ENGLISH RACING AUTOMOBILES

English Racing Automobiles (ERA) was a British racing car manufacturer active from 1933 to 1954. ERA was founded by Humphrey Cook, Raymond Mays, and Peter Berthon in November 1933 and established in Bourne, Lincolnshire, next to Eastgate House, the family home of Raymond Mays between Eastgate road and Spalding road. Their ambition was to manufacture and campaign a team of single seater racing cars capable of upholding British prestige in Continental European racing. 

The factory car, the GP2 was at Silverstone for the first race of the season but retired when the supercharger disintegrated after two laps but the older designers of private entries Bob Gerard and Cuth Harrison would finish 6th and 7th. The factory team did not appear again in 1950 but Bob Gerard took his ERA to another 6th in his now almost 15 year old car at Monaco against much newer machinery.

In 1950, GP1 was gutted by fire in a crash at the British Empire Trophy race on the Isle of Man, caused by driveshaft failure when the car was at high speed with Peter Walker at the wheel.