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Birabongse Bhanudej

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Prince Bira of Siam
Bira in 1944
Born(1914-07-15)15 July 1914
Grand Palace, Bangkok, Siam
Died23 December 1985(1985-12-23) (aged 71)
London, England
Spouse
  • Ceril Heycock (1938–1949)
  • Celia "Chelita" Howard (1951–1956)
  • Salika Kalantananda (1957)
  • Arunee Chuladakoson (1959–1964)
  • Chuanchom Chaiyananda (1967–1980)
Issue
  • Biradej Bhanubandh
  • Rabibara Bhanubandh
  • Biranubongse Bhanubandh
HouseBhanubandh (Chakri Dynasty)
FatherPrince Bhanubandhubongse Voradej
MotherMom Lek Bhanubandh na Ayudhya (née Yongchaiyudh)
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityThailand Thai
Active years1950–1954
TeamsPlaté, Privateer Maserati, Gordini, Connaught, Milano, Maserati
Entries19
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points8
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1950 British Grand Prix
Last entry1954 Spanish Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years1939, 1954
TeamsPrivateer Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin
Best finishDNF (1939, 1954)
Class wins0

Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh[a] (Thai: พีรพงศ์ภาณุเดช; RTGS: Phiraphong Phanudet; 15 July 1914 – 23 December 1985), commonly known as Prince Bira of Siam or simply Prince Bira,[b] was a member of the Thai royal family. Bira was also a racing driver, sailor and pilot, who competed in Formula One from 1950 to 1954 and at four editions of the Summer Olympics between 1956 and 1972.

A member of the Chakri dynasty, Bira studied at Eton College before he began competing in Grand Prix motor racing in 1935, later advancing to Formula One for its inaugural 1950 season. He competed for several teams including Platé, Gordini, Connaught, Milano and Maserati, amongst other privateer entries in Maserati machinery. Across five seasons and 19 Grands Prix, Bira scored several points finishes, including fourth-placed finishes at the 1950 Swiss Grand Prix and the 1954 French Grand Prix, amongst two non-championship race victories. He remained the only Southeast Asian to compete in Formula One until Malaysian driver Alex Yoong in 2001, and the only Thai driver until Alexander Albon in 2019. Outside of Formula One, Bira won the New Zealand Grand Prix in 1955, driving the Maserati 250F. Bira also competed in sailing events at four Summer Olympic Games and was an amateur pilot, flying from London to Bangkok in his own twin-engine Miles Gemini aircraft in 1952.

Bira is credited with establishing the racing colours of Thailand: pale blue and yellow. Upon his death in December 1985, the Bira Circuit was built in his honour, becoming the first motor racing circuit in Thailand to meet FIA standards.

Early life

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Bira's parents were Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse and his second wife. Bira's paternal grandfather was King Mongkut, loosely portrayed in the Hollywood movies The King and I and Anna and the King. His mother died when Bira was only four years old.[1] Bira was sent to Europe in 1927 to complete his education in England at Eton College, where he joined one of his nephews, a grandchild of his father through his first marriage.[1] While he was at Eton Bira's father died, leaving him an orphan. He was placed under the care of his cousin, Prince Chula Chakrabongse, who ultimately became Bira's legal guardian. On leaving Eton at age 18, in early 1933, Bira moved in with Prince Chula in London, while he decided on his future.

Bira had been registered to attend Trinity College, Cambridge, but had not passed the Cambridge University entrance examination.[1] Initially, Prince Chula hired a tutor for Bira, to better prepare him for the exam, but Bira changed his mind and expressed a desire to learn sculpture rather than attend university.[1] Prince Chula approached leading sculptor Charles Wheeler, and Wheeler took Bira on as a pupil within his studio. Although Bira showed some talent as a sculptor, in Wheeler's opinion he needed to learn to draw, and so in the autumn of 1934 Bira enrolled at the Byam Shaw School of Art. Bira did not attend the Byam Shaw School for very long, but while there he became friendly with a fellow student, Ceril Heycock, and he began courting her in earnest only a few weeks later. However, both Prince Chula and her parents placed severe limitations on their relationship, and it was not until 1938 that they were able to marry.[1]

Auto racing

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Bira with Franco Comotti and René Dreyfus at the 1938 Cork Grand Prix
Bira at Zandvoort in 1948, a race which he ended up winning.

Bira first raced with his cousin Prince Chula's team, White Mouse Racing, driving a Riley Imp at Brooklands in 1935. In this car Bira established the national motor racing colours of Siam: pale blue with yellow. He raced under the name 'B Bira'. He later lived near Geneva, Switzerland, and in the south of France.

Later in 1935, Prince Chula gave him one of the new ERA voiturette racing cars—R2B, which was nicknamed Romulus. Bira finished second in his first ever race in Romulus, despite needing to stop for repairs. The remaining races of the season saw Bira consistently placing among the more powerful Grand Prix vehicles, with another second place, and fifth at the Donington Grand Prix.

