The 1953 World Sportscar Championship was the first FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was a seven race [1] international motor racing series for sports cars contested from 8 March to 23 November 1953. The championship was won by Ferrari. [1]
The 1953 World Sports Car Championship was contested over a seven race series. Now legendary and shockingly dangerous races such as the Mille Miglia and the Carrera Panamericana were part of an international race calendar, accompanied by the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Spa, with the inaugural race being the 12 Hours of Sebring in the United States.
The Championship was for manufacturers, and works teams such as Scuderia Ferrari, Lancia, Aston Martin and Jaguar leading the way, but the majority of the fields were made up of amateur or gentlemen drivers, often up against professional racing drivers with experience in Formula One. Sometimes, even the Drivers World Champion joined in.
Entries were divided into classes based on engine displacement. Scuderia Ferrari were a dominant force in 1953, winning three of the seven races.
Round | Date | Event | Circuit or Location | Winning driver | Winning team | Winning car | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 08/03 | 12 Hours of Sebring | Sebring International Raceway | Phil Walters John Fitch | Briggs Cunningham | Cunningham C-4R | Results |
2 | 26/04 | Mille Miglia | Brescia-Rome-Brescia | Giannino Marzotto Marco Crosara | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 340 MM | Results |
3 | 13/06 14/06 | 24 Hours of Le Mans | Circuit de la Sarthe | Tony Rolt Duncan Hamilton | Jaguar Cars Ltd. | Jaguar C-Type | Results |
4 | 25/07 26/07 | 24 Hours de Spa | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | Giuseppe Farina Mike Hawthorn | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 375 MM | Results |
5 | 30/08 | ADAC 1000km Nürburgring | Nürburgring | Alberto Ascari Giuseppe Farina | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 375 MM | Results |
6 | 05/09 | RAC Tourist Trophy | Dundrod | Peter Collins Pat Griffith | Aston Martin Ltd. | Aston Martin DB3S | Results |
7 | 19/11 23/11 | Carrera Panamericana | Tuxtla Gutiérrez-Ciudad Juárez | Juan Manuel Fangio Gino Bronzoni | Scuderia Lancia | Lancia D24 | Results |
Pos. | Manufacturer | SEB | MMI | LMS | SPA | NÜR | TTR | PAN | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ferrari | (1) | 8 | (2) | 8 | 8 | 3 | 27 (30) | |
2 | Jaguar | 4 | 8 | 6 | 6 | (4) | 24 (28) | ||
3 | Aston Martin | 6 | 2 | 8 | 16 | ||||
4= | Lancia | 4 | 8 | 12 | |||||
4= | Cunningham | 8 | 4 | 12 | |||||
6 | Alfa Romeo | 6 | 6 | ||||||
7 | Borgward | 4 | 4 | ||||||
8= | D.B. | 3 | 3 | ||||||
8= | Porsche | 3 | 3 | ||||||
10= | O.S.C.A. | 2 | 2 | ||||||
10= | Veritas | 2 | 2 | ||||||
10= | Talbot | 2 | 2 | ||||||
13= | Maserati | 1 | 1 | ||||||
13= | Gordini | 1 | 1 | ||||||
13= | Frazer Nash | 1 | 1 |
Championship points were awarded for the first six places in each race in the order of 8-6-4-3-2-1. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by additional cars. Only the best 4 results out of the 7 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table.
The following models contributed to the net championship point scores of their respective manufacturers.
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "The Prancing Horse", in reference to their logo. It is the oldest surviving and most successful Formula One team, having competed in every world championship since 1950.
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The 1956 World Sportscar Championship was the fourth annual FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was a contested by sportscars over a series of five races from 29 January to 12 August 1956.
The 1957 World Sportscar Championship season was the fifth season of the FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was a series for sportscars that ran in many worldwide endurance events. It ran from 20 January 1957 to 3 November 1957, and comprised seven races.
The 1958 World Sportscar Championship was a motor racing series for sportscars which ran from 26 January to 13 September 1958 and comprised six races in six countries. It was the sixth World Sportscar Championship.
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The 1953 Carrera Panamericana was the fourth running of the Carrera Panamericana Mexican sports car racing event, and the first edition as a part of the World Sportscar Championship. The race took place from 19–23 November, and was run from Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, over 8 stages and 3,077 kilometres (1,912 mi). 182 cars started the race, and 60 finished all 8 stages.
The 1953 Mille Miglia, was the second round of the 1953 F.I.A. World Sportscar Championship and was held on the open-road of Italy, on 26 April 1953. The route was based on a round trip between Brescia and Rome, with start/finish, in Brescia.
The 1954 12 Hours of Sebring was a motor race for sports cars, staged on 7 March 1954 at the Sebring International Raceway, Florida, United States. It was the second race of the 1954 World Sportscar Championship and was the fourth 12 Hours of Sebring. The race was won by Bill Lloyd and Stirling Moss driving an Osca MT4 1450.
The 1954 RAC Tourist Trophy was a motor race for Sports Cars which took place on 11 September 1954 on the roads around Dundrod,. It was the 21st RAC Tourist Trophy and the fifth race of the 1954 World Sportscar Championship. The Tourist Trophy was awarded to handicap winners Paul Armagnac and Gérard Laureau driving a D.B. HBR Panhard however the overall race win for championship points was attained by Mike Hawthorn and Maurice Trintignant driving a Ferrari 750 Monza.
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The 3. Internationales ADAC 1000 Kilometer Rennen auf dem Nürburgring took place on 26 May 1957, on the Nürburgring Nordschleife,. It was also the fourth round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. This would the first championship since the dreadful events in the Mille Miglia, Italy just a fortnight ago, where Alfonso de Portago crashed killing himself, his co-driver and nine spectators.
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The 4. Internationales ADAC 1000 Kilometer Rennen Nürburgring took place on 1 June, on the Nürburgring Nordschleife,. It was also the fourth round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship, which was running to new regulations introduced at the beginning of the season.
The 1959 12-Hour Florida International Grand Prix of Endurance for the Amoco Trophy was a motor race for sportscars, staged on 21 March at the Sebring International Raceway, Florida, United States. It was the opening round of the 1959 World Sportscar Championship and was the eighth running of the 12 Hours of Sebring.