Formula 1
TeamsEmeryson Cars Ltd.: 1956 Formula One Season By Jeremy McMullen
The story of Emeryson Cars Ltd. actually begins well before the start of the Second World War with Paul Emery's father George. George Emery would begin building and tuning cars for motor racing during the 1930s when Paul was only in his early 20s. This would be the first time the Emeryson name would be used.
While most would see this as a great opportunity for Paul to learn under his father, Paul didn't quite see it that way. While he certainly showed an interest in motor racing and building and tuning race cars, the problem Paul would have would be with his father.
Like most children of that age, Paul would be rather rebellious throughout the years leading up to the Second World War. While he would work with his father it would usually be done in silence.
The Emeryson name would disappear with the Second World War and would be dormant throughout the immediate post-war years. George would continue to design and build cars but it would be on a part-time basis. Paul would not be involved with many of the projects. He represented the innovative side of engineering while his father would be much more classic and pragmatic in his approach. It would be these two somewhat opposing approaches that would lead to Paul not wanting to have anything to do with his father's projects and even going so far as to lend his time and talents to fellow builder Geoffrey Taylor and his Alta company.
Things would not be much better with Alta and this would lead to Paul coming back and making some sort of peace with his father. He would set about joining his father and brother Peter to create the Emeryson Formula 3 car. This car would be rather successful and would lead to a Formula 2 that would take part in a number of events throughout the early 1950s.
One of the biggest challenges Paul would cause within his own family's business would be his ability to create truly imaginative and forward-thinking concepts. Many of these were far beyond their time, and therefore, unable to be practically utilized at the moment. Most unfortunate would be the fact that Paul had little business sense and getting people to believe in such ideas was practically impossible.
The success with the Formula 3 design, however, would lead to Emery thinking toward something bigger and better, and why not? His truly innovative mind would introduce a front-wheel drive Formula 3 car that also boasted of disc brakes. Such innovations led to the Emery-designed car to be very successful. So why couldn't he do it at a higher level?
This would lead to the Aston Martin-powered Emeryson Formula One car that would make its debut at the BRDC International Trophy race at Silverstone in 1954. Driven by none other than Colin Chapman, the Emeryson would not have near the pace of its fellow competitors but would make it through its heat race a lap down in 12th place. In the final, Chapman would complete 27 laps and would end up not classified and dead-last. It was clear the Emeryson Formula One car was not ready to compete.
Paul Emery's Special was by no means anything special. However, he would not give up on the car. He believed in its potential, and instead, went looking for another engine to power it. He would end up taking an Alta engine and would increase the bore of the cylinders to just under the 2.5-liter limit. The difference would almost be like night and day.
Throughout many non-championship Formula One races throughout England, the Emeryson Special would suddenly be competitive and would give some of the bigger manufacturers fits. Unfortunately, the results would not truly share this reality. But Paul knew it.
Heading in the right direction, Paul would continue to apply his talents to the Alta-powered Emeryson. Continuing to tweak his design, Emery would continue to rework the Alta engine and would end up replacing the AM gearbox with an ENV pre-selector system. These additions and evolutions would give Paul the sense he was really ready to challenge and would be looking forward to the start of the 1956 season.
The grand prix season in Europe, and especially England, would not get underway until early April. The first event would come as part of the Easter Monday races held at Goodwood on the 2nd of April. Unfortunately, for all of the talent Emery possessed when it came to innovative ideas, he lacked about an equal amount of business sense. Therefore, the developments and evolutions he would make to his Formula One car would be slow and rather erratic as a result of financial difficulties. Unfortunately, this would come into play when it came time for the Glover Trophy race as part of the Easter Monday races.
Emeryson Cars would have an entry for the race, and it would have been a great early opportunity for Emery to test his latest evolution up against some of the best British drivers and teams. Unfortunately, the car would not be ready in time for the race, and therefore, Emery would not be present for the race.
The early part of the grand prix season would be rather busy. A second non-championship Formula One grand prix would take place on the 21st of April, less than three weeks after the Glover Trophy race at Goodwood. This particular race was the 11th BARC Aintree ‘200'. It was formerly the JCC 200, but the new venue at Aintree seemed to be the best venue for the race.
Many of the same drivers and teams would be present for the 67 lap, 200 mile, race as had been present at Goodwood. Once again, Emery would have an entry in the race. And, once again, he would not show for the race.
Following the BARC Aintree 200 race, the better-known non-championship BRDC International Trophy race would be set to run on the 5th of May. This would come a little too close to the date of the BARC Aintree event, and therefore, would lead Emery to not even have an entry in the race altogether.
Finances being what they were, it was going to be interesting if Emery could take part in his first Formula One event before the summer months rolled around. Sure enough, just a couple of days after the beginning of the summer months the Emeryson-Alta would be completed and readied for its first race of the season.
That first race of the season would come on the 24th of June. It would be the 1st Aintree 100 and would consist of 34 laps of the 3.0 mile Aintree circuit. And, given the incredibly small size of the field, it would present an opportunity for Emery to not only get some important testing time, but also, come away with a top result as well.
Were it not for the tarmac that needed to be laid down to make up the circuit, Aintree Racecourse was practically ready to host motor races from its first moments. Winding within and without the famous Grand National steeplechase course, the Aintree Circuit would be a mixture of slow hairpin turns, fast bends and a couple of high-speed straights. However, were it not for the Racecourse grandstands and the cooling tower of the nearby powerplant, the flat, wide open circuit would be quite featureless and uninspiring. The grandstands along the start/finish straight, however, certainly helped to change that perspective and would prove to be quite popular with spectators.
Spectators certainly showed up in greater numbers for the 1st Aintree 100 than did teams. Just nine cars would take to the circuit for practice. One of them would be Emery and his Emeryson-Alta.
Archie Scott-Brown, driving a Connaught B-Type, would set the pace in practice. His best lap of 2:05.8 would earn him the pole and would be nearly 5 seconds faster than Roy Salvadori driving a Formula 2 Connaught A-Type. Horace Gould and Bill Holt would complete the four-wide front row.
Just having completed updating his chassis, Emery certainly wouldn't be fast enough to start from the first row of the grid. But, with just 9 cars entered in the race, he would be certain of starting not all that far back.
Emery would be helped out even before the drop of the flag when Brooks would fail to take to the grid with his BRM 25. Engine problems would prohibit the dental student from taking part in the race. And, as the race got underway, it would become more than apparent that at such a circuit Emery would need all the help he could get.
Scott-Brown would fast early, but he would soon fall into trouble with his B-Type Connaught. After 8 laps, Scott-Brown would be out of the running. This opened the door to the other competitors, especially the Formula One cars in the field.
Unfortunately, that would not include Emery and his Emeryson-Alta. While his car would show good form and reliability, the 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder Alta engine just could not produce the power to keep up with the likes of Horace Gould, Bruce Halford and Bob Gerard.
Gould would take advantage of Scott-Brown's misfortunes and would make his move for the lead. Anchored by a fastest lap time just two-tenths of a second off of Scott-Brown's qualifying effort, Gould would be in the lead and would enjoy a rather comfortable lead over the rest of the field. Meanwhile, Emery would come to expect visits from Gould just about 9 laps.
Heading into the later-stages of the race, the 7 cars still running would be quite spread out when it came to actual running position. Emery would get quite close to the front runners, but only when they came by to put him another lap down.
Gould would enjoy his time in the sun and would hold on to take the victory by a margin of around 35 seconds over Bob Gerard. Another 25 seconds would be the difference back to Bruce Halford finishing in 3rd place.
The good news for Emery and the beginning of his Formula One season is that the car actually completed the race. The bad news would be that he would cross the line a little more than 4 laps behind Gould. Emery would finish last, in 7th place. He would even be beaten by three Formula 2 Connaught A-Types.
It seemed Emery was actually heading in the wrong direction. Being beaten by three Formula 2 cars certainly didn't give the appearance of heading in the right direction. Still, Emery would be able to take away a race finish from the whole experience and would look to improve upon that result heading into his next race of the season.
The next race on Emery's calendar, in many ways, would be his season. It was now July and that meant the Formula One World Championship in Europe was in full-swing. And that meant the British Grand Prix was right around the corner. In fact, the 6th round of the Formula One World Championship would be just around the corner on the 14th of July.
The British Grand Prix had been negotiated to alternate between Silverstone and Aintree for the next few years. Therefore, in 1956, it would return to the 2.90 mile Silverstone circuit located on the border of Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.
In 1943 another Royal Air Force station would be opened near the small village of Silverstone in Northamptonshire. Drawing from the name of the small village RAF Silverstone would come to be home to the No. 17 Operational Training Unit and operated Vickers Wellington bombers to train crews. The base would remain in operation until 1947. But while many other air force stations would come to be forgotten over time, Silverstone would actually gain more notoriety for becoming the home of British motor racing following the end of the war.
Silverstone would be the sight of Ferrari's first victory in the Formula One World Championship and would be the first race as part of the new Formula One World Championship in 1950. Utilizing the 2.90 mile perimeter road that had been a part of the bomber training base, the circuit would be fast and notoriously hard on cars.
The last time the World Championship had been at Silverstone the Mercedes-Benz W196 of Juan Manuel Fangio would set the pace by breaking the lap record with an average speed of more than 100 mph. And as the cars took to the circuit for practice for the 1956 edition of the race, average speeds around the circuit would be easily above that incredible mark.
The fastest in practice around the circuit would be Stirling Moss. Driving for the factory Maserati team, Moss would turn a lap at 1:41 with an average speed of a little more than 104 mph. Juan Manuel Fangio would be a second off the pace and would garner the 2nd place starting spot on the grid. The Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins would have a spirited duel for 3rd place on the front row. The two men would practically set the same lap time. In the end, Hawthorn would take 3rd place with his BRM while Collins would be left in the final position on the front row in his Ferrari.
After the Emeryson-Alta's performance at Aintree only a handful of weeks earlier it would not be surprising that it would be toward the back of the grid where one would have to look to find Emery. His best lap of 1:54.0 still would keep him off the last row of the grid. In fact, he would be found on the seventh row of the grid in the 23rd position, right next to Bob Gerard and Umberto Maglioli.
The usual overcast skies would greet the incredible crowd as it assembled around the circuit. However, in spite of the look of things it seemed relatively certain that the circuit would remain dry throughout the whole of the race.
The cars would assemble on the grid staring down the run down toward the fast right-hander at Copse. The flag would drop and the field would roar away to start the 101 lap event. Moss would make a terrible start and would drop a number of places even before he got to the first turn. In contrast, Mike Hawthorn and Tony Brooks would make great starts and would be leading the field heading into the first turn. All the way toward the back of the field, Emery would get away rather cleanly and would remain right around where he started through the first few corners.
Hawthorn and Brooks would lead the way at the conclusion of the first lap while Fangio and Schell would follow along in 3rd and 4th. At the conclusion of the first lap Emery would actually lose a position and would be down in 24th place behind Bob Gerard.
Hawthorn would continue to lead the way while Fangio and Brooks battled it out for 2nd place. Harry Schell would fade as a result of problems with his Vanwall. Stirling Moss, however, would be pushing hard and making up a lot of ground after his poor start. Paul Emery, by the 5th lap of the race, would find himself dead-last. It was clear the 4-cylinder Alta engine just didn't have the power necessary to stay with the more powerful factory cars.
Hawthorn would barely hold onto his lead over Moss while Roy Salvadori shocked just about everyone taking over 3rd place from Brooks and Fangio. While all of this was going on at the front of the field, and therefore, distracting the vast majority of the crowd, Emery would be running into trouble with his Emeryson. The strain of the pace had taken its toll. The stress on the 4-cylinder Alta engine would be too great. And after 12 laps, it would let go and Emery would be out of the race. He would be one of six drivers that would be out of the race before the 20th lap of the race.
Attrition continued to play a part, as usual, around Silverstone. Archie Scott-Brown, Louis Rosier, Umberto Maglioli and Bruce Halford would all depart the race with some kind of problem. Then, on the 24th lap of the race, Hawthorn would be out of the race with an oil leak. This would give Moss the lead of the race and he would take full advantage of the opportunity.
Moss had won his first World Championship race at Aintree the previous year. One year later, he would be showing the performance was no fluke and piece of luck as he left the rest of the field behind and looked entirely in control in the lead. Roy Salvadori would continue to delight the fans as he continued in 2nd place ahead of Fangio and Brooks.
On the 40th lap Brooks would make a dramatic exit from the race when he crashed his BRM and it then erupted into flames. Brooks would escape the terrible scene with some damage, but with his life well intact. This enabled Peter Collins to move forward into 4th place behind Fangio.
When Salvadori departed the scene after 30 laps in 2nd place, Moss would still be in 1st place and looking more and more unstoppable. Lap after lap it would be Moss in the lead with Fangio giving chase. Salvadori's absence made it easier, however, for Fangio to gain ground and Moss would eventually lose the lead of the race on the 69th lap. Moss had been some 53 laps in the lead. The British crowd would feel as bitterly disappointed as Moss after such a performance.
Nearly 25 laps would transpire with Moss following Fangio. However, with just 7 laps remaining in the race, the final shake-up in the standings would take place when Moss was forced to retire with gearbox troubles. This would enable Peter Collins, who had taken over Alfonso de Portago's Lancia-Ferrari, to move up to 2nd place and give Ferrari a possible one-two finish.
Fangio would have the race well in hand as he set off on his final lap. He enjoyed at least a lap's advantage on the rest of the field. And, rounding Woodcote for the final time, the Argentinean would flash over the line to take the victory and pull himself within one point of Collins in the championship standings. Collins would have lost his championship lead had it not been for the misfortune of others and his own determined drive. Instead of losing the lead in the championship, he would come away with 3 points having finished a little more than a lap down in 2nd place in de Portago's Lancia. The 3rd place finisher would be Jean Behra in a factory Maserati. He would end up more than 2 laps behind.
The high speed Silverstone circuit certainly didn't play into the hands of the small Alta-powered Emeryson. But if the race did expose anything it was the simple fact the car was not suited to such high-speed circuits. So, Emery either needed to come by some more power, or, he needed to stick to tight and twisty circuits in order to give his car a chance—if it even had one.
The engine failure at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix would come to be a hindrance for Emery in more ways than one. Not only would the expired engine cost him a chance at finishing the most important Formula One race in England, but it would also cost him financially to fix it. This was not an easy pill to swallow considering finances were already tight. Ultimately, being in this position meant Emery's future efforts would likely take a hit.
The lack of finances would delay Emery's efforts to repair and rebuild the Alta engine for his Emeryson chassis. This was not good financially, but the resulting delay would push Emery into a very frustrating position. The 1st Vanwall Trophy race was to be held at Snetterton on the 22nd of July. This was just a week after the British Grand Prix. Emery had an entry in the race but would be under pressure to get his engine repaired in time. Unfortunately, the finances and the situation would cause the Alta to remain unrepaired when Emery would have had to leave for the race. Therefore, Emery and his Emeryson-Alta would not appear at Snetterton. As it would turn out, not many would show up at Snetterton for the race as there would be just 6 cars that would take the start of the race.
Throwing the German Grand Prix aside and focusing on local non-championship Formula One events, Emery would have a little more time to rebuild his broken Alta engine. In fact, he would have until nearly the end of August before he would take part in his next race. Interestingly, once he repaired the Emeryson-Alta he would head across the English Channel to the tiny city of Caen. For there, on the 26th of August would be held the 4th Grand Prix de Caen.
