Guide: Aston Martin DB3
Background
The first true David Brown Aston Martin, the DB2, was an enormous success and, by mid 1951, sales had started to take off.
Designed to be the finest Grand Touring car on the market, the DB2 also proved highly accomplished in competition and works examples famously took back-to-back class victories at Le Mans in 1950 and 1951.
In the days when huge crowds were drawn to circuits everywhere, racing success was considered one of the best ways for a manufacturer to advertise. With this in mind, David Brown commissioned a new Sports racing car in the spring of 1951.
The resultant DB3 used a tuned version of Aston Martin’s straight six engine which was dropped into a brand new chassis and draped in a lightweight Spider body.
Ten DB3s would eventually be built. The first five (constructed between September 1951 and April 1952) were reserved for works use. The second batch of five were delivered to customers between May and July of 1953, by which time the factory team had moved on to the new DB3S.
Although Aston Martin’s in-house designer, Frank Feeley, had done an impressive job with the DB2, David Brown contracted Robert Eberan von Eberhost to create the pure sports racing car he desired. Von Eberhost’s brief was to produce a machine that was quick enough to give Aston Martin’s 2.6-litre straight six a chance of outright wins.
Recognised as one of the world’s premier racing car design theorists, von Eberhost had previously penned the Auto Union Type D Grand Prix car and worked for Porsche on the 356.
Chassis
A new tubular steel chassis was created in place of the rectangular DB2 frame. It had a wheelbase of 2364mm (7ft 9in) and a track of 1296mm (4ft 3in).
Like the DB2, independent coil sprung front suspension was via trailing parallel links. A DeDion axle was installed at the rear along with an anti-roll bar. Armstrong shocks were fitted to each corner and torsion bars at either end.
Dunlop-shod 16-inch wire wheels measured 6-inches wide all round.
Hydraulically operated light alloy drum brakes had a 13-inch diameter at the front (outboard) and 11-inch diameter at the rear (inboard). They ran off a dual circuit with separate master cylinders for each axle.
Rack and pinion steering replaced the DB2’s worm and roller type.
A 32 gallon fuel tank was mounted over the rear axle to optimise weight distribution.
Engine & Gearbox
David Brown had acquired the Lagonda motor company in early 1949 principally to get his hands on the firm’s highly rated dual overhead camshaft straight six engine that was being designed by the team of WO Bentley.
Mounted longitudinally in the chassis, it featured a cast iron block and light alloy two valve head.
With a bore and stroke of 78mm and 90mm respectively, the LB6C engine fitted to the DB3 had an overall displacement of 2580cc.
Two banks of manifolds were installed and dual exhausts exited ahead of of the right rear wheel.
An oil cooler was added to the radiator and a redesigned Elektron sump was fitted.
As with the DB2 Vantage, compression was set at 8.2:1 but three downdraught Weber 36 DCF5 carburettors replaced the two sidedraught SUs.
Peak output was 140bhp at 5200rpm and 144lb-ft at 2400rpm.
A new David Brown S527 five-speed gearbox with synchromesh on all but first gear was fitted. Housed in a ribbed light alloy casing, it was coupled to the engine via a standard Borg & Beck clutch.
Bodywork
The bodywork was manufactured from lightweight aluminium.
Exposed headlights were mounted either side of a large front aperture; the square hole grille with its thick grate gave the DB3 a particularly distinctive look.
Various cooling solutions were littered around the front half of the car and, as time went by, these grew in number.
Mounted on the rear deck was a quick fuel filler cap and an opening hatch that gave access to the back end.
The tail was tapered in line with aerodynamic understanding of the day.
There was no provision for a hood and just a simple aero screen was installed to protect the driver.
Interior
Inside, a body coloured dash housed an array of instrumentation but, aside from a pair of leather bucket seats, there was no upholstery to speak of.
Saving weight was the only consideration and the finished car came in at 885kg.
1951 Le Mans 24 Hours
Although David Brown had originally wanted to race the DB3 at Le Mans in 1951, the new car wasn’t close to being ready in time.
1951 Dundrod Tourist Trophy
Instead, the first car (chassis DB3/1) made its debut on September 15th at the Dundrod Tourist Trophy in Northern Ireland.
The solitary DB3 was entered as part of a three car works team alongside a pair of DB2s.
Competition for overall honours would come from a trio of factory C-type Jaguars, a works Allard plus privateer cars from Ferrari and Frazer Nash.
As a handicap event, the race started at 2pm on Saturday with cars sent off in batches according to their time allowances.
