The Circuit of Cadours — Formula 1 (Sept. 12th)

An end-of-season lull saw a comparatively small entry competing at Cadours, in south-west France, not far front Toulouse, and the result was that the Gordini team had little real opposition, and certainly there were no drivers in the same class as Jean Behra. As in previous years the event was run in the form of two heats and a final, and though Rosier and Schell competed with their Maseratis neither of them could approach Pilette and Behra on the leading Gordinis, though Wacker on the third Gordini could not keep up.

There were two English competitors, Whiteaway with his 2 1/2-litre H.W.M. and Young with a Connaught, but both were put out by mechanical trouble. In the final, over a distance of 120 kilometres. Behra had little difficulty in winning, followed by Pilette, the two Gordinis being in full command, ahead of Rosier’s Maserati. Almost immediately after this victory for Gordini, a rare occurrence these days. Behra announced that he would be driving officially for Maserati next year, which caused much anguish and despair in French circles, for Behra has been the only hope for Gordini during the past season, just as last year Trintignant held the same role. Gordini himself was naturally very upset by this decision, the second in two seasons, each time his number one driver going to an Italian firm. Anyone who has seen a Gordini driver trying to keep up with his rivals will be certain to sympathise with the driver’s decision to accept a position in a team of cars with more capabilities.