In World War II, Caen would be a major tactical objective as part of Operation Overlord, the invasion of France to push the German military back into Germany. In the case of Emery, Caen would also be a very important tactical objective as he hoped to recover from his engine troubles in the British Grand Prix, and his other poor showings, to turn his season around.
The previous year Emery had been rather impressive on the short, rather quick Crystal Palace circuit. In one of the non-championship races held at the circuit he would be quite quick as the circuit seemed to neutralize, at least a little bit, the advantages the more power engines had. He would duel with some of the best drivers for at least a little bit around the circuit. Compared to Silverstone, Caen would be shorter and slower, but not by much. Therefore, it would be unlikely he would be able to battle with the other more powerful cars, at least not for very long.
The circuit in Caen would be like Crystal Palace in some ways. Positioned right near the heart of the small city L'hippodrome de la Prairie would serve as host for the 2.19 mile circuit. The circuit itself would be a mixture of city streets and park roads forming a perimeter around the hippodrome. With a portion of the circuit running along the banks of the Orne River, the speeds would remain relatively high given just one tight hairpin turn leading around to the Yves Guillou Boulevard. The rest of the circuit would consist of quick chicanes and rather fast 90 degree corners that led onto and off of the Cours General de Gaulle.
Given the fact the final round of the Formula One World Championship was just around the corner, the field would be relatively light when it came to major teams and drivers. Still, there would be some very talented drivers in the mix. Drivers like Harry Schell, Roy Salvadori and Robert Manzon would be just a handful of the drivers present in the field.
At the wheel of the Gilby Engineering Maserati, Roy Salvadori would be quickest in practice and would take the pole for the 70 lap race. The grid width would be small, with just two cars on each row. The other car that would join Salvadori on the front row would be driven by the vastly experienced French driver, Louis Rosier.
Once again, the Caen circuit just would not be to the liking of the Alta-powered Emeryson. As a result, Emery would qualify rather poorly. He would be found down on the sixth row of the grid in the 11th place starting spot.
Similar in character to Silverstone, Emery would need to be careful with his Emeryson as it was wheeled out to the grid in preparation for the start of the 70 lap race. He could expect the pace to be quite quick, and so, his tiny Alta engine would be stretched to its limits once again.
Salvadori had set the pace in practice and would do the same in the race. He would go on to set what would be the fastest lap of the race with an average speed of just over 91 mph. This would certainly pick up the pace of the field but it would also put a tremendous amount of strain on the field as well.
This was not good for Emery. Hermanos da Silva Ramos would be the first to retire from the race. He would be out after just one lap because of clutch failure. Paul Emery would also find the going quite tough.
The pace was stretching his Emeryson-Alta to, and beyond, its limits. The small engine just could not handle the strain and it would become very obvious after just a few laps. Then, after 6 laps of running, the engine would let go and Emery would be left stranded without any power.
Then all craziness would break out. Conditions would be such that the circuit would become quite slick and dangerous. Salvadori would struggle and would drop back. Harry Schell would revel in the conditions and would lead the way.
Behind Schell, the chaos would be just beginning. Horace Gould would crash his Maserati after 11 laps. Exactly 10 laps later, Bruce Halford would do the same thing and would also be out of the race. Another 10 laps later and it would be Robert Manzon that would suffer an accident and would be forced out of the race. But that wouldn't be the end. Louis Rosier had looked incredibly strong in practice and ended up starting from the front row of the grid. It seemed, if everything went right, that the former Le Mans victor would have the opportunity for glory. However, 4 laps after Manzon departed due to his wreck, Rosier would suffer the same result and would also be out of the race.
Now chased by Andre Simon, Schell held onto a very comfortable advantage at the front of the field. Former pace-setter, Roy Salvadori, would be struggling in the conditions and would be even under threat of going a lap down to Schell before the race was over.
