This report of the 1948 Jersey International Road Race, the second event held in the island in post-war years, was published in Motor Sport magazine in May 1848
Non-stop to victory
Gerard drove his ERA non-stop, not pausing to refuel, to win the Jersey race at an average speed of 87.33 mph. Abecassis worked his way into second place with his recently acquired six-cylinder Maserati; Parnell was third, electing to drive his Maserati and to let Fred Ashmore handle his E-type ERA, and Bira, after an early stop to change rear tyres and refuel, another brief stop for additional fuel and yet another for oil, was fourth.
As the flag fell the roads were dry, after a morning of heavy rain, and the sun shone for most of the race. From the front row, Parnell’s 16-valve Maserati got away by a small margin from Gerard, who was overtaken on acceleration by Abecassis.
But after a lap Parnell led from Bira, followed by Abecassis and Gerard. A great disappointment was the gearbox trouble experienced by Villoresi’s Maserati, which caused him to start a lap behind the field and very soon, after the rear wheels had been changed, resulted in his retirement.
It was Bira’s blue and yellow Maserati which led lap 2, followed by Parnell, Abecassis, Gerard, Brooke and the rest, and after five laps Gerard had moved to fourth place, ahead of Abecassis. By lap 12 Bira had built up a lead of 14 seconds and Gerard was closing on Parnell, whose car had rear axle problems.
After 19 laps Bira led by half a minute and Gerard had passed Parnell into second place, and he took the lead when Bira had to stop to change tyres, dropping to third, and then fourth after a stop for more fuel. When Parnell stopped for a tyre change, Abecassis moved into second place.
Gilbey overturned his Maserati at Le Marquand’s Corner, Earl Howe crossing the road from the pits to tell Mrs Gilbey that her husband had suffered facial injuries which were not serious.
Result
There was no further change in the leading positions and the result was:
- 1 F R Gerard (ERA) 87.33 mph
- 2 G E Abecassis (Maserati)
- 3 R Parnell (Maserati)
- 4 B Bira (Maserati)
- 5 R E Ansell (Maserati)
- 6 J Bolster (ERA)
