The Tour de France Automobile (TdF), sponsored by the Le Martin Newspaper and organised by the Automobile Club de France, was first held in 1899 and won by René de Knyff driving a Panhard et Levassor. The event continued until 1986 when François Chatriot and Michel Périn won the last competition in a Renault Maxi Turbo. The event was revived in 1992 under the Tour Auto name for pre 1966 cars.

Today’s Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione chassis #2127GT , seen in Hall & Halls care, was the 40th 250 GT SWB to be built and was supplied new to Pierre Dumay who raced it under his ‘Loustel’ team banner on at least three occasions the first of which was the 1960 Tour de France.

Pierre shared the driving with Jo Schlesser and they finished the event 2nd behind Belgians Willy Mairesse and Georges Berger driving the Ecurie Francorchamps Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competizone chassis #2129GT which coincidentally was the 41st 250GT SWB to be built.

Pierre Dumay is known to have entered the car in at least five further events up until the end of 1961 before the cae was sold to the Senegalese driver entrant Cicoira who is known to have raced the #2127 on three events between 1962 and 1964.

Cicoira recorded a 6th place finish in 1962 Angola GP, a 4th in the 1962 Prix of Luanda and a 3rd in the 1964 Dakar 6 Hour race in which he was improbably listed as the sole driver of the car.

#2127 returned to France in 1965 where it remained until 1986 when it was acquired by an MG Metro Challenge driver, aspiring to the British Touring Car Championship, Laurence C Bristow. #2127 appears to have remained in the UK with at least three different owners ever since.

My thanks to Rick Hall at Hall & Hall for his kind permission to take these photographs and to Ted Walker at Ferret Fotographics for taking me there.

Thanks for joining me on this “TdF” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !