1954 Maserati 250F

Maserati was the featured marque at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005, and in particular the 2½ litre 250F Formula One car. A total of 16 of the 250Fs appeared at the meeting, either competing or being displayed on and off the track, and here is one of them.

This is Josef Rettenmaier at McLean’s Corner during the Celebration Maserati Invitation Race in his 1954 car, chassis #2508, which was once owned by Stirling Moss. There were short notes in the programme of the event giving details for each Maserati 250F chassis number, and this is what it said about Josef Rettenmaier's car:

 

'2508

Ordered by Stirling Moss through the Shell-BP company office in Italy. Raced by Moss until he joined Mercedes-Benz, and later loaned to various drivers including Mike Hawthorn, Bob Gerard and John Fitch. Sold to Ross Jensen in New Zealand and returned to the UK in 1964. Now owned by Josef Rettenmaier in Germany.'

Maserati 250F

Maserati was a featured marque at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005, and more particularly the Maserati 250F Formula One car, 16 examples of which appeared on the track and on display in the paddock. This is one of those cars, receiving attention in the paddock before its scheduled race.

It's Josef Rettenmaier's car, chassis 2508, a 1954 car once owned by Stirling Moss and in which he competed in 1954 before signing for the Mercedes-Benz team the following season. He continued to drive the car in non-Championship races over the next 2 years, as well as allowing other drivers to compete in it, most notably Mike Hawthorn. The Maserati 250F has a 2,490cc straight-6 engine and is the only car to have appeared throughout the whole of the 2½ litre Championship period from the first race of 1954, the Argentine Grand Prix, to the last race of the 1960 season where Bob Drake drove Joe Lubin's car in the United States Grand Prix.

Maserati 300S

This car competed in the Louis Vuitton 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997.

It's a 1955 Maserati 300S, chassis #3057, then owned by Peter Scott and driven in the race by Martin Stretton. The Maserati 300S was powered by a 2,991cc 6-cylinder engine that was based on the 2½ litre unit of the 250F Grand Prix car with a longer stroke, and took part in the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1957. This car was originally owned by Swiss driver Benoit Musy, then after Peter Scott it was part of the collection of American Peter Giddings. It's now owned by Josef Rettenmaier.

On 31 October 2016 I showed a photograph of the car at the 1996 Coys meeting at Silverstone.

Maseratis

These two cars competed in the Historic Seaman Trophy Race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005.

The nearest car is Stephan Rettenmaier's 1934 Maserati 8CM, chassis #3020. The Maserati 8CM had a strengthened version of the 4CM chassis with a supercharged 2,991cc straight-8 engine and was raced by the Maserati team from 1933 to 1935. The car behind it is the 1934 Maserati 6C34, chassis #3023, of Josef Rettenmaier which has a supercharged 3,724cc straight-6 engine and was the first six-cylinder car made by Maserati. Five cars were built between 1934 and 1935.

Maserati 250F

The SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005 promoted Maserati as the featured marque, and in particular the 2½ litre 250F Formula One car. A total of 16 of the 250Fs appeared at the meeting, either competing or being displayed on and off the track, and here is one of them.

This is Josef Rettenmaier returning to the paddock after a practice session in his 1954 car, chassis #2508, which was once owned by Stirling Moss. There were short notes in the programme of the event giving details for each Maserati 250F chassis number, and this is what it said about Josef Rettenmaier's car:

'2508

Ordered by Stirling Moss through the Shell-BP company office in Italy. Raced by Moss until he joined Mercedes-Benz, and later loaned to various drivers including Mike Hawthorn, Bob Gerard and John Fitch. Sold to Ross Jensen in New Zealand and returned to the UK in 1964. Now owned by Josef Rettenmaier in Germany.'

Maserati 250F (times two)

The featured marque at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005 was Maserati with particular emphasis on the 250F as the following note in the programme of the event explained:

'The evocative cars of Maserati will take centre stage at SeeRed this weekend, the main feature being a special race dedicated to the artisan marque.

The glorious 250F Grand Prix car dominates the entry for the Pre-61 Maserati race, the model built between 1954-59 being more common than any other. The rest of the field is made up of cars from the pre-war era.

The 250F is the quintessential front-engined post-war Grand Prix car and was made eligible for the VSCC as early as 1966 when the youngest models were just seven years old! With the oldest now over 50, they will make for a striking comparison with the latest Formula One Ferraris being demonstrated at SeeRed.'

Twelve 250Fs are listed in the Celebration Maserati Invitation Race with a further four being shown as static display or track demonstration cars. Here's a photograph of two of the 250Fs being prepared in the paddock prior to the practice session.

The car at the front is Josef Rettenmaier's and is chassis number 2508, a 1954 car previously owned by Stirling Moss. Its early history is shown in this www.barchetta.cc record, and the programme note about the car says this:

2508

Ordered by Stirling Moss through the Shell-BP company office in Italy. Raced by Moss until he joined Mercedes-Benz, and later loaned to various drivers including Mike Hawthorn, Bob Gerard and John Fitch. Sold to Ross Jensen in New Zealand and returned to the UK in 1964. Now owned by Josef Rettenmaier in Germany.

The car behind is Stefan Rettenmaier's and is chassis number 2520, a 1956 car, and again you can see the early history in the www.barchetta.cc record. This is what the programme note says:

2520

Factory team car for Argentina and raced by Frolian Gonzalez before deal with Stan Jones in Australia. Colin Crabbe brought it to the UK in 1963. Break from historic racing life in the Guido Dubbini collection, and now in Germany with Stefan Rettenmaier.