1950 ALFA ROMEO 158s SILVERSTONE, UK

The first cover in the series depicts Giuseppe Farina winning the inaugural Grand Prix at Silverstone, on the 13 May 1950, driving the unbeatable Alfa Romeo 158. His team mates Luigi Fagioli and Reg Parnell are also shown following coming second and third, giving Alfa Romeo all 3 places on the podium. All 3 drivers have since died but we have been fortunate to obtain the signature of 2 drivers who took part in the race, plus the son of the third placed driver.

The first special version is signed by GEOFFREY CROSSLEY who had his first race, in his own Alta, at the 1949 Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps where he earned a commendable 7th place. He continued to race the Alfa the following year and is one of a just 4 surviving drivers who took part in the inaugural F1 World Championship GP at Silverstone. He was performing fairly well in the race until a combination of events resulted in transmission failure and he was forced to retire on lap 43 out of 70. His participation in the event has brought him back into the spotlight, with his appearance in numerous motor sport articles concerning the 50th anniversary of Formula 1.

The second special version is signed by TIM PARNELL, who participated in Formula 1 and 2 races in the late 50s / early 60s. Following a good Formula Junior season in 1960, he purchased a Lotus 18 in 1961 and raced it in 2 GPs (UK & Italy). He ran the Parnell team and at the end of the decade, moving on to BRM before running his own racing team. Tim followed his father's love for motor sport. Reg Parnell began racing in 1935 in a MG Magnette and leading up to World War II he was racing a Bugatti. After the war he achieved great success in his Maserati, particularly at Goodwood. He was so highly respected that he was invited to drive a works Alfa Romeo in the inaugural Formula I World Championship race at Silverstone, finishing in a commendable 3rd place. He won the 1957 New Zealand Grand Prix before retiring to become team manager for Aston Martin, having raced with them since the early 50s. In 1961/62 he oversaw the Lola teams before setting up his own team. Reg Parnell died following a routine operation for peritonitis, at the relatively young age of 52; this was a great loss to a sport in which he had earned great respect both as driver and team manager.

The extra special version is signed by TONY ROLT who, before World War II, was recognised as a very talented a m ateur driver winning the British Empire Trophy at Donnington, in an ERA, as a 19-year old. He joined the Army as an officer at the beginning of the War, reaching the rank of major; part of his wartime service as a prisoner of war in Colditz Castle and he w as awarded a Military Cross for gallantry. Rolt competed in Formula 1 World Championship races in 1950, 53 and 55 in the ERA and then Connaughts (all were British Grand Prix). Mostly, Tony Rolt confined himself to national events, achieving numerous Formula 2 wins with Peter Walker's dark blue Connaught. He also drove for the Jaguar sports car team with the extrovert Duncan Hamilton; this amazing duo won the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1953 and took second place the following year.

An extra special variant has been produced to commemorate 50 Years of Formula 1 bearing the Royal Mail Sponsored Handstamp for the 50th Anniversary cancelling a 26p UK definitive stamp. To further enhance the value of the cover it has been signed by the artist of our covers ROSS WARDLE.

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1951 ALFA ROMEO 159 PEDRABLES, SPAIN

Juan Manuel Fangio (No 22) in the Alfa Romeo 159, leads his fellow countryman Froilan Gonzalez in the Ferrari 375 (No 6) to win the race and the 1951 World Championship. The cover confirms the continued success of Alfa Romeo in 1951 but with stiffer competition from Ferrari. Juan Manuel Fangio drove the Alfa Romeo 159 to 2 victories and a shared win with team mate Luigi Fagioli; a further win was achieved by Giuseppe Farina.

The first special is signed by NIGEL ROEBUCK the well known Grand Prix Editor of Autosport and Autoweek who has has a deep enthusiasm for Formula 1 that is relayed to the public through his articles. He enjoys seeing the drivers driving the cars to their limits in the true spirit of motor racing. His honest and fair reporting is respected by all involved in the sport and he is perceived as the standard to live up to in motor racing journalism. Having spent many years reporting on Formula 1, Nigel Roebuck is able to bring a perspective to his writing that his fellows envy.

RAYMOND BAXTER, the famous commentator, has signed the second special despite recovering from a serious operation. He joined the RAF in 1940, flying Spitfires during WWII. He entered Forces Broadcasting in Cairo, still as a serving officer. After the war, he became civilian Deputy Director of the British Forces Network of the BBC, before joining the Outside Broadcast Department where he worked until 1966. He became the Director of Motoring Publicity for the British Motor Company (BMC) 1967-1968. As an author, he has published books with James Burke and Michael Latham on "Tomorrow's World" and written articles and reports on motoring and aviation subjects. His distinctive voice is renown world-wide for his commentaries on aviation and motor sport.

The 3rd special is signed by ROBERT MANZON who started racing in his own Cisitalia; winning races at Angouleme and Comminges, he impressed Simca-Gordini and was invited to join their team. He started in Formula 1 in 1950 and for most of his career, raced alongside his fellow countryman, Maurice Trintignant. Although the high reving French cars were not in the same class as the Alfa Romeo and Ferrari, he nevertheless achieved creditable results against them. With Simca-Gordini and Gordini, he performed particularly well in his home GP at Reims, with two 4th places (1950 & 52) and 3rd in the 1952 Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps. In 1954 he came 3rd in the French GP but this time in the Ferrari 625. Returning to Gordini in 1955, he won the 1956 Naples GP when the works Ferraris broke down and defeated Taruffi's Ferrari in the Pescara 2-litre sports car race with a sensational drive. He retired at the end of the season for family and business reasons.