The DB3 was driven by Lance Macklin who was suffering from a broken toe but, at the end of the first hour, he was only 20 seconds behind Stirling Moss in the lead C-type.
Macklin regained second spot after he was forced to pit for repairs to a trailing exhaust pipe but, just after 4pm, he had to slow considerably. With the manifold and exhaust pipe having parted company, Macklin was forced to retire.
The DB3 had nevertheless proven very fast; on pace it was second only to Moss in the 3.4-litre C-type and had the measure of Bobbie Baird’s 2.6-litre Ferrari 212 Export.
With the 1951 season drawing to a close the DB3 wasn’t seen in action again until spring of 1952.
1952 Goodwood Easter Monday
Chassis 1 next appeared for the annual Easter Monday race at Goodwood on April 14th (a six-lap handicap for Sports cars). On this occasion it was driven by works Norton rider, Geoff Duke, who was part of the factory Aston Martin team for 1952.
Against a strong field that included C-type and XK120 Jaguars, Duke was given a 25 second head start over pre-race favourite Moss in the works C-type. However, over such a short distance, it proved impossible for Duke to overhaul the head start given to XK120 drivers Bill Holt and John Swift.
After a fast and balanced drive, Duke placed third and finished twelve seconds ahead of Moss.
1952 Ibsley National
The next weekend, a new car (chassis 2) was trucked down to Ibsley for an under three-litre Sports car race around the tricky Hampshire airfield circuit.
This time driven by Dennis Poore, the DB3 showed astonishing pace over the seven lap race and ran away from the Frazer Nashes driven by Roy Salvadori and Rodney Peacock.
Poore’s speed was sufficient that he could have won the over three-litre race as well.
1952 Silverstone International Trophy Sports Car Race
A record crowd of 125,000 spectators turned out at Silverstone on May 10th for the International Trophy which included a 17 lap race for Sports cars.
Aston Martin arrived with four DB3s: chassis 1 for Geoff Duke, chassis 3 for Reg Parnell, chassis 4 for George Abecassis and chassis 5 for Lance Macklin.
Entrants were split into four categories according to engine size and, while the trio of works Jaguar C-types were expected to win, the smaller engined DB3s proved little slower in practice.
The Le Mans-type start saw Macklin’s car fail to fire for several seconds. On lap two, Peter Walker’s C-type hit trouble and required a pit-stop that dropped it behind the Astons.
Soon after, one of the Frazer Nashes dumped oil over part of the circuit and the first to encounter it was Geoff Duke who span violently and crashed diagonally into the barriers. Duke got going but, due to the damage sustained, went off the road again and this time finished up in a cornfield.
With two laps to go, Tony Rolt’s C-type came into the pits from second place which promoted the DB3s by one position.
In the closing stages, Stirling Moss was chased hard by Reg Parnell but eventually finished twelve seconds clear of the Aston. Parnell took second, Abecassis was third and Macklin placed fourth to secure Aston Martin the team prize.
1952 British Empire Trophy, Douglas
Just one DB3 was sent to Douglas on the Isle of Man for the British Empire Trophy on May 29th as, four days later, the non-championship Monaco Grand Prix was unusually being held for Sports cars.
After its shunt at Silverstone, chassis 1 had been repaired and was entered for Geoff Duke to drive again. Duke qualified second behind Duncan Hamilton’s privateer C-type and ahead of Stirling Moss in Sid Greene’s Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica.
52 laps of the 3.8 mile road course meant a total distance of 200 miles. This was another handicap race with cars of up to 1.5-litres given four credit laps and cars of up to three-litres given one credit lap. Over three-litre cars started from scratch.
Duke dropped to fourth at the start but, by lap two, was the on-road leader.
By lap 19 he had just one more circulation to make up on the smaller cars when his engine started to cut out. Duke pulled into a side road to try and remedy the situation and did manage to get back to the pits for a change of ignition lead. However, he soon stopped for good after briefly getting underway again. His fastest lap proved the best of the day.
1952 Monaco Grand Prix
Three works DB3s were entered at Monaco on June 2nd, all of which ran Aston Martin’s experimental 2.9-litre DP101 engine.
Bored out from 78mm to 83mm, displacement was now 2922cc. The Weber 36 DCF5 carburettors were switched to 40 DCO type and output rose from 140bhp to 160bhp at an unchanged 5200rpm.
After Monaco these engines weren’t used again until the Goodwood 9 Hours later in the season.
Separate races were run for cars of over two-litres (100 laps) and those of under two-litres (65 laps).
