Formula 1
Teams Constructors TeamsEcurie Demi-Litre: 1958 Formula One Season By Jeremy McMullenIvor Leon Bueb was born in Dulwich, outside of London, in June of 1923. Following the end of the Second World War, Bueb would own a garage in Cheltenham and was known as a full-loving and out-going personality that just enjoyed life.
Owning his own garage and having an interest in automobiles, it was not all that surprising he would set his sights on taking part in some races here and there. He would play around with the notion and would take part in some events here and there. Then, in 1953, Bueb started to take racing seriously.
Bueb had won a Junior race at Silverstone in 1952 and this would help encourage Ivor to take part in some Production car races the following season. He would come through to win a race here and there but would realize very quickly that merely modifying cars was not going to get the job done. He needed to make his way into factory outfits, or, purchase cars produced by other efforts focused on particular series.
Therefore, for 1954, Bueb would switch to a Cooper Mk VIII. As a sign of his playful mindset he would start entering races under his own team name of Ecurie Demi-Litre, which, when translated, meant 'Stable Half Liter'. The Mk VIII Cooper did have a half-liter engine, but Bueb would choose to be frank about his team name instead of coming up with something inspiring, fearsome or ethereal.
Bueb's results would improve as he got used to the single-seater open-wheel Cooper. Some of the 1954 highlights would be a 2nd place to Stirling Moss at Aintree and then victory in the Open Challenge and Brands Hatch and Cadwell Park. These performances would help Bueb to become a factory driver for Cooper in 1955. A couple of victories in the Earl of March Trophy and the Daily Telegraph Trophy helped to get him recognized and he would be chosen to partner with non other than Mike Hawthorn in the D-Type Jaguar at Le Mans that year.
Forever stained by the terrible events that would surround Pierre Levegh's crash that would kill more than 80 spectators, Bueb would have very little desire to carry on with the twenty-one hours that remained in the aftermath. Already uncomfortable with the incredible speeds reached down the long Mulsanne, it took coaxing and prodding for him to get behind the wheel of the Jaguar and carry on to what was to become one of his greatest moments in motor racing.
Despite never really feeling comfortable around Le Mans, the race would become a specialty for the man that often looked more like a businessman than a racer. His steady performances meant that he may not have been the fastest out on circuit, but he never really abused his equipment and this would be as important as outright speed when it came to being able to finish a race in a top position.
This ability enabled Bueb to return to Le Mans in 1957 with Ecurie Ecosse and come away with his second 24 Hours victory. This was impressive considering the likes of Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio had never achieved even a single victory in the 24 hour race.
Only four years after really beginning to take motor racing seriously, Bueb would be on his way to winning his second 24 Hours of Le Mans and would be driving in Formula One races for Connaught and Gilby Engineering.
In 1957, Bueb would be at the helm of a B-Type Connaught and would take part in non-championship and championship events over the course of the season. His season would begin with a 5th place in the Grand Prix of Syracuse in early April, which would then be followed by a 3rd at Pau.
Ivor would qualify for the Monaco Grand Prix driving the B-Type Connaught. He would start the race from last on the grid, but would continue to move forward until a leak in the fuel tank ended his day after just 47 laps.
The only other World Championship race in which Bueb would contend in '57, his first year competing in the Formula One World Championship, would be the British round of the World Championship held at Aintree. In that race Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss would famously combine to give England its first win in the British Grand Prix by a British manufacturer and driver combination. Away from the fanfare, Bueb would manage to finish his first World Championship race driving a Maserati 250F for Gilby Engineering. Though he would finish, he would be too far in arrears to be classified in the final results. Therefore, heading into the 1958 season, Bueb was still looking, officially, for his first race finish in a Formula One World Championship round.
Bueb's 1958 would begin with a drive in a D-Type Jaguar, entered by Ecurie Ecosse, in the 12 Hours of Sebring. Partnered with Ninian Sanderson, the number 8 Jaguar was one to watch. Sadly, engine troubles would bring the attempt to an end.
