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Chassis:
This is chassis 110052, of the four new cars built for the 1950 season with the twin plug engine. Like one of the other 1950 cars, it was in fact an upgrade of one of the existing chassis, in this case 110012. The car was entered by the Works for the first ever World Championship Formula 1 race at Silverstone where Yves Giraud-Cabantous placed the car fourth behind three of the dominant Alfa Romeos. It was subsequently sold to Belgian racer Johnny Claes, who scored a victory in a handycap race during the 1951 Easter Meeting at Goodwood.
Claes continued to race his T26C well into the 1952 season, but he was faced with ever stronger competition. The final contemporary race for 110052 was at the Albi GP in June of 1952 where fellow Belgian Teddy Pilette failed to finish the race. In the following years the seasoned racing car changed hands several times and after spells in Germany and Great Britain, it eventually ended up in the United States. Today it is owned and raced by a prominent collector of predominantly French cars. He is pictured above in action during the 2007 Monterey Historic Races.
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