For 1936 the princes decided that the previous season's results merited a second ERA. They purchased chassis R5B (which Bira named Remus) to use in British events and retained Romulus for international races. Chula also purchased a Maserati 8CM to complete the White Mouse roster. Bira's expertise behind the wheel earned him the Coupe de Prince Rainier at Monte Carlo. Bira won a further four races in the ERAs that season, and took the Grand Prix Maserati to 5th at Donington and 3rd at Brooklands. This was the high point for Bira and the White Mouse team.

Following Dick Seaman's move to Mercedes for 1937, the Thais purchased his Grand Prix Delage and all of its spare parts, along with a second Delage. Despite several upgrades, and hiring experienced race engineer and future Jaguar team manager Lofty England, the cars underperformed, and on many occasions Bira raced in the older and by now substantially inferior ERAs. In addition, the money spent on the Delage upgrades had sapped the resources of the team and corners were being cut in the ERA's race preparations. Later in the year White Mouse did invest in a newer C-Type ERA, chassis R12C. R12C came to be known as Hanuman, and Bira attached a large, embossed, silver badge depicting the Hindu deity after whom he had named the car. Following a major accident in 1939 Hanuman was rebuilt back to B-Type specifications, and in light of this major overhaul Bira renamed the car Hanuman II.

While Bira maintained a respectable results tally in British events, the more costly international races were largely a disaster.

After the war, Bira returned to racing with several teams. He took part in the inaugural World Drivers' Championship in 1950 racing a supercharged Maserati 4CLT/48, starting four Championship races including the first, at Silverstone, where he was obliged to retire from the race with a fuel feed problem, but finished fifth at Monaco and fourth at Bremgarten the same season, giving him five points and finishing eighth in the Championship. 1950 was his best season; Bira took part in each Championship season until 1954, starting a total of 19 races, but only scored points in one more race - a fourth place at Reims in 1954 provided three points and seventeenth place in the Championship.[2][3] In 1951 he raced in an old Maserati 4CLT fitted with a newer V12 Osca engine. No results were obtained this year as a result of the poor performance of the car combined with a severe accident. By 1954, with a newer car, a Maserati 250F, he won the Grand Prix des Frontières on the Chimay road circuit and then finished fourth in the 1954 French Grand Prix with his own Maserati. In January 1955, he won the New Zealand Grand Prix at Ardmore; he retired at the end of that season.

Bira returned to racing for the one-off Macau Grand Prix Race of Giants in 1978, finishing 13th.

Sailing

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Bira competed in sailing events at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics in the Star, 1960 Rome Olympics in the Star, 1964 Tokyo Olympics in the Dragon and the 1972 Munich Olympics in the Tempest.[4][5] In the 1960 Games he competed against another former Formula One driver, Roberto Mieres, who finished seventeenth, ahead of the prince at nineteenth.

Death

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Bira died at Barons Court tube station in London on 23 December 1985. He collapsed and died having suffered a major heart attack, but as he carried no identification with him, his body could not initially be identified. A handwritten note was found in his pocket by the Metropolitan Police and was sent for analysis at the University of London, where it was shown as being written in Thai and addressed to Bira. The Thai Embassy was notified, and realised his significance. A Thai funeral service was held at the Wat Buddhapadipa in Wimbledon, and he was later cremated according to Thai and Buddhist tradition and customs.

Other honors

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Bira Circuit, based just outside Pattaya, Thailand, is named after Bira.

In 2016, in an academic paper that reported a mathematical modeling study that assessed the relative influence of driver and machine, Bira was ranked the forty-third best Formula One driver of all time.[6]

Development of the Thai racing colours

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Bira was instrumental in developing and setting the national racing colours of Thailand. The base colour for the scheme, a mid to pale powder blue, was adopted by Bira in 1934, and was derived from the evening dress of a young woman that Bira met during his early years in London. Initially the cars were painted solely in blue, but gradually Bira added in some yellow to offset the base colour. He started painting the cars' chassis rails yellow in 1939.[7]