Following the failed attempt in southern Florida, Bueb would not be seen or heard of at any of the early races in England. The first that would be seen of Bueb behind the wheel of a race car in Europe would be in Aintree. Not only would he drive a Jaguar for Ecurie Ecosse in the 200 Mile Aintree race, he would also be behind the wheel of a Climax-powered Cooper T43 in the 13th BARC ‘200' event that would take place the same day.
Bueb would seem to be in a good position heading into the BARC event. He had finished 4th in the sportscar race and would find himself starting from the 9th position on the fourth row of the grid for the open-wheel race later on. The BARC 200 would be open to both Formula One and Formula 2 entries. Jean Behra would now be a part of Owen Racing's team driving the BRM 25 full-time and he would demonstrate just how fast the car could be when he took pole with a lap time of 1:59.8. Roy Salvadori, driving a Cooper T45, would end up in the middle of the front row with a lap time less than a half second slower while Stirling Moss would complete the row having set a time eight-tenths slower than Behra. Bueb's best effort around the same 3.0 mile Aintree circuit would be nearly 8 seconds adrift. He was running in the Formula 2 category which put him among the fastest in the class, but it was clear he was going to need some help to finish the race with a good result.
A cold day greeted Bueb and his fellow drivers as he prepared for the 67 lap race. However, right from the very beginning things would heat up. Moss would beat Behra off the line and would settle into the lead. Behra would be in second place, just ahead of Salvadori and Jack Brabham. Moss would be firmly in control while Brabham would make his way by Salvadori and would begin threatening Behra.
Bueb, being in a Formula 2 Cooper, would be further back in the pack embroiled in a battle with the many other Formula 2 entries. Ivor would run consistently throughout the early going and looked intent on looking toward the end of the race instead of really battling with the others.
Moss would have no one to battle with him as he continued to stretch out his advantage. Brabham would bring up the charge once Behra retired after brake failure. Tony Brooks would not go the same route as Bueb. He would be on the charge right from the very beginning and would soon be amongst the top five despite his obvious short-comings.
Bueb's conservative approach would not help his cause sadly. A little more than 15 laps from the end of the race the Cooper would run into trouble and Ivor would be forced to retire. It would matter little as he would never be in the running against his fellow Formula 2 entrants, especially not against Brooks who was threatening to finish the race on the podium.
Moss had been in control of the race throughout the whole of the race. He had built up what seemed to be an insurmountable lead. Twelve laps from the end, the clutch in Moss' Cooper would begin to show signs of not being able to complete the distance. The gap to Brabham in 2nd place would begin to drop rapidly. Moss was intent on doing his best to nurse the car home to victory, but nobody else believed the clutch would even make it that far.
The last lap of the race Moss would have Brabham all over him. It seemed impossible for Moss to hold off Jack for the victory. He had done all the hard work and it looked as though it would be taken from him at the very end. However, as he rounded the final corner, Moss decided the clutch was either going to make it or not. Therefore, he would put the power down early. The tail-end would step out and he would manage to keep his Cooper ahead of Brabham's just long enough to take the victory. Tony Brooks would demonstrate just what kind of pace the best of the Formula 2 field would be able to put forth. Passing Salvadori, Brooks would come through to finish in 3rd place just a little more than a minute behind.
Bueb had done everything right. He had sat content looking after his car. However, as the race would demonstrate, sitting still doesn't necessarily mean a great result. The British field of drivers and cars were rapidly improving. In the shorter events, if Bueb wanted to compete, he would need to find the balance between reliability and speed.
Heading into his next race, Bueb would not necessarily find reliability and speed. Instead, he would start by finding a new car. Ivor had been a factory driver for Cooper. However, following the race at Aintree, he would get rid of his Cooper and would purchase, instead a Lotus 12.
