George Abecassis

George Abecassis
Nationality	British
Born	George Edgar Abecassis (1913-03-21)21 March 1913 Oatlands, Surrey, England, UK
Died	18 December 1991(1991-12-18) (aged 78) Ibstone, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Formula One World Championship career Active years 1951 – 1952 Teams HWM Races 2 Championships 0 Wins 0 Podiums 0 Career points 0 Pole positions 0 Fastest laps 0 First race 1951 Swiss Grand Prix Last race 1952 Swiss Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career Participating years 1950–1951, 1953 Teams Aston Martin Best finish 5th (1950; 1951) Class wins 1 (1950)

George Edgar Abecassis DFC (21 March 1913 – 18 December 1991) was an English racing driver, and co-founder of the HWM Formula One team.

Pre-1946 career

Born in Oatlands, Surrey, Abecassis began circuit racing in 1935 in a modified Austin Seven which became known as The Einsitzer. After taking 1937 as a year away from the track, he acquired an Alta and made a name for himself in English national racing during the 1938 and 1939 seasons. In 1939 he won the Imperial Trophy Formula Libre race at Crystal Palace, driving his Alta, defeating Prince Bira, in the E.R.A. known as Romulus, in a wet race,^[1] "that being the only time it was beaten by a 1,500 c.c. car in the British Isles." ^[2]

At one point Abecassis held the Campbell circuit lap record at Brooklands at 72.61 m.p.h.^[3] On 3 July 1938 Abecassis broke the Prescott Hill Climb record with a climb of 47.85 seconds in his supercharged 1½ litre Alta.^[4]

When World War II broke out he joined the Royal Air Force and became an experienced pilot, ultimately becoming a member of the secret "Moon Squadrons",^[5] ferrying secret agents in and out of occupied countries in Europe with specially-modified Halifax and Stirling aircraft. During the course of his wartime service Abecassis was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.^[6]

Post-1946 career

After World War II Abecassis went back to racing, initially with pre-war machinery. He won a race at Gransden Lodge in a road-going 3.3-litre Bugatti on 15 June 1946.^[7] In 1947 Abecassis finished second in the Swedish Grand Prix, held on a frozen lake at Vallentuna, driving an E.R.A.^[8] In 1948 he finished second to Bob Gerard in the Jersey International Road Race.^[9] He became a partner, with John Heath, in Hersham and Walton Motors Ltd., a motor dealership and garage in Walton-on-Thames. Building on his pre-war association with the Alta marque, Abecassis and HWM assisted in the development of the Alta GP car,^[6] designed to comply with the recently introduced Formula One regulations.

After the failure of this enterprise Abecassis and Heath decided to construct their own cars under the HWM banner, but retaining Alta engines. Initially the HWM cars were designed to compete in the Formula Two class, but when the World Championship switched to Formula Two regulations in 1952 HWM cars became eligible to compete in the Grand Prix events. During their prime, HWM employed such future stars as Stirling Moss and Peter Collins, and the Belgian Johnny Claes scored their first victory, in the Grand Prix des Frontières at a street circuit in Chimay, Belgium.^[5] Abecassis's HWM team also took a notable victory in the International Trophy race at Silverstone in 1952, this time with Lance Macklin at the wheel. With the reintroduction of Formula One cars to the World Championship in 1954, Abecassis and Heath attempted to produce a competitive car using the 2.5-litre version of the Alta engine but it was not a success;^[5] HWM cars only contested two further Grand Prix events after 1953.

It was with his own HWM cars that Abecassis raced in his only two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, at the Bremgarten circuit, in the 1951 and 1952 Swiss Grand Prix. He was more successful as a sports car driver with Aston Martin and won his class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1950, sharing his DB2 with Macklin. He also finished second in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1953, partnered by Reg Parnell. In 1953 Abecassis constructed an HWM sports car for his own personal use, powered by a Jaguar straight-6 engine, with which he successfully contested many national British races until 1956.^[10]

In 1956 Heath was killed in an accident in the Mille Miglia and Abecassis retired from racing, turning his attention to running the HWM operations. He was the Facel Vega importer for Britain, while his motor industry connections were aided by the fact that he was married to Angela, the daughter of Aston Martin chairman Sir David Brown. He died aged 78 in Ibstone, near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

In September 2010 his son David Abecassis published a comprehensive biography of his father under the title "A Passion for Speed".

His grandson, Jonathan Abecassis, has an active interest in vintage sports car racing. He competes in the Fifties Sports Car Racing Club ("FISCAR") series, driving an Austin Healey 100/4.

Selected results

Formula One World Championship

(key)

Non-Championship race highlights

Year	Grand Prix	Circuit	Car	Pos	Report
1938	Crystal Palace Grand Prix	Crystal Palace	Alta 12/50	2nd	Report
	Imperial Trophy	Crystal Palace	Alta 12/50	2nd	Report
1939	Imperial Trophy	Crystal Palace	Alta 15/20	1st	Report
1946	I Nations Grand Prix	Geneve	Alta	Ret	Report
1947	I Caracalla Grand Prix F2	Caracalla	Cisitalia-Fiat D46	2nd	Report
1948	II J.C.C. Jersey Road Street	Saint Helier	Maserati 6CM	2nd	Report
1949	I Richmond Trophy	Goodwood	HWM-Alta GP	6th	Report
	II British Grand Prix	Silverstone	HWM-Alta GP	7th	Report
	II Madgwick Cup	Goodwood	HWM-Alta GP	5th	Report
1950	II Richmond Trophy	Goodwood	HWM 50-Alta	6th	Report
1951	Gran Premio Centenario Colombia	Genoa	HWM 51-Alta	5th	Report
	I Winfield Cup F2	Winfield	HWM 51-Alta	2nd	Report
1952	IV Goodwood Trophy	Goodwood	HWM 51-Alta	4th	Report
	I Ibsley Race	New Forest	HWM 52-Alta	2nd	Report

References

External links

• George Abecassis official website
• George Abecassis Biography - A Passion for Speed