In the tough conditions Schell would shine. Averaging a little over 80 mph over the course of the 70 lap race, Schell would hold onto a very comfortable advantaged heading into the final lap around the Caen circuit. Blasting down the back-straight along the banks of the Orne, Schell would just have to wind his way to the final right-hand hairpin and through the quick left-hand flick and the victory would be his. Flying down the straight and across the line to take the checkered flag, Schell would achieve a dominant victory. Completing the race in just over one hour and 54 minutes, Schell would have a minute and 10 seconds in hand over Simon in 2nd place. Salvadori would not be able to do anything like he had in practice in the tough conditions. As a result, he would complete the race a lap down in 3rd place.
Yet again, the small Alta engine would suffer and would be unable to carry on through a full race distance. As Emery packed everything up and prepared to head back to England there would be only a few remaining Formula One events left on the calendar, both championship and non. Given the financial situation in which he would find himself, it was likely he wouldn't be seen again until the final couple of races, if at all.
Upon returning from his jaunt across the Channel, Emery would methodically set about repairing his Alta engine once again, along with making some other tweaks of the car. This work would not progress anywhere near the rate of a major factory effort, and therefore, meant the Emeryson-Alta would not be seen at all in the month of September. Heading into October, Emery only had one more Formula One race on the European calendar remaining. The question was whether or not the Emeryson-Alta would be present to take part, or not.
Emery would get the necessary work done and would prepare for what was the final Formula One race of the 1956 season. The final race of the season would be a non-championship event held at Brands Hatch. It would be the 1st BRSCC Formula One race and it would take place on the 14th of October.
Brands Hatch, literally meaning 'wooded slope' and 'forest entrance', certainly fit its name. Situated amongst rolling countryside, peering down into a very shallow, heavily-wooded valley, Brands Hatch would actually be first used as a dirt track for motorcycle racing. Found in Kent, the Brands Hatch circuit would be anything but flat. The first purpose-built post-war racing circuit in England, the venue would boast of a curving, banked front stretch and a breath-taking, plunging right-hand first turn that wowed by spectator and driver alike. Originally, the tarmac circuit was just a mile in length and would open in April of 1950. But then, in 1953, the circuit would be lengthened. Now including Druids Hill Bend, the circuit measured about 1.24 miles in length and began welcoming the bigger classes of racing cars.
The arrival of the non-championship Formula One race on the 14th October would be the first time Brands Hatch would host the top-tier of single-seater racing. And though the Formula One World Championship had already come to a conclusion, none of the big foreign teams would be present for the 19 mile race around the Kent countryside.
By far the largest entity present for the race would be Connaught Engineering. They would bring a fleet of four cars to be driven by Stuart Lewis-Evans, Archie Scott-Brown, Les Leston and Jack Fairman. This certainly represented a clear and present danger to the small privateer teams in the field like Paul Emery and his Emeryson Cars.
Had it not been for Roy Salvadori in the Maserati it would have been a clean sweep of the front row by Connaught. Lewis-Evans would garner the pole with a lap time of just 58.8 around the 1.25 mile circuit. Scott-Brown would be a mere two-tenths of a second slower and would take the 2nd spot. Les Leston would keep the good vibe rolling taking the 3rd spot. Roy Salvadori would be a little more than a second and a half off the pace but would still be fast enough to keep Jack Fairman from grabbing the 4th, and final, spot on the front row.
The Brands Hatch circuit was the right kind of circuit for the Emeryson. Instead of outright speed, acceleration and handling was of greater importance for a fast lap time around the circuit. And this better suited the 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder Alta engine. As a result, Emery would find himself toward the front of the 12 car field. His best lap would be 1:01.2, just two-tenths of a second slower than Fairman. This would lead to Emery starting from the 6th position on the second row of the grid.
The circuit certainly better suited the Emeryson than other circuits like Silverstone and Caen. However, Emery still had to concern himself with his car's reliability. He had only finished one race all season long. The rest of the time engine failures had brought about the end of the day. And, though the circuit better suited the Alta-powered car, the small engine would again be tested during the 15 lap race. There was little guarantee the car would be able to make it to the finish, even in this short of an event.
