Tag Archives: 500

Five Classic Racing Ferraris – Silverstone Classic

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The Silverstone Classic meeting usually offers the Ferrari fanatic a bonanza of Maranello’s finest road and racing cars and I am sure this year’s Silver Jubilee edition of the event will be no different.

Ferrari 500 TRC, David and James Cottingham, Silverstone Classic

Among the myriad of Ferrari racers seen in recent years have been the Cottinghams Ferrari 500 TRC which finished 7th both at the 1957 Le Mans 24 hours and on the 1958 Targa Florio.

Ferrari 246 Dino, Tony Smith, Silverstone Classic,

Another regular competitor is Tony Smith’s 1958 Ferrari 246 Dino which counts among it’s former occupants Wolfgang von Trips, Oliver Gendebien, Dan Gurney and Phil Hill the latter drove the car to the last win for a front engined Grand Prix at Monza in 1960.

Ferrari 166/206, Harry Leventis, Gregor Fisken, Silverstone Classic,

Ing. Forghieri, responsible for the design of Harry Leventis’s Ferrari 166/206, above, was never the cars biggest fan, once likening the design, in conversation with desginer Gordon Murray, as to sticky brown smelly stuff, however that did not prevent Ludovico Scarfiotti driving the car in an earlier form to claim the 1965 European Hillclimb Championship.

Ferrari 512M, Nathan Kinch, Silverstone Classic

Ferrari 512’s are not an uncommon sight at Silverstone Classic weekends, #1030 seen above with Scotsman Nathan Kinch at the wheel, was raced in S form in 1970 and M form in 1971 under the Ecurie Francorchamps banner but found it’s greatest success under JC Bamford’s ownership for whom Peter Brown, Willie Green and Neil Corner all drove it on various occasions to seven straight wins in it’s last seven races during 1972 six victories were claimed in the Motoring News GT Championship and the other in the Interserie race held at Silverstone.

Ferrari F40 LM, Stefano Sebastiani, Silverstone Classic,

Finally the Silver Jubilee edition of the Silverstone Classic will see the first race for GT cars from the 1990’s, above Stefano Sebastiani is seen about to put his 1989 F40 LM, a converted road car, through it’s paces during last years popular GT demonstration run.

Tickets for this years advance ticket only Silver Jubilee Silverstone Classic are available from this linked website.

Thanks for joining me on this “Five Classic Racing Ferraris” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at the first of a series of Formula Junior open wheelers. Don’t for get to come back now !

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Clarke Brothers Upgrades – Iota P1-5 CB2

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Today’s featured car was one of the 5th of six Iota P1‘s to have been built by by Iota Racing Cars of Alma Vale, Clifton, Bristol.

Iota CB2, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

It was bought by garage owner Tom Clarke for the 1950 season during which he achieved some success up until the end of 1951.

Iota CB2, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

For 1951 the driving position was moved forward and the fuel tank removed from over the drivers legs to a position twixt driver and the JAP motor, in this form the car was known as the CB1, for Clarke Brothers the name of Tom’s garage.

Iota CB2, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

After finishing in podium positions through the 1952 season the car’s chassis was upgraded again to CB2 specification for the 1953 season with an emphasis on weight reduction.

Iota CB2, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

Tom continued to race the CB2 with similar success until the end of 1954 when he and the car retired from racing, although he continued to compete in the occasional hill climb with the car.

Iota CB2, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

The CB2 remained on the family business premises for three decades and through several changes of ownership before being brought out of retirement in 2011 by Mike Wood.

Thanks for joining me on this “Clarke Brothers Upgrades” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Kurtiss Indy Car, don’t forget to come back now !

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14 from 103 – Ford Galaxie 500

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On the 28th March 1964 reigning International Motor Contest Association champion Dick Hutcherson got his NASCAR career underway by winning pole position in his Ford for his debut NASCAR start at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina.

Ford Galaxie 500, Sonoma Historics

Dick finished his first NASCAR race in the pits with broken lugs nuts but finished 2nd in his next NASCAR race at Hillsboro, started from pole and retired with wheel bearing failure at Spartanburg and finished 5th at Columbia in his final NASCAR start of the season in which he retained his International Motor Contest Association championship.

Ford Galaxie 500, Sonoma Historics

Holman Moody signed Dick up for 1965 to drive the #29 Ford Galaxie, like the one seen in these photographs, alongside Fred Lorenzen in the #28. After starting from pole 10 times, winning 9 races, finishing in the top 5 on 23 further occasions Dick finished second to Richard Petty on what should have been his rookie season, except NASCAR deemed Dick’s two consecutive IMCA championships and 81 IMCA wins, of sufficient stature to eliminate him from the Rookie Of The Year Award.

