Monoposto
Chassis number: 110052
This 1950 Talbot T-26C Grand Prix car with chassis number 11052 was one of the factory works racers during the 1950 season. It is fitted with the twin-plug engine and a side air intake commonly known as a 'bazooka'. It is one of just 23 examples created from 1948 through 1951 and is powered by an eight-cylinder engine that displaces 4.5 liters and produces 260 horsepower. There is a four-speed manual gearbox and four-wheel drum brakes.
by Dan Vaughan
In motor racing, when it comes to the subject of a driver's legacy, being one of the 'great ones' is usually synonymous with victories and championships. Yet, there is another legacy, not measured in personal victories or championships, but, in the collective preparation of other racers and future generations of racing drivers. Louis Rosier was a very good race driver; victorious and a champion. But the depth of his legacy, it could be argued, lay in the number of other careers he helped foster.
Louis Rosier was born November 5th, 1905, in Chapdes-Beaufort, France. Louis's father was a wine merchant. As Louis grew older he became an apprentice in an automobile garage. On the side, he began to race motorcycles, mostly in hillclimbing events. Soon after, Rosier opened up his own garage. Thus began his love affair with Renault and Talbot. Louis proved to be an entrepreneur straight-away as he not only opened his own garage, but he also started his own transport company in Clermont-Ferrand. This small city would always hold a special place in Louis' heart and would prove to provide yet another entrepreneurial idea for Rosier later in life.
Toward the end of the 1930s, when Rosier was in his early 20s, he started to take motor racing more seriously. Louis competed in more hillclimbs, and even tried his hand in the 1938 24 Hours of Le Mans. Rosier co-drove a Talbot T150SS Coupe with fellow Frenchman Robert Huguet for the Italian Luigi Chinetti team. Of course, to drive a Talbot for the famously successful Chinetti was a real honor. Unfortunately, Rosier did not experience the same success at Le Mans Chinetti did. The Talbot failed to finish the race after lasting only 81 laps.
Being so close to the outbreak of World War II, Rosier's racing career would go on hold, but he did not go into hiding…well metaphorically. During the war, Rosier worked with the French Resistance. The war years were dangerous times and Rosier lived with that threat each and every day, and was not immune to the effects of those dangers. Rosier was under threat of capture by the Germans but was able to escape. Unfortunately, Rosier's wife and daughter were taken by the Germans instead. Thankfully, Rosier was able to find them at war's end after following them to Germany to try and locate them.
With the end of the war, Rosier was able to go back to his regular job and passion as a racing driver. Perhaps it was the maturity and fearlessness birthed through war experience, but whatever it was, Rosier stepped into a whole new level of competitiveness upon his return to racing. Almost immediately, Louis began to not only do well in races, but actually win them. In 1947, at the Belgian Grand Prix, the Grand Prix de Reims and the Grand Prix de Nice, Rosier was able to finish 6th, gaining one point for each in the unofficial world championship at that time. Sandwiched in between those races, Louis took home his first win at the Albi Grand Prix, beating Raymond Sommer.
At the last race in France during the 1947 grand prix season, Rosier showed good form yet again. At the Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France in Lyon-Parilly, Louis cam home in 4th place one lap behind race winner Louis Chiron. This result, along with his other good showings, set Rosier up for strong successful years to come.
In 1947, Rosier finished the season and the unofficial championship in 6th place. In 1948, Rosier would build on the previous year's good result and propelled himself three more places higher into 3rd. Rosier earned one win toward the end of the year in October, at the Grand Prix du Salon. This victory, and many other good results kept him up toward the top of the driver's championship. At the Grand Prix de Pau in France, the first race of that year, Louis was able to finish 4th, earning him 3 points toward the year's championship. Rosier did not race again until the next race on French soil, the Grand Prix de L'A.C.F. At this race Rosier was able to secure only 1 point with his 6th place finish. But this was another point toward the 1948 championship. Rosier competed at the next race in Torino, Italy, the Gran Premio d'Italia. The presence of Villoresi, Parnell, Sommer and Ascari meant finishing in the points would be no easy affair. Despite their presence, Louis showed his true prowess in his Talbot-Lago T26C (see Talbot-Lago T26C article) coming home once again in 6th but earning yet another point.
