Thomas Alastair Sutherland Ogilvie ('Taso') Mathieson (25 July 1908,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

– 12 October 1991,

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

), stylised as T.A.S.O. Mathieson and sometimes referred to as Donald Mathieson, was a British

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

and author of automotive history books.

Racing career and personal life

'Taso' was the son of Thomas Ogilvie Mathieson. His family owned the Scottish hand tool manufacturing company Alexander Mathieson & Sons. 'Taso' Mathieson started racing in 1930, when he entered a race at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

restricted to

Lagonda Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008, 2010 to 20 ...

s. He established his first victory during an Easter Bank-Holiday BARC Open Meeting on 28 March 1932, driving a supercharged

Officine Meccaniche Officine Meccaniche or OM was an Italian car and truck manufacturing company. It was founded in 1899 in Milan as Società Anonima Officine Meccaniche to manufacture railway rolling stock and car production began in 1918. It disappeared as su ...

. Over the next two years, he won three races in his

Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French automotive industry, manufacturer of high performance vehicle, high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German Empire, German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the ...

and broke the lap record for 2-litre cars at

Snaefell Mountain Course The Isle of Man TT Mountain Course or ''TT Course'' or ''Snaefell Mountain Course'' or ''Elmo’s Mountain Course'' is a street and Road racing, public rural road circuit located in the Isle of Man, used for motorcycle racing. The motorcycle ''T ...

on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

, with an average speed of 72.15 mph (116.11 km/h). Bugatti Type 57 Atalante 1936

Because of health problems, Mathieson was unable to enter any races from 1934 to 1937, so his

was driven a few times by Chris Staniland. In 1938 and 1939 he entered the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

, but both times retired before the finish. Mathieson was one of the first, if not the first, Briton to race again in

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, racing an ex-

Henry Birkin Sir Henry Ralph Stanley Birkin, 3rd Baronet (26 July 1896 – 22 June 1933), known as Tim Birkin, was a British racing driver, one of the " Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. Background and family Birkin was born into a wealthy Nottingham family in ...

3-litre

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914 in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

in 1946. On 30 May, he raced in the Coupe de la Résistance and retired with an oil leak. He entered the

Grand Prix des Frontières The Grand Prix des Frontières was a motor race held at a street circuit in Chimay, Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it ...

on 9 June, but instead raced at the René le Bègue Cup held on the same day, finishing fifth. On 16 June, he attended the

Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (; ; ) is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of Belgium was held in 1925 at the Spa region's race course, an area of the country that had been associated ...

in Brussels, but did not start. He placed sixth in the Roussillon Grand Prix on 30 June, and on 28 July he raced in the Nantes Grand Prix, retiring with engine troubles. Mathieson entered an

ERA E-Type An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * Era ...

with Leslie Johnson as driver, for 1949 Richmond Trophy, Jersey Road Race and British Empire Trophy, as well as the

1950 British Grand Prix The 1950 British Grand Prix, formally known as The Royal Automobile Club Grand Prix d'Europe Incorporating The British Grand Prix, was a Formula One auto racing, motor race held on 13 May 1950 at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, England ...

. Some sources attribute these as official ERA entries because Johnson had purchased the car manufacturer three years before. Mathieson bought a 2-litre

Frazer Nash Frazer Nash was a brand of British sports car manufactured from 1922 first by Frazer Nash Limited founded by engineer Archibald Frazer-Nash. On its financial collapse in 1927 a new company, AFN Limited, was incorporated. Control of AFN passed ...

Le Mans in which he scored a class victory in the

1950 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans was a motor race for sports cars, staged at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France on 24 and 25 June 1950. It was the 18th Grand Prix of Endurance. The race was won by the French father-and-son pairing of Louis Ro ...

together with Richard "Dickie" Stoop. He continued racing until 1955, mostly entering Grands Prix in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. 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 Mila Parély (7 October 1917 – 14 January 2012), born Olga Colette Peszynski, was a French actress of Polish ancestry best known for the roles of Félicie, Belle's eldest sister, in Jean Cocteau's '' La Belle et la Bête'' (1946), and as Ge ...

, 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

* Mathieson was the team owner, not a driver. † Pierre Maréchal was killed in an accident.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Targa Florio results

Bibliography

* *

External links

T.A.S.O. Mathieson
at ''racingsportscars.com''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathieson, Taso 1908 births 1991 deaths Scottish racing drivers Racing drivers from Glasgow Scottish sports journalists Scottish expatriates in France Grand Prix drivers