Tag Archives: Knapfield

Ferrari Sports Car Racers – Goodwood Festival Of Speed

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Today’s post will be looking at some of the Ferrari Sports Racers at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed some of which will be familiar and others not.

Ferrari 312 P, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Former British Hill Climb champion David Franklin was celebrating his first fifty years in motorsports driving Arnold Meiers svelt 1969 Ferrari 312 P Coupé chassis #0872 with which I first became familiar on my first visit to Goodwood in 2009.

Ferrari 512 M, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

I have seen Nathan Kinch’s Ferrari 512 M #1030 once before at Silverstone Classsic, but have yet to write about it, maybe next year.

Ferrari 712, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Perhaps the ultimate variation of the Ferrari 512 S is Paul Knapfield’s chassis #1010 which was fitted with a 7 litre / 427 cui V12 and open spyder body work for Jean Pierre Jarier to drive in a couple of Can Am races in 1972.

Ferrari 250MM, Holly Mason Franchitti, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

In 2012 Anette Mason had the privilege of driving the 1.2.3 liveried Ferrari 250 MM chassis #0353 MM (# 0239 EU) her daughter Holly Mason Franchitti had the honour this year…

Ferrari BB 512, Anette Mason, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

… while Mum was kept busy driving the period correct British Racing Green 512 BB previously owned and raced by her husband’s former band management EMKA and raced by former band manager Steve O’Rourke.

Ferrari 458 GT3, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Finally I believe the f.f. Course Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 above is or has been raced in British GT and or Britcar championship events, though I have yet to pin down it’s precise history or who was driving the car at Goodwood, if you can help please do not hesitate to chime in below.

Thanks for joining me on this “Ferrari Sports Car Racers” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Formula Jr open wheel racer. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Classic Ferrari Racers – Silverstone Classic

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Welcome to GALPOT’s Ferrari Friday blog coming from last weeks Silverstone Classic with six of the Maranello cars that appeared on track.

Ferrari 246 Dino, Tony Smith, Maserati Centenary Trophy, Silverstone Classic

Tony Smith drove his Ferrari 246 Dino to a 6th place finish in the Maserati Centenary Race for pre ’61 Grand Prix Cars.

Ferrari 246S, Bobby Verdon Roe, Stirling Moss Trophy, Silverstone Classic

Above Bobby Verdon-Roe exits the pits having just taken over the #46 Ferrari 246S from it’s owner Nick Leventis prior to finishing third in the Stirling Moss Trophy.

Ferrari 365 GTB/4, Tim Summers, Silverstone Classic

I first set eyes on Tim Summers #70 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 33 years ago at Silverstone. At the time I knew little about it other than it was apparently sponsored by the Swedish air force. Turns out that just like all the other competition Daytona’s it was converted from a road car but unlike most of the others this was not done until 1977 by Swede Ulf “Barbarossa” Bohman in Varberg. I look forward to writing a blog on the car in the not too distant future.

Ferrari 512M, Knapfield / Campbell Walker, Silverstone Classic

The sight and sound of Paul Knapfield making up for early lost time in his Ferrari 512M was breath taking the crisp 5 litre / 302 cui V12 has few audio challengers. After dropping from 5th in the opening laps to 18th Paul and FIA Endurance Champion co driver Jamie Campbell Walker climbed all the way back up to 8th at the end of the FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Race, two places better than the position in which they started.

Ferrari F40 LM R, Stephani Sebastiani, Silverstone Classic

On the 13th of November 2004 Stefano Sebastiani, Jacopo Sebastiani, and Richard Jones drove a UK road registered Ferrari F40, J 848 JUY, prepared by Simpson Engineering in the Vallelunga 6 Hours. I believe the car seen above may be that same car taking part in the GT demonstration. There is only one #10 car listed in the programme and that was a Marcos so I have no idea who was at the wheel of the F40.

Ferrari 550 Maranello, Silverstone Classic

Finally I believe the #10 Ferrari 550 Maranello above taking part in the same GT demonstration session might have been driven by Boris Derichebourg, David Terrien and Christian Pescatori in the FIA GT Championship race run in Barcelona on the 6th of June 2003, though if it is the same car it has gained a few vents in the bonnet/hood and rear wing/fender while loosing a brake cooling duct in front of the rear wheel.

If you know who was driving either the #10 F40 or #10 550 Maranello in the GT Demonstrations at Silverstone Classic please do not hesitate to chip in below.

Thanks for joining me on this “Classic Ferrari Racers” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at some Jaguars, don’t forget to come back now !

