Bob Gerard

Bob Gerard
Driver Information
Born	19 January 1914(1914-01-19) Leicester, England
Died	26 January 1990(1990-01-26) (aged 76) South Croxton, Leicester
Nationality	GBR
Formula One World ChampionshipCareer Statistics
Status	Deceased
World Titles	0
Races	8 (8 starts)
Poles	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Fastest Laps	0
Points	0
First Race	1950 British Grand Prix
Last Race	1957 British Grand Prix

Frederick Robert "Bob" Gerard (born 19 January 1914 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom – died 26 January 1990 in South Croxton, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom) was a British racing driver who competed in Formula One from it's inception in 1950 to 1957. Notable for wearing spectacles for his nearsightedness on the racetrack, he managed to secure three sixth-place finishes in aging machinery.

Born into an automotive family, Gerard started racing in his father's Riley, taking part in hillclimbs in the 1930s. He later started club races before the war interrupted his career. After the war, he purchased an ERA from Reg Parnell and after buying another ERA, stated competing in Grand Prix races.

He was successful; he won races in the British Empire Trophy (three times), the Jersey Road Race (twice) and the Ulster Trophy; while during the British Grands Prix he managed two podiums in 1948 and 1949.

Gerard competed at the first World Championship race, the 1950 British Grand Prix, but finished in sixth place, just outside of the points. He then proceeded to finish the next race, the Monaco Grand Prix, in sixth place as well.

Switching to a Cooper chassis in 1953, Gerard managed to keep up the impressive performances in home races, winning the Curtis Trophy and Joe Fry Memorial Trophy in 1953 and the Daily Record Trophy. He would score another sixth place at the 1957 British Grand Prix, his final Championship Grand Prix, before finishing his Grand Prix career in 1958. He continued racing into the 1960s, and acted as an entrant for up-and-coming drivers until the 1980s.

Formula One Career

Before Formula One

Gerard in his aging ERA in pursuit

Bob Gerard cut his teeth competing in hillclimbs in the 1930's in the family Riley and was a regular at local club meetings at his local Donington Park achieving strong results ere and at Brooklands.

After the war, Gerard purchased his first out and out racing car, an ERA R4A, purchased off Reg Parnell for £1000 and used his engineering nous to tune the car and other ERA's followed as he and his wife Joan contested hillclimbs and circuit races whilst he continued to modify the cars.

Gerard used his modified ERA 14B to win three back to back British Empire Trophies in 1947, 1948 and 1949 and used this decade old car to finish third at the 1948 British Grand Prix behind the two brand new Maserati's of Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi and a year later in the 1949 British Grand Prix finished second to Toulo de Graffenried.

1950

A battling 6th for Gerard at Monaco

Gerard continued his remarkable performances in his ancient ERA into the 1950 Formula One season with a sixth place finish, ahead of Maserati and Talbot-Lago machinery at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. A week later, he achieved the feat again at the second round of the season at Monaco, beating Talbot-Lago driver Johnny Claes into sixth place. Gerard would not appear at any further Championship races in 1950 and his two sixth places meant he failed to score any points.

At the British Empire Trophy, he secured his third victory at the event in four years. He also achieved podiums at the Ulster Trophy (second) and the Goodwood Trophy (third).

Formula One Statistical Overview

Formula One Record

Year	Entrant	Team	WDC Points	WDC Pos.	Report
Pre-Championship
1946	Bob Gerard Racing	ERA	N/A		Report
1947	Bob Gerard Racing	ERA	N/A		Report
1948	Bob Gerard Racing	ERA	N/A		Report
1949	Bob Gerard Racing	ERA	N/A		Report
Formula One
1950	Bob Gerard Racing	ERA	0	NC	Report
1951	Bob Gerard Racing	ERA	0	NC	Report
1952	Bob Gerard Racing	ERA Frazer Nash-Bristol	N/A		Report
1953	Bob Gerard Racing	Cooper-Bristol	0	NC	Report
	Bob Sorensen
1954	Bob Gerard	Cooper-Bristol	0	NC	Report
1955	Bob Gerard Racing	Cooper-Bristol	N/A		Report
	Stirling Moss Ltd	Maserati
1956	Bob Gerard Racing	Cooper-Bristol	0	NC	Report
	Connaught Engineering	Connaught-Alta
1957	Bob Gerard Racing	Cooper-Bristol	0	NC	Report

Note: For Formula One years, italics indicates an entry or constructor that did not participate in World Championship races.

Career Statistics

Template:Statbox

Race Wins

Pre-Championship

Win Number	Grand Prix
1	1947 Ulster Trophy
2	1947 British Empire Trophy
3	1948 British Empire Trophy
4	1949 Jersey Road Race
5	1949 British Empire Trophy

Non-Championship

Win Number	Grand Prix
1	1950 British Empire Trophy
2	1953 Joe Fry Memorial Trophy
3	1953 Curtis Trophy
4	1955 Daily Record Trophy

Career Results

Complete Formula One Results
Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Pts	Pos Template:1950 Results/9 Template:1951 Results/9 Template:1953 Results/9 Template:1954 Results/9 Template:1956 Results/9 Template:1957 Results/9

Key
Symbol	Meaning		Symbol	Meaning
1st	Winner		Ret	Retired
2nd	Podium finish		DSQ	Disqualified
3rd			DNQ	Did not qualify
5th	Points finish		DNPQ	Did not pre-qualify
14th	Non-points finish		TD	Test driver
Italics	Scored point(s) for Fastest Lap		DNS	Did not start
18th†	Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance)		NC	Non-classified finish (<90% race distance)
4thP	Qualified for pole position		[+] More Symbols