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3 Ferraris By Fury – GALPOT Automobilia

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This weeks Ferrari Friday will be the last GALPOT blog this year to feature Automobilia items currently on offer from my lightpress e-bay listings. All three of today’s items feature Ferrari Formula One cars designed by Mauro ‘Fury’ Forghieri.

MotorSport August 1974, Niki Lauda, Ferrari 312 B3, Dutch Grand Prix

From August 1974 this MotorSport Magazine front cover depicts Niki Lauda streaking away driving his Ferrari 312 B3 to his second Grand Prix victory of the 1974 in the Dutch Grand Prix in which he again finished ahead of his team mate Clay Regazzoni as he had in Spain a couple of months earlier. Just as his former March team mate Ronnie Peterson driving a Lotus had done in 1973, Niki claimed 9 pole positions in the 1974 season, but alas only two victories enough to finish fourth in the final championship table one spot ahead of Peterson who with 3 victories and only one pole.

MotorSport, September 1975, German Grand Prix

1975 was Niki Lauda’s first championship year in which he drove his Ferrari 312 T with a novel transverse gearbox to five victories. This front cover dated September 1975 features an image depicting Niki Lauda leading the field on opening lap of the 1975 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. Niki eventually finished 3rd in the race that was won by Carlos Reutemann in 5th place in the photo driving the Martini Brabham Cosworth BT44B

Michelin Ad, Carlos Reutemann, Ferrari 312 T3, South African Grand Prix

Finally, for this year at least, this Michelin Radial advertisement from 1978, features an image of Carlos Reutemann driving a Ferrari 312 T3 at what appears to be the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, a race in which Carlos ironically spun off on oil dropped by his team mate Gilles Villeneuve on lap 55. The race was won by Ronnie Peterson driving a Goodyear shod Lotus 78 after an exciting last lap dice with Patrick Depailler driving a Goodyear shod Tyrrell 008.

At the time the advert was published Carlos had won the Brazilian and United States West Grand Prix in Michelin’s first full season in the top flight of motorsport. Reutemann would secure two more victories for the tyre manufacturer, that introduced radial tyres to Formula One in a partial season of competition with Renault in 1977. Gilles Villeneuve won his maiden Grand Prix at the final race of the season in Canada driving his Michelin shod Ferrari to give Michelin 5 wins from 16 championship races.

Thanks for joining me on this “3 Ferraris By Fury” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for the last in this months series of road vehicles painted with racing liveries, this one will be an MG as I have never seen an MG before, or since. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Primer Car – MATRA Ford MS9

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For 1968 Ken Tyrrell joined McLaren and Lotus by electing to buy a supply of Ford