Ford Galaxie 500, Sonoma Historics

Thanks to Ford’s broken 1966 season Dick only made 14 starts in 1966 2 from pole and with 3 wins. In 1967 Dick continued driving the #29 Ford which was now entered mostly by Bondy Long and finished 3rd in the championship with two wins from 33 starts, he was easily averaging better points per race than eventual 1967 Champion Richard Petty, but the King who had a 10 race unbroken run of wins made 15 more starts than Dick.

Ford Galaxie 500, Sonoma Historics

After winning 14 races from just 103 starts Dick swapped the driving seat for the Crew Chiefs box in 1968 and guided his friend David “The Siver Fox” Pearson to two consecutive championships in ’68 and ’69.

Dick became general manager at Holman Moody but left in 1971 to set up the successful Hutcherson-Pagan Enterprises race car building and parts business with Eddie Pagan.

In 1976 Dick made a one off appearance at Le Mans where he drove a Ford Torino with Richard Brooks and Marcel Mignot until it retired with gearbox failure after 11 hours.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photographs of the 1965 #29 Ford Galaxie taken at last years Sonoma Historic’s meeting.

Thanks for joining me on this “14 for 103” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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THINK ! W.H.M. ? – Ford Galaxie 500

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Fred Lorenzen’s won his debut event, to see who would be the first to turn over a 1937 Plymouth, in Elmhurst, Illinois aged 15 in 1949.

He graduated to NASCAR by 1956, but it was not until after he had won the 1958 and 1959 USAC Championships in a Talarico Bros. built Chevrolet and run 10 races as an owner driver in the 1960 NASCAR series that he got an offer from Ralph Moody to join the Holman Moody team for the 1961 season.

Ford Galaxie 500, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The new partnership made fifteen starts during the 1961 season and Fred won three of them at Martinsville, Darlington and Atlanta.

Prior to the Darlington win Ralph, a well respected former driver, coached Fred on how to beat one of the favourites Curtis Turner in the event of a showdown between the two of them.

Ford Galaxie 500, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Sure enough as the laps wound down Fred found himself fighting Chris for the lead but could find no way past having forgotten Ralph’s instructions before the start of the race.

During a late pit stop a furious Ralph asked Fred in no uncertain terms “Think Boy ! What The Heck Is The Matter ?” Fred followed Ralph’s instruction’s to the letter going into the last lap and sold Chris a dummy to the outside which allowed his to go low and take the lead for the win in his open Ford Sunliner while Chris was busy acquiring a Darlington Stripe.

Ford Galaxie 500, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

During the second year of their partnership Fred crossed the line first twice more from 19 starts to finish a career best 3rd in points.

Fred crossed the line first 6 times from 29 starts in 1963 to become the first driver to win over $100,000 in a single season.

Ford Galaxie 500, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

In 1964 the partnership made only 16 starts from a possible 62, but astonishingly won 8 of them.

At the 1965 Daytona 500 Fred started 4th and came through to take the win in a vehicle similar to the one featured today and finished the season with 4 wins from 17 starts.

Ford Galaxie 500, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Fred made a total of 15 more starts for Holman Moody in the 1966 and 1967 seasons winning three more races, he also made one start in Junior Johnson’s famous cut down yellow Galaxie known as the Yellow Banana, but crashed it after leading 24 laps.

Taking a break from the sport during the 1968 and 1969 seasons Fred came back for three more partial seasons with a variety of owners from 1970 to 1972 scoring 11 top five finishes from 29 starts leaving his career record at 28 wins from just 158 starts with 32 pole positions.

Last month Fred was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of fame, the car featured today is believed to be one of several replica’s of Fred’s 1965 Holman Moody Galaxy 500 originally built by Jack Sullivan with fellow wrenches Herb Nab and Freddy McCall.

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

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The Ethiopian Ferrari – Ferrari 500 Mondial #0468MD

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In 1954 an Italian, Guido Petracchi, took delivery of today’s featured Ferrai 500 Mondial chassis #0468MD in Ethiopia where it was issued with the registration number ‘ER 22289’.

Ferrari 500 Mondial, Rolex Reunion, Laguna Seca

Guido is believed to have raced the car at least once in the 1954 Ethiopian Grand Prix, an event for which no precise date, circuit or even other entrants are known and from which the car is believed to have retired !

Ferrari 500 Mondial, Rolex Reunion, Laguna Seca

While looking for information about the 1954 Ethiopian Grand Prix I stumbled across this linked photo of an open wheel Maserati and what appears to be a shiny #30 Ferrari 500 Mondial which has yet to be confirmed as showing Bigi Cristoforo and Guido Petracchi at the wheel of the respective cars on the Asmara Street Circuit in Eritrea, then part of the Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea, in 1954.