Rosier then ventured over to England for the next round, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which took place in October of that year. Here, Rosier matched his best result of the season with a second 4th place finish, and yet, another 3 points toward that year's championship.
Confidence was undoubtedly riding high for Rosier as he ventured back to home soil for the next race on the 1948 championship calendar, the Grand Prix du Salon. In the end, Rosier beat out the likes or Parnell, Bira and Chinetti (the man for whom Rosier drove for in his first 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 1938) and took his first win of the season, earning him 9 more points for his championship tally.
The last race of the '48 season took place at Spain's Gran Premio de Pena Rhin, in Barcelona. In Barcelona Rosier had to compete, one more time, against drivers like Bira, Parnell, Ascari, and Villoresi. But Rosier was truly coming into his own as a potent racing driver. Despite not winning the race, the Frenchman came home in 4th, again earning him another 3 points. In the end, Rosier finished the 1948 championship in 3rd with 20 points, some 15 behind championship winner Jean-Pierre Wimille.
In 1949, the chances of Rosier improving upon his 3rd place finish in the championship would be much tougher. With the presence now of Fangio, Farina and the incredibly potent Maserati 4CLT/48, the competition for the championship would be much tougher and tighter. Yet, Rosier proved to be up to the task. The efficiency of the Talbot-Lago's fuel burn, compared to that of the thirsty Maserati, undoubtedly help. The fuel efficiency of the normally-aspirated Talbot-Lago kept it in races though it was outpaced by the performance of the supercharged Alfa Romeos and Maserati.
Rosier would again score a victory at the Grand Prix of Belgium at Spa-Francorchamps, but would also score a 3rd, a 6th and a 4th, respectively. Along with the win at Spa, Rosier amassed a total of 17 points and finished the season 8th behind most all of the well-known big names of grand prix racing. Truly, Rosier did belong amongst the company of greats. This competition of man and machinery set the stage for the coming of Formula One's existence the following year, and Rosier was not about to miss out.
1950 was a busy and rather successful year for Rosier, and it proved to firmly cement Rosier's reputation as a competitive and talented driver. In 1949, Rosier had incredible duels with drivers like Fangio and Villoresi. The battle resumed in earnest at the Pau Grand Prix in April. Once again Rosier performed well, proving to be one of the top drivers. And, yet again, Rosier came in 3rd behind Fangio and Villoresi.
The promising start didn't make it to Louis' next race at the Grand Prix de Paris at the end of April of that year. Rosier's race did not go well. In fact, the race did not go well for many of the competitors of the race as there were only three finishers. Unfortunately, Rosier was not one of those who finished the race.
At the first event of the new world championship series, Rosier was determined to use his talent to achieve a good result. He entered the first event at Silverstone with his 4.5 liter Talbot-Lago T26 under his own team name of Ecurie Rosier. Rosier qualified a very respectable 9th. This meant Louis would start the race from the 3rd row of the grid. Rosier would build upon his confidence gained from qualifying. In the race Rosier was fast but steady in his T26. Louis drove a splendid race and finished 5th, turning around from the failure to finish he suffered at the GP de Paris only a couple of weeks prior. The 5th place finish meant Rosier had scored 2 points toward the driver's championship.
There wasn't much time for Rosier to really enjoy the result at the British Grand Prix, however, as he ventured down to Monte Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix a week later. Rosier qualified 10th, 7.5+ seconds behind pole-sitter Fangio. The truly unfortunate part of the Monaco Grand Prix for many, including Rosier, was the first-lap incident that took out many of the competitors. Like eight other drivers, Louis' race was done without having even finished one lap. Worse yet, this meant Rosier scored no points to go toward his championship tally. This was something Louis, undoubtedly, was keen to rectify. Louis would find some sense of vindication over the course of the next few races in which he would compete.
