Isle of Man stamp 20p value
The Castletown Trophy for Formula Libre was won by Reg Parnell, one of Britain's top drivers in 1951, driving a Maserati. The beginning of the race was massed with the Manx Cup and there were two non-starters and five entries, three of whom retired. Parnell won nearly a lap ahead of rival David Murray, the only other finisher who was defeated by a series of unlucky events from the start. The race was held over 18 laps, a 70 mile course, which Parnell completed in 59 mins 49 sees at an average speed of 70.04mph. He created new time and speed records for cars of unlimited capacity - the last time had been in 1948, when Ken Bear won in 66 mins 37secs at 66.29mph.
In 1951 there was a battle for the BRDC Gold Star award which included the title of "Champion Driver of Great Britain". Moss was leading with 34 points, Parnell was in 4th place, but moved into second place as the other competitors, Whitehead and Brown were not competing.
Acknowledgements:
The Isle of Man Post Office gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Manx Motor Racing Club Ltd, the Manx Museum, the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu and Brian Crookall, Isle of Man, in the preparation of this issue. |