DataGrange Motorsport

Luigi Musso's Ferrari Dino ends up destroyed and laying limp in a wheatfield after a disastrous encounter at Muizone.

1958 RACE 6
Reims-Gueux, France

6 July, Forty-Fourth Grand Prix de l’Automobil Club de France

P1 Grid: M. Hawthorn, GBR, Scuderia Ferrari Dino 246 2.4 liter DOHC twin bank six. Englebert (second, career).

Hawthorn wins the start and leads wire-to-wire for the victory.

Briton Mike Hawthorn and his now formula dominant Ferrari Dino 246 easily drives away to victory at Reims, yet the meeting again brings tragedy to Grand Prix racing when Italian driving sensation Luigi Musso, the defending race champion and chasing Hawthorn from P2, breaks loose at Muizone on Lap 10. Musso’s Ferrari veers out of control and turns over before somersaulting several times into an adjacent field. The beloved Italian driving champion expires a mere hour later from massive injuries.

1. Hawthorn, Scuderia Ferrari (third, career).
2. S. Moss, GBR, Vanwall, -24.6 sec.
3. W. von Trips, WGER, Scuderia Ferrari.

Constructor Victor: Scuderia Ferrari (twenty-sixth).
Engine Victor: Ferrari (twenty-sixth).

Championship
Hawthorn-GBR 23, Moss-GBR 23, Musso-ITA 12 (d).

Scuderia Ferrari 45, Vandervell Products Ltd 27, Epperly 20.

Adytum on High

The New Mercedes Entries Turn Formula 1 Upon Its Head at Reims in 1954.

1954 RACE 4
Reims, France

4 July, Forty-First Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France
Reims-Gueux

P1 Grid: J.M. Fangio, ARG, Mercedes 196W 2.5 liter fuel injection inline eight. Continental (12th, career).

K. Kling (Mercedes) wins the start.
Fangio (Mercedes) assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 3.
Kling assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 29.
Fangio assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 34.
Kling assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 38.
Fangio assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 39.
Kling assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 54.
Fangio assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 58.
Kling assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 60.
Fangio assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 61 (final lap) and drives on to victory.

Reims marks the racing debut of Daimler-Mercedes’ now legendary 196W Silver Arrows in Type Monza (aluminum body) trim under the trusting hands of Juan Manuel Fangio, a defector from Maserati, and a set of German drivers. The Mercedes easily prove out as the class of the field as Fangio and teammate Karl Kling dominate the contest in a glorious side by side duel on the venerable French circuit. After a breathtaking yet still mechanical exchange of P1 between the two drivers across the afternoon, Daimler orders Kling on the final lap to cede the battle to Fangio for the victory.

1. Fangio, ARG, Mercedes 196W 2.5 liter fuel injection inline eight. Continental (10th, career).
2. Kling, GER, Mercedes, -0.1 sec (parade result).
3. R. Manzon, FRA, Ecurie Rosier-Ferrari.

Constructor Victor: Daimler Benz-Mercedes (maiden).
Engine Victor: Mercedes (maiden).

Championship
J.M. Fangio-ARG 25, M. Trintignant-FRA 9, W. Vukovich-USA 8.

Scuderia Ferrari 20, Officine Alfieri Maserati 19, Kurtis Kraft 18.

Briton Mike Hawthorn (Ferrari) and Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio (Maserati, 18, right) In Fierce Hand-to-Hand Combat at Reims in 1953.

1953 RACE 5
Reims, France

5 July, Fortieth Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France
Reims-Gueux

P1 Grid: A. Ascari, ITA, Ferrari Tipo 500 2.0 liter inline four. Pirelli (10th, career).

J.F. Gonzalez (Maserati) wins the start.
J.M. Fangio (Maserati) assumes the lead at Lap 30 with a pass.
M. Hawthorn (Ferrari) assumes the lead at Lap 32 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead at Lap 35 with a pass.
Hawthorn assumes the lead at Lap 38 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead at Lap 39 with a pass.
Hawthorn assumes the lead at Lap 42 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead at Lap 45 with a pass.
Hawthorn assumes the lead at Lap 48 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead at Lap 49 with a pass.
Hawthorn assumes the lead at Lap 54 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead at Lap 55 with a pass.
Hawthorn assumes the lead at Lap 57 with a pass and drives on to victory.

In a remarkable wheel-to-wheel Grand Prix duel for the ages, Maserati and Ferrari wage an epic battle between drivers Juan Manuel Fangio and Briton Michael Hawthorn. Commencing on Lap 30, both drivers initiate a side-by-side donnybrook that involves alternating passes of each other on the final corner at Reims before the home straight. Hawthorn, taking his mark on the famed Argentine, makes his decisive move for the point with only three laps remaining and then bravely holds off hard charging Fangio by a breathtaking five meter margin. An ecstatic Hawthorn, the standing champion at Le Mans for Jaguar claimed just one week prior, earns both his maiden Formula 1 victory as well as the first driver triumph for Great Britain.

1. Hawthorn, GBR, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari Tipo 500 2.0 liter inline four. Pirelli (maiden, career).
2. Fangio, ARG, Officine Alfieri Maserati, -1.0 sec.
3. Gonzalez, ARG, Officine Alfieri Maserati.

Constructor Victor: Scuderia Ferrari (14).
Engine Victor: Scuderia Ferrari (14).

Championship
A. Ascari-ITA 28, M. Hawthorn-GBR 14, L. Villoresi-ITA 13.

Scuderia Ferrari 64, Officine Alfieri Maserati 26, Keck-Kurtis Kraft 9.