The summer months kicked of with a bang. There have been a few father/son driver combinations who have competed in the 24 hours of Le Mans throughout its history. However, only one father/son duo has taken the overall victory at the race. That honor would go to Louis and his son Jean-Louis. This victory at the 24 hour event set Rosier up for a strong run through the rest of the racing season.
The grand prix venture got back on the right track when the championship headed to Switzerland for the Swiss Grand Prix, held at Bremgarten. Rosier showed up racing the usual straight-six Talbot-Lago people grew accustomed to seeing him in, but this time he arrived with the Automobiles Talbot-Darracq SA team. This was to prove to be a good move in the short-term for Louis. Louis qualified in 10th. His performance in the race, however, was even better as he climbed all the way up to a 3rd place finish and 4 points toward the championship.
Two weeks later, Rosier was again behind the wheel of one of Automobiles Talbot-Darracq SA's Talbot-Lagos for the Belgian Grand Prix held on the old course at Spa Francorchamps. Setting a time some 16+ seconds behind pole-sitter Farina, Louis qualified 8th, solidly in the middle of the field. This was not indicative of being off the pace however; a fact proven by the race itself. The Alfas of Fangio and Fagioli proved to be powerhouses. However, Louis was able to out-duel the other Alfa of Farina to finish 3rd. A testament to the overwhelming performance of the Alfa Romeos, despite how thirsty the engine may have been, can be seen by the fact Rosier finished the high-speed course over 2 minutes behind!
The next race, the French Grand Prix at Reims, would be Rosier's home grand prix on the world championship calendar and an event full of pride for the Frenchman. A good result at his home grand prix, and at a track he knew rather well, would have given him such confidence going into the final world championship event in Italy, a little over a month later. Rosier qualified rather well in 6th. After 10 laps Rosier's Talbot-Darracq's T26C came to an end with overheating issues. But this is the French Grand Prix in the first ever 'official' world championship series. A Frenchman cannot say, 'die'. And Rosier did no such thing. Fellow Frenchman Charles Pozzi ended up pulling over after only 14 laps and let Rosier take over behind the wheel of his Talbot-Lago for the remainder of the race. Looking into the details it is easy to surmise there wasn't much chance of a podium finish for Rosier, but in the grander scope of things, Rosier and Pozzi were able to finish the race in 6th. Of course, never mind the fact they were the last car running on the track finishing the race some 8 laps down to race winner Fangio.
Between the French Grand Prix held in July and the final world championship event held at Monza in Italy in September, Rosier competed in a couple of other non-championship races.
A couple of weeks after his determined finish in Pozzi's Talbot-Lago, Louis was back with his own Talbot-Lago chassis for the Albi Grand Prix. Louis rolled to another 3rd place finish. Sommer finished 1st in his own Talbot-Lago with Fangio finishing in 2nd less than a second behind in a Maserati 4CLT/48.
Without a doubt, Louis desperately wanted to improve upon his number of 3rd place finishes. Yet it was difficult with the presence of the Alfa Romeos and Maserati 4CLTs. The Dutch Grand Prix, at the end of July, proved to be the ticket Louis needed. Despite a number of Ferraris, Maseratis and other Talbot-Lagos, Louis' Talbot-Lago carried him home to a 1st place finish ahead of a trio of Ferraris. Finally, he stood on the top step of the podium. This was a sweet victory for Rosier as he was able to fend off the more powerful Ferraris and Maseratis.