Colin Chapman had been making his own designs but had also consulted with other teams as well. He had done work with Vandervell and with Owen Racing and both showed improvements in performance. Therefore, his Lotus 12 seemed a viable option for competing without having to have a huge factory effort in support. So Bueb would purchase a Lotus 12 and would look to the next race on the calendar. He wouldn't have to wait too long either.
The next race on the calendar would be a popular non-championship Formula One event. The race was the 10th BRDC International Trophy race held at Silverstone on the 3rd of May. The race was a popular non-championship option as it tested car and driver. It would also be popular in 1958 simply because the circuit played host to the British Grand Prix later on in the year.
Considering Bueb had intentions of contesting another couple of championship Formula One events, the International Trophy race would be the perfect testing ground for himself and his new Lotus 12.
Silverstone was the perfect training ground. Many of the circuits in the World Championship would boast of average speeds well in excess of 100mph. Silverstone was one of them. Furthermore, the long straights and fast kinks meant engines, gearboxes and many other important components would be pushed to their redline lap after lap, and then held at maximum for a good deal of time.
The 10th edition of the International Trophy race would be a 50 lap affair open for Formula One and Formula 2 cars. Because of its similarity to the BARC event at Aintree many of the same names would be present at Silverstone. However, in spite of the presence of names like Moss and Behra in the race, Roy Salvadori would surprise everyone by earning pole with a lap time of 1:40.8. Jack Brabham would be second-quickest having a lap time a little more than a half a second slower than Salvadori. Stirling Moss would line up 3rd while Peter Collins would position his Ferrari in the 4th and final spot on the front row.
Bueb's best effort in the Lotus 12 would be about five seconds off of Salvadori's best. As a result, Ivor would line up 12th on the grid. This would put him on the fourth row of the grid along with Jo Bonnier and Bruce Halford.
Bueb would line up toward the front end of the middle of the pack. This put him in a tough position heading to the start of the race. One hesitation and he would end up at the back of the field. However, as the flag waved to start the race it would be Moss that would hesitate. Stalling on the grid, Moss would end up dead-last before he would finally get going.
Though Salvadori would start from pole he would be swallowed up at the start by Collins and Behra. Bueb would also make a flyer of a start and would be a number of places further forward as he looked to make it through the first lap without incident.
Collins would lead the way at the completion of the first circuit. Behra and his BRM teammate, Ron Flockhart, would be next in line. Masten Gregory would head up the next small group that would include Jack Brabham, Salvadori, Graham Hill, Jo Bonnier, Stuart Lewis-Evans and Ivor Bueb all in tow.
Though he was hanging on to the tail-end of the lead groups, Bueb was doing well. However, Collins and the BRMs began to pull away. Behra would be flying and would end up taking the lead from Collins after about five laps or so. Behra began to build up an advantage early on while Bueb was also showing some signs of speed.
Behra's advantage would be erased by a strange event where he would be struck in the goggles by a loose rock that got kicked-up. Behra would pit to get himself checked and would drop down in the order as a result. This meant Collins led the way followed by Brabham and Flockhart. A little ways behind Flockhart would be Salvadori, Gregory, Hill, Moss, Lewis-Evans and Cliff Allison. Trailing along behind Allison, not far removed, would be Bueb. He would have Behra and Maurice Trintignant following behind looking to get by the Lotus 12.
Sadly, Behra and Trintignant would not have to do anything of their own to get by Bueb. After 20 laps of running at top-end speed, the engine on Bueb's Lotus was beginning to overheat and was in serious shape. Ivor had found his speed, unfortunately, reliability would not come along for the ride.
Bueb's race would come to an end after 20 laps. They had been impressive laps, but he came up some 30 laps short of the ultimate goal. He was still without a race finish in 1958 and didn't look close to getting one any time soon.
Behra's troubles allowed Collins to escape with the lead of the race. Roy Salvadori would end up in 2nd place after Brabham's day hit some snags. Salvadori would do his best to keep things close but he would be unable to do anything about the Ferrari Dino 246 leading the way.
