Frederick Roberts “Bob” Gerard (19 January 1914, Leicester – 26 January 1990, South Croxton, Leicestershire) was a racing driver and businessman from England.
He participated in numerous top-level motor racing events on either side of World War II, including eight World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, scoring no championship points. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
Born on the 19th January 1914 in Leicester, Frederick Roberts Gerard’s career covered more than four decades, from 1933 as a trialist and club racer, through to the early 1980s as an entrant and he participated as a privateer in eight World Championship Grands Prix between 1950 and 1957, three in an ERA and five from 1953 with a Cooper. Affectionately known as ‘Mr Bob’ both in his workplace and in racing circles, he was also referred to by his contemporaries as the ‘Gentleman of Motor Racing’. Competing on either side of World War II, he was highly regarded and his reputation for preparing race cars saw him take underpowered cars and turn them into strong performers. He won the British Empire Trophy (three times), the Jersey Road Race (twice) and the Ulster Trophy plus was on the podium twice at the British GP in 1948 and 1949. He made his name in the immediate post war era in an ERA, and was possibly the most prodigious privateer in terms of results and, with tenacity and determination, he later challenged the front-runners with his underpowered Cooper-Bristol and would have more than his fair share of close battles for victories. His family managed Parrs Ltd., which had a history running back to the 1880’s when his forefathers produced bicycles though they moved into the newly evolving motor vehicle market at the turn of the 20th Century. He was at the helm of the business from the fifties, then established Bob Gerard Cars Ltd and he continued to have a leading role in partnership with long term friend and business colleague Roy Moore. His name was dedicated to a corner at Mallory Park racing circuit in Leicestershire due to his involvement there. The circuit was built in the grounds of a manor house, Kirkby Hall, and the grounds around the lake were originally used as a pony trekking grass oval though a local motorcycle group also used the oval for grass track meetings from 1948 to 1955. The Mallory Park estate was then purchased by Clive Wormleighton in 1955, who was quick to realise the possibilities of motorsport and began to lay out a new permanent circuit. On completion of the building work, a circuit test was held on the 26th April 1956, when Bob completed a number of laps in his Cooper-Bristol and Maurice Cann lapped the track on a Moto Guzzi motorcycle. In recognition of the his assistance, the first turn was named ‘Gerards’.
Bob started racing with a Riley in 1933 and, competing in the MCC Land’s End trial, he not only completed the notoriously difficult course but earned himself a Premier Award. He recalled going “straight from school to the Land’s End Trial with a Riley Monaco, which the Guv’nor was so disgusted with that he wouldn’t sell.” He continued to compete in trials and sprint races and began to participate in circuit racing and in outings at Donington in 1937 he won twice and was third at a meeting in April and the following month took two victories in a Scratch Sports race and Trophy Handicap. In shared drives with A.Daunt Bateman in a Riley TT Sprite he was third and ninth at the Donington 12 Hours and the prestigious Tourist Trophy race. He continued to compete at Donington as often as he could, at the same time as running the family business, and in 1938 took two victories in May and was third the following month, was fourteenth in September’s Tourist Trophy then third there the following month. In the following year, at one Donington meeting he had a win and three podiums, while racing at Brooklands he took a highly creditable third place in the year’s opening meeting and later won a Campbell circuit handicap race.
Towards the end of the War he purchased a trio of ERAs from Reg Parnell, an R4A 1100, a R12B 1500 and an R6B 1500, which was used for spare parts. Using his engineering background and attention to detail, he managed to get it running in time for the Cockfosters demonstration in mid-1945 and his wife Joan also demonstrated the old Riley Sprite at that meeting. In 1946 he was third in the Ulster Trophy behind Prince Bira and Reg Parnell and contested his first foreign race, the Grand Prix des Nations at Geneva, recalling “it was the first time we found out the delightful ERA habit of dropping its valve seats. Of course, there were endless problems with the head gasket mating the aluminium head to the iron block and, by the time the head had cooled down and we’d removed it to examine the valves, everything seemed all right. It was only when the aluminium heated up under hard work that the valve seats started playing their tricks”. He only raced in a heat but the event was memorable for him in that it was the only time he ever raced against Nuvolari.
There was a win the following year at the Jersey Road race (beating the Maseratis of Abecassis, Parnell and Bira (plus recording the fastest lap), second at the Goodwood Trophy (plus fastest lap) then in October he finished third at the British GP (beaten only by the works’ Maserati 4CLT/48s of Luigi Villoresi and Alberto Ascari) and was ninth at the Gran Premio de Penya Rhin at Pedralbes.
