MOTOR CARS | 107“I ran and scrambled up the muddy bank, still with some hope of
getting the car back on the road but I found it lying at a steep angle and
it was obvious that any attempt to move it would end in the Eau Rouge.
I then noticed a smell of petrol and found that the fuel tank had split
again. I have always been convinced that it was petrol being sprayed
onto the rear tyres which had caused the crash and it was in no way
Ian’s fault. The rain had stopped and the road was drying, and Ian was
still going quite slowly after the pit stop....we were all stunned by our
misfortune and could hardly believe it was true. We...we sat behind the
pits with Tony Rolt (who had retired much earlier) and Freddie Dixon,
drinking brandy and periodically going to sleep...”.After this disappointment, the Folland Aston Martin reappeared in the
Paris 12-Hours at Montlhéry, in which Folland and Connell finished
third overall, beaten only by Luigi Chinetti’s latest Ferrari V12 and the
rapid Louveau/Brunet Delage. Their Aston Martin averaged 68.3mph
for the 12-Hours, and Folland’s final two laps were the car’s fastest of
the race. He was entranced by the Chinetti Ferrari, and ordered one
from the factory. Into 1949 it would become the first Ferrari to appear
in the UK – and Dudley Folland would campaign it briefly as a stable-
mate to the Aston Martin. Both would be emblazoned with his Welsh
dragon symbol, H6/711/U being known ever since Folland’s owership
as ‘Red Dragon’.1110
‘Red Dragon’ in the midst of its
winter rebuild at Monaco Motors.
© Adam Ferrington Collection
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Le Mans 24-Hour Race, 1949
© Ferret Photographic
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The team pose before the Le Mans 24-Hour race
in 1949, from left to right co-driver Anthony Heal,
John Wyer and Dudley Folland.
© Adam Ferrington Collection
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Geoff Bishop, Prescott Hill Climb, 19 0s.
Guy Griffiths 12
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