PastImperfect:B Bira aka Prince Birabongse Bhanuban
The pseudonym "B Bira" hid the identity of Prince Birabongse Bhanuban of Siam (now Thailand), one of the most fascinating drivers ever to race a car.
Born in 1914, B Bira was sent to England to complete his education at Eton and Cambridge and began racing in 1935 when living in London with his cousin Prince Chula Chakrabongse. At the time B Bira was studying sculpture, at which he excelled, later exhibiting at the Royal Academy.
B Bira made his racing debut at Brooklands driving a Riley Imp and later an MG Magnette. For his 21st birthday Chula bought B Bira an ERA which he christened Romulus. Success was not slow in coming and B Bira was second in his first race with this car at Dieppe. He followed this up with second in the Prix de Berne Voiturette race behind Dick Seaman's ERA.
These were impressive results for one so young and four years of very successful racing were to follow, driving for the White Mouse Stable run by his cousin, Prince Chula. With their cars always painted in the blue and yellow colours of Siam, the team was run to very high standards of professionalism, even though it remained amateur under the inspired direction of Chula.
Most of B Bira's successes were achieved with the B-type ERA's Romulus and Remus as well as a C-type ERA named Hanuman. An ex-Whitney Straight 8CM 2.9-litre Maserati was also used on the faster circuits, as well as the famous ex-Seaman 1.5-litre Delage.
B Bira was without doubt a very talented racing driver who was fast and neat and always displayed a calmness when racing. Like many racing drivers of the time his career was cut short by the second World War and during this period B Bira, living in Cornwall, turned his attention to gliding.
With the end of hostilities the White Mouse Stable again became active in 1946. B Bira won the Ulster Trophy in a famous victory with Hanuman and took sixth at Chimay with the Maserati. The following year the team acquired a 4CL 1.5-litre Maserati with which B Bira won at Chimay while also enjoying great success with Simca-Gordinis. At the end of 1948 the Chula-B Bira racing partnership came to an end. Thereafter, B Bira's luck seemed to desert him and despite some superb drives - including beating Fangio at Perpignan - success was to come his way less often.
In 1952/53 he flew his Miles Gemini to Bangkok and back before resuming racing in 1954 with a new 250F Maserati. First at Chimay, second at Rouen and Pescara and fourth in the French Grand Prix and at Caen, seemed to herald a return to winning ways. In 1954 he also shared a works DB3 Aston Martin at Le Mans with Peter Collins but crashed out of the race.
1955 gave B Bira his last big victory at the New Zealand Grand Prix at Ardmore but his heart was no longer in racing and at year-end he sold his 250F to Horace Gould before retiring from racing. With his departure motor racing lost one of its most talented exponents as well as one of its most interesting characters.