1955 September
Stirling was entered for the Daily Telegraph Trophy at Aintree in a Maserati 250F on September 3 but wasn’t happy with the car in practice – the car felt slow and water leaked through to three rear cylinders badly. On the day he had a good start but Reg Parnell, in the works Streamliner Connaught, immediately took the lead and, as Alf Francis put it, “went like a dingbat”. Stirling stopped after 14 laps with a burned piston.
Mercedes dominated the Italian Grand Prix and Fangio led from the start. Around the 20th lap a stone shattered Stirling’s windscreen and he pitted to have a new screen fitted. He was now down to eighth, but being a ‘racer’ he was determined to catch up with the leaders. In that attempt he repeatedly set the fastest lap, leaving it at an average of 134mph!
Stirling was 26 years old on 17 September and on that day he won the RAC Tourist Trophy in Dundrod, Belfast – the first man in 50 years to win the race three times. The Dundrod track was far from suitable for top class racing being very narrow with an abrasive surface and was once again beset with tragedy. Jim Mayers and Bill Smith died early on in a multiple accident and Dick Mainwaring was killed when his Elva rolled and caught fire. Stirling said “Danger was an important ingredient ……You are gambling, and you are gambling to try to beat somebody. To me, I must say, if it had not been dangerous, I would not have enjoyed it so much.”
On September 24, Stirling won the Gold Cup race at Oulton Park by over a minute from Mike Hawthorn and Desmond Titterington. He had to miss his BBC interview because the plane in which he and Collins were flying back down South had to leave immediately as it had no landing lights!
See also:
1955
1955
1955
1955
1955