Horace Gould (born Horace Harry Twigg, 20 September 1921 – 4 November 1968) was a British racing driver from Bristol and one of the great independent characters of 1950s motor racing. A larger-than-life privateer in every sense, Gould took his own machinery into battle against the factory teams, competed in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, scored two championship points, and became particularly associated with the magnificent Maserati 250F.
Driver Bio
| Nationality | British |
| Birthplace | Southmead, England, UK |
| Born | 20 September 1921 |
| Died | 4 November 1968 |
| First Grand Prix | 1954 British Grand Prix |
| Last Grand Prix | 1958 Argentine Grand Prix |
| Years Active | 1954–1958, 1960 |
| Current/Last Team | Privateer: H H Gould Maserati |
Career
Motor racing in the 1950s was full of characters, but even in that company Horace Gould stood out.
Known as much for his considerable personality and portly build as for his commitment behind the wheel, the Bristolian hardly fitted the modern image of the ultra-lean Grand Prix athlete. Then again, Formula One in Gould’s era contained more than a few generously proportioned racers, and he saw absolutely no reason why a sizeable Englishman shouldn’t join them.
Indeed, one contemporary description neatly captured the attitude surrounding his arrival in Grand Prix racing: if hefty Italian drivers could squeeze themselves into Formula One machinery and race successfully, there was no obvious reason a hefty Bristolian couldn’t do precisely the same.
Gould began competing in sports cars in 1952, driving a Cooper-MG. It was the beginning of a racing career conducted largely on his own terms and with the sort of independence that was still possible during Grand Prix racing’s privateer age.
By 1954, he had stepped up to Formula One.
Rather than joining an established works operation, Gould entered as a privateer, running under the wonderfully straightforward name Gould’s Garage (Bristol). There was little corporate polish about it. This was essentially a Bristol motor trader taking on some of the greatest racing teams and drivers in the world — and enjoying himself enormously in the process.
Gould made his Formula One World Championship debut on 17 July 1954. Across the following seasons, he participated in 17 World Championship Grands Prix and appeared in numerous non-championship Formula One races.
That distinction is important when looking at drivers of Gould’s generation. The official World Championship represented only part of the Formula One calendar during the 1950s. There was also a thriving programme of non-championship events, particularly in Britain, giving private entrants the opportunity to race Grand Prix machinery without traveling to every round of the international series.
Gould embraced that world enthusiastically.
He scored one of his first significant Formula One successes at Castle Combe in 1954, winning a minor non-championship race at the Wiltshire circuit. For a genuine private entrant, victories of any kind in Formula One machinery were valuable, and Gould was proving that his operation was considerably more than a colourful sideshow.
The car with which he became most closely identified was the Maserati 250F, one of the defining Grand Prix machines of the 1950s.
Elegant, fast and beautifully balanced, the 250F was driven by some of the greatest names of the period. In Gould’s hands it also became the weapon of choice for one of Britain’s most determined privateers. His relationship with Maserati became significant enough that he spent time living in Modena, the Italian city that was home to the company’s factory.
Gould also spent periods living and racing in New Zealand, although the majority of his competition career remained centred on Britain. It gave him a more international racing life than his Bristol privateer image might initially suggest.
His finest World Championship result arrived on home ground at the 1956 British Grand Prix.
Driving his Maserati 250F, Gould brought the car home in fifth place. Under the scoring system of the period, fifth position was worth two World Championship points, and those would prove to be the only championship points of his Formula One career.
They were enough to place him joint 19th in the 1956 World Drivers’ Championship.
Two points may sound modest, but scoring them as an independent entrant during an era populated by factory Maseratis, Ferraris and other increasingly sophisticated works operations was an achievement in itself. Gould wasn’t being supplied with everything by a vast manufacturer racing department. He was a privateer keeping himself in the game through determination, machinery, contacts and no shortage of enthusiasm.
And 1956 produced another success.
