Sports car world championship 1955
The sports car world championship in 1955 was the third season of this championship. It began on January 23 and ended on October 16, 1955.
championship
Like many motorsport racing series, the World Sports Car Championship was overshadowed by Pierre Levegh's catastrophic accident at the Le Mans 24-hour race , in which 84 people died, from the summer of 1955 . In contrast to other racing series, such as the Formula 1 World Championship , none of the sports car championship races were subsequently canceled for this reason. The originally planned Carrera Panamericana did not take place because the organizer could not find any funding after the many deaths in recent years. As a replacement, the Targa Florio received world championship status .
The championship began at the end of January with the 1000 km race in Buenos Aires and ended in October with the Targa Florio . The race in Argentina, which according to reports was more like a South American local race than a world championship race, was won by a local team in a Ferrari 375 Plus . It was the only overall victory for Ferrari , the defending champion in the Manufacturers' World Championship.
In addition to the Formula 1 World Championship, Daimler-Benz AG vehicles also dominated the international sports car races this year. With victories at the Mille Miglia , the RAC Tourist Trophy and the Targa Florio, the works team from Germany secured the world championship just ahead of Ferrari. The Scuderia , which had dominated the last two world championships, remained without a win this year.
Racing calendar
| No. | date | Race name / circuit |
team | Overall winner | vehicle | championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 23 |
 1000 km race of Buenos Aires( Autódromo Municipal-Avenida Paz ) |
Enrique Sáenz-Valiente José-Maria Ibánez
|
Ferrari 375 Plus | Brands | |
| 2 | March 13th |
 Sebring 12-hour race( Sebring International Raceway ) |
BS Cunningham
|
 Mike Hawthorn Phil Walters
|
Jaguar D-Type | Brands |
| 3 | 1st of May |
 Mille Miglia(Brescia - Rome - Brescia) |
 Daimler-Benz AG
|
Stirling Moss Denis Jenkinson
|
Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR | Brands |
| 4th | June 11-12 |
 24 Hours of Le Mans( Circuit des 24 Heures ) |
Jaguar Cars Ltd.
|
Mike Hawthorn Ivor Bueb
|
Jaguar D-Type | Brands |
| 5 | September 18 |
RAC Tourist Trophy ( Dundrod Circuit ) |
Daimler-Benz AG
|
Stirling Moss John Fitch
|
Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR | Brands |
| 6th | October, 16th |
Targa Florio ( Piccolo circuito delle Madonie ) |
Daimler-Benz AG
|
Stirling Moss Peter Collins
|
Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR | Brands |
Brand world championship for designers
Overall rating
| position | constructor | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Mercedes Benz
|
8th | 8th | 8th | 24 | |||
| 2 |
Ferrari
|
8th | 6th | 4th | (1) | 4th | 22nd | |
| 3 |
jaguar
|
8th | 8th | 16 | ||||
| 4th |
Maserati
|
4th | 4th | 3 | 2 | (2) | 13 | |
| 5 |
Aston Martin
|
6th | 3 | 9 | ||||
| 6th |
Porsche
|
3 | 3 | 6th | ||||
| 7th |
Gordini
|
2 | 2 | |||||
| 8th |
Donald Healey Motor Company
|
1 | 1 |
literature
- Alain Bienvenu: Endurance. 50 ans d'histoire. Volume 1: 1953-1964. Éditions ETAI, Boulogne-Billancourt 2004, ISBN 2-7268-9327-9 .
- Peter Higham: The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing. A complete Reference from Formula 1 to Touring Car. Guinness Publishing Ltd., London 1995, ISBN 0-85112-642-1 .