Principle competition in the main event would come from the works Moss C-type, Pierre Levegh’s Talbot Lago T26 GS and a hoard of well-funded Ferrari privateers led by the Marzotto stable, Luigi Chinetti and Scuderia Guastalla.
Against this stiff opposition, Reg Parnell qualified chassis 3 in fourth, Lance Macklin was sixth in chassis 5 and Peter Collins twelfth in chassis 4.
In the race, Parnell and Collins both stopped at the pits with their cars overheating but managed to continue. Soon afterwards though, Parnell’s car suddenly emitted great clouds of smoke and he stopped at Saint-Devote corner.
Realising his car was partly blocking the track, Parnell manhandled it to a space between the straw bales.
Inexplicably the marshals failed to warn the approaching drivers of the danger. This was exacerbated as fuel had leaked from the Fernando Mascarenhas Allard J2X and made the corner extremely slippery.
Parnell shouted to the officials to help him but they insisted a crane would be required. At that moment, Antonio Stagnoli’s Ferrari 225 Sport span on the soft tar and hit the Aston. Leader Robert Manzon approached at high speed in his Gordini T15S and dodged the stricken Ferrari but also crashed into Parnell’s Aston. Stirling Moss, right on Manzon’s tail, did likewise in the C-type.
Parnell, pinned against a straw bale, was lucky to only suffer a severely bruised leg.
By the end of the race both Macklin and Collins had lost much time in the pits. Macklin retired near the end but Collins plugged on to finish seventh, two laps behind the winning Ferrari 225 Sport of Vittorio Marzotto.
1952 Le Mans 24 Hours
David Brown then entered a trio of 2.6-litre DB3s for the Le Mans 24 Hours held over June 14th and 15th.
Outright victory was the target after the DB2s had taken class wins in 1950 and 1951.
Chassis 3 would be shared by Dennis Poore and Pat Griffith, chassis 5 by Lance Macklin and Peter Collins and chassis 1 by Reg Parnell and Eric Thompson.
For this event, chassis 1 was equipped with an elegant fastback hardtop designed to eke out a few extra miles per hour down the Mulsanne Straight.
Modifications had also been made to chassis 3 after its back end was damaged in the Monaco Grand Prix pile-up; with less than two weeks between the events, the car remained in France and had its tail neatly shortened by Carrosserie Henri Chapron in Paris.
Also present in the larger engined classes at Le Mans were works teams from Mercedes-Benz (W194 300 SL) Ferrari (250 Sport and 225 Sport), Jaguar (C-type) and Cunningham (C4-R and C4-RK).
Practice proved a disappointment and, in the second session, Pat Griffith crashed his DB3 into the sandbank at Tertre Rouge.
Macklin / Collins would start 16th, Parnell / Thompson 23rd in the Coupe and Poore / Griffith 33rd. Pole went to the Luigi Chinetti Ferrari 340 America of Andre Simon and Lucien Vincent.
In the race, Poore stopped on the fourth lap to report issues with his gearbox but continued.
Parnell then retired the DB3 Coupe in the second hour with rear axle problems.
Hour three saw Poore drop out when his water pump ceased to function which left just one DB3 in the race with over 20 hours still to run.
By 4am, Macklin and Collins had moved into fourth place and looked set for a strong finish until rear axle trouble forced them to retire.
The result was a bitter disappointment but Aston Martin would be back at Le Mans in 1953.
1952 Jersey International Road Race
The DB3s were next seen racing on July 10th at the Jersey International road race around the streets of St. Helier.
Two cars were entered: chassis 4 for George Abecassis and chassis 5 for Reg Parnell.
The event saw cars split into two groups. Each group contested a ten lap heat and the fastest 15 cars from each heat were then entered for the 20 lap final.
Abecassis was third in Heat 1 and Parnell second in Heat 2. They respectively lined up third and fifth for the final.
In the race, things quickly settled down. The Ecurie Ecosse C-type of Ian Stewart led from Oscar Moore’s HWM Jaguar with Abecassis and Parnell close behind.
Ken Wharton later managed to force his Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica into third and the Aston drivers couldn’t get back past. However, all three moved up a position when Moore’s HWM threw a con-rod and sent oil gushing onto the track.
Abecassis finished third with Parnell fourth and this was good enough for second and third in the over 2.5-litre class.
1952 Boreham 100 mile International
The penultimate outing for the DB3s in 1952 came at the 100 mile International race for over two-litre Sports cars at the Boreham airfield circuit in Essex on August 2nd.
Parnell and Abecassis were entered to drive the same cars they had used in Jersey (chassis 5 and 4 respectively).