  • Bira's 1936 Maserati 8CM, seen in his original all blue livery with Siamese flags on the tail and the White Mouse emblem just ahead of the cockpit
    Bira's 1936 Maserati 8CM, seen in his original all blue livery with Siamese flags on the tail and the White Mouse emblem just ahead of the cockpit
  • Bira's second ERA racing car, R5B Remus, in an intermediate livery of blue with yellow wheels only. The UK flag is placed in the position of honour, at the right leading edge of the car's bonnet, to represent its manufacturer
    Bira's second ERA racing car, R5B Remus, in an intermediate livery of blue with yellow wheels only. The UK flag is placed in the position of honour, at the right leading edge of the car's bonnet, to represent its manufacturer
  • Bira's third ERA, chassis R12B Hanuman II, in the final Thai racing scheme of pale blue with yellow chassis rails and wheels. The Thai flag is placed in the subsidiary position, at the left leading edge of the car's bonnet, to represent the driver (it is also on the tail)
    Bira's third ERA, chassis R12B Hanuman II, in the final Thai racing scheme of pale blue with yellow chassis rails and wheels. The Thai flag is placed in the subsidiary position, at the left leading edge of the car's bonnet, to represent the driver (it is also on the tail)
  • Bira's 1954 Maserati A6GCM Inter in a looser interpretation of his racing colours. Post-WWII, and particularly outside Grand Épreuve events, national racing colour schemes were not strictly enforced
    Bira's 1954 Maserati A6GCM Inter in a looser interpretation of his racing colours. Post-WWII, and particularly outside Grand Épreuve events, national racing colour schemes were not strictly enforced
  • Bira driving his 1954 Maserati 250F in the 1954 French Grand Prix. The adaptations to the official racing scheme needed for post-WWII cars that lacked visible chassis rails are clearly seen: the yellow now forms a broad band around the lower part of the car's bodywork
    Bira driving his 1954 Maserati 250F in the 1954 French Grand Prix. The adaptations to the official racing scheme needed for post-WWII cars that lacked visible chassis rails are clearly seen: the yellow now forms a broad band around the lower part of the car's bodywork

Racing record

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Career highlights

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Season Series Position Team Car
1936 I Prince Rainier Cup 1st B. Bira ERA R2B
XII Picardy Grand Prix 1st
IV Albi Grand Prix 1st
1937 I Campbell Trophy 1st B. Bira Maserati 8CM
London Grand Prix 1st ERA R2B
1938 II Campbell Trophy 1st ERA R2B
Cork Grand Prix 2nd Prince Chula of Siam Maserati 8CM
1939 III Campbell Trophy 2nd ERA R2B
1946 I Ulster Trophy 1st Maserati 4CL
1947 XVII Grand Prix des Frontières 1st Maserati 4CL
1948 Stockholm Grand Prix 1st Equipe Gordini Simca-Gordini T15
I Zandvoort Grand Prix 1st Maserati 4CLT-48
1949 IV Roussillon Grand Prix 2nd Prince Bira Maserati 4CLT-48
IV San Remo Grand Prix 2nd Scuderia Ambrosiana
II Mar del Plata Grand Prix 2nd White Motorsports
VI French Grand Prix 2nd Enrico Platé
XI Albi Grand Prix 2nd
XIX Italian Grand Prix[c] 3rd
1950 III Goodwood Trophy 2nd Enrico Platé Maserati 4CLT-48
RAC Woodcote Trophy 2nd
FIA Formula One World Championship 8th
1951 III Richmond Trophy 1st Ecurie Siam Maserati 4CLT-48
1952 XII Marseille Grand Prix 2nd Equipe Gordini Simca-Gordini T15
1954 XXIV Grand Prix des Frontières 1st Prince Bira Maserati A6GCM
Rouen Grand Prix 2nd Maserati 250F
XXIII Pescara Grand Prix 2nd
FIA Formula One World Championship 17th
1955 III New Zealand Grand Prix 1st Prince Bira Maserati 250F
VII BRDC International Trophy 3rd

Complete European Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 EDC Pts
1938 Squadra Sabauda Maserati 8CM Maserati 3.0 L8 FRA GER SUI
141 		ITA —[d]
Source:[8]

Post-World War II Grandes Épreuves results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5
1947 Enrico Platé Maserati 4CL Maserati 4CL 1.5 L4 s SUI
8
Ecurie Souris Blanche ERA B ERA 1.5 L6 s BEL
DNS
Scuderia Milano Maserati 4CL Maserati 4CL 1.5 L4 s ITA
Ret 		FRA
1948 Equipe Gordini Simca Gordini T15 Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4 s MON
Ret
Enrico Platé Maserati 4CL Maserati 4CL 1.5 L4 s SUI
Ret
Prince Chula ERA B ERA 1.5 L6 s FRA
DNS
Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 125 Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 s ITA
Ret
1949 Prince Chula Maserati 4CLT/48 Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s GBR
Ret 		BEL
Enrico Platé SUI
5 		FRA
2 		ITA
3
Source:[9]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

