The vital statistics

For the mathematically-minded, Mays stopped to refuel at 50 laps, when two seconds behind Bira, which took one minute and lost him two places, and 1 min 42 sec on the other ERA. Bira’s refuelling stop at 70 laps of the 100-lap race also took one minute, Mays going past; Prince Chula wrongly thought a lap ahead, whereas both cars were on the same lap. Mays’s second stop for fuel, on lap 92, when he had a lead of 22 sec, took 23 sec, to fling in ten gallons, but he had also overshot his pit. Thereafter he closed the gap on Bira, from 14 sec to 12 sec. 10.8 sec, 6.8 sec, and 3.8 sec. That was enough. On the last lap Mays had washed out the 11 sec. advantage he had given to Bira by his second refuelling stop, and he passed him on the Byfleet banking, only to be repassed when the engine of his ERA faltered. One second separated the two ERAs at the finish after 2 hr 52min 29 sec racing, Bira winning in R2B from Mays in R4B, both then with 1 1/2-litre engines.