Stuart Lewis-Evans’ Vanwall takes a left-hander in the non-championship Moroccan Grand Prix in 1957; he’d finish second
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Here is a lost circuit, and a story, that often comes up when dedicated fans get together for one of those ‘do you know’ sessions that more senior folk enjoy.
The history of Ain-Diab is brief to say the least, but dramatic and memorable for an outstanding and brilliant victory by Stirling Moss and the tragic death of Vanwall team-mate Stuart Lewis-Evans.
This historic road circuit was built in 1957 to the south-west of Ain-Diab on Morocco’s Atlantic seaboard. The high-speed track used the coast road and the main highway from Casablanca to Azemmour, part of which took the cars through the Sidi Abderrahman forest. The circuit was established in just six weeks and designed by the Royal Automobile Club of Morocco, the layout covering 4.7 miles with 18 corners.
In 1957 Ain-Diab successfully hosted a non-championship Formula 1 race and in October the following year this was to be the venue for the Moroccan Grand Prix, the final round of the F1 World Championship. The race would also decide who would be the 1958 champion, Stirling Moss for Vanwall or Mike Hawthorn for Ferrari. At the time this was a significant and important event for Morocco, the Formula 1 teams rarely leaving Europe compared to the globe-trotting marathon that is the calendar today. No changes were made to the circuit following the success of the inaugural race in 1957 but the track surface was improved as were the amenities for teams and spectators, many of whom had travelled from the UK.
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A sea breeze on race day was a relief from the blazing sunshine of practice, Moss and Phil Hill leading the pack down to the first corner just ahead of Hawthorn who’d started from pole. After 53 hot and dusty laps Moss took the victory, ensuring that Vanwall would win the constructors’ championship. Hawthorn came home a distant second for Ferrari, winning the drivers title by a single point from his season-long rival. The first ever British world champion driver, he then retired two days after the race.
Just 12 laps from the finish the engine in Stuart Lewis-Evans’ Vanwall failed mid-corner, sending him off the track where the car caught fire. He died in hospital six days later. Vanwall owner Tony Vandervell ended his time with the team partly as a result of the tragedy. Lewis-Evans was managed by close friend Bernie Ecclestone, who was at the race and he too walked away from the sport, selling the Connaught team and not returning to the F1 paddock until 1965.
Despite the death, Ain-Diab will also be remembered for the sheer brilliance of Moss, who so nearly won the world championship that eluded him until his retirement.
There has long been speculation that a new international circuit is to be built in Morocco but the country is still best known for its world-class desert rally-raids.
AIN-DIAB
In Use 1957-1958
Fastest Race Lap 2min 22.5sec, Stirling Moss, Vanwall VW5, F1, 1958
Fastest Qualifying Lap 2min 23.1sec, Mike Hawthorn, Ferrari 246, F1, 1958
