The 1937 Campbell Trophy (formally known as I Campbell Trophy) was a Grand Prix that was held on 1 May 1937 at Brooklands near Weybridge, United Kingdom. It was the fourth round of the 1937 Grand Prix season, but it did not count towards the championship. The race, contested over 100 laps of 3.65 km, was won in the Class over 1500cc by Prince Bira, the only non-British driver in this event, driving a Maserati 8CM after starting from fourth position on the grid. The victory in the 1500cc Class was taken by Teddy Rayson, driving a Maserati 4C.
Entries No.DriverEntrantCarDNA/DNS1500cc Class1 Bill HumphreysB. HumphreysMGDNA - rear axle2 Prince Bira"B Bira"DelageDNA - car not ready3 Arthur DobsonA.C. DobsonERA B-Type4 Ian ConnellI. ConnellERA B-Type5 Reggie TongueR. TongueERA B-Type6 Denis ScribbansD. ScribbansERA B-Type7 Peter WalkerP. WhiteheadERA B-Type7 Peter WhiteheadP. WhiteheadERA B-TypeDNS - Walker started in his car8 Earl HoweEarl HoweERA B-Type9 Raymond MaysH.W. CookERA B-Type10 Patrick FairfieldH.W. CookERADNS - brake problems11 Andrew LeitchHon P. AitkenMaseratiDNA12 Peter AitkenHon P. AitkenMaserati 6CM14 Robin HansonMrs. M.E. Hall-SmithMaserati 6CM15 Teddy RaysonE. RaysonMaserati 4CM16 Mrs Gwenda HawkesMrs G. HawkesDerbyDNA17 "Jack" BartlettJ. BartlettAltaDNA18 Philip JuckerP. JuckerAlta18 Alan SinclairP. JuckerAltaDNS - Jucker started in his carClass over 1500cc (Voiturette class)19 Charlie DodsonF.W. DixonDixon-Riley Special20 Cyril Mervyn WhiteC. Mervyn WhiteBugatti T5121 Anthony Powys-LybbeA. Powys-LybbeAlfa Romeo Monza22 Anthony HamiltonA. HamiltonAlfa Romeo Monza23 Wilkie WilkinsonR.C. FlemingAlfa Romeo Monza24 Christopher StanilandC. StanilandAlfa Romeo Tipo B25 Charles BrackenburyC.E.C. MartinAlfa Romeo Tipo B26 Kenneth EvansK. EvansAlfa Romeo Tipo B26 "Bill" EverittK. EvansAlfa Romeo Tipo BDNS - Evans started in his car27 Prince BiraPrince Chula of SiamMaserati 8CM28 Francis AshbyA.F. AshbyAlfa Romeo Tipo B29 Austin DobsonHon P. AitkenAlfa Romeo Bimotore29 Austin DobsonHon P. AitkenMaseratiDNS - He started in another car
Qualifying results Pos.DriverCar ConstructorTime1Peter WalkerERA1:52.22Earl HoweERA1:52.23Chris StanilandAlfa Romeo1:52.34Prince BiraMaserati1:53.05Raymond MaysERA1:54.26Austin DobsonAlfa Romeo1:56.67Charles BrackenburyAlfa Romeo1:57.28Arthur DobsonERA1:57.69Anthony Powys-LybbeAlfa Romeo1:57.610Denis ScribbansERA1:57.811Ian ConnellERA2:00.412Teddy RaysonMaserati2:00.413Marquis de Belleroche(Took over from Anthony Hamilton in this session)Alfa Romeo2:01.014Wilkie WilkinsonAlfa Romeo2:01.015Kenneth EvansAlfa Romeo2:01.016Charlie DodsonDixon Spl.2:02.817Cyril Mervin WhiteBugatti2:04.018Francis AshbyAlfa Romeo2:07.219Peter AitkenMaserati2:08.020Philip JuckerAlta2:08.221Reggie TongueERANo Time22Robin HansonMaseratiNo Time Drivers shown in cursive drove in the 1500cc class.
Race report At the start of the race, Aitken stalled his Maserati, so it was pushed away to be started elsewhere. After just one lap, Bira had taken the lead followed by Howe and Walker. However, Walker's engine stopped and, after eight laps, his gearbox broke, so he retired. Likewise did Mays (brake problems) and Dodson (overheated engine).
Bira kept the lead until Howe, who celebrated his fifty-third birthday on this day, overtook him in the nineteenth lap. However, six laps later Howe hit an earth bank on the Vickers bridge and the front of the car hit the palisade. The car then bounced to the other side of the track and ended up on its right side. Howe suffered injuries on the head, arm, shoulder and ribs.
At this point Bira was again first, with Austin Dobson and Rayson behind him, until Dobson's clutch broke in the thirty-first lap. Staniland fell back due to brake problems, as did Arthur Dobson, who had a cup of tea while his mechanics changed the front brake shoes on his ERA. He eventually retired. As for drivers changes, during the fuel stops Jack Duller took over from Ashby, Mays switched seats with Fairfield, as did Fleming with Wilkinson and Hamilton went on in De Belleroche's car.
After eighty laps eleven drivers had retired. Among the last was Evans who had to park his Alta at Hill Bend without brakes and with broken transmission. Bira eventually won the race over two and a half minutes in front of Rayson, who took victory in the voiturette 1500cc class, and Powys-Lybbbe became third.
Race results Pos.DriverCar ConstructorTime (Diff.)/Status1Prince BiraMaserati3:16:52.62Teddy RaysonMaserati+2:36.83Anthony Powys-LybbeAlfa Romeo+8:01.24Denis ScribbansERA+10:14.45Charles BrackenburyAlfa Romeo+1 lap6Reggie TongueERA+2 laps7Francis Ashby/Jack DullerAlfa Romeo+4 laps (DNF - engine)8Raymond Mays/Patrick FairfieldERA+8 laps9Cyril Mervyn WhiteBugatti+9 laps10Robin HansonMaserati+9 laps11Chris StanilandAlfa Romeo+21 laps (DNF - brakes/clutch)12Wilkie Wilkinson/R.C. FlemingAlfa Romeo+26 laps (DNF - gearbox)13Kenneth EvansAlfa Romeo+30 laps (DNF - transmission)14Ian ConnellERA+31 laps15Peter AitkenMaserati+52 laps (DNF - fuel feed)16Marquis de Belleroche/Anthony HamiltonAlfa Romeo+56 laps (DNF - engine)17Philip JuckerAlta+57 laps (DNF - supercharger)18Arthur DobsonERA+68 laps (DNF - brakes)19Austin DobsonAlfa Romeo+69 laps (DNF - transmission)20Earl HoweERA+75 laps (DNF - crash)21Charlie DodsonDixon-Riley+89 laps (DNF - clutch)22Peter WalkerERA+92 laps (DNF - gearbox) Drivers shown in cursive drove in the 1500cc class.
Sources The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing - 1937 Campbell Trophy (Archived 2013-07-13) Racing Sports Cars - Drivers. The page of each of the aforementioned drivers was consulted. (Archived 2013-07-13) The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing - Drivers. The page of each of the aforementioned drivers was consulted.