The retirements of Tony Brooks, Stirling Moss and others meant Collins would be untouchable throughout the last 30 laps of the race. Collins would drive a mistake-free last half of a race and would cruise to an easy victory 24 seconds ahead of Roy Salvadori in 2nd place. Masten Gregory would be impressive in an aged Maserati 250F. He would come through to finish the race in 3rd place more than 30 seconds behind Collins.
Two big races back-to-back and Bueb had failed to reach the end of either. The Formula One World Championship was about to kick back into gear. The man from Dulwich needed some confidence and good news before he looked to take part in another World Championship round.
Following the disappointment at Silverstone, Bueb would look to more minor races. He had shown good speed in the International Trophy race. He just needed reliability. Often times, reliability came with confidence. Therefore, Bueb would abandon any other Formula One event, especially the Monaco Grand Prix and the Dutch Grand Prix in May. Instead, he would look toward Formula 2 events.
He would go and take part in the Elaintarhanajo outside of Helsinki and would come away with a victory in his Lotus 12. There were a number of Formula 2 events gearing up around England and Europe as well.
The first of these events would be the 4th Crystal Palace Trophy race held on the 26th of May. Driving his Lotus 12, Bueb would be remarkable in the first heat race taking the victory over George Wicken and Ian Burgess. This put Bueb in a strong position heading into the 25 lap final.
In the final, Bueb could not match his performance from the first heat. Ian Burgess would end up taking the victory over Tommy Bridger and Bruce McLaren. Though he would be rather disappointed after his first heat victory, a 4th place result would still be welcome news for Ivor who sadly needed a good result.
Enjoying at least one race result in Formula 2, Bueb would keep his focus there and, on the 15th of June, would be at Montlhery, outside of Paris, to take part in the 3rd Prix de Paris. Bueb appeared to be on his way starting the 16 lap race from the pole. However, problems would force his race to come to a very early end. Bueb was showing signs. There were indicators that good things could happen. He was just struggling to get all of the elements to come together to make it happen.
The next race on Bueb's calendar was likely the best option for getting his season on the right track and rebuilding his confidence. One week after the Prix de Paris, Bueb would be in another French town preparing for an even bigger race. The 24 Hours of Le Mans would take place on the 21st and 22nd of June. Ivor Bueb would be united with Duncan Hamilton driving a D-Type Jaguar for Hamilton's own team. This was the perfect opportunity for Bueb. A solid performance in such a long distance race would do his mind well. Sadly, an accident would severely shorten the length of the race for Bueb and he would be left with nothing from Le Mans.
Returning to England after the disappointing effort in Le Mans, Bueb would take part in another Formula 2 race, the 6th Anerley Trophy race held at Crystal Palace on the 5th of July. While most drivers were still in France preparing for the French Grand Prix, Ivor would be looking to home soil for a lifeline.
Starting from the pole, Bueb would find his lifeline. Finishing both heat races in 2nd place, Bueb would finish the aggregate scoring right there. Less than a second behind Syd Jensen in the aggregate results, it would be easy for anyone to be disappointed. But for Bueb, the result would be very welcome and would set the stage for a drive with Bernie Ecclestone's Connaught effort in the British Grand Prix a couple of weeks later.
The first Formula One World Championship race Bueb would ever attempt to take part in would be the Monaco Grand Prix while at the wheel of a B-Type Connaught. One year later, Ivor would again be behind the wheel of a B-Type Connaught but would be preparing for his home grand prix.
Getting into the field would be much easier than what it had been in Monaco the year before. However, a race result would be just as elusive as gearbox and oil pump problems would bring his effort to an end after just 19 laps. Officially, Ivor was still without his first race finish in a World Championship event, and there was really just one more opportunity to turn that around, at least for him, before the end of the year.
