5 replies to this topic

[Oleksij Hrushko]

What is the team “TASO Mathieson” in GP’s entry lists in 1949-1950 (Richmond Trophey’49, British GP’50) with ERA E and Leslie Johnson as a driver. Was it a work-team ERA (Leslie Johnson owner of ERA from Nov 1947)? And what common does it have with pilot TASO “Donald” Mathieson (raced for team with the same name in 2 (maybe more) races in 1946) – he raced once in 1938 and several times after the war in Le-Mans?

[Ray Bell]

Maybe, now that some ERA discussion has started, this thread could cop a bit of attention?

[David McKinney]

Thomas Alistair Sutherland Ogilvie Mathieson was a driver, not a team
He was always known as "TASO", never as Donald

[Oleksij Hrushko]

About work-ERA and TASO Mathieson. Russian magazine "F-1" in article about ERA (Feb'02) put the statistics of team and marked Leslie Johnson as work-team driver (the only one in 1950). But other sources in Internet (it's a BIG problem with literature about history of F1 in Ukraine) set work-ERA only in 1952.
And if TASO Mathieson was really work-team, why Johnson called it so in entry list?

[Vitesse2]

There were two ERA E-types in 1949, c/n GP-1 and GP-2. A third chassis was never completed, but later used to rebuild the wrecked GP-1, which was Peter Walker's car.

Mathieson's name looks to me to have been used as a convenient way of avoiding purchase tax (or foreign exchange controls on taking money out of the country or maybe some other tax). He was British, but resident in France, so was less subject to these regulations. You mention the 1950 British GP, Oleksij - I assume you mean 1949 again - Mathieson is also shown as the entrant in the Jersey Road Race and The Empire Trophy (DNA in both). Whatever the books say, I would consider these as works entries since, AFAIK, GP-2 was still owned by ERA Ltd at that time.

[Oleksij Hrushko]

Vitesse , thanks, at last I solved this problem