The good news, as the field roared and down around the Paddock Hill Bend for the first time, the Emeryson would be working and working well. Coming around Clearways up the hill toward the start/finish line the car was strong and moving along well.
After a couple of laps, the same could not be said for everyone in the field. Alan Mann, driving an aged HWM-Alta would find himself retiring from the race due to problems. Still, Emery was soldiering along.
Emery may had still been in the race but he was not carrying along at the same clip as Scott-Brown. The Connaught driver would go on to set the fastest lap of the race with a time equal to his best in practice. Averaging nearly 76 mph over the course of the fastest lap, he would help to keep the pressure on the rest of the field as he would be out front and looking strong ahead of his teammate Lewis-Evans and the rest of the field.
Such a pace had been detrimental to Emery's car in the past and there was no reason to think that despite the circuit suiting the car much better that the same wouldn't happen. Sure enough, after 7 laps of rather strong running, the engine would again let go in the Emeryson leaving Emery out of yet another Formula One race. He had not completed a race since the end of June and it wasn't to change on this day. What was more disappointing was the fact he had not made it past the 8th lap since the British Grand Prix.
While Emery would be out of the picture, the Connaught contingent would continue to roll along like a freight train. Despite some intense pressure by Salvadori in 3rd place, two of the Connaughts remained at the head of the field and the other two were not all that far behind.
The only real battle out on the circuit heading into the final couple of laps of the race would be the battle for 2nd place between Lewis-Evans and Salvadori. Just two and a half seconds separated these two and Salvadori had shown great determination in races throughout the year. So it seemed that battle would go right down to the very end.
The battle for 2nd place wouldn't actually be more than a few seconds behind Scott-Brown in the lead of the race but he would seem in control as he plunged down the hill for what would be the final time. Flying along the curved straight and up around Clearways for the final time, Scott-Brown would appear to be well on his way to victory unless the car lost all power coming up the hill.
No such episode would take place and Scott-Brown would streak across the line to take the final Formula One victory of the European season. About three and a half seconds later would come Lewis-Evans in a second Connaught. Salvadori just could not close in and challenge Lewis-Evans, and therefore, would settle for a well-earned 3rd place.
The final race of the season would be at a circuit much better suited to the Emeryson, and yet, the same would result. Though bored out to Formula One regulations, the small, 4-cylinder Alta engine was stretched beyond its limits and just was past its useful life by the start of the 1956 season. The string of very early retirements would only confirm this reality.
Following the disappointing 1956 season the finances for Emery would be even tighter. Heading into the season he had reason to believe he was heading in the right direction. He and his car had shown flashes of brilliance during the 1955 season. However, because he didn't have the finances to find a bigger engine to compete he would tune the Alta to the point that it was giving more than it had to give. This was more than evident with the early exits. In 1954 Fangio was blessed to break the 100 mph average speed barrier around Silverstone. Just two years later, the average speed was nearly 5 mph faster. Emery was forced to try and make due with a car and an engine really only capable of speeds that had been seen in 1954 and early on in 1955. By 1956, it was clear the Emeryson had been left behind.
True to form, Emery would not look at what worked on the car and made an effort to update those things. Instead of just a bigger engine, Emery's innovative mind would kick in, and thus, would begin the history of strange ideas and rather embarrassing failures. Still, no one could argue against his genius, just his timing and approach.
Unfortunately, this flawed approach to making a truly great grand prix car would lead to Emeryson being a forgotten about member of Formula One in 1957. The only evidence of its presence in the series would be Emery driving in a handful of events in a Connaught during the 1958 season.
Had Emeryson Cars and Paul Emery just slipped away from the scene quietly, the Emery name likely would be remembered rather fondly. But, like an impetuous youth, Emery's innovative mind would lead him astray and make an embarrassing mistake for which he would be always remembered.