Main opposition would come from the C-type Jaguars of Stirling Moss (entered by Bill Cannell/Tommy Wisdom), Ian Stewart (Ecurie Ecosse) and Duncan Hamilton’s privateer example. There were also a pair of fast 2.6-litre Ferrari 225 Sports entered for Tom Cole (driver/entrant) and Roy Salvadori (entered by Bobby Baird).
Following the Le Mans-type start, Abecassis was unable to get his car going for several agonising seconds while Parnell leapt into second behind the C-type of Stirling Moss.
Tom Cole soon snatched second and a great battle between the two lead cars ensued.
After a slow start, Hamilton’s C-type had passed both Astons by lap five.
Parnell and Abecassis had overtaken Cole by lap twelve but, on the 29th lap, the fourth placed Aston started showing signs of trouble. Abecassis came into the pits gesticulating wildly then rushed off only to call back again on the next lap. He returned to the pits for a third time to retire on the 33rd of 34 laps.
Moss took the win with Hamilton second and Parnell third (first in the under three-litre class)
1952 Goodwood 9 Hours.
A nine hour day and night race at Goodwood on August 16th was the last event for Aston Martin in 1952 and David Brown entered a trio of DB3s for what was arguably the most important Sports car race on British soil that year.
The event attracted a strong international field and quickest in practice were the C-type Jaguars headed once again by Stirling Moss.
The Astons would start eleventh (Parnell / Thompson in the Chapron short-tailed chassis 3 now with a 2.9 engine), twelfth (Abecassis / Poore in chassis 4) and 13th (Collins / Griffith in chassis 5).
Heavy rain swept in just before the 3pm start and Abecassis got away slowly from the grid. Parnell was up to third in the opening stages with Collins fifth.
Abecassis had soon worked his way back up to sixth.
This was how it effectively stayed until approaching the third hour when Thompson went past the pits with smoke pouring from his rear axle. He brought the car in for refuelling so Parnell could take over but the pit crew over estimated the amount of fuel required and several gallons of petrol slopped over the back.
Either the overheating axle or hot exhausts caused the fuel to ignite and the car was quickly engulfed in flames.
Team manager John Wyer and mechanics Jack Sopp and Fred Lownes were burned as they attempted to stop the fire spreading to the other pits where several hundred gallons of high octane fuel were stored.
With the fire extinguished, Wyer was taken to hospital which meant the Aston pit had to be hastily reorganised. With his car out of the race, Reg Parnell took over the operation.
Soon afterwards, Poore came in to refuel and reported his car only had top gear. This left it difficult to get going again and it eventually retired a couple of hours later.
By 9pm, the sole remaining DB3 of Collins / Griffith was up to fourth with three hours left to run. Jaguars were first and second with the Salvadori / Baird Ferrari in third.
At 9:30pm, the second place Hamilton / Rolt Jaguar went out with broken half shaft and, 30 minutes later, the leading Stirling Moss / Peter Walker C-type lost a huge amount of time with broken rear axle.
The Salvadori / Baird Ferrari was promoted to leader and, at 10:23pm, came in for a routine stop but would not restart. Another battery was eventually tracked down and fitted but, by this time, the Ferrari was three laps behind the Collins / Griffith Aston.
With an hour to go, the DB3 had a four lap lead and it held on to the finish first despite a sick sounding engine caused by a blown gasket. Tom Cole and Graham Whitehead were second in Cole’s Ferrari 225 Sport followed by the similar car of Roy Salvadori and Bobbie Baird.
Close Season
Despite a satisfactory year with the DB3, David Brown knew a faster machine was needed to replace it. Robert Eberan von Eberhost’s assistant, Willie Watson, was chosen to design the new car (the DB3S) and von Eberhost returned to Germany.
However, the DB3S was not ready until May 1953 which left Aston to persevere with the DB3 for the first half of the season. During this time, they also constructed an additional five DB3s that were sold to privateers all of which were equipped with the 2.6-litre engine.
1953 was the inaugural year for the World Sportscar Championship, a seven round series that comprised the Sebring 12 Hours, the Mille Miglia, the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Spa 24 Hours, the Nurburgring 1000km, the RAC Tourist Trophy at Dundrod and the Carrera Panamericana.
Aston Martin raced the 2.9-litre DB3s at Sebring and in the Mille Miglia but by the time Le Mans came around the DB3S was available.
1953 Sebring 12 Hours
A pair of DB3s were taken out to contest the Sebring 12 Hour race in Florida on March 8th: chassis 4 for Peter Collins / Geoff Duke and chassis 5 for Reg Parnell / George Abecassis.
