Date 20 August 1949 | Course length 4.649 km (2.889 mi) | |
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Official name Daily Express International Trophy Location Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire Course Permanent racing facility Driver Alberto Ascari (Heat 1)
Emmanuel de Graffenried (Heat 2) | ||
The first BRDC International Trophy meeting, formally titled the Daily Express International Trophy, was held on 20 August 1949 at the Silverstone Circuit, England. It was the first race meeting to only use the former airfield's perimeter roadways, rather than the main runways. The event was held over two heats of 20 laps and one final of 30 laps of the Grand Prix circuit. The final was won by Italian Alberto Ascari, who would go on to win the World Championship of Drivers twice. In addition to the main Formula One-regulation competition, the meeting also contained events for 500 cc racing cars and production cars. The race meeting was attended by over 100,000 people, but was marred by the death of St. John Horsfall in an accident on the 13th lap of the final race.