lap 49* – 4.5 seconds between de Graffenried and Landi

Menditeguy takes 0.7 seconds out of Fangio, and is now just 0.5 seconds behind him! 10 seconds to Gerard in the points likely too much though…

Villoresi right behind Piotti for 13th place

(Emery pits from 19th place, stays in that position by 0.1 seconds ahead of Hawthorn!!!)

*Lap 50* – A full second quicker for Landi here, means a 3.5 seconds gap with 11 laps left!

Villoresi passes Piotti for 13th, despite the Connaught’s best attempts to block him.

*Lap 51* – De Graffenried faster than Landi that time – 3.8 seconds gap

Gerard 0.5 seconds quicker than Salvadori, with 10 laps left now – gap is 6.1 seconds, may be too much…

Piotti tries to re-take the place from Villoresi, but finds himself blocked

*Lap 52* – Landi takes 0.8 seconds out of 2nd place, now a 2.9 second gap!

Menditeguy just 0.3 seconds behind Fangio

Piotti does re-take Villoresi for 13th place, great fighting spirit from the Connaught!

*Lap 53* – Another 8 tenths for Landi, who is just 2.1 seconds down now!

Villoresi has another go at Piotti now! The Connaught blocks him though.

*Lap 54* – Landi takes 1.2 seconds out of de Graffenried – 0.9 seconds down and still gaining!

Menditeguy finally takes Fangio for 6th position.

Perdisa catching Brabham for 11th place at rate of 1 second per lap, but with a 10.6 second gap it could be too much.

Villoresi re-takes Piotti for 13th and begins to pull away as well!

*Lap 55* – De Graffenried and Landi on practically the same pace now!

Collins has a 37 second lead and looks likely to win the race.

Fangio has a go at taking 6th back from Menditeguy – and almost steals the place back!!!

*Lap 56* – Landi now just 0.1 seconds behind Menditeguy with 5 laps remaining!

Villoresi, Piotti and Maglioli all now lapped, along with Fairman too

*Lap 57* – Landi takes de Graffenried for 2nd place! Great persistence from the Connaught!!!

*Lap 58* – Nothing to report, as race has now settled down

*Lap 59* – Nothing to report

*Lap 60* – Nothing to report

*Lap 61* – Collins wins with FL, to put 1st pressure on Gerard – gap should be down to 8 points if Gerard stays in 5th place

Landi in 2nd takes his 2nd podium of the season ahead of de Graffenried 3rd who stays in title hunt

Salvadori in 4th takes his 1st points of the season, with Gerard home in 5th to at least maintain his 100% points scoring record this season, if nothing else

Menditeguy Season’s Best of 6th, Fangio another good race in 7th, Bonnier Career Best of 8th, von Trips 9th and Bayol 10th

Brabham 11th, Perdisa 12th both still on lead lap

*1 LAP DOWN* – Villoresi 13th, Piotti 14th, Maglioli 15th, Fairman 16th, Brooks 17th, Castellotti 18th

*2 LAPS DOWN* – Emery 19th may be 2 laps down but at least he has achieved a career best top 20 position. Hawthorn also takes a top 20 finish in 20th place.

*3 LAPS DOWN* – Nothing to report, standings are Gerard – Collins – de Graffenried – Landi - Villoresi

*4 LAPS DOWN* – Da Silva Ramos finishes in 21st for Gordini, with Simon 22nd when he eventually finishes the race

## Race Setups

**How close setups were to perfect**

* 0.000006440000001 Wolfgang von Trips
* 0.000104 Bob Gerard
* 0.0011416 Eugenio Castellotti
* 0.0020816 Luigi Piotti
* 0.0026512 Jack Fairman
* 0.002923 Joakim Bonnier
* 0.006351 Carlos Menditeguy
* 0.0105708 Cesare Perdisa
* 0.022689 Toulo De Graffenried
* 0.032798 Jack Brabham
* 0.0547018 Tony Brooks
* 0.0862077 Elie Bayol
* 0.108325 Roy Salvadori
* 0.150872 Luigi Villoresi
* 0.150872 Umberto Maglioli
* 0.237071 Chico Landi
* 0.3812544 Peter Collins
* 0.6478048 JM Fangio
* 2.0273066 Paul Emery
* 3.5139464 Mike Hawthorn
* 3.7292384 Hermano da Silva Ramo
* 14.0211024 André Simons

## Milestones

* 40th race entry for Toulo de Graffenried
* 30th race entry for Jose Froilan Gonzalez
* 10th race entry for Brabham, Castellotti, da Silva Ramos, Fairman, Musso, Perdisa and Simon
* 40th race start for Toulo de Graffenried
* 10th race start for Brabham, Castellotti, da Silva Ramos, Fairman, Perdisa and Simon
* Collins' victory moves Trintignant into top 10 drivers without a win
* Taruffi passes Claes for 5th on that same list
* Collins moves into 6th in all-time point scorers (ahead of Salvadori)
* Points finish for Salvadori moves him ahead of Moss into 6th, as Moss doesn’t finish in the points
* Moss become the driver with the most points without a win (as Collins takes his 1st ever victory!)
* Gerard or Collins both achieve 4th race scoring points in a row this season – Collins now inside top 10 for this!
* Win from below 4th makes it into the top 10 for Collins on 'Wins from furthest back on start grid' statistic
* Gerard won twice in France before (’51 and ’53), de Graffenried won in ’50, Farina won in ’52, Salvadori won in ‘54
* FL at France in ’50 and ‘51 was Gerard, ’52 was Taruffi, ’53 was Landi, ’54 was Marimon (retired)
* Pole at France in ’51 and ‘52 was Gerard, ’53 was Maglioli, ’50 was Cabantous (retired), ’54 was Lang (retired)
* Podium for de Graffenried moves him into 4th on all-time list ahead of Farina (as Farina isn’t on the podium)
* Podium for Collins is his 3rd in a row, puts him into Top 10 longest streaks ever