The entry list also included cars from Ferrari, Jaguar, Cunningham, Allard, Frazer Nash and Maserati.
The race began at noon and Parnell beat everyone in the Le Mans start. He led the first 32 laps at which point his engine began to falter. Parnell continued but then one of the Aston’s doors flung open and struck a water-filled marker bin with enough ferocity to push its flimsy bodywork back onto the wheels. A five minute pit-stop dropped the car to last but it rejoined and thereafter went like the clappers.
After three hours spent chasing down the Cunningham of Phil Walters and John Fitch, Peter Collins had put the other DB3 into the lead when he handed over to Duke. However, soon after Duke took over, he was forced to swerve to avoid another car and crashed into a Jaguar.
The DB3 limped back to the pits but was too badly damaged to continue.
This left a tremendous battle for the lead between the remaining DB3, which had climbed back up the order, and the Cunningham, which had retaken the lead.
Parnell and Abecassis lapped at much the same speed as the bigger engined car and a gallant performance saw them finish just one lap behind after nearly 900 miles of racing.
Second overall and first in the under three-litre class was a good start from Aston Martin’s first engagement of the year. John Wyer said the DB3s “had never gone better”.
1953 Mille Miglia
Seven weeks later, the DB3s were taken to Italy for round two of the World Sportscar Championship; the Mille Miglia.
Held on April 26th, a trio of DB3s were on hand including chassis 3 for Reg Parnell and the intrepid photographer, Louis Klemantaski. Following its fire at the Goodwood 9 Hours this car (the Chapron short tail) had been repaired to the standard body type.
Also present was chassis 4 for Peter Collins / Mike Keen and chassis 5 for George Abecassis / Pat Griffith.
Opposition from the Italian marques was huge; Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Lancia all entered factory teams as did Jaguar.
With Klemantaski as his passenger, Parnell drove one of the best races of his life. He managed to finish fifth despite a slight prang on the nearside rear wing and a door that appeared difficult to keep closed.
It also seemed the other two DB3s stood a good chance of finishing well but, soon after the Rome checkpoint at half-distance, their challenge faded away.
Collins and Keen eventually placed 16th overall but Abecassis and Griffith crashed out after the steering broke. This car (chassis 5) was not raced again by the works.
The Rome checkpoint became famous for a dramatic farce when Ingrid Bergman flung herself across the bonnet of Roberto Rossellini’s Ferrari 250 Mille Miglia. The pair had recently married and Rossellini was racing against his wife’s wishes. Bergman refused to move until Rossellini agreed to withdraw from the event.
1953 Silverstone International Trophy Production Sports Car Race
The Silverstone International Trophy meeting on May 9th marked the last major race for Aston Martin with the works DB3s. Two cars would appear at Thruxton towards the end of the month, but that was a comparatively minor event compared to Silverstone where comfortably in excess of 100,000 spectators routinely turned up every year.
Three works cars were entered for the 17 lap Production Sports Car race: chassis 2 for Duke, chassis 3 for Parnell and chassis 4 for Collins.
The first DB3 customer cars were also on hand with their privateer owners: chassis 8 for Ken Downing and chassis 9 for Tony Glaze.
Other entries included a works Ferrari 340 Mille Miglia for Mike Hawthorn, Tom Cole’s similar privateer 340 and a plethora of C-types from the factory and Ecurie Ecosse.
Parnell started seventh, Collins ninth, Duke twelfth, Gaze 22nd and Downing 30th.
Parnell got a great start and, by lap two, was up to second behind Hawthorn’s works 4.1-litre Ferrari.
A couple of circulations later Duke started to experience clutch trouble and by lap four was out.
Collins had risen to fourth by the tenth lap. Soon after, Parnell was relegated to third by Cole’s big Ferrari.
The two Italian cars were then able to consolidate their lead with Parnell and Collins taking third and fourth (first and second in the under three-litre class). Tony Gaze was 14th and Ken Downing 22nd in their new customer DB3s.
DB3S Arrives
The week after Silverstone, Aston Martin presented the DB3S to the press.
In preparation for Le Mans, it was given a winning debut at the Charterhall airbase circuit in the Scottish Borders on May 23rd.
1953 Ulster Trophy, Dundrod
A third DB3 customer car made its competitive debut when Bob Dickson’s example (chassis 6) ran at the Ulster Trophy on May 16th.
A 14 lap handicap on the Dundrod road course in Northern Ireland, the event was run to Formula Libre regulations and saw a bewildering array of vehicles take part.