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1952 KUZMA-OFFENHASER and FERRARI 375 (Modified) INDIANAPOLIS 500, INDIANA, USA

From 1950 to 1960, the Indianapolis 500 race was included for points within the Formula 1 World Championship; to commemorate the race we have included it in our series as the 1952 cover. We wanted to include Alberto Ascari as he was the World Champion that year, whilst providing a variation from the all conquering Ferrari 500 that won 14 races in 1952/53. Skilfully, Ross Wardle has depicted Troy Ruttman in his Offenhauser engined Kuzma, passing Alberto Ascari's modified Ferrari 375, prior to the Italian's retirement after 40 laps. Ruttman won the race, 4 mins clear of any opposition. Ascari won the last 6 races of the season in the Ferrari 500 to take his first World Championship title. 

The first special is signed by TONY GAZE who was a former war time pilot that enjoyed success in Australia, after World War II, racing his Alta in all available events in the 1947 to 1950 period, before basing himself in UK to race. His 1951 season came to an abrupt halt when his Alta engine was destroyed at Avus. He bought a HWM-Alta to race Formula 1 for the 1952 season, finishing in one of his 3 GPs. He then involved himself in sports car racing, driving his Aston Martin, Maserati, HWM-Jaguar, Fraser Nash and Ferrari cars both at home and abroad. Between 1954 and 1956 he became a prime mover in developing Australian motor sport, bringing European style circuit racing to that continent.

Special cover number two is signed by ROBIN MONTGOMERIE CHARRINGTON who was an enthusiastic amateur racer who started in Formula 3 driving 1100cc Jap-engined Coopers. Along with one of his fellow F3 competitors, and with American backing, he was involved in the Aston-Butterworth project. The car was raced in the 1952 Belgian GP, retiring on lap 15 out of 22. His best result was 3rd place in the 1952 Grand Prix de la Frontieres at Chimay, achieved despite running out of fuel on the last lap. Robin Montgomerie Charington is aged 86 and not in the best of health; therefore, he has had difficulty in providing signatures.

JIM RATHMANN who competed in the Formula 1 World Championship through participation in the Indianapolis 500 races between 1950 - 60, has signed the second special. Apart from 1951, he took part throughout the period, driving Wetteroth, Kurtis Kraft, Epperley and Watson cars, all with Offenhauser engines. When his car remained serviceable and was reasonably competitive, he achieved excellent results. He scored at total of 29 points in the ten Indy 500 races that he competed in, coming second in 1952, 57 and 59. His ultimate achievement was to win the 1960 IndyCar Race, the last run within the Formula 1 World Championship. 

The extra special cover is signed by RODGER WARD, who was a WWII fighter pilot who began racing midgets and stock cars in 1946. He competed in the 1951 Indianapolis race and achieved his first championship victories in 1953 with back to back wins at Springfield and Detroit. It was 1957 before he won again and he had 2 further wins in 1958. In 1959 he joined the Leader Card team to drive a Watson Offenhauser; he achieved his first Indy 500 win and, with 4 more wins, became the national Champion. He continued to perform well over the next few seasons and in 1962 he became National Champion for the second time, again winning the Indy 500 race. He continued competing in the United States Auto Club (USAC) races gaining his last win at Phoenix in 1966. Rodger Ward features as one of the top ten IndyCar racers of all time being twice Champion, with 26 wins and 2955 laps led.

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1953 FERRARI 500s BREMGARTEN, SWITZERLAND

The fourth cover in the series depicts Alberto Ascari winning the Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten, on the 23 August 1953, driving the invincible Ferrari 500; his team mate, Giuseppe Farina, is shown in second place. Mike Hawthorn (not shown) also in a Ferrari, came third, giving the Company a clean sweep. Alfa Romeo all 3 places on the podium. All 3 drivers have since died but we have been fortunate to obtain the signature of 3 drivers who raced in the early 50s.

The first special version is signed by IAN STEWART who came to prominence as a founder member of the Ecurie Ecosse team in 1952, winning the Jersey Road Race, the Wakefield Trophy and various sports car events in the Jaguar C-type. During 1953, the team ran a Formula 2 Connaught in the British GP at Silverstone, the Lea Francis engine developed a problem after 26 laps and forced a retirement. However, the car performed well in other competitions, finishing second in the Nurburgring 1000km, with Roy Salvadori, and fourth at Le Mans, co-driving with Peter Whitehead. Following an accident at Buenos Aires, in 1954, Ian Stewart retired from competing in motor racing.

The second special version is signed by ERIC THOMPSON whose business career in the City of London denied him the time to race full time; he nevertheless made his mark as a member of the Aston Martin sports car team between 1949 & 53. He finished third at Le Mans in 1951, second at Dunrod in the Tourist Trophy in 1953 and won the BARC 9-hours at Goodwood co-driving with Reg Parnell. For his rare single-seat competing he usually raced Rob Walker's Connaught; given a works drive in 1952, he did exceptionally well to achieve 2 points for fifth place in his only GP race.

The extra special version is signed by TONY CROOK who was one of the UK's most active racers from 1946-55, driving in single-seaters and sports cars. He raced a 2.9-litre Alfa Romeo with great success in the late forties and won the first post-war circuit race at Gransden Lodge. In 1950 Tony began racing Bristol-engined cars and accumulated countless wins with his Fraser Nash. In 1953, he purchased a Cooper-Bristol Mk II and enjoyed many spirited battles with his friend Roy Salvadori. Tony Crook competed in over 400 races, sprints and hill climbs setting numerous lap records. After retiring from racing, he acquired Bristol Cars Limited and remains its Chairman to this day.