25/7/1908 - 12/10/1991
Record updated 07-Mar-08
Born in Glasgow in 1908, Thomas Alastair Sutherland Ogi or 'Taso' Mathieson began racing at Brooklands in a one-make Lagonda meeting in 1930 and had his first victory at the track in the Norfolk Senior Mountain Handicap in 1932 driving a blown 2.3-litre OM.
He had three other wins in 1932 and 1933 with Bugattis, winning the Hereford Junior Long Handicap in his non-supercharged 1.5 litre Bugatti by 10 yards from Farmiloe's Wolseley-Hornet. On Easter Monday 1933 he won the Addlestone Lightning Short Handicap in his 2 litre Bugatti, lapping at 118.58 mph and in the Addlestone Mountain Handicap, the same day, he set a new Mountain Circuit lap record for Class E (2-litre cars) at 72.13mph (116.11 kph).
At the Whitsun meeting on June 4th he would have won the Cobham Light Handicap had it not been for a broken oil line that forced him to ease up. At the end of the season he raced in the BARC Meeting that had been delayed for a week by the appauling weather conditions. It was still raining but only lightly when Taso won the Lightning Mountain Handicap
He contracted diphtheria and spent 1934 cruising in the West Indies and was thus out of racing in 1934. He lent his Bugatti to Chris Staniland who raced it on several occasions in 1934 and continued to race it in 1935.
By 1938 'Taso' was finally back to full health. He took a 3rd in the Grand Prix de Frontières at Chimay early in June driving a Bugatti Type 57S and later in the month raced at Le Mans with Freddy Clifford in a 4-litre Talbot T150C. Unfortunately they were forced out with a fire late in the race. He re-appeared at Brooklands in September racing a Darracq in the 192 mile handicap in the Campbell circuit. Unfortunately another fire brought about his retirement.
At Le Mans in 1939 he raced at Le Mans again, this time with Luigi Chinetti in a 4.5 litre Talbot T26 crashing out late in the race and once again failing to finish.
The war interviened but once hostilities ceased 'Taso' became the first Briton to return to racing on the Continent, acquiring an ex-Birkin 3-litre Maserati which he drove during the 1946 season.
In 1950 he bought a 2-litre Le Mans Frazer Nash with he raced at Le Mans with Dickie Stoop, scoring a class victory.
In 1951 he was lying 3rd in the Targa Florio driving the Frazer Nash when the fan belt broke. He finished 2nd at Senigallia and 4th at Oporto.
In 1952 he bought the ex-Bobby Baird 2.3-litre Ferrari which he drove to a fine class win the Targa Florio and 6th overall.
In 1953 he drove a 2-litre Maserati A6GCS to class wins at Roubaix and Bressuire, where he also finished 3rd overall.
His last race was at Brands Hatch in 1955 with a San Remo Maserati, after which he concentrated on writing and building up his magnificent collection of photographs.
He is the author of a number of books, including 'Grand Prix Racing 1906-1914'.
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