Confidence was riding high as Louis made his way to Italy to take part in another non-championship grand prix, the Pescara Grand Prix, which took place in August of that year. Given the final race of the world championship was only a month away, and the fact the race was held in Italy, Rosier had the Alfa Romeos of Fangio and Fagioli with which to contend. Despite their presence, Louis held his own in his Talbot-Lago. Pescara was a rather fast course and seemingly played into the hands of the performance of the Alfa Romeo 158s. But at almost 16 miles in length, the more fuel-efficient 4.5 liter 6 cylinder engine in the Talbot-Lago was able to keep things close since it didn't need to refuel as often. Rosier used this and his talent to his advantage and was able to split the Alfas of Fangio and Fagioli to come home in 2nd after completing the 16 lap event. This added to Louis' confidence as he headed on to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, the final event on the world championship calendar.
Louis traveled the 360 miles from Pescara to Monza to compete with 26 other drivers in the world championship's final event. Monza's layout for the 1950 season bore similar resemblance to that competed on presently. The only major difference in layout of the track for the 1950 race was the final two turns. Each was much more square in their layout coming off of the 'Rettifilo Centrale' backstretch and around to the front stretch. In fact, the 'Curva di Vedano', as it was known, extended out beyond that of the oval track portion as it turned toward the front stretch.
Amidst a sea of Italian drivers and car manufacturers, Rosier took to the track and qualified 13th, 14+ seconds behind the Argentinean Fangio. Fangio was amidst a sea of his own as he was followed on the grid by no less than six consecutive Italian racers driving either Alfa Romeos or Ferraris. The highest placed chassis besides either an Alfa Romeo, Ferrari or Maserati was Sommer's Talbot-Lago in 8th spot on the grid.
In the face of so many drivers, and perhaps superior machines, it would be easy to conclude that a good result would be hard to come by. But those drivers and their machines, first of all, have to finish. Attrition at the Italian Grand Prix was extremely high. The abuse of a year of racing obviously was taking its toll. Yet it did not touch Rosier. Though Louis finished the race some five laps behind winner Farina, he did so in 4th place, which garnered him another 3 points in his championship tally.
In the championship of that year the four best results were taken into account. For some, like Fagioli, this made a difference. However, Rosier's four best results of the year earned him a total of 13 points and he ended the first world championship season in 4th place behind the three Alfa Romeo drivers of Farina, Fangio and Fagioli.
Though the world championship season was over, Louis still had one more race in which he would compete, and that was the Penya Rhin Grand Prix in Spain. Unfortunately, the 1950 race season would not end on a high note for Louis as his grand prix came to an end on the 10th lap of the race.
1950 had a few low points for Rosier, but it had a far greater number of highlights. This would encourage Louis to formally create the Ecurie Rosier team. Louis would continue to drive for other teams at times throughout the remainder of his career, besides his own. However, the formal creation of Ecurie Rosier provided an outlet for up-and-coming drivers to have competitive drives in which to prove and improve their talent.
Developing the talent of future drivers, and just the future of racing, was an important focus of Rosier's life. After World War II, Rosier invested in the idea of a race around the area of Clermont-Ferrand. The track's preliminary layout was done, but was put on hold. The track idea was meant to travel through the small towns around the area similar to the way Le Mans is set up. In 1955 a huge disaster struck Le Mans and this halted any event to take place on temporary urban layouts. Despite all of the new safety changes that would have to be implemented the idea for the track moved forward.
Unfortunately, Rosier would end up not seeing his single greatest effort for the promotion of racing and of future driving talent come to fruition. Rosier died due to injuries he sustained in a crash at the Montlhery track just south of Paris in 1956. When the track Rosier dreamed of and promoted was opened it was given the name 'Circuit de Charade Louis Rosier'. In fact, the circuit's start-finish line is on 'Virage Rosier'
Just a glance through France's auto-racing history; its race tracks and champions, its victories and 'firsts', the name 'Rosier' constantly appears. The depth of Louis Rosier' talent as a racing driver is unmistakable. But the depth of his influence, his promotion of autoracing and of future autoracing drivers is so vast it's almost imperceptible, like wind driving the sail. But it's there to see; if one looks. This is the legacy of Louis Rosier.