He continued to campaign his ERA for the first year of the World Championship in 1950 and despite the increasing age gap between his car and most of the field, his meticulous preparation and emphasis on reliability, meant that he often finished a race much higher than expected. He narrowly missed out on the points at the British GP, finishing sixth after starting thirteenth plus, at the wheel of a more than ten-years-old pre-war R4A, also finished sixth at Monaco after starting sixteenth. He won the British Empire Trophy, was second in the Ulster Trophy (behind the 1.5-litre V12 Ferrari of Peter Whitehead), third in the Goodwood Trophy, fourth at the Jersey Road race plus third and sixth in Goodwood Formula Libre races. He took part in August’s BRDC International Trophy and, racing in heat two with drivers including Fangio, Moss, Chiron and Ascari, he took a third place finish but in the final he hit some hay bails and broke his steering. There was a victory at Castle Combe plus a third place finish with the Fraser Nash in a production car race at Dundrod.
In 1952 he won at Snetterton, was second at both the Sussex Trophy at Goodwood and Silverstone’s Sussex International Trophy (to Mike Hawthorn) plus was fifth in a further drive at Goodwood. Away from the ERA, he was fourth in a Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica in the Goodwood 9 Hours with David Clarke.
He switched from his ERA to a Cooper T23 the following season, regularly scoring respectable placings and frequently putting more powerful cars to shame. In three races in April he was second in an Aston Martin Owners Club race at Snetterton and sixth and eighth in Goodwood’s Glover Trophy and Lavant Cup plus in between the Cooper drives he finished second in an ERA at a Winfield Junior Club F2 race at Charterhall. Further Cooper drives saw fourth at a Newcastle Journal Trophy race at Charterhall, fifth in the Madgwick Cup at Goodwood, sixth in the International Trophy, eighth in the GP de Rouen and eleventh at the Grand Prix de ACF at Reims. He retired at the London Trophy race at Crystal Palace and also contested an F3 race there, during which he gave Stirling Moss a lift back to the pits after Moss’ carburetor fell off. His best results were second at a United States Air Force Trophy race at Snetterton (plus fastest lap) while in October he won two consecutive races. At Castle Combe’s Joe Fry Memorial Trophy race, he set the fastest lap and took his first victory of the season ahead of Horace Gould and Ken Wharton. Two weeks later he was at Snetterton for the Curtis Trophy, setting the fastest lap and took his second victory, finishing some two minutes and twenty-eight seconds ahead of Leston and his pace during it was such that as he approached the last couple of laps, he slowed down to make the race appear more competitive. His first World Championship race that year came at the French GP at Reims where he started twelfth and, after driving an intelligent race, finished eleventh. Two weeks later he was at Silverstone for the British GP where he started eighteenth but did not finish due to suspension problems. In shared Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica drives with David Clarke they retired at Le Mans (suspension after 135 laps), though were sixth in the Goodwood 9 Hours and eighth in the Tourist Trophy at Dundrod.
Continuing with the T23 the following season, he started with eighth at Silverstone’s International Trophy in May and in July he was back at the circuit for the British GP. Heading into the race, not only would Scuderia Ferrari, Officine Alfieri Maserati and Equipe Gordini be present but also the W196 Silver Arrows of Mercedes-Benz. Fangio qualified first, ahead of Gonzalez, Hawthorn and Moss while Bob was second-fastest amongst the F2 cars and started eighteenth. He put in a steady drive and finished tenth and was the highest placed F2 finisher. In the following month he was at Oulton Park for the International Gold Cup and after an incredible effort qualified on pole ahead Jean Behra’s Gordini T16 and Reg Parnell’s Ferrari 625. During the race, Parnell passed Bob but he harried him through the race and Parnell only beat him by three and a half seconds, with Bob crossing the line third, twenty-eight seconds ahead of Don Beauman. One week later he was at Snetterton for the Redex Trophy and in an impressive performance he finished second and was the only driver who managed to stay on the lead lap with Parnell. The next outing came at Castle Combe’s Joe Fry Memorial Trophy and though he recorded the fastest lap, he retired with steering failure. In September, he took part in two races at one Goodwood meeting, with the first being the Madgwick Cup. At the start he immediately took the lead and would record the fastest lap then took the victory ahead of Don Beauman. The Goodwood Trophy saw him start on the front row in third and as the race progressed, he was involved in a battle with Salvadori. Heading into the final couple of laps, less than eight seconds covered the third, fourth and fifth placed drivers and at the flag, Bob was fourth. His final race followed soon afterwards, at Aintree’s Daily Telegraph Trophy race, which had a number of F1 cars in the field, with Maserati entering a couple of cars, including a 250F raced by Moss, Equipe Gordini had Jean Behra and Andre Pilette in their T16s and Mike Hawthorn would be driving a Vanwall. Bob started eleventh and during the race was involved in a tough battle with several F2 cars and eventually finished eighth, the highest-placed of the F2 cars. During the season he also won Formula Libre races at Oulton Park in June and Charterhall in September.
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