Dickson’s DB3 (delivered the previous Monday) was given a one-minute head start over the scratch ERA of Ernie Wilkinson. However, the handicap formula favoured smaller-engined cars and Dickson finished the race eighth. Charles Maunsell was the victor in an HRG.
1953 Thruxton
Three races at Thruxton on May 25th brought an end to Aston Martin’s works involvement with the DB3.
Chassis 1 was taken down to Hampshire for Dennis Poore and chassis 2 for Eric Thompson.
The first event was a 15 lap race for Unlimited Sports Cars that saw the two Ecurie Ecosse C-types of Jimmy Stewart and Ian Stewart take the lead from Sydney Allard in his works Allard J2X.
Poore and Thompson were fourth and fifth respectively until transmission problems for the Allard promoted the Astons. They secured another one-two finish in the under three-litre class.
Next was a six lap race for under three-litre Sports cars which also saw Ken Downing participate in his privateer DB3 (chassis 8).
Thompson took an early lead, only to spin at Club corner. Some phenomenal avoidances were seen and out of the melee came Poore who held top spot until the end. A recovering Thompson drove hard to come back through the field and take second from Downing.
The final event at Thruxton was a 15 lap Formula Libre race for all the fastest cars from the meeting including single seaters. Poore was the only Aston driver to participate and finished third after a beautifully judged race behind Jimmy Stewart’s Jaguar C-type and team-mate Ian Stewart’s Connaught.
Thereafter the DB3s were campaigned exclusively by privateers.
1953 Hyeres 12 Hours
Tony Gaze entered his car (chassis 9) for the Hyeres 12 Hour race on June 7th and was co-driven by fellow DB3 owner, Graham Whitehead.
Held on the 7km Iles d’Or road course on France’s Cote d’Azur, the race began at 6am in pouring rain.
Whitehead ran fifth in the opening stages and, at 7:45am, the rain stopped and the circuit began to dry. Five minutes later, the DB3 was out though; retired with a broken timing chain.
Shortly before 8am, race leader Pierre Boncompagni left the road on the high speed bend before Hippodrome corner. His Ferrari 340 Mille Miglia crashed into a telegraph pole and overturned.
Boncompagni unfortunately succumbed to his injuries a short time later.
The race continued and was eventually won by Tom Cole and Peter Whitehead in Whitehead’s privateer C-type.
1953 British Empire Trophy, Douglas
Another fatality occurred during June 18th in the British Empire Trophy on the Isle of Man.
The event comprised three heats for cars of different engine sizes and a 16 lap final around the 6.2km Douglas street circuit.
Heat 3 was for the biggest engine cars and saw Ken Downing (chassis 8) and Robert Dickson (chassis 6) scrap over seventh spot. It was Dickson that ultimately took the position with victory going to Reg Parnell in a works DB3S.
Despite qualifying, Downing did not start the final as he was unhappy with his brakes.
Run to a handicap formula, the smallest cars started the final in front with Dickson taking 22nd position on the grid. He eventually finished twelfth overall and sixth in the under three-litre class.
Reg Parnell took the outright win for Aston Martin in a works DB3S. The race was marred by the death of James Neilson whose Frazer Nash overturned when it struck a bank. Neilson was thrown into the road and hit by pursuing cars.
1953 Roubaix Grand Prix
The Northern French city of Roubaix hosted a Grand Prix two days later and this was another handicap race.
The formula favoured smaller engined cars to such an extent that the most powerful machinery didn’t get a look in.
Graham Whitehead entered his DB3 (chassis 10) and managed to work his way up to fifth behind the 2.5-litre Gordini T16S in which Jean Lucas set a new lap record.
The race was won by Rene Bonnet in a DB HBR Panhard.
1953 Portuguese Grand Prix
The day after Roubaix, Tony Gaze ran his DB3 (chassis 9) in the Portuguese Grand Prix at Boa Vista.
However, the race ended in disaster as, on the second lap, Gaze was forced to swerve to avoid a Ferrari.
The Aston Martin crashed into a tree and Gaze was thrown 25ft but miraculously escaped without serious injury. The same could not be said of his car which caught fire and burned furiously. It was completely destroyed in the blaze.
The 60-lap race around the 4.6-mile street circuit was won by local driver Jose Pinto Nogueira in his privateer Ferrari 250 Mille Miglia after the more fancied drivers all dropped out.