Cloud, Quintin. 'Formula One Homepage of GP Results and History.' www.fortunecity.com/olympia/grange/54/
http://www.fortunecity.com/olympia/grange/54/
Jenkins, Richard. 'The World Championship drivers - Where are they now?'. OldRacingCars.com. http://www.oldracingcars.com/driver/Louis_Rosier. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
Rosier First In Auto Race, New York Times, June 26, 1950, Page 36.
Grand Prix To Villoresi, New York Times, October 3, 1948, Page S10.
De Graffenried Annexes Grand Prix Auto Classic, New York Times, May 15, 1949, Page S6.
Wikipedia contributors. 'Louis Rosier.' Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2 Apr. 2010. Web. 23 Apr. 2010.
by Jeremy McMullen
Monoposto
Chassis number: 110052
The end of World War II saw the advent of a new form of competitive racing that tested a machine's speed and endurance among a class of cars honed to a degree of power beyond that of production models. For the competition's inaugural year in 1950, Talbot-Lago entered the Type 26 Grand Prix. Its class: Formula One.
The Formula One category was founded in 1948 but did not have its first national competition until 1950. Competitors were challenged to build cars that met one of two regulations: one for supercharged cars with a maximum of 1.5-liter engines and one for unsupercharged models with a maximum of 4.5-liter engines.
Talbot-Lago chose to create a simple, unsupercharged 4.5-liter car on a Type 26 chassis - a chassis touted as the 'fastest production chassis in the world,' by Autocar Magazine in October 1948. This car, chassis number 110052, is from the marque's second series Type 26s, made blazingly fast with the addition of twin ignition plugs that created an additional 50 brake horsepower and top speeds of more than 166 miles per hour. The factory-built body is a sleek bullet with a tapered rear that maximizes aerodynamic efficiency. The bare exhaust pipes are a reminder of this refined machine's true ambitions - speed and endurance. Talbot-Lago operated a factory racing team for roughly ten years. Although it was small and its financial resources were limited, it did much to elevate the prestige of French racing and develop the reputation of international Formula racing worldwide.
Obscured by the haze of the Alfa Romeo 158's dominance of the first three places in Formula One's first season was a car from France that made its statement from the other side of the spectrum. While the 158s of the Alfa Romeo SpA team would utilize their superior horsepower and disappear into the distance, the Talbot-Lago exercised a different strategy reminiscent of the tale 'The Tortoise and the Hare'. Although often overlooked because it didn't have the power of many other cars it competed against, the Talbot-Lago T26C forced teams to think beyond power and speed. In its own way, the T26C helped define what a successful race car was and is.
It is the philosophy of most automakers that investing, if able, in motoracing will also benefit production cars. This was the viewpoint of Anthony Lago when he took over SA Automobiles Talbot. In that day and age, building a car and then entering it in some races to be tested and beat up was the equivalent of today's car companies and their vast proving grounds. In fact, Lago used his experiences designing and building grand prix cars to then apply that technology to the company's road cars. Lago started out building and designing the grand prix cars around the parts and features that worked or showed promise.
Using Talbot's existing 3 liter, 6 cylinder engine, Lago was able to improve upon this base and produced a 4 liter version for competition purposes. This engine would be widely used throughout the 30s. After World War II, Lago, helped by a new designer Carlo Marchetti, developed a 4.5 liter version of the 6 cylinder, but this engine was only able to produce 165bhp. This engine was later revised and able to produce around 240bhp. One interesting aspect of the design of the Talbot-Lago engine was that the pushrods that operated the valves were shorter due to the lateral camshafts located about midway up the engine block. This helped efficiency.
Before Formula One's first season in 1950, Lago further refined his 6 cylinder engine until it became capable of producing 260bhp. The horsepower increase, however, was going to be no match for the Alfa Romeos and others that were capable of producing well in excess of 300hp. However, the Talbot-Lago team found there were other ways that made themselves competitive. Talbot-Lago found that gas economy and reliability made up much of the difference.
