Shawe-Taylor’s ERA B was one of a number of the chassis entered for the race. Prince Bira took the pole in his new Maserati 4CL. As the 40 lap race got underway a battle developed amongst the front-runners. In time, Bob Gerard and Peter Whitehead checked out, leaving the rest of the field to battle amongst themselves. Shawe-Taylor was running a good race, but, ended up being relieved by George Bainbridge. While Gerard went on to win, followed by Whitehead in 2nd, Robert Ansell was able to take his new Maserati 4CL and finish 3rd, one lap down. Bainbridge was able to carry-on after taking over the reigns. The two drivers shared a 6th place finish.
Shawe-Taylor focused on preparing and tuning cars for 1948, and therefore, didn’t compete in any events. By 1949, grand prix racing was becoming an organized series offering top-notch competition and prize money for drivers and teams. Unfortunately, this meant the separation between older and newer technology was widening. This fact, and the costs associated with racing, led Shawe-Taylor to stick around the homeland.
In 1949, the British driver took part in just two races; one at the beginning of spring and another at the beginning of the fall.
The first race in the spring of ’49 was the 3rd Junior Car Club Jersey Road Race. Twenty-one drivers qualified for the 55 lap race. Luigi Villoresi had the pole in a Maserati 4CLT/48. Shawe-Taylor qualified for the race in a much older ERA B-Type chassis. The ERA couldn’t provide Shawe-Taylor the performance needed to mount a serious challenge amongst the front-runners. He had to count on attrition to help him out. It wouldn’t at Jersey.
Only nine of the twenty-one starters failed to see the finish. By the end of the 55 lap event Bob Gerard had won another race with Emanuel de Graffenried and Raymond Mays following in 2nd and 3rd. Though still running, the best Shawe-Taylor could do was to finish the race 11th, five laps down.
Toward the middle-part of September, eleven drivers were randomly drawn to determine starting positions for the 1st Goodwood Trophy race.
More of an exhibition than a race, the 1st Goodwood Trophy race was only 10 laps of the 2.38 mile Goodwood Circuit, located in Chichester, England. The short race began with Stirling Moss on the pole in a Cooper/JAP. In a little over two minutes his race came to an end. In only a few extra minutes the whole race was over. Reg Parnell was able to take the victory in a Maserati, followed by Peter Walker and Bob Gerard. Shawe-Taylor put together a splendid performance on the higher-speed track and was rewarded with a 5th place finish.
Headed into 1950, Brian Shawe-Taylor’s racing schedule picked up the pace. He would end up racing at least one time each month, with the exception of May. And the season started out with a bright spot.
In the early part of April, Shawe-Taylor was back at Goodwood to take part in the 2nd Richmond Trophy race. Once again, the race was short. In all, the race was only 12 laps. T.C. Harrison started the race from the pole. Peter Whitehead and Reg Parnell started 2nd and 3rd. Shawe-Taylor started in the middle of the pack with a 7th place grid position.
Reg Parnell jumped toward the front right from the start. With Peter Whitehead unable to start the race, Parnell was able to apply pressure straight-away. Harrison stumbled and fell down the order. De Graffenried, however, was on a charge from dead-last. Even Shawe-Taylor was putting in a very solid performance and steadily coming up through the field.
By the end of the race, Parnell had won for Scuderia Ambrosiana. Emanuel de Graffenried drove an incredible race after starting 13th and ended up finishing an astonishing 2nd. Shawe-Taylor earned his first-ever podium finish by being able to hold on and finish the race 3rd.
Over the next two races in which he entered his own car, Shawe-Taylor was able to finish in the top-five. Interrupting his own racing schedule, Shawe-Taylor joined fellow-Brit Joe Fry to take part in his first-ever Formula One race. During the middle part of May, Formula One kicked off its existence with the British Grand Prix.
Shawe-Taylor arrived at the race with Joe Fry. The plan was Fry would drive a majority of the race, and then, turn the car over to Shawe-Taylor for the finish. This seemed to be a harmless decision considering Fry’s Maserati started the race from second-to-last place on the grid. However, the race would prove to be rather exciting for both drivers.
Over the course of the 70 lap race half of the field would fall foul to problems. This would only favor Fry and Shawe-Taylor. Fry completed the first forty-five laps, and then, handed the wheel over to Shawe-Taylor for the final laps of the race. Shawe-Taylor drove steady and was able to finish 10th, albeit six laps down to race winner Giuseppe Farina and Luigi Fagioli and Reg Parnell. After starting an almost laughable 20th, Fry and Shawe-Taylor only missed finishing in the points by five places.
