Report of the 1949 road race from ''Motor Sport''
Three die in an accident during practice
The race gets under way after a delay caused by heavy rain
This article has been compiled from two reports from Motor Sport on the 1949 Jersey International Road Race
Gerard wins again
Bob Gerard won the Jersey Road Race last Thursday in his ERA in spite of early opposition from the latest two-stage Maseratis and a two-stage Ferrari. He got the lead comparatively late in the race and held it to the end, driving magnificently under appalling weather conditions, which reduced his average to 77.1 mph, compared to the 87.11 mph when he won last year.
Baron de Graffenreid came home second in his Maserati, 1 mim 40.6 sec later and Mays was third in his D-type ERA, 46.6 sec behind.
In practice K W Bear’s Bugatti crashed at Le Marquand’s Corner, the driver sustaining fatal injuries.
So bad was the weather on race day, mist floating over the road and rain falling, that the start was postponed half an hour. The road had then dried somewhat, but soon heavy rain was falling. Villoresi, Bira and Chiron were in the front row on the grid by reason of their practice times, 96, 94 and 93.2 mph.
As the flag fell the pack of red, blue and green cars, and May’s black ERA, howled off in a flurry of spray and spinning wheels, and it was Chiron’s Talbot, displaying fine acceleration, which thrust ahead, with Parnell’s Maserati coming up fast from the second row.
By the time Le Marquand’s Corner was reached, although Chiron was still out in front, Bira was second, de Graffenreid third, Parnell fourth, Villoresi fifth aand Whitehead’s Ferrari well up. Before Millbrook Corner Bira had passed Chiron to lead lap one, which he accomplished at 82.16 mph.
It is now a matter of history how Gerard won in his old ERA from the Maseratis of Abecassis, Parnell and Bira. Gerard's car ran non-stop throughout, took the lead on lap 24 of 55 and finished, with plenty of fuel in hand, in spite of having used it at the rate of rather less than 6 mpg.
Abecassis got his second place in a comparatively slow and certainly uncomfortable Type 6C Maserati by his good driving and a snappy refuel, his tyres giving no trouble. Parnell's 16-valve Maserati was not on form, and was delayed by a tyre change. Bira, nicely in the lead, experienced bitter luck when a rear tyre tread flew off, clouting the side of his 16-valve Maserati with sufficient force to damage it. Thereafter a stop for fuel and several for oil, together with oil on his goggles, hampered the little Siamese and put him out of the picture.
Villoresi, who should have won on form, experienced oil-pump trouble in practice and consequently his gearbox trouble was only discovered as he came to the line. He and his mechanic, aided by two Italian waiters from his hotel, worked on the two-stage 16-valve Maserati in a frenzy, disregarding the National Anthem, to get things right, but to no avail. Different rear wheels were put on in an endeavour to drive fiat-out and make up time, but very soon the old trouble returned and Villoresi was out.
At 20 laps came Bira's fatal tyre stop. Some thought the pit work poor, as Bira left the car and some fuel was added to the tank; others that the jobs were well tackled under the circumstances. A wheel change took 14 seconds, the entire job 1 min 35 sec, and the whole character of the race changed, Parnell leading until Gerard went by.
At 35 laps Gerard led Abecassis by 1 min 55.4 sec, and Parnell was third, ahead of Bira. Gerard's pit was calmness personified, Mrs Gerard working at the chart, but what we did not know was that as the leading ERA had come to the line all its oil-pressure had vanished, and for two laps Gerard had had a miserable drive, until the gauge-needle swung up to its proper position and a pit-stop was unnecessary. He was banking on a non-stop run, and even then Parnell might have beaten him had the Maserati been on form.
By 40 laps Gerard would have had time for a stop and still need not have lost his lead.
Results
- 1 F R Gerard (ERA), 2 hr 16 min 58.6 sec - 77.10 mph
- 2 Baron de Graffenreid (Maserati) 76.16 mph
- 3 Raymond Mays (ERA) 75.73 mph
- 4 Prince Bira (Maserati) 75.59 mph
- 5 F Ashmore (Maserati) 75.38 mph
- 6 L Villoresi (Maserati)
Fatal accident
The fatal accident to Kenneth Bear was most unfortunate. A policeman and a race official also died, and two other persons were badly injured. Such accidents are liable to happen in many sports, and it will be a thousand pities if, in consequence, the ambitious Jersey MC and LCC is deprived of its race, which the BARC organises for it, next year. The verdict of accidental death was passed on Bear at the inquest and there has been some suggestion of brake failure, due to cable breakage or loss of a compensating chain, causing the calamity.
It seems that the officials were against a wall with no means of escape when the car skidded into them. Where possible ‘funk holes’ should be available to everyone out on the course.
Obituary
Kenneth Wilfred Bear, whose ex-Abecassis 3.3 Grand Prix Bugatti, running unsupercharged, overturned during practice for the Jersey race, was 43 years of age and leaves a widow and two daughters, to whom the sympathy of the entire sporting world will be extended.
No one was more steady or safer-looking in a racing car’s cockpit than Bear, and brake failure is thought to have caused the tragedy, which cost two others their lives.
Essentially a Bugatti enthusiast, Bear was a founder member of the now well-established Bugatti Owners Club and a frequent winner of their most-prized awards, using a variety of Bugatti racing and sports cars, besides serving on their council for 19 years.
Any fatal accident leaves a dreadful sense of sadness and finality, but for an amateur driver to be taken from us during a practice run is particularly hard to accept.
