A retrospective view of Jersey's road races from ''Motor Sport''
Looking back at 1947: Sea, sand and superchargers
Racing past Le Marquand's Garage at Bel Royal
This abridged retrospective view of post-war Grand Prix racing in Jersey was published in Motor Sport. With road-racing banned in mainland Britain, such events could only be organised offshore. Bill Boddy recalls Jersey's lively but short-lived attempt to turn itself into a car racing haven.
British soil
Jersey, where people went for sea air, tax avoidance or motor racing. It seemed very odd that this could happen there; in the Isle of Man and in Ireland, yes, but not on what was officially British soil.
In spite of the financial benefit to the Island which accrued from the almost immemorial annual TT motorcycle racing, the IoM authorities saw value in permitting car racing as well. Becoming aware of this Jersey decided to indulge in this modem and exciting experience in competition with the other island domain.
From 1947 on the inhabitants of St Helier either put up with, or rejoiced in, the influx of money-spending crowds that went there to see or compete in the car racing organised by the ambitious Junior Car Club, which from 1949 became the British Automobile Racing Club, able to use the famed initials BARC after war had gutted Brooldands Track.
Jersey was able to offer street racing on a 3.2-mile circuit through the seaside resort of St Helier. Visitors arrived for the first race there in 1947 by the existing sea crossings, the air services or by charter flights and in private aeroplanes. The race had been well publicised, in Motor Sport and elsewhere. The Jersey MC&LCC had raised £1,000 prize money, and when it was announced that the entry for the race on 8 May already included 10 Maseratis and 10 ERAs, excitement rose. It was to be run under International GP formula rules for supercharged cars of up to 1½ litres and non-supercharged cars up to 4½ litres.
Practice nights
Practice was on the Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 7.30, when Prince Bira's Maserati clocked 2min 6.6sec. All three Scuderia Milano Maseratis, driven by Sommer, in a twin-blower car, Chiron and Pagani, lapped in 2min l0sec. Parnell's Maserati managed a mere 2min 18sec, but Leslie Johnson in his 4-litre sports-type Darracq put up a notable 2min 17sec, quicker than the three Delage cars of Ecurie Gersac,led by Louis Gerard, these drivers under orders as to their finishing positions. The Delahaye was even slower. Peter Whitehead in the E-type ERA created speculation but the fuel tank split, the contents being allowed to pour into the drain over which it had stopped.
The course consisted of two main straights, the long downhill one leading to the very acute, badly cambered West Park hairpin, where Mays and Johnson corrected slides with full opposite lock. The other link ran along the front to Le Marquand's Corner, with a kink at Bellview before it. John Morgan of the JCC was clerk of the course, aided by enthusiastic but inexperienced volunteers.
The race
So, a clean start, the front row occupied by Sommer, Chiron, Bira and Pagani. Sommer relieved Pagani of his lead before they reached the slow Bayview Hotel hairpin. Bira was then two seconds behind, followed by Pagani and Parnell. Sommer set a record fastest lap of 2min 6.2sec (91.28mph) but, as he had predicted, the Maserati's engine gave up after three laps.
Bira led until he had to stop for a wheel change and Chiron took up this position. Unfortunately, the loudspeakers and the scoreboard gave Parnell as leading, and he was flagged in as the winner, Chiron second, Raymond Mays third. The Italians made their feelings loudly known. It seems that Parnell's pit-signals made him sure he was ahead, and Chiron had been flagged to go more slowly, his pit assuming he was winning.
There was another muddle at the prize-giving. Bira, who had retired, was given the fastest-lap award even though he had done this in practice, while Sommer got nothing for fastest race lap. Chiron said, in French, at the prize-giving that he thought he had won but would abide by the stewards' decision. The lap times did appear to give Parnell his victory, Chiron second, Mays third. Parnell's speed was 84.52 mph. Only Parnell completed the full 50 laps. Jersey had had its first motor race.
1948: Longer race
In 1948 the race distance was increased to 176 miles, or 55 laps. Entries included Luigi Villoresi's Scuderia Ambrosiana two-stage 16-valve Maserati, George Abecassis' Maserati, Reg Parnell's Maserati with outboard extra fuel tank, in the hope of a nonstop run, Prince Bira's Maserati, Salvadori's Maserati. Raymond Mays' ERA was flown over in a Dakota, Hampshire brought his Wilson-gearbox Delage, while Robert Cowell's V12 Lagonda had a new off-set singles-eater Egharn body.