There was just one non-championship Formula One race after the British Grand Prix. It was the Grand Prix de Caen and it would be held on the 20th of July. This would have been a race Bueb could have entered to gain some more valuable Formula One track time. Instead, he would choose to travel a little further south into France. Crossing the Channel over to France, Bueb would continue his journey all the way to the heart of France and the Auvergne region. There, outside of the city Clermont-Ferrand, with its five miles of twists and turns, rises and falls would be the Charade Circuit. On the 27th of July, the Charade Circuit would play host to another Formula 2 race, the 1st Trophee d'Auvergne.
This circuit played to Bueb's strengths. Impressive for the way he would throw his cars back and forth, muscling them through corners, Bueb's driving style suited Charade. As would be seen the following year, he was perhaps a little too drawn to the circuit.
Again at the wheel of his Lotus 12, Ivor would be impressive during the 20 lap race. Though under fire from Stuart Lewis-Evans late in the race, he would respond with the fastest lap time and would maintain his advantage over the BRP driver. Finishing 20 seconds behind Trintignant, Bueb would still rally to finish a fine 2nd holding off Lewis-Evans by a mere second. Bueb had fought hard and the Lotus fought hard as well. The result was well-deserved and perfectly-timed as the Englishman would need to pack everything up and head northeast for his next attempt at a round in the World Championship.
Ivor would head northeast through the Low Countries of Europe, and then, into western Germany. Ultimately, he would make his way to the tiny village of Nurburg. Though very small, the village held one giant of a circuit; a fearsome and demanding giant that needed to be given a great deal of respect. Bueb had arrived at the Nurburgring. To arrive at the Nurburgring in early August meant just one thing—the German Grand Prix.
As with the previous year, the 1958 German Grand Prix would include a Formula 2 race within the German round of the World Championship. Bueb would take part in the race, but would be among those that would be battling it out within the Formula 2 class. Bueb would enter the race under his own team name and driving his Climax-powered Lotus 12.
New regulations would be introduced for 1958. One of those new regulations would be shorter race distances. This encouraged smaller privateer teams, like Ecurie Demi Libre, to take part in the World Championship as it was more likely the smaller-displacement engines could last the distance. Of course, just one lap around the 14 mile long Nordschleife would seem like a full race distance. Then the Formula 2 entries would have to do it 14 more times. It was going to be a stretch, but Bueb would be among a whole host that would give it their all for glory around the Nurburgring.
In ideal conditions, Mike Hawthorn would press the lap record even lower circulating the track in 9:14.0 and taking pole. Tony Brooks would be just a second slower and would line up 2nd while Stirling Moss and Peter Collins would complete the front row in 3rd and 4th place respectively.
Bueb had shown a good turn of speed in the last few events he had taken part in, and, amongst the Formula 2 entries in the field, he would keep this record going. The fastest among the Formula 2 qualifiers would be Phil Hill driving the Ferrari Dino 156. He would start on the third row of the grid in the 10th position overall. Bueb's best effort would be 14 seconds slower than Hill. Still, the time would be good enough to enable Ivor to start the race from the fifth row of the grid in the 16th position overall. Though the 16th starting spot would not look that impressive, when it came to the Formula 2 cars on the grid, Bueb would line up 7th.
A beautiful day would greet all as the cars and drivers lined up on the grid. As usual, the grandstands would be absolutely filled and the immense circuit would boast of many more thousands camped out in the bushes and amongst the trees to catch a glimpse of some of the best drivers in the world around the truly daunting circuit.
The flag would drop and Moss would sprint into the lead with his teammate Brooks tucked right up behind. Then came the Ferraris and BRMs. A little further back, Bueb would be away rather well holding his station throughout the first lap.
Fourteen miles for a single lap would be a long trip and plenty of time for positions to change. And, by the time appeared at the conclusion of the first circuit Moss would still be holding onto the lead. However, Brooks would not be right behind his teammate. Instead, Hawthorn and Collins would be ahead of the Vanwall driver and pressing hard after Moss. Bueb would complete the first lap in a solid position. He would cross the line for the first time right around where he had started.