Away from the World Championship, Gould won another minor Formula One race at Aintree, adding to his earlier Castle Combe victory and reinforcing his status as a genuine force on the British national racing scene.
His talents were not confined to single-seaters either.
In 1957, Gould competed in the World Sportscar Championship, and one particular outing placed him alongside an almost absurd collection of motor-racing royalty.
At that year’s 1000km of the Nürburgring, Gould was part of the crew sharing a Maserati 300S with Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio and Chico Godia.
For any driver of the period, sharing machinery with Moss and Fangio represented distinguished company. Fangio was the dominant Grand Prix driver of the decade, while Moss was already established among the world’s fastest and most versatile racers.
The Maserati finished fifth, earning Gould two points in the 1957 World Sportscar Championship.
It was another demonstration that beneath the jovial image and colourful privateer persona was a driver perfectly capable of competing in serious international company.
Gould’s physical appearance inevitably became part of his reputation. His build, combined with an attacking driving style, reminded observers of the formidable Argentine star José Froilán González.
González was famously powerful, spectacular and exceptionally quick, and the resemblance was sufficient for Gould to acquire one of the better nicknames in British motorsport: “the Gonzalez of the West Country.”
It suited him beautifully.
There was something gloriously old-school about Gould’s entire racing operation. He belonged to an era in which a sufficiently determined private entrant could acquire a proper Grand Prix car, prepare it independently and turn up to compete against the biggest names in international motorsport.
And Gould didn’t merely turn up.
He won Formula One races outside the World Championship, scored points in the British Grand Prix, raced internationally and became sufficiently immersed in the Maserati world to spend time living in Modena. His Formula One career placed him on grids alongside many of the giants of the 1950s, yet he retained the identity of a proudly independent Bristol racer.
Death
His life was cut unexpectedly short.
Gould died suddenly in Southmead, Bristol, on 4 November 1968, after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage. He was only 47 years old.
Motor racing, however, remained part of the Gould family.
His sons Martin, Stephen and Richard continued to live in Bristol, with Martin following his father into competition and racing in Formula Three. The connection subsequently reached another generation, as Gould’s grandsons Daniel Gould and James Gould also became involved in motorsport from a young age.
Complete Formula One World Championship Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Goulds’ Garage (Bristol) | Cooper T23 | Bristol Straight-6 | ARG | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR 15 | GER | SUI | ITA | ESP | NC | 0 | ||
| 1955 | Goulds’ Garage (Bristol) | Maserati 250F | Maserati Straight-6 | ARG | MON | 500 | BEL | NED Ret | GBR Ret | NC | 0 | |||||
| Officine Alfieri Maserati | ITA Ret | |||||||||||||||
| 1956 | Goulds’ Garage (Bristol) | Maserati 250F | Maserati Straight-6 | ARG | MON 8 | 500 | BEL Ret | FRA DNA | GBR 5 | GER Ret | ITA | 19th | 2 | |||
| 1957 | H H Gould | Maserati 250F | Maserati Straight-6 | ARG | MON Ret | 500 | FRA Ret | GBR DNS | GER Ret | PES Ret | ITA 10 | NC | 0 | |||
| 1958 | H H Gould | Maserati 250F | Maserati Straight-6 | ARG 9 | MON DNQ | NED DNS | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | POR | ITA | MOR | NC | 0 |
| 1960 | H H Gould | Maserati 250F | Maserati Straight-6 | ARG | MON | 500 | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | POR | ITA DNS | USA | NC | 0 | |
Teammates & Qualifying Head-to-Head
| Teammate | Years | Races | Qualifying H2H |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luigi Musso | 1955 | 1 | – |
| Roberto Mieres | 1955 | 1 | – |
| Carlos Menditeguy | 1955 | 1 | – |
| Peter Collins | 1955 | 1 | – |
| Jean Behra | 1955 | 1 | – |
| Gerino Gerini | 1958 | 1 | – |
