Aston Martin DBR1

The Aston Martin DBR1 was a racing car that was used in sports car races from 1956 to 1962.

history

In 1956, a change in the regulations forced Aston Martin to build a thoroughbred sports car for the races of the World Sports Car Championship . The rules now stipulated that the vehicles were no longer allowed to be road vehicles. That is why those responsible at Aston Martin decided to build the DBR1. The chassis was taken from the Aston Martin DB3 , but fundamentally revised. A 2.6-liter 6-cylinder engine was used as the engine, which was drilled out to 2.9 liters in the course of development.

The DBR1 made its racing debut at the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans , with Reg Parnell and Tony Brooks at the wheel. After driving 246 laps, the duo had to give up prematurely after a gearbox damage.

In 1957, the DBR1 became the standard vehicle for the Aston Martin works team. Roy Salvadori finished second in the Empire Trophy and Sussex Trophy at Goodwood . The first victory in the world championship came in the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring with Tony Brooks and Noël Cunningham-Reid at the wheel.

At the 24 Hours of Le Mans , both works DBR1s failed due to technical defects. A year later, three DBR1 cars were at the start at Le Mans and again none of the racing cars crossed the finish line. At the Nürburgring , the works team was able to repeat its win from last year. This time Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham were the drivers.

After a few successes in races that were not part of the world championship, the greatest success in the racing history of the DBR1 followed in 1959. At Le Mans, Aston Martin celebrated a one-two victory - to date, Aston Martin's only victory in the overall standings at the Sarthe race. Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby won with one lap ahead of the duo Maurice Trintignant and Paul Frère . In the previous World Championship round - the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring - the works team achieved their third victory in a row on the Nordschleife . This time Jack Fairman was Moss' partner.

At the end of the year Aston Martin secured overall victory in the World Sports Car Championship and attempted to enter Formula 1 the following season with the DBR4 and DBR5 . Sports car activities were discontinued and the DBR1 was sold to private drivers.

literature

Brian Laban: Le Mans 24 hours , MBI Publishing 2001, ISBN 0-7603-1256-7

Web links

Commons : Aston Martin DBR1 - collection of pictures, videos and audio files