Bueb would struggle over the next couple of laps however and would end up slipping down in the order a couple of places. But, his Lotus was still running and that was certainly good news after the struggles he had been facing.
Bueb wouldn't be the only one struggling. After leading the first three laps of the race Moss' Vanwall would run into trouble. Ignition troubles would force the Brit to retire and hand the lead to a couple of other Brits. First it would be Hawthorn that would take a turn on point. Then, Collins would lead.
While Collins held onto the top spot for the next half dozen laps, Bueb would be working as hard as he dared to move up in the order. Aided by attrition, the Dulwich man would be right around the top ten overall heading into the final five laps of the race. Unfortunately, these remaining five laps would be truly bittersweet.
Collins led the way over Hawthorn. Moss' early departure meant Hawthorn was looking quite strong in the championship. The only hope Moss had at this point in time was if one of his teammates could get up there and challenge for the win. This would deny Hawthorn as many points as possible. And, given Stuart Lewis-Evans wasn't present, that duty fell on Tony Brooks. And Brooks would respond beautifully.
Once at a point where he believed his Vanwall could make the remaining distance, Brooks would turn up the wick and would set off after the two Ferrari drivers. Over the course of one lap Tony would dispatch Hawthorn for 2nd place and would be quickly lining up Collins. Brooks would sweep by Collins to take over the lead. The move put a Vanwall in the lead and Hawthorn was losing more points. This is just what Moss needed. What neither he, or anyone else, needed was about to transpire however.
While Bueb ran just outside the top ten overall, and about 5th amongst the Formula 2 cars, Collins would be getting all worked up inside the cockpit of the Ferrari. Brooks' pass for the lead would catch Collins napping a little bit and it would surprise the Ferrari pilot. It is also suggested it angered him a little bit. Collins had been at the helm for half a dozen laps and was doing his part to help his teammate. Brooks' role taking effect, Collins would need to respond to help his friend. Sadly, the response would be tragic.
Chasing after Brooks and the lead he had once held for so long, Collins would push it a little too hard. Cresting the road, he would be going too fast to make a rather sharp right-hand bend that immediately followed. Peter would lose the backend slightly, but was just about to gather it all up when his tire hooked a ditch and was sent flying through the air. Brooks was well on his way rather unaware of the events, but Hawthorn would witness everything and it would be more than he could bear.
Brooks would go by in the lead. The time would come and go when the Ferraris should have appeared. Then Hawthorn would appear. Slowing down, he would bring his Ferrari into the pits and would immediately get out. His face said it all. Then it became apparent. Collins had been thrown from his car up against a tree. He had sustained terrible injuries and would eventually succumb to them a short while later. Just like that, two Ferraris were out of the race. Bueb would move up the order as a natural result, but there was very little celebration as to why.
The Ferraris out of the race, Brooks would have nobody to challenge him for the lead. The Vanwall driver would back off the pace slightly to ensure his car would make it to the end and to the victory. Uncontested, Brooks would cruise to victory defeating Roy Salvadori by more than a couple of minutes. Maurice Trintignant would come along in 3rd place, but a further couple of minutes behind Salvadori.
The sad turn of events would put a terrible dampener on the '58 German Grand Prix. Because of Collins' accident and Hawthorn's resulting withdrawal, Bueb would end up finishing, officially, his first Formula One World Championship race. Crossing the line a couple of laps behind Brooks, Ivor would finish in 11th place overall and 5th in the race for Formula 2 honors.
The events of the day would be truly tragic, but also, a form of release and relief after all of the struggles he had faced in Formula One events throughout the year. Ecurie Demi Litre was officially in the Formula One record books, Ivor Bueb's abilities confirmed.