Lago designed a chassis to be mated with his 6 cylinder engine for competition with Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari. The T26C chassis was a low-slung bobsled-shaped roadster. The overall oval shaped chassis was dominated on the nose by the radiator inlet due to the inline engine in front of the driver—an arrangement that was the norm of the day. The front suspension had a wishbone arrangement that utilized transverse leaf springs and friction dampers to help the car negotiate the bumps and to help with the all-important stability.
Travelling back from the nose the overall shape turned more triangular as the body design had to compensate for the height of the engine head. This, like most roadsters, led to the triangular shape because it helped aerodynamically with the engine but also with the driver that sat up into the airflow quite a bit. On the right side of the chassis up by the engine the air induction tube stuck out. The engine cowling was flattened out on the right side to cover the induction pipes as they connected to the engine. On the other side, exhaust pipes flowed from each cylinder, out through an opening and blended into two vertically stacked pipes that travelled the length of the car to behind the left rear wheel.
The T26C utilized a reliable 4 speed Wilson pre-selector gearbox, but the gearshift location was rather interesting for a racing car. Due to its compact size, the cockpit was rather tight, in many cases the driver's knees were in his chest. Therefore, like many automatic vehicles of today, the gearshift was located behind the steering wheel.
Snuggly fitted behind the large steering wheel with a small windshield, and with the mirrors attached to the chassis and located on either side of the steering wheel, this truly was the epitome of a Formula One roadster of the day, including the dangers the drivers faced. With the fuel tank located in the teardrop-shaped rear of the car, and the engine up in front, the driver was in a precarious situation driving a grand prix car of this era.
Despite the obvious performance deficiencies there were a couple of factors that always kept the T26C in contention. The T26C had superior gas mileage due to not being supercharged and only 6 cylinders. This meant that over greater distances, like a grand prix race, the fact the car could go the entire distance without stopping for fuel or tires meant the advantage gained by the more powerful cars practically disappeared. The other important factor the T26C used in its favor—and this makes all the difference for any team's aspirations—was reliability. While Luigi Fagioli had a consistent 1950 season with Alfa Romeo SpA having only failed to finish once, the underpowered T26C did as well. The car just did not break. This allowed Talbot's driver Louis Rosier to stay in the points. And despite never winning a race, Rosier was able to achieve fourth in the final championship standings. In fact, at three of the seven races Rosier was either fourth or better and this with a car notably short on power!
Within the grand prix racing circle the T26C's innovative contributions were much larger than the results of Formula One's first season would suggest. The Alfa Romeo 158 and the Alfa Romeo SpA team swept the first three spots in the 1950 championship. The car and the team apparently dominated. The achievement of the SpA team would easily overshadow any contributions of other teams. However, Louis Rosier's fourth place tremendously impacted the Formula One world. Many teams, based upon the achievements of Talbot-Lago, had to do some rethinking, expanding the definition of 'performance'. In fact, it is the same today in grand prix racing—the search, the longing, for the balance between the speed of the Alfa Romeo 158 and the strength and stamina of the T26C.
Despite being inferior in power by practically 100hp, the T26C threatened the more powerful teams by using greater gas mileage and reliability as its tactics. Through these tactics other teams came to truly realize their vulnerability. Other teams needed to seriously address these important issues to stay competitive. Therefore, for all intents and purposes, in Formula One, Talbot-Lago's T26C ushered in the balance between speed and endurance. This is why Talbot-Lago is probably even more famous for its endurance racing. Lago would design a wider version of the T26C, complete with fenders and headlights, to meet the rules and would actually go on to win the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1950. The 24 hour race was made for the Talbot-Lago chassis and engine combination and was one of the team's most notable victories.
by Jeremy McMullen
In 1950, there were many independent teams that took part in Formula One's inaugural season. These teams were comprised more of one driver and his own car, more than anything else. Often times, gentlemen of society would form teams to go race. One of those teams was the Ecurie Belge team.