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(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 WDC Pts
1950 Enrico Platé Maserati 4CLT/48 Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s GBR
Ret 		MON
5 		500 SUI
4 		BEL FRA ITA
Ret 		8th 5
1951 Ecurie Siam Maserati 4CLT/48 Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s SUI 500 BEL FRA
DNA 		GBR GER
DNA 		ITA NC 0
OSCA 4500 4.5 V12 ESP
Ret
1952 Equipe Gordini Gordini T15 Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 SUI
Ret 		500 BEL
10 		NC 0
Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 FRA
Ret 		GBR
11 		GER NED ITA
1953 Connaught Engineering Connaught Type A Lea-Francis 2.0 L4 ARG 500 NED BEL FRA
Ret 		GBR
7 		GER
Ret 		SUI NC 0
Scuderia Milano Maserati A6GCM Maserati A6 2.0 L6 ITA
11
1954 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati A6GCM Maserati A6 2.0 L6 ARG
7 		500 17th 3
Prince Bira Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 BEL
6 		FRA
4 		GBR
Ret 		GER
Ret 		SUI ITA ESP
9
1955 Prince Bira Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 ARG MON 500 BEL
DNA 		NED GBR ITA NC 0

Complete non-championship Formula One results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
1950 Enrico Platé Maserati 4CLT/48 Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s PAU RIC
Ret 		SRM
Ret 		PAR EMP
Ret 		BAR
Ret 		JER
Ret 		ALB
Ret 		NED
5 		NAT
Ret 		NOT ULS PES
Ret 		STT INT GOO
2 		PEN
Ret
1951 Enrico Platé Maserati 4CLT/48 Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s SYR
Ret 		PAU
Ecurie Siam OSCA 4500 4.5 V12 RIC
1 		SRM
Ret 		BOR
4 		INT
17 		PAR ULS SCO NED ALB PES BAR GOO
1952 Equipe Gordini Gordini T15 Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 RIO SYR VAL AUS RIC LAV PAU IBS MAR
2 		AST INT
6 		ELA NAP EIF PAR
Ret 		AGP
NC 		FRO LAC
5 		WEC SAB
4 		CEA DMT COM NAT BAU MOD CAD SKA MAD AVU JOE NEW RIO
B Bira Maserati 4CLT/48 OSCA 4500 4.5 V12 ULS
Ret 		MNZ
Equipe Gordini Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 MAR
4
1953 Ecurie Siam Maserati A6GCM Maserati A6 2.0 L6 SYR PAU LAV AST INT
4 		ELA NAP ULS WIN COR FRO
Ret 		SNE EIF
11 		AGP COU WEC MID ROU CRY AVU
Ret 		USA LAC BRI MCM SAB NEW CAD RED SKA LON MOD MAD JOE CUR
1954 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati A6GCM Maserati Straight-6 RIO NZM BUE
7 		SYR PAU LAV
Prince Bira Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 BOR
Ret 		INT
Ret 		BAR
6 		CUR ROM FRO
1 		COM BAF CRY ROU
2 		CAE
4 		AUG COM OUL RED PES
2 		JOE CAD GBE GOO DAI
1955 Prince Bira Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 VAL
8 		PAU GLO BOR
6 		INT
3 		NAP ALB CUR COR LON DAR RED DAT OUT AVO SYR
Source:[10][11]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1939 France Raymond Sommer France Raymond Sommer Alfa Romeo 6C 2500SS 3.0 173 DNF DNF
1954 United Kingdom Aston Martin Lagonda United Kingdom Peter Collins Aston Martin DB3S Coupé S 3.0 138 DNF DNF
Source:[12]

Ancestry

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Notes

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  1. ^ His full title was His Highness, Prince Birabongse Bhanudej from 1927 until his death, and was previously His Serene Highness, Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh.
  2. ^ Bira competed in Formula One under the pseudonym B. Bira.
  3. ^ The XIX Italian Grand Prix in 1949 was also held as the X European Grand Prix.
  4. ^ As a co-driver, Bira was ineligible for championship points.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Birabongse, Princess Ceril (1998). The Prince and I: My Life with Prince Bira of Siam. Veloce Publishing. p. 224. ISBN 978-1-845845-69-8.
  2. ^ Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Enfield: Guinness Publishing. pp. 64–65. ISBN 0-85112-702-9.
  3. ^ Griffiths, Trevor R. (December 1997) [1992]. Grand Prix: The Complete Guide (3rd ed.). Enderby: Blitz Editions. p. 495. ISBN 1-85605-391-1.
  4. ^ Viva F1. "Formula One at the Olympics". Archived from the original on 8 August 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Birabongse Bhanudej". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  6. ^ Hanlon, Mike (12 May 2016). "The Top 50 F1 drivers of all time, regardless of what they were driving". New Atlas. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  7. ^ Snellman, Leif (August 2000). "The prince and I". 8W. Forix.com. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  8. ^ "THE GOLDEN ERA – OF GRAND PRIX RACING". kolumbus.fi. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  9. ^ ""B Bira" – Biography". MotorSportMagazine. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  10. ^ ""B Bira"". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Prince Bira – Involvement Non World Championship". statsf1.com. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  12. ^ "All Results of "B. Bira"". racingsportscars.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
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