Practice was almost more interesting than the race! Bira lapped in 2min 1.4sec, 0.6sec faster than Villoresi, Gerard in 2min 8.6sec. A gearbox defect in Villoresi's Maserati caused his mechanics and two Italian waiters to work frantically as the race was about to start, ignoring the National Anthem.
Bira led the race until he stopped for a wheel change and fuel, costing him 95 seconds. Parnell then went into the lead until Gerard took him, to lead by four seconds after 25 laps. Bob went on building up an ever-increasing lead, but Parnell's expectation of not having to stop was spoilt by tyre trouble. The first two laps were agony for Bob, as his oil gauge registered zero, but it then recovered. There was now no stopping him, his pit calm, Mrs Gerard timing a faultless run.
Gerard was clearly the Jersey hero, with a best race-lap of 90.42 mph, after a magnificent drive, winning at 87.33 mph. Abecassis was second, a lap down, Parnell third, Bira fourth, after too many pit calls, all three a lap in arrears.
Gilby fell out of his Maserati at the Marquand hairpin, the car then indulging in a race of its own, writing off one of Klemantaski's expensive cameras, just avoiding Klemantaski himself, and ending up against a Vauxhall in a garage yard. Safer to be a golfer, perhaps?
1949 race
This now well-established race was run again in 1949, over the same 50-lap distance, and Bob Gerard scored again with his faithful ERA against stiff Maserati and Ferrari opposition. The weather was misty with torrential rain so the start was postponed half an hour, and the chartered Airspeed Consul 65 in which land photographer Michael Tee had started from Croydon turned back when the radio failed.
Practice was a sad affair, because Kenneth Bear's Type 59 Bugatti crashed at Le Marquand corner and he was fatally injured; a policeman and a doctor were also killed. Louis Chiron had come again in spite of the disappointing experience he suffered the year before. The front row of the grid was occupied by Villoresi, Bira (Maserati) and Chiron (Talbot) with respective lap times of 96.0, 94.0 and 83.2 mph. At the start, however, it was Chiron who led, Bira second, Baron de Graffenreid third, in the latest 16-valve two-stage Maserati.
Bira soon took the lead, his standing-start lap accomplished at 82.16mph, Villoresi not far behind, Chiron third, hard-pressed by Parnell's Maserati.
The foul weather did not agree with Villoresi's Maserati, and changing carburettor jets and blanking off the radiator proved no cure, but the soaked, grimy and disconsolate Luigi pressed on, but not smiling as he had been before the start. He had a fastest race-lap of 90 mph, before the rain really set in.
With 25 very slippery laps gone Bira led at 82 mph but at its stop on lap 29 Gerard and de Graffenreid both went by.
So the miserable race ran to a close, Gerard crossed the finishing line after 2 hr 16 min 58.6 sec, an average speed of 77.10 mph , to receive with a smile a very large winner's cup. De Graffenreid was second, Raymond Mays third in his ERA. Next home were Bira, Ashmore and Villoresi in the three Maseratis.
So popular, steady Bob Gerard had vanquished five Maseratis and a Ferrari. Villorrsi, much fancied, lost a total of around seven minutes during his four pit stops and no doubt returned to Italy to speak a trifle unkindly of the weather in Jersey, noting that the winning average for this 1949 race was just 10.23mph slower than Gerard accomplished the year before.
1950:Better weather
The 1950 race was much better. Rain gave way to a sullen sun, the girls wore beach attire, bicycles were taxed, purchase-tax-free new cars plentiful, press support for the race excellent and the St Helier Bay setting ideal.
But a sliver of interest was removed when the works Maseratis of Chiron and Rol did not arrive. Lord Howe introduced the drivers to Jersey's Lieut-Governor. Over a course requiring speed and durable brakes David Hampshire achieved fastest practice lap of 94.12 mph in a Scuderia Ambrosiana Maserati. Peter Whitehead's Ferrari, Gerard's ERA 92.6 mph, and Harrison's ERA shared the front row of the grid with him.
Peter Whitehead then drove an impeccable race, winning comfortably at a record 90.94 mph, finishing a lap ahead of Parnell's Maserati and de Graffenreid's Maserati. Gerard’s ERA was fourth and Hampshire set quickest race lap at 94.94 mph.
Whitehead won three trophies and £350, plus starting money. Due to financial losses the Jersey race was only resumed once, in 1952, and then as a sportscar race in heats and a final, won easily by Ian Stewart in a new Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar XK120C.
- Jersey International Road Race: Coverage of all the events