1953 Silverstone Sports Car Race
After he had been forced to pull out of the British Empire Trophy on the Isle of Man, Ken Downing was back to winning ways at Silverstone on June 27th. He won the six lap race for under three-litre Sports cars in chassis 8 after an initial brush with Peter Gammon in his MG TC Special.
1953 Bo’ness & Rest and be Thankful Hillclimbs
Robert Dickson then contested two Scottish hillclimbs on consecutive weekends in chassis 6.
He first ran the 0.8km course at Bo’ness, West Lothian on June 27th followed by the 1.3km Rest-and-be-Thankful event in Argyll on July 4th.
In both cases, he beat Jim Gibbon’s Rover Special to win the under three-litre Sports car category and at Bo’ness also set a new class record.
1953 British Grand Prix Sports Car Support Race
Silverstone played host to the British Grand Prix on July 18th and, in the Sports car support race, Graham Whitehead finished seventh (chassis 10), Robert Dickson posted a DNF (chassis 6) and Ken Downing decided not to start due to car trouble.
By contrast the works DB3S Astons took a commanding 1-2-3 to lock out the podium.
1953 Caen Grand Prix
At the Caen Grand Prix on July 25th, Graham Whitehead entered his second race on French soil with chassis 10.
An 86 lap handicap event around the 3.5km Circuit de la Prairie on the outskirts of the city, Whitehead was heavily penalised by the muddled formula even though his car was heavier than some of the French entrants.
He finished fifth overall. Victory went to the Panhard X85 of Pierre Chancel.
1953 Spa 24 Hours
The last customer DB3 to make its debut was chassis 7 at the Spa 24 Hours held over July 25th and 26th.
This car was ordered by Tom Meyer and fitted with a Coupe body to make it more comfortable for the endurance races Mayer planned to contest.
DB3/7’s body was almost certainly not designed at the factory; it was possibly the ugliest Aston Martin of all time.
Meyer was co-driven at Spa by Philip Fotheringham-Parker but they retired after 81 laps with clutch trouble.
As a round of the 1953 World Sportscar Championship, a stellar entry took part at Spa; Giuseppe Farina and Mike Hawthorn were the victors in a works Ferrari 375 Mille Miglia.
1953 Pescara 12 Hours
From Belgium, Meyer headed to Pescara for the 12 Hour race one week later.
This time he was partnered by Tony Gaze whose own DB3 had been destroyed in the Portuguese GP two months prior.
Often referred to as ‘Italy’s Le Mans’, 44 cars started at Pescara but only 15 were running come the night-time finish.
Meyer and Gaze placed third in the over two-litre class behind the outright winners, Mike Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli (works Ferrari 375 Mille Miglia) and the privateer Ferrari 250 Mille Miglia of Mario Piazza and his wife, Bianca.
1953 Goodwood 9 Hours
Meyer’s Coupe contested its third major endurance race in less than four weeks when it was entered for the Goodwood 9 Hours on August 22nd.
Co-driven once again by Philip Fotheringham-Parker, the DB3 qualified 26th of 30 starters and finished twelfth overall after a steady run interrupted only by scheduled stops and for the headlights to be adjusted.
The race was won by the works Aston Martin DB3S of Reg Parnell and Eric Thompson with the sister car of Peter Collins and Pat Griffith second.
1953 Dundrod Tourist Trophy
Two privateer DB3s were present for Britain’s round of the World Sportscar Championship at Dundrod on September 5th.
The Tourist Trophy was once again run to a handicap formula that would see the three-litre Aston Martins on 106 laps, the bigger engined Jaguar C-types on 107 laps and other entries on 85 to 102 laps depending upon their engine capacity.
Graham Whitehead was joined by Tony Gaze in chassis 10 and Robert Dickson by Desmond Titterington in chassis 6.
After a 10:30am start, it wasn’t until around 4:30pm that the faster cars had established their positions at the head of the field. By this time, it looked like Whitehead and Gaze were on for fifth and Dickson / Titterington sixth.
However, both DB3s managed to pass the Ken Wharton / Ernie Robb Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica to finish fourth and fifth overall respectively.
With the third placed Moss / Walker works C-type running in the over three-litre class, the DB3s took third and fourth in the under three-litre Sports class behind the two works DB3S of Collins / Griffith and Parnell / Thompson.
1953 Goodwood International
In addition to the Woodcote Cup and Goodwood Trophy for single seaters, Goodwood also hosted five lap scratch and handicap races for Sports cars on September 26th.
Graham Whitehead finished fifth and seventh respectively driving chassis 10.
The winners were George Abecassis in an HWM Jaguar and Peter Woozley in an Allard J2X.
