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George Constantine

Speedweeks 1959 Part 5

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It took a while for the organizers to realize that Carroll Shelby was leading the race in his Maserati Tipo 61.

By Willem Oosthoek
Photos by Bob Bellows and Dave Nicholas (Willem Oosthoek Collection)

Links to all previous chapters below

So how did the Nassau Trophy exactly unfold in 1959? With such a diverse field and some drivers making faster getaways than others, it always takes a few laps before everything is sorted out, However, reading what the motorsport journalists in period, and some of the subsequent book authors, tell us about this feature race, a rather vague picture emerges.

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Speedweeks 1959 Part 4

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By Willem Oosthoek
Photos by Bob Bellows, Benita Lane and J. Frank Harrison(Willem Oosthoek Collection)

And then the final day of racing began, with two events on schedule.

The start of the Memorial Trophy with, from the left, Bob Grossman [Ferrari California] and the AC Bristols of Jim Miller, Bob Keyes and J. Collins leading the field. Grossman would soon take command.

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Speedweeks 1959 Part 3

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Dissatisfied with his 570S Maserati, Shelby became available for the Birdcage ride. Here Casner is showing him the layout of the land, or rather the cockpit of a car in which Shelby had never sat before.

By Willem Oosthoek
Photos by Bob Bellows and Benita Lane (Willem Oosthoek Collection)

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Then the action began. After a few days of practice, the first 5-lap preliminary for the Tourist Trophy on November 29th was for under-2-liter GT entries. Johnny Cuevas and his 1.6-liter Carrera Speedster won over Jay Chamberlain’s Lotus Elite. In the 5-lapper for larger GT cars, Stirling Moss in a private Aston Martin DB4GT beat Roy Salvadori’s special-bodied works Austin-Healey 100S. In the 25-lap Tourist Trophy itself Moss dropped out after leading and Cuevas claimed CAMORADI’s first international victory, with Chamberlain second again.

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Bahamas Speedweek 1959 Part 2

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Denise in the OSCA 750S (chassis 763) that ‘Lucky’ Casner acquired from Robert Publicker just before Nassau. No time for a respray in CAMORADI colors. The car was originally owned by Luigi Chinetti.

Story by Willem Oosthoek
Photos by Bob Jackson, Benita Lane and Bob Bellows (Willem Oosthoek Collection)

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Obviously, a number of English marques were present at Nassau. The two 4.7-liter Chevy-powered Listers came from Texas, one owned by Ronnie Hissom, the other by Jimmy Younger. Hissom was a wildcatter in Midland who had bought his car via CSSCI. Sources vary about its chassis number, either BHL18 or the more logical BHL118. Jim Hall owned the first Lister bought via the agency (BHL108) and since Hissom complained why he received a much older car than Jim’s, it was probably BHL18.

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