Octave John 'Johnny' Claes was born of a Scottish mother and Belgian father and was educated in England. After World War II, Johnny decided to get involved in grand prix racing. This desire, however, didn't start on a whim. In 1947 Claes served as an interpreter for British drivers at the French Grand Prix. This exposure to grand prix racing birthed a passion within Claes. The very next year Johnny made his debut.
Johnny bought his own Talbot-Lago T26C (see article on the Talbot-Lago T26C) and raced under the Ecurie Belge name that Johnny himself founded. After competing throughout 1948 and 1949, Claes never scored a victory, but Johnny remained very active in grand prix racing. Despite his lack of success, Claes competed in every event of Formula One's first season.
At Formula One's first race, the British Grand Prix, Claes qualified dead last for the race at Silverstone. Johnny would end up the race finishing 11th, 6 laps behind the winner Farina. Claes was the last car in the field still running.
The Monaco Grand Prix was the next race. Johnny ended up qualifying in the 19th spot. This was an improvement, but little consolation since the other two drivers that started worse did not have a qualifying time. Johnny made it through the melee on the first lap that claimed many of the other teams. Once again, Johnny would be the last car still running. But that consistency netted Johnny a 7th place finish at the prestigious race.
After the Indianapolis 500, the Formula One season moved on to Switzerland for the Swiss Grand Prix held at the 4.5 miles course in Bremgarten. Claes made an improvement in qualifying. Claes would end up starting the race from 14th on the grid, almost 17 seconds off of Juan Manuel Fangio's pace. In the race, Johnny would not be the last car still running. Claes drove a steady race, showing improvement as a racer. Johnny would end up finishing 10th, only four laps behind winner Farina.
Claes headed home for the next race in Spa, Belgium. The Grand Prix of Belgium touted a small entry of cars. Only 14 cars made the trip for the race, but to be sure, Johnny was not going to miss his home grand prix. Claes would end up not posting a time during qualifying, so he ended up starting the race from the last position on the grid. Johnny had experience starting from the back and coming up through the field, and this race would end up being no exception. Despite starting last, Johnny climbed all the way up to finish the race in 8th place, and only 3 laps behind the leader. Up to this point, despite qualifying rather poorly at each race, Johnny drove steady, controlled races and always finished higher than where he had qualified. Claes tried to keep this going into the last two races of the Formula One season.
The French Grand Prix was next on Formula One's calendar. During qualifying there were a slew of cars that didn't post a qualifying time, Claes being one of them. As a result, Johnny was relegated to starting the race from the 15th starting spot. It ended up that despite not posting a time Claes would end up starting the race from a far better spot than for most of the races he actually posted a time. The Belgian's race didn't fair well though. Throughout the season, Claes drove steady races to finish well, but not much can be done when it is the car that fails, not the driver. The engine on Johnny's Talbot-Lago started to overheat and, finally on lap 11 of the race, Claes parked his T26C…his race was done. Despite this bad result, Claes continued his streak of finishing better than where he started. Though he did not finish the race, unofficially, Claes finished 11th.
Johnny was hoping to end the first season of Formula One on a high note as it travelled to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix. The race would be contested by a large number of drivers. Johnny would qualify 22nd, beating out five other drivers. The race was one of attrition, breaking cars left and right. Many cars would end up suffering engine, gearbox and overheating issues. Claes would end up being one of those that suffered from car troubles. Claes' engine began to overheat again, just like during the French Grand Prix. Finally, on the 22nd lap, the car was brought to a stop. However, due to the problems suffered by many of the other drivers, Claes would end up finishing, though retired, better than he had started. Unofficially, Johnny would end up finishing the race 16th.
Due to having only been racing for two years previously, it could be said the inaugural Formula One season was more of a time for learning and improving for Claes. Johnny ended up proving to be a quick learner and very adept. This point is only further reinforced by the fact Claes would end up winning the 1950 Grand Prix of Frontieres, a non-Formula One race. Although Claes showed great improvement throughout the Formula One season, he would end up without a championship point in the six starts he made.
