suffered gearbox failure after 246 laps whilst lying seventh, forcing drivers Reg Parnell and Tony Brooks to retire. 1957 Making a full debut in the 1957 World Sportscar Championship season as well as various non-championship races, Aston Martin started the season with DBR1/1 in 2.5-litre form and the car recorded its first finish, with a second place for Roy Salvadori at the British Empire Trophy, followed by another second place at the Goodwood Circuit's Sussex Trophy. DBR1/1 was then upgraded with the newer 3.0-litre engine, and joined by the identical DBR1/2. Together at the Spa Sportscar Race, Aston Martin took the top two spots, with Tony Brooks winning over Roy Salvadori. The DBR1s then made their World Sportscar Championship debut in the fourth round, the 1000km Nürburgring. Here DBR1/2 took an overall victory at the hands of Brooks and Noël Cunningham-Reid, earning Aston Martin its first World Championship win since the Collins/Griffith DB3S had won the Tourist Trophy in 1953. Salvadori and Les Leston finished sixth in the same race in DBR1/1. The victory against the full works might of Ferrari and Maserati with their 335S and 450S models in the hands of drivers such as Peter Collins, Mike Hawthorn, Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio gave the Aston Martin team confidence that they now had a car that could compete against the best in the world. Unfortunately these hopes were dashed at the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans when both DBR1s failed to finish. The failure at Le Mans meant that any hopes of the World Championship had gone and Aston Martin missed the final two rounds in Sweden and Venezuela. Instead they entered the non-championship Spa Grand Prix, where DBR1/2 took the only other victory of the year in the hands of Brooks ahead of Masten Gregory in a Ferrari 290 MM and Olivier Gendebien in a Ferrari 335S with Salvadori fourth in DBR1/1. 1958 For 1958, DBR1/3 was completed and Aston Martin now had three cars with which to compete. The World Sports Car Championship was now restricted to cars of no more than 3-litres and the team's DBR2 model with its 3.7-litre engine was ineligible. David Brown therefore chose to concentrate on the Championship with the DBR1, leaving the DBR2 for non-championship races. The team did not enter the opening round in Buenos Aires which was won by Ferrari, deciding instead to race at the following