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The Adventures of Louis Gerard
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Gerard in the old Maserati at Indy.
Featured Editorials & Content

The Adventures of Louis Gerard

 Robert Young
Louis Gerard.
Louis Gerard.

Five years after Whitney Straight’s historic trip to South Africa to take part in the First South African Grand Prix, motor racing had become an established sport in the country and during the European winters British and Continental drivers escaped the cold to take part in the ‘summer series’ down south. This ensured that expensive racing cars could be used to generate an income instead of being stored on blocks during a time that the wintry European season was closed.

For 1939, the South African Grand Prix was to be a ‘proper’ grand prix for voiturettes of 1.5 liters and for the first time run as a scratch race, no more run on the antiquated handicap system with fields made up of outdated machinery, specials and the modern cars of the visiting European drivers. With FIA approval and in line with the European formula, a top class field including the ‘works’ Maserati team, independent Maserati pilotes and a group of competent English amateurs in ERAs was assembled.

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Robert Young
Casey M. Annis is the Founder and Editor of Vintage Road & Racecar magazine, as well as Editor of Alfa Owner, The Oily Rag and BMW Ultimate Classic magazines. He founded Parabolica Publishing in 1997 after a career in neurobiology. Along with his passion for automobiles, Casey is a long distance open-ocean paddleboard racer who’s competed over 10 times in the 32-mile Catalina to Manhattan Beach race and the 32-mile Molokai to Oahu race. Casey still contributes and writes about the world of vintage road and racecars and edits and curates the content for this website.
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