Taso Mathieson

Thomas Alastair Sutherland Ogilvy ('Taso') Mathieson (25 July 1908, Glasgow – 12 October 1991, Vichy) was a British racing driver. Between 1930 and 1955, he entered more than 30 races, including multiple times the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Racing career and personal life

'Taso' Mathieson started racing in 1930, when he entered a race at Brooklands restricted to Lagondas. He established his first victory during an Easter Bank-Holiday BARC Open Meeting on 28 March 1932, driving a supercharged Officine Meccaniche. Over the next two years, he won three races in his Bugatti and broke the lap record for 2-litre cars at Snaefell Mountain Course on the Isle of Man, with an average speed of 72.15 mph (116.11 kph).

A 1936 Bugatti Type 57 like Mathieson used in 1938

Because of health problems, Mathieson was unable to enter any races from 1934 to 1937, so his Bugatti was driven a few times by Chris Staniland. In 1938 and 1939 he entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but both times retired before the finish.

Mathieson was one of the first, if not the first, Briton to race again in Continental Europe after World War II after buying a 3-litre Maserati in 1946 from Henry Birkin. He later bought a 2-litre Frazer Nash Le Mans in which he scored a class victory in the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans together with Richard Stoop. Mathieson also entered his English Racing Automobiles (ERA) for the 1950 British Grand Prix, so that Leslie Johnson could drive it. However, others say ERA was the entrant, because Johnson had purchased the car manufacturer three years before. He continued racing until 1955, mostly entering Grands Prix in France. When he was injured in a traffic or racing accident, he was forced to retire. After 25 years of racing, Mathieson concentrated on his writing and his collection of photographs, together with his wife Mila Parély, a French actress he had married in 1947. He wrote various authoritative books, including Grand Prix Racing 1906-1914, and wrote several articles in the French magazine Le Fanauto in 1979 and 1980.

Racing results

Year	Date	Race	Entrant	Car	Teammate(s)	Result
1933	14 July	1933 Mannin Moar	T. Mathieson	Bugatti Type 35C	none	DNF
	7 October	Donington Park Trophy
	21 October	Mountain Championship
1938	22 May	Antwerp Grand Prix		Bugatti Type 57
	5 June	Grand Prix des Frontières	TASO Mathieson		none	3rd
	19 June–20	1938 24 Hours of Le Mans				DNA
	19–20 June	1938 24 Hours of Le Mans	Norbert Mahé	Talbot-Lago T150C	Freddy Clifford	DNF (17th)
	10 July	24 Hours of Spa		Talbot-Lago T150C		DNA
	3 September	RAC Tourist Trophy	TASO Mathieson	Bugatti Type 57	none	20th
1939	28 May	Grand Prix des Frontières	T. Mathieson	Maserati	none	DNA
	18 June–19	1939 24 Hours of Le Mans	Luigi Chinetti	Talbot-Lago T26	Luigi Chinetti	DNF (24th)
			TASO Mathieson	Talbot 150SS Figoni	Philippe de Massa Norbert Mahé	DNS *
1946	30 May	Resistance Cup		Maserati 8C		DNF
	9 June	1946 René le Bègue Cup				5th
	16 June	Brussels Grand Prix	TASO Mathieson	Talbot-Lago	none	DNS
	30 June	Roussillon Grand Prix		Maserati 8C		6th
1947	13 July	National Gransden (Formula Libre)	John Wyer	HRG	none	DNA
1949	26 June	1949 24 Hours of Le Mans	Mrs. R.P. Hichens	Aston Martin 2-Litre Sports	Pierre Maréchal	DNF (22nd) †
1950	25 June	1950 24 Hours of Le Mans	H.J. Aldington	Frazer Nash Mille Miglia	Richard Stoop	Overall 9th Class 1st
1951	17 June	Circuito do Porto		Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica		9th
	12 August	Circuito di Senigallia				5th
	9 September	Targa Florio	TASO Mathieson		Jacques Pollet	DNF
1952	29 June			Ferrari 195 S		Overall 6th Class 1st
1953	7 June	12 Hours of Hyères		Maserati A6GCS
	20 June	Roubaix Grand Prix				6th
	28 June	Circuit de Bressuire				3rd
	25 July	Caen Grand Prix	Scuderia della Guestella		none	4th
Sources:

• Mathieson was the team owner, not a driver.

† Pierre Maréchal was killed in an accident.