Team story
Origins
Before putting its name to a chassis, Équipe Nationale Belge had raced cars bought from other constructors. In 1961 it chose Maserati-engined Emerysons for Lucien Bianchi and Olivier Gendebien. Qualifying difficulties led it to use hired Lotuses too, while the Emerysons remained available for another development attempt.
The Formula 1 journey
Over the winter the cars were extensively reworked and renamed ENB. Bianchi took the single-seater to the 1962 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring and is listed sixteenth in the classification. It was the only championship start with a chassis attributed to ENB: the team's earlier races had not been contested with a constructor bearing its own name.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of ENB
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · German Grand Prix
Lucien Bianchi · German Grand Prix 1962. The recorded position is P16; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · German Grand Prix
Lucien Bianchi · German Grand Prix 1962. The recorded position is P16; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · German Grand Prix
Lucien Bianchi · German Grand Prix 1962. The recorded position is P16; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
The car retained its Emeryson ancestry and Maserati engine. The new name did not mark the creation of a car manufacturer from nothing, but the Belgian team's transformation of a customer chassis. Bianchi was the link between the programme using outside cars and this experiment.
What remains
No further championship appearances followed for the single-seater. Belgian sports car activity, by contrast, lasted longer and achieved results at Le Mans. The single ENB at the Nürburgring therefore remains a brief venture into constructing its own car, distinct both from the original Emerysons and from the rest of Équipe Nationale Belge's history.