| BIOGRAPHY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Full Name | George Edgar Abecassis, DFC | |
| Nationality |  |
||
| Born | 21 March 1913, Chertsey |
||
| Died | 18 December 1991, Ibstone – 78 years |
||
| Website | Official Website | ||
| PRE-F1 CAREER | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums | F/L | Pts | Rank |
| 1938 | Easter Road Race British Trophy Crystal Palace Cup |
Alta 2.0 s/c Alta S Alta S |
– – – |
– – – |
– – – |
– – – |
– – – |
– – – |
1st 1st 1st |
| 1939 | Imperial Trophy Imperial Plate Crystal Palace Plate |
Alta 12/50 Alta 2.0 s/c Alta 2.0 s/c |
– – – |
– – – |
– – – |
– – – |
– – – |
– – – |
1st 1st 3rd |
| 1946 | Non-championship F1 | Privé Alta | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| 1947 | Bo’ness Hill Climb British Hill Climb C’ship Non-championship F1 |
Bugatti Type 59 Bugatti Type 59 Privé ERA |
– – 5 |
– – 0 |
– – 0 |
– – 3 |
– – 0 |
– – 0 |
1st 2nd N/A |
| 1948 | Non-championship F1 | Privé Alta / Maserati | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| 1949 | Non-championship F1 | Privé Alta | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| 1950 | Le Mans 24 Hours Non-championship F1 |
Aston Martin HW Motors |
1 2 |
– 0 |
– 0 |
– 0 |
– 0 |
– 0 |
1st (Class) N/A |
| 1951 | Le Mans 24 Hours Non-championship F1 |
Aston Martin HW Motors |
1 1 |
– 0 |
– 0 |
– 0 |
– 0 |
– 0 |
2nd (Class) N/A |
| FORMULA 1 CAREER | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries | Races | Non-Starts | BQ | Wins | Podiums | F/L | Pts | DNFs | ||
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| First Grand Prix | Last Grand Prix |
| 1951 Swiss Grand Prix | 1952 Swiss Grand Prix |
| Season | Team | Chassis | Engine | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums | F/L | Pts | Rank |
| 1951 | HW Motors Ltd | HWM | Alta Straight-4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 1952 | HW Motors Ltd | HWM | Alta Straight-4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| POST-F1 CAREER | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums | F/L | Pts | Rank | |
| 1952 | Non-championship F1 | HW Motors | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | N/A | N/A | |
| 1953 | Sebring 12 Hours | Aston Martin | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 2nd | |
| 1954 | Silverstone International Goodwood International |
HW Motors | – – |
– – |
– – |
1 1 |
– – |
– – |
2nd 3rd |
|
| 1955 | AMOC USAF Trophy BM Trophy RedeX Trophy |
HW Motors | – – – |
– – – |
– – – |
– – – |
– – – |
– – – |
1st 1st 1st |
|
Biography
Abecassis began circuit racing in 1935 in a modified Austin Seven, but it wasn’t until the late 1930s that he began making a name for himself on the English racing scene, with the highlight being victory in the Imperial Trophy Formula Libre race at Crystal Palace.
The breakout of World War II saw Abecassis join the Royal Air Force. A talented pilot, he was assigned to the famous ‘Moon Squadron’, with his duties being the ferrying of secret service agents in and out of German-occupied Europe in specially-modified Halifax and Stirling aircraft. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross during his services.
Post World War II, Abecassis returned to racing – initially in pre-War Bugatti and ERA machines – before joining forces with John Heath to co-found Hersham & Walton Motors, or HWM for short.
A motor dealership and garage in its early days, the operation expanded when Abecassis and Heath began developing Alta’s GP car, designed to comply with the new Formula 1 regulations.
The Alta GP wasn’t a great success, and so the pair opted to create their own design, which was initially for Formula 2 regulations until F1 began incorporating the F1 regulations in 1952.
It was in his own HWM machinery that Abecassis made his only two World Championship appearances as a driver, both coming on the cobbled streets of Bremgarten at the 1951 and 1952 Swiss Grands Prix. He retired from both events.
Abecassis was a much more successful exponent in sports cars, winning his class in the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans and finishing second overall in the 1953 Sebring 12 Hours.
HWM served as a launching pad for the careers of Stirling Moss, Peter Collins and Johnny Claes, but the outfit’s success in F1 proved short-lived, with the team competing in just two more Grands Prix after the 1953 season.
Abecassis wound down the team in 1956 after Heath was killed at the Mille Miglia, and he retired from racing altogether to focus on running HWM’s day-to-day garage and dealership operations. He remained one of Aston Martin’s principal dealers, helped no doubt by the fact that his father-in-law, Sir David Brown, was the carmaker’s chairman.
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