In 1970 the #0468MD is said to have been rediscovered by Colin Crabbe and sold to an owner in Penrith in 1972. In 1982 DK Engineering restored #0468MD with new bodywork.

From 1989 to 1997 #0468MD went to Switzerland where it had three owners before being sold to it’s current owner in Medina Washington USA in 1998.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton who took these photographs of #0468MD at last years Rolex Reunion.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Ethiopian Ferrari” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for a look at another Jaguar Special. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Ferrari Friday – Danville Concours d’Elegance

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To round out the week we will take another trip to Danville Concours d’Elegance where Geoffrey Horton took today’s photographs a couple of weeks ago.

Ferrari 500 Superfast, Danville Concours d'Elegance

Only 12 Ferrari 500 Superfast Series II’s were built and this 1965 example has been with the same owner for 45 years.

Ferrari 365 GTB/4, Danville Concours d'Elegance

For a while during the 1970’s and 1980’s it looked like front engined Ferrari’s, like the 1972 365 GTB/4 above, might disappear altogether they carried on building front engined 400 and later 412 models up to 1989, then there was a 3 year gap before the front engined 456 appeared in 1992.

Ferrari 512 TR, Danville Concours d'Elegance

The Ferrari 512TR replaced the Ferrari Testarossa in 1992, powered by the same flat 12 motor, but producing 30 more horsepower which increased the top speed from 180 mph to 195mph.

Ferrari Enzo, Danville Concours d'Elegance

Above the interior of a Ferrari Enzo, the gears are shifted using an electrohydraulic shift transmission operated by paddles on the steering wheel with LED lights advising drivers when to shift a transfer of technology from Ferrari’s racing programme.

Ferrari California, Danville Concours d'Elegance

The Ferrari California model above has now been replaced by the Ferrari California T, but it still looks timeless with the roof up or down.

Ferrari 458 Convertible, Danville Concours d'Elegance

Black sheep of this weeks Ferrari Friday post is the 199mph Ferrari 458 Spider above.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photos taken at Danville Concours d’Elegance.

Thanks for joining me on this “Ferrari Friday” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be visiting Castle Combe for the first 500 cc Formula 3 race run at the circuit in 50 years. Don’t forget to come back now.

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Can You Help Us Dad ? – Cooper 500 Prototype

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In 1932 John Newton Cooper probably became the luckiest 9 year old in Surbiton when his Dad, Cooper Garage proprietor Charles Cooper, built him a car with a motor cycle engine and gearbox in the front and a chain drive to the rear axle.

Cooper 500 Prototype, Peter Harvey, Cholmondeley Pageant of Power

By the time John turned 14 in 1936 his dad had built him another car using Austin Seven components which many years later would be retrospectively given the name T1.

Cooper 500 Prototype, Peter Harvey, Cholmondeley Pageant of Power

At the same time as Charles was building cars for his son an informal group of motoring enthusiasts known as CAPA were formulating idea’s for an affordable motor sport category and Dick Caesar, the C in CAPA is credited with the idea of using 500 cc motorcycle engines to power specials that could be devised for the category.

Cooper 500 Prototype, Peter Harvey, Cholmondeley Pageant of Power

A second group of enthusiasts competing at Shelsley Walsh were also turning to using motor cycle engines for their specials which included David Fry who built a vehicle known as the Freikaiserwagen.

Cooper 500 Prototype, Cholmondeley Pageant of Power

During the ’39 – ’45 war some members of CAPA and others found themselves working at the Bristol Aircraft Company where they formed a motor sports club to further think through their ideas, in 1946 this club was wound up in favour of a non works ‘500 Club’ aimed at organising events for their “500 Formula” which eventually became an internationally recognised category known as Formula 3.

Cooper 500 Prototype, Cholmondeley Pageant of Power

When 23 year old John Cooper and his friend Eric Brandon were looking for a way into motor sport they decided that the new 500 Formula was the way to go and turned to John’s Dad Charles for help.

Cooper 500 Prototype, Cholmondeley Pageant of Power

Charles helped John and Eric build two Cooper 500’s which featured FIAT Topolino 500 suspension front and rear connected by a simple frame and a JAP motor, prepared for speedway competition, behind the driver with a gearbox and chain drive to the rear wheels.

These two cars became the first two of an eventual 320 Formula 500 vehicles Cooper Cars are thought to have built between 1946 and 1959, by which time Jack Brabham was on his way to the first of two consecutive world championships driving Coopers latest mid engined Formula One cars.

Peter Harvey is seen at last years Cholmondeley Pageant of Power driving the second Cooper 500 Prototype built for Eric Brandon which was retrospectively given the T3 tag.

Thanks for joining me on this “Can You Help Us Dad ?” edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I be starting a short series of blogs on concept cars. Don’t forget to come back now !

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