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The Surtees Hill Lola – Lola Chevrolet T70 Mk II Spyder SL71/43

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Team Surtees started running Lola T70’s in sports car races in 1965, for 1966 the teams proprietor, 1964 World Champion, John Surtees ran a Chevrolet Mk II spyder variant, chassis #SL71/17, in the Canadian American (Can Am) Challenge winning the inaugural Can Am race at St Jovite from pole with the car.

Surtees retired from the next couple of Can Am races with a broken oil pipe and then after a start line accident at Bridgehampton and Mosport respectively. At Laguna Seca the team had a new chassis #SL71/43, today’s featured car, which he qualified 7th but retired for a third time after 92 laps with suspension damage.

Knapfield, Lola T70, Goodwood Revival

John Surtees returned to chassis #SL71/17 at Riverside where he qualified second and won, 1962 World Champion and 1966 Indy 500 Winner Graham Hill was drafted into chassis #SL71/43 and came home third from 5th on the grid in the cars final appearance for Team Surtees.

Knapfield, Lola T70, Goodwood Revival

Surtees went into the final round of the 1966 Can Am Challenge at Stardust International Raceway in Las Vegas sharing the series lead with 1961 World Champion Phil Hill who was driving a Chaparral 2E.

Despite qualifying 4th behind Jim Hall on pole with his Chaparral team mate Phil Hill beside him and Chris Amon in a McLaren Elva in third, John Surtees forced his way through to the lead on the opening lap. John did not relinquish that lead for the entire 70 lap race and so secured the inaugural Can Am Championship.

Chassis SL71/43 was acquired by George Ralph for 1968 his best results with the car were two 11th place finishes one in the USRRC Championnat Nord-Americain race held at Mont-Tremblant from 17th on the grid and the other in the Road America Can Am race from 21st on the grid.

Current owner Paul Knapfield is seen driving the car at the 2011 Goodwood revival in these photo’s.

My thanks to Tom RA Announcer Schultz for kindly visiting his den to dig out the chassis details of today’s featured car from his copy of Lola T70 – The Design, Development & Racing History Hardcover – December 1, 2012 by John Starkey and Franco Varani.

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

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Enzo’s Big Banger – Ferrari 712 #1010

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Today’s featured Ferrari began life as a Ferrari 512S chassis #1010 which was qualified on pole for it’s first race by Mario Andretti at the 1970 Sebring 12 hours. Andretti and co driver Art Mezario retired from the race leaving Andretti free to jump into the sister car, chassis #1026, which up to that point had been driven by Ignazio Giunti / Nino Vaccarella, from seventh on the grid. Andretti famously chased down the Solar Productions Porsche 908 which was driven primarily by Peter Revson and shared with Steve McQueen to win the race.

During the remainder of the 1970 season #1010 was driven by the likes of Jackie Oliver, Peter Schetty and Jackie Ickx who teamed up with Giunti won the season finale 1970 Kayalami 9 Hours.

Ferrari 712, Goodwood Festival of Speed

For 1971 a larger 6.3 litre / 384 cui V12 replaced the original 5 litre / 305 cui motor and Art Mezario used it to win the Interserie (Unlimitied Can Am style) race at Imola under the watchful of eye of Enzo Ferrari himself. Later in 1971 #1010 appeared at Watkins Glen with new open body work and now with a 6.86 litre / 418 cui V12 for Mario Andretti to drive in the Can Am Series. Despite a lack of development Andretti managed to qualify 5th and finish 4th only for the car to disappear for the remainder of the season.

Ferrari 712, Goodwood Festival of Speed

For 1972 Luigi Chinetti acquired the largest Ferrari V12 engine ever built along with chassis #1010 in which to run it and entered Jean-Pierre Jarier in for two more Can Am races, he finished 4th from 10th on the grid at Road America where it had become obvious the by now turbo charged Porsche 917’s were in a completely different class from the Ferrari 712 and indeed the rest of the field.

Ferrari 712, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Brian Redman had the honour of driving the car for the last time in the 1974 in the Watkins Glen Can Am round, which almost eliminated all non turbocharged vehicles with a maximum permitted fuel limit, he qualified 19th and retired with broken rear suspension. Today Enzo’s Big Banger chassis #1010 is run by Paul Knapfield and is seen here at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Thanks for joining me on this “Enzo’s Big Banger” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I shall be looking at the original version of the Lotus 49 that revolutionised Grand Prix Racing in 1967. Don’t forget to come back now !

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