George
Abecassis

George Abecassis was born in Oatlands, Surrey, on 21 March 1913 and was educated at Clifton College. He began circuit racing in 1935 in a modified Austin Seven. After a year away from the track in 1937, he acquired an Alta and built a reputation in English national racing in 1938 and 1939. In 1939 he won the Imperial Trophy, a Formula Libre race at Crystal Palace. During the Second World War he served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, rose to the rank of squadron leader and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

After the war he returned to racing, at first with pre-war machinery. In 1947 he finished second in the Swedish Grand Prix, held on a frozen lake at Vallentuna, driving an ERA, and in 1948 he was second to Bob Gerard in the Jersey International Road Race. Together with John Heath he co-founded the HWM team. When an Alta Grand Prix car project failed, the two built their own cars with Alta engines, initially for Formula Two. The World Championship was run to Formula Two rules in 1952, which made the HWM cars eligible. Stirling Moss and Peter Collins were among the team's drivers, and in 1952 Lance Macklin won the International Trophy at Silverstone in an HWM.

Abecassis started two World Championship Grands Prix, both in his own HWM at the Swiss Grand Prix on the Bremgarten circuit, in 1951 and 1952. He had more success in sports cars: in 1950 he won his class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, sharing an Aston Martin DB2 with Macklin, and in 1953 he finished second in the 12 Hours of Sebring alongside Reg Parnell. In the 1955 Mille Miglia he took 11th place overall in an Austin-Healey 100S. In 1956 John Heath was killed in an accident in the Mille Miglia. In the same year Abecassis retired from driving and turned to running HWM. He died on 18 December 1991, aged 78.

Source: Wikipedia, “George Abecassis”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.