Ace remembered 100 years after his Grand Prix death

The 1920s cars brought along to Burton Lazars by the Aston Martin Heritage Trust - TT1 and TT2The 1920s cars brought along to Burton Lazars by the Aston Martin Heritage Trust - TT1 and TT2
The 1920s cars brought along to Burton Lazars by the Aston Martin Heritage Trust - TT1 and TT2
Exactly 100 years after he was killed in a motor racing accident, dozens of people converged on Burton Lazars on Saturday to pay tribute to Count Louis Zborowski.

The event was held at St James Church, where Louis, his parents and his infant brother are all buried in the family plot.

Villagers, history buffs and petrol heads gathered for a short service as the fenced off grave to remember the driving ace, who was just 29 when he was killed at the Monza track in Italy after colliding with a tree.

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Rev Adam Gompertz recounted the amazing achievement of Louis in a his short life, saying ‘It was a life led at brake neck speed’.

A service held at the family grave of the Zborowski familyA service held at the family grave of the Zborowski family
A service held at the family grave of the Zborowski family

One of the big attractions on the day was a display of two of the Aston Martin cars which were raced in the 1920s, the TT1 and TT2.

They were very different to the sleek and stealthy machines being driven in this season’s Formula One races by Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

The TT1 on display was identical to the car raced by Louis in the 1922 French Grand Prix in Strasbourg.

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Louis helped fund the development of the car, using aircraft engines, and he dubbed it Chitty Bang Bang, partly in reference to the noise it made.

The spartan interior of the Aston Martin TT1 on display in Burton LazarsThe spartan interior of the Aston Martin TT1 on display in Burton Lazars
The spartan interior of the Aston Martin TT1 on display in Burton Lazars

The name was later adopted by Ian Fleming in his iconic book, which became a movie and a musical.

The Aston Martin Heritage Trust brought along both cars to the event.

Trustee Steve Waddingham gave a presentation on behalf of the Trust about the contribution Louis made to the company’s illustrious history.

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He said: “100 years ago, sadly, he died doing what he loved, racing a car.

Flowers on the Burton Lazars grave of racing driver Louis Zborowski, a century after his deathFlowers on the Burton Lazars grave of racing driver Louis Zborowski, a century after his death
Flowers on the Burton Lazars grave of racing driver Louis Zborowski, a century after his death

"We came here looking for the grave and some of the guys from Aston Martin then painted the railings around it.

“We thought, once we'd painted it, we should so something on the day he died and that’s why we are here.”

There were also exhibitions inside the church and children’s activities.

The Zborowski family had a second home in Melton, at Coventry House off Burton Street, and had become generous benefactors to the Burton Lazars community.

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