VIN: the works Aston Martin DB3 chassis 1
History of chassis DB3/1
Chassis 1 was the first of five DB3s constructed for works use. A further five cars were later built up for customers.
As the only example built in 1951, it was originally hoped that chassis 1 would be ready for that year’s Le Mans 24 Hours but delays meant it debuted on September 15th at the Dundrod Tourist Trophy in Northern Ireland.
Entered as part of a three car works team alongside a pair of DB2s, chassis 1 was driven by Lance Macklin.
At the end of the first hour, Macklin was only 20 seconds behind Stirling Moss in the lead Jaguar C-type. Macklin had regained second spot after he was forced to pit for repairs to a trailing exhaust pipe but, two hours into the race, he had to slow considerably. The manifold and exhaust pipe had parted company and Macklin was forced to retire.
Chassis 1 next appeared for the annual Easter Monday race at Goodwood on April 14th 1952.
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 on pre-race favourite Moss in his works C-type. Over such a short distance though, it proved impossible to overhaul XK120 drivers Bill Holt and John Swift.
After a fast and balanced drive, Duke placed third, twelve seconds ahead of Moss but behind the XK120s.
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 including chassis 1 for Geoff Duke.
After a Frazer Nash dumped oil over part of the circuit, Duke was the first to encounter it. He 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 was left stranded in a cornfield. The sister cars took second, third and fourth to win the team prize.
Chassis 1 was the only DB3 sent to Douglas on the Isle of Man for the British Empire Trophy on May 29th because, 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 once again entered for Duke to race. He qualified second for the 200 mile handicap and by lap two was the on-road leader.
By lap 19, he had just one more lap 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.
Two weeks later, David Brown entered a trio of DB3s for the 1952 Le Mans 24 Hours including chassis 1 for Reg Parnell and Eric Thompson. For this event, the car was equipped with an elegant fastback hardtop designed to eke out a few extra miles per hour down the Mulsanne Straight.
The car qualified 23rd, but Parnell retired in the second hour with rear axle problems.
Chassis 1 was not seen again until 1953 when it appeared for a trio of races at Thruxton driven by Dennis Poore. It would be the last time Aston Martin raced the DB3 in a works capacity.
Poore finished third overall and first in class in the opening event, a 15 lap race for Unlimited Sports Cars.
Next was a six lap race for under three-litre Sports cars and Poore held top spot from start to finish.
The final event was a 15 lap Formula Libre race for all the fastest cars from the meeting including single seaters. Poore finished third after a beautifully judged race behind Jimmy Stewart’s Jaguar C-type and Ian Stewart’s Connaught.
At the end of the season, chassis 1 was sold 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.
While 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 wrecked car caught fire and, although he was able to extricate himself, Forrest-Greene died from burns in hospital the next day.
Notable History
David Brown / Aston Martin Ltd
15/09/1951 IND Dundrod Tourist Trophy (L. Macklin) DNF (#20)
14/04/1952 IND Goodwood Easter Sports Car Handicap (G. Duke) 3rd oa (#70)
10/05/1952 IND Silverstone International (G. Duke) DNF (#34)
29/05/1952 IND British Empire Trophy, Douglas (G. Duke) DNF (#27)
15/06/1952 IND Le Mans 24 Hours (R. Parnell / E. Thompson) DNF (#27)
25/05/1953 IND Thruxton Unlimited Sports (D. Poore) 3rd oa, 1st 3.0 class (#70)
25/05/1953 IND Thruxton Sports (D. Poore) 1st oa (#70)
25/05/1953 IND Thruxton Formula Libre (D. Poore) 3rd oa (#70)
Sold to Eric Forrest-Greene, Argentina
24/01/1954 WSC Buenos Aires 1000km (E. Greene / Stabile) DNF (#42)
Wrecked in Greene's fatal accident at the 1954 Buenos Aires 1000km
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Aston Martin - https://www.astonmartin.com
