Birabongse Bhanudej

Birabongse Bhanudej
Prince of Siam (later Thailand)
Spouse	Ceril Heycock (1st 1938–1949) Chelita Hovard (1951–1956) Salika Kalantanonda (1957) Arunee Chuladakoson (1959–1964) Chuanchom Chaiyananda (1967–1980) Ceril Heycock (2nd 1983–1985)
Issue
Mom Rajawongse Biradej Bhanubandh Mom Rajawongse Rabibara Bhanubandh Mom Rajawongse Biranubongse Bhanubandh
Full name
– His Serene Highness Prince (Mom Chao) Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh: 15 July 1914 – 8 November 1927 – His Highness Prince Birabongse Bhanudej: 8 November 1927 – 23 December 1985
House	House of Bhanubandh Chakri Dynasty
Father	Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse, the Prince Bhanubandhubongse Voradej
Mother	Mom Lek Bhanubandh na Ayudhya (née Yongchaiyudh)
Born	Grand Palace Bangkok, Thailand
Died	London, United Kingdom

Birabongse Bhanudej
(B. Bira)
Formula One World Championship career
Born	15 July 1914(1914-07-15)
Died	23 December 1985(1985-12-23) (aged 71)
Nationality	Thai
Active years	1950 – 1954
Teams	Enrico Platé, Gordini, Connaught, Maserati, Scuderia Milano
Races	19
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	8
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1950 British Grand Prix
Last race	1954 Spanish Grand Prix

24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years	1939, 1954
Teams	Raymond Sommer Aston Martin
Best finish	dnf (1939, 1954)
Class wins	0

Olympic medal record
Sailing
Competitor for Thailand 12th, 1956 Melbourne, Star 19th, 1960 Rome, Star 22nd, 1964 Tokio, Dragon 21st, 1972 Munich, Tempest

Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh (15 July 1914, Bangkok, Thailand – 23 December 1985, Barons Court Station, London) better known as Prince Bira of Siam (now Thailand), or by his nom de course B. Bira, was a Formula One and Grand Prix motor racing driver who raced for the Maserati, Gordini, and Connaught teams, among others. He was also the only Thai racecar driver to race in Formula One. He also was an Olympic sailor in the Melbourne Olympics, 1956 in the Star, Rome Olympics, 1960 in the Star, Tokio Olympics, 1964 in the Dragon and the Munich Olympics, 1972 in the Tempest. Birabongse Bhanudej was the only Southeast Asian driver in Formula One history until Malaysia's Alex Yoong joined Minardi in 2001.

1 Before the Second World War
2 Post war
3 Racing record
- 3.1 Complete World Championship Formula One results
- 3.2 Non-Championship Formula One results
4 Trivia
5 External links

Before the Second World War

A child of H.R.H. Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse, Prince Birabongse came to Europe in 1927 to complete his education in England at Eton and Cambridge University. Bira first raced with his cousin H.R.H. Prince Chula Chakrabongse's team, White Mouse Racing, driving a Riley Imp at Brooklands in 1935. It was in this car that Bira established the national motor racing colours of Siam: pale blue with yellow. He also established residence near Geneva (Switzerland) and later in the south of France. This explains his activity in smaller, more local type events.

Later in the same year, Prince Chula gave him one of the new ERA voiturette racing cars – R2B, which was nicknamed Romulus. Bira finished second in his first ever race in Romulus, despite needing to stop for repairs. The remaining races of the season saw Bira consistently placing amongst the more powerful Grands Prix vehicles, with another second place, and fifth at the Donington Grand Prix.

For 1936 the princes decided that the previous season's results merited a second ERA. They purchased Remus to use in British events and retained Romulus for international races. Chula also purchased a Maserati 8CM to complete the White Mouse roster. Bira's expertise behind the wheel earned him the Coupe de Prince Rainier at Monte Carlo. Bira won a further four races in the ERAs that season, and took the Grand Prix Maserati to 5th at Donington and 3rd at Brooklands.

Unfortunately, this proved to be the career high-point for both Bira and the White Mouse team. Following Dick Seaman's move to Mercedes for 1937, the Thais purchased his Grand Prix Delage and all of its spare parts, along with a second Delage. Despite several upgrades, and hiring experienced race engineer and future Jaguar team manager Lofty England, the cars underperformed, and on many occasions Bira was forced to race in the older and by now substantially inferior ERAs. In addition, the money spent on the Delage upgrades had sapped the resources of the team and corners were being cut in the ERA's race preparations. While Bira maintained a respectable results tally in British events, the more costly international races were largely a disaster.

Post war

After the war, Bira returned to racing with several teams. In 1951 he raced in an old 4CLT fitted with a newer V12 Osca engine. No results were obtained this year as a result of the poor performance of the car combined with a severe accident. By 1954, with some newer gear, a Maserati 250F, he won the Grand Prix des Frontières on the Chimay road circuit and then finished fourth in the 1954 French Grand Prix with his own Maserati. In January 1955, he won the New Zealand Grand Prix at Ardmore, but then retired at the end of the season.

Prince Bira died of heart failure at Barons Court tube station, London, in 1985 at the age of 71.

Racing record

Complete World Championship Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	WDC	Points
1950	Enrico Platé	Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati Straight-4 s	GBR Ret	MON 5	500	SUI 4	BEL	FRA	ITA Ret			8th	5
1951	Ecurie Siam	Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati Straight-4	SUI	500	BEL	FRA DNA	GBR	GER DNA	ITA			NC	0
1951	Ecurie Siam	Maserati 4CLT/48	OSCA V12								ESP Ret		NC	0
1952	Equipe Gordini	Gordini Type 15	Gordini Straight-4 s	SUI Ret	500	BEL 10							NC	0
1952	Equipe Gordini	Gordini Type 16	Gordini Straight-6				FRA Ret	GBR 11	GER	NED	ITA		NC	0
1953	Connaught Engineering	Connaught Type A	Lea-Francis Straight-4	ARG	500	NED	BEL	FRA Ret	GBR 7	GER Ret	SUI		NC	0
1953	Scuderia Milano	Maserati A6GCM	Maserati Straight-6									ITA 11	NC	0
1954	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati A6GCM	Maserati Straight-6	ARG 7	500								17th	3
1954	"B. Bira"	Maserati 250F	Maserati Straight-6			BEL 6	FRA 4	GBR Ret	GER Ret	SUI	ITA	ESP 9	17th	3
1955	"B. Bira"	Maserati 250F	Maserati Straight-6	ARG	MON	500	BEL DNA	NED	GBR	ITA			NC	0

Non-Championship Formula One results