Following the tragic events at the Nurburgring, Bueb, like so many other teams and drivers, would carry on. The major Formula One teams, Ferrari included, would look toward the next round of the World Championship, which was fast approaching. Bueb's small privateer effort, Ecurie Demi Litre, would also make its way to its next ventures of the season. Bueb would immediately return to England after the German round of the World Championship. The next day he would be driving a Lister-Jaguar for the Lister team in the National Brands Hatch sportscar race. Returning to the series he knew and performed so well in, Ivor would come through to take victory in the race.
On that same day, Bueb would take part in the 1st Kent Trophy Formula 2 race. Driving for John Fisher, Bueb would come through with a solid performance and would end up 14th in the final results.
Bueb would continue to take part in Formula 2 races throughout the remainder of the season. At the end of August he would again be back at Brands Hatch, which wasn't too far away from his home town incidentally, to take part in the 1st Kentish ‘100'.
Many of the best drivers in the world, including pilots like Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham and Roy Salvadori would take part in just about every possible type of racing. This would include Formula 2. The Kentish ‘100' event would boast of these, and other top-notch drivers, in the field for its two heat race. Therefore, in many respects, Bueb would find himself taking part in another Formula One race, just with Formula 2 cars. To be considered one of the best he needed to face up to the challenge and do as well as he could, but this was not going to be easy with his small privateer effort.
Sure enough, Stirling Moss would be on pole for the race in the Rob Walker Cooper. Though he would not win the first heat race, Moss would go on to set the fastest lap of the event, and, win the second heat to ensure he took the overall victory when it was all tallied together.
Bueb, on the other hand, would never be able to break far into the top ten in either heat. Solid, steady performances were not enough, especially around a circuit that took less than a minute to complete a lap. Bueb would manage to finish the race in 9th place overall but two laps behind in the final sum.
It was clear Bueb's talents were better invested in sportscar endurance races. Therefore, he, Ross Jensen and Bruce Halford would partner together in a Lister for the Tourist Trophy race in the middle of September. Though the trio would start the race from a very respectable 9th place on the grid, suspension failure would prohibit them from making it to the end.
Bueb would turn this around when he finished 1st in class at Oulton Park on the 20th of September in the Oulton Park sportscar race. Bueb's season was drawing to a close. In fact, there would be just one more race in which the garage-owner would take part in 1958.
It had been an up and down year for Bueb. In Formula One, it had been a mostly down year, with the exception of the tragic German Grand Prix. In sportscars, which was much more of Bueb's strong-suit, he had enjoyed some success. Heading into October, he would be interested in ending his season, his season in single-seaters, with some success as well.
On the 5th of October, Bueb would be across the Channel in France. He had made his way back to the Montlhery Circuit just to south of Paris. He would go there in order to take part in the 12th Coupe de Salon.
The field would be small with less than ten entries. Racing around the 3.82 mile Montlhery Circuit, the 20 lap Coupe de Salon presented one last test for the year. Unfortunately, Ivor would find the small field very challenging. Jack Brabham and Jim Russell would prove the class of the field and Russell would start the race from pole. In the race, these two men would fight hard until Russell managed to put together some truly fast laps and pulled away from Brabham. Bueb, on the other hand, would find himself in trouble. Half of the field would end up retiring with mechanical problems and accidents. One of those to retire would be Ivor. Driving the only Lotus in the field, the gearbox would give out leaving Bueb unable to do anything more in his last race of the season. He had not only retired from the race. He had retired from the difficult '58 season.
The season had come to an end. Bueb would bypass the Moroccan Grand Prix in which he could have entered with his Lotus. Instead, he would choose to look to another year. There would be a good deal of excitement for him. He would get to drive with Stirling Moss in the 12 Hours of Sebring early on in the year. But while there would be a number of highlights to which Ivor could look forward to, there would be a terrible event he would have no way of knowing was looming on the horizon as well.
Ecurie Demi Litre| Year | Constructor | Engine | Chassis | Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Lotus | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | 12 | Ivor Léon John Bueb |