There were perhaps more famous 'gentleman' racers during the period, like Prince Bira, Johnny Claes, however, proved a competent and competitive racer. He proved he wasn't just there because he had the means. He wanted to race, and he wanted to win. Though relatively obscure and unknown in Formula One history, Ecurie Belge was just another one of those small, privateer teams that helped shaped and flavor the early years of Formula One's history.
by Jeremy McMullen
Anthony Lago had taken over control of the Talbot factory in Suresnes after the merger with Sunbeam and Darracq had collapsed in 1936. By 1937 he had introduced a new line of vehicles, two of which were entered in the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans. He continued his racing endeavors by moving to single-seat racers, and by 1939, a purpose-built Grand Prix car had been completed. The onset of World War II slowed the racing endeavors, but after the war, and with the assistance of Carlo Marchetti, an overall win at Le Mans was achieved.
Marchetti and Lago created a 4.5-liter version of the six-cylinder engine and used it in the T26 Record and T26 Grand Sport cars. The 4.5-liter displacement size was selected because it meant requirements for Grand Prix competition. A 1.5-liter displacement size limit was placed on vehicles that were aided by superchargers.
The 4.5-liter engine produced 165 horsepower, which made it inadequate in comparison to the competition, which was producing over 300 horsepower from their engines. The engine would require more tuning if it were to compete in Grand Prix Competition. Marchetti and Lago began work on a revised head for the engine. The new design had two lateral camshafts partway up the block, and shortened pushrods to operate the twelve valves. The modifications improved the engine output to 240 horsepower. Further improvements pushed that figure to around 260 and in range of its competition.
In 1948, the Talbot Lago T26C made its racing debut at the Monaco Grand Prix. The car was fitted with large drum brakes, a Wilson Pre-Selector four-speed gearbox, and a conventional box-section chassis. Shortly after the race began, it became clear that the Talbot Lago was no match for the Maserati's and their two-stage supercharged 4CLTs. The main advantage that the T26C employed was its ability to run the entire race without refueling or changing tires. The Maserati cars pitted halfway through the race, which gave the Talbot-Lago T26Cs a chance to regain some ground. As the checkered flag fell, Nino Farina and his Maserati were in the lead, followed closely by a T26C driven by Louis Chiron.
The Talbot-Lago T26C competition career continued during the 1949 season. Their superior fuel mileage and reliability gained them two major Grand Prix victories. In 1950, the T26C's did well in non-championship competition.
For the 1950 running of the 24 Hours of LeMans, Anthony Lago entered a T26C for competition. The LeMans race is a grueling race that tests driver, car, and team for 24 hours of competition. Just finishing the race is a victory in itself. Anthony was convinced that the T26Cs proven reliability would reward them with a strong finish. The car was slightly modified for the race to comply with regulations; it was given lights, fenders, and a wider body to allow for a driver and co-driver.
At the 1950 24 Hours of LeMans, the T26C was driven by Louis Rosier and his son Jean-Louis Rosier. At the end of the race, the T26C had captured the most important victory of its career.
The T26 road-going cars were powered by a six-cylinder, DOHC Cam engine with triple carburetors that produced nearly 200 horsepower. There was a four-speed Wilson Preselector gearbox, four-wheel drum brakes, and a live-axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs rear suspension. This setup provided the necessary power, performance, and comfort required by cars of this caliber.
The Talbot-Lago T26 models were exquisite creations outfitted with coachwork provided by some of the world's greatest coachbuilders. Never produced in large numbers, these T26 models are extremely rare and exclusive by today's standards. In total, there were around 750 examples of the T26 constructed, with only 23 being the T26C version. There were about 30 examples of the T26 GS (Grand Sport) constructed with eight built atop the short chassis of 2.65M. This was the same chassis used for the Grand Prix cars.
by Dan Vaughan