Jacques Swaters, the early years

In 1950, Jacques Swaters (picture above)), Paul Frère and André Pilette established Écurie Belgique, a banner in which they prepared cars for themselves and other Belgian racers, both in Grand Prix and sports car racing. Swaters (1926-2010) himself, raced a yellow Talbot-Lago in several events, including two World Championship events, the 1951 German and Italian Grand Prix.

However, in 1952, Jacques Swaters, Charles de Tornaco and Geoff Richardson, restarted Écurie Francorchamps, a stable mainly associated with Ferrari. Swaters, a great admirer of Enzo Ferrari, drove the team’s Ferrari 500 in a small number of events, but did manage to take victory at the 1953 Avusrennen near Berlin, a Formula 2 race (picture below). He later concentrated in sports car racing, driving a Jaguar C-Type and a D-type. His journey had only started.