Robert Dickson was listed as a non-starter for both races.
1953 Castle Combe Sports Car Race
The last race on British soil in 1953 was at Castle Combe on October 3rd.
A ten lap event for Sports cars over 1.5-litres, Graham Whitehead (chassis 10) ousted Ken Wharton’s Kieft Bristol from third at half distance to take the final spot on the podium behind Reg Parnell’s winning DB3S and the Gilbey Engineering Maserati A6 GCS of Roy Salvadori.
1953 Casablanca 12 Hours
The final race of 1953 was the Casablanca 12 Hours on December 20th.
Held on the 3.26 mile Anfa circuit outside the Moroccan seaport, two DB3s were entered.
Graham Whitehead shared chassis 10 with his brother, Peter.
Also present was chassis 3, an ex-works example that been purchased by Frenchman, Michel Poberejsky. This was the car that had its tail shortened by Henri Chapron prior to the 1952 Le Mans after it sustained damage at the Monaco Grand Prix. It had then caught fire at the end-of-season Goodwood 9 Hours. Repaired over the close season and fitted with a standard new body, it had since contested the 1953 Mille Miglia and Silverstone International Trophy.
Poberejsky was wealthy and well connected; he purchased chassis 3 as a rolling chassis and had it equipped with a pretty Berlinetta body by Vignale. After the race it would return to the factory to be fitted with the latest DB3S engine.
Roy Salvadori was flown out to co-drive with Poberejsky in Casablanca while John Wyer supervised proceedings.
A serious crash in practice saw Portuguese driver Casimiro d’Oliveira lose control of his works Ferrari 375 Mille Miglia at 90mph. The car ran off the course and struck a palm tree; d’Oliveira was projected some 25 yards and severely injured. The Ferrari engine travelled twice as far, so terrific was the impact.
The race got underway at 10am.
Graham Whitehead’s DB3 had an incident with two slower cars that probably cost them second place but, otherwise, both DB3s ran fast and reliably throughout.
Poberejsky and Salvadori finished fourth overall (third in the over two-litre class) with the Whiteheads’ fifth.
Works Ferraris finished first and second. Victory went to the 375 Mille Miglia of Giuseppe Farina and Piero Scotti which was followed home by the 500 Mondial of Luigi Villoresi and Alberto Ascari.
Subsequent History
Privateers continued to race their DB3s throughout 1954, 1955 and into 1956. During this time several of the works cars that were now surplus to requirement were sold off.
Chassis 1 went to Eric Forrest-Greene an Argentine amateur of British origin who lost his life in a most gruesome accident during his first outing with the car.
Contesting the Buenos Aires 1000km World Sportscar Championship event on January 21st 1954, Forrest-Green lost control and sent the Aston into a series of barrel rolls. The car caught fire and, although he was able to extricate himself from the wreck, Forrest-Greene died from burns in hospital the next day.
Chassis 2 was retained until 1955 when it was sold to Dennis Barthel who raced it successfully that season.
Chassis 3 had already been sold to Michel Poberejsky in late 1953. He had it fitted with a Vignale Berlinetta body and DB3S engine.
Chassis 4 was rebuilt by the factory some time in 1954 with a DB3S-style body that featured a full height windscreen. It was also equipped with a DB3S engine and sold to one M. Derrick who raced it twice at Goodwood in 1955.
After being crashed on the 1953 Mille Miglia, chassis 5 was sold (probably as an un-bodied chassis) to Nigel Mann. In 1954 Mann raced it with an ugly Coupe body executed in a rough DB3S style. It was then re-bodied into an equally ugly Spider for 1955.
As for the customer cars, chassis 6 was sold by Robert Dickson to Robert Dennis for 1954. Its bodywork was modified by Emeryson and fitted with the original works hardtop used by chassis 1 at Le Mans in 1952. A Jaguar engine was also installed. It was rebodied again in 1955 into a fantastically ugly Coupe.
Chassis 7, Tom Meyer’s ungainly Coupe, was retained until 1955 when it was sold via HW Motors to David Brown’s daughter, Angela. She had the front end modified and did a couple of races before selling it on in December 1955. It was not raced again.
Chassis 8 was sold by Ken Downing to Sir Jeremy Boles. It was raced throughout 1954 and retired at the end of the year.
Tony Gaze’s car (chassis 9) had already been destroyed in the ferocious fire at the Portuguese GP.
Chassis 10 was sold by Graham Whitehead to Sir Jocelyn Stevens for 1954.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Aston Martin - https://www.astonmartin.com
