THE NORTHERN IRISH RACE OF THE AGES - WORLD CHAMPIONS DESCEND UPON COUNTY ANTRIM

By Evan Dalton

Photo Courtesy Of       THE KLEMANTASKI COLLECTION

Motorsport, in both the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland, has always been niche. Gaelic Football, Hurling and Association Football are the dominant games on the island.

For young motorsport fans here, it is easy to think motorsport has no place in sporting history north and south of the border, but that couldn’t be further from the case. Both Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen have won races in Ireland, but the origin of world champions racing in Ireland starts in 1954.

Dundrod is still extremely rural, with a population of 196. Back in the 1950’s, the buildings could be counted on two hands. It is located in County Antrim, 10 miles from Belfast.

The Dundrod Circuit is now known as the famous venue of the Ulster Grand Prix motorcycle race, having moved from its old home, the Clady Circuit, in 1953. Its first events were four wheel races, starting in 1950 with the RAC Tourist Trophy. 

The Royal Automobile Club International Tourist Trophy is the oldest trophy in motorsport. It was awarded for more than 100 years. The first event took place in the Isle Of Man, in 1905. The RAC commissioned ‘Tourist Trophy’ itself pays homage to Giambologna’s sculpture of the Greek god Hermes. The piece is made from 18 karat gold. 

The race remained in the Isle Of Man until 1922, when post war restaints on teams led to its stoppage. The event did not take place, until famous inventor Harry Ferguson and columnist William McLeod brought the race to the Ards region in 1928, and eventually to the Dundrod circuit in 1949.

Jaguar and Aston Martin shared the spoils in Dundrod in its early years, but 1954 was the birth of a new era of motorsport in Ireland. 56 cars registered for the event, including World Champion elects, Scuderia Ferrari. 

The race was a handicap race, so the distance each car needed to complete depended on engine capacity. The scheduled distance was 94 laps, but no car started from scratch. It was selected as the fifth round of the World Sportscar Championship.

Pole Position was won by the current Formula 1 World Champion, Alberto Ascari in his Scuderia Lancia. Juan Manuel Fangio piloted another Lancia, with Piero Taruffi in the third entry. 

Ferrari entered two 750 Monzas, one for Le Mans winners José Froilán González and Maurice Trintignant, and a backup car of Mike Hawthorn and Umberto Magliol. The Gonzalez car crashed in practice, and Trintignant was swapped out for Magliol in what became the prancing horse's only factory team starter. 

The British attempt was led by Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton in a Jaguar D Type. Stirling Moss and Peter Walker joined them. The infamous Rolt/Hamilton duo had won Le Mans in 1953, while drunk, after they went on a boozy affair in the French town on the Friday, before their disqualification from the event was revoked. Ireland’s first F1 driver, Joe Kelly, entered his own Ferrari 750 Monza, not run by the factory team. 

The track was drying from the typical Antrim morning mist as the competitors set off. The British entries had a disaster of a race, all suffering one way or another. Rolt/Hamilton’s effort ended on Lap 34 with an oil pressure issue. Moss suffered the same issue when at the wheel, although he was able to limp his car to the chequered flag, only completing 71 laps. 

The Argentine sensation, Fangio, looked down and out when his Lancia had an engine leak after 11 laps. His talents, well known to all in the racing world, wouldn’t be wasted, so he swapped to the Taruffi entry, to the delight of the local crowd. 

Just before the rain returned, Hawthorn set a new track record, clocking a time of 4 min, 49s, and an average speed of 92.38mph. The 3 litre, 745cc Ferrari was too powerful for any of the British cars, and with Lancia struggling, was in a world of its own. 

That was of course, besides the DB Panhard of Paul Armagnac and Gérard Laureau. The 745cc  French manufacturer car, bearing the name of founder Rene, had a handicap of 17 laps over the Ferrari, and would cross the chequer flag in first position. They were awarded winners of the Tourist Trophy.

The World Championship places however were calculated based on laps completed, compared to first to complete 94 laps, so Hawthorn/Trintignant would be awarded maximum points, sealing the crown for Scuderia Ferrari, at just the fifth of seven rounds. 

The race would be held in Dundrod for one more year, with Stirling Moss getting his third Dundrod win  in 1955.  The 1956 event was not held after the Ulster Motor Club could not reach an agreement with the RAC on the restrictions of entry to the race because the latter believed they would change the event's character. After a second break year in 1957, due to RAC not finding a suitable venue, the race returned across the Irish sea to Goodwood. 

The brief era of racing in Antrim would become the foundation that created generations of motorsport enthusiasts in that region.