The Maserati 250F is one of the most famous racecars of all times, thanks to the many Formula 1 wins in the 1950s in the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss, to name only the most famous of drivers.
While Fangio won two of his five world drivers’ championships (1954, 1957) with the 250F, Moss once famously said it was the best front-engined F1 car he ever drove. Fortunately for us, some 250Fs still exist and their owners are brave enough to race them.
Take Simon Diffey, for instance, who was the protagonist of a memorable moment in his 1955 Maserati 250F during the Hawthorn Trophy race at the 73rd Members’ Meeting on the Goodwood circuit. As the car spun and the engine stalled, he was faced with a big problem, because the 250F has no starter motor or battery. Furthermore, there was no one around to push the car to bumping speed, a situation in which many would have called it quits.
Not Diffey, who noticed that the track was on a slight gradient, and decided to use that to his advantage by reaching out to the left rear wheel and rolling it forwards to build momentum. Thanks to the warm engine and the powerful magnetos, the straight-six engine starts again and fills our ears with its delicious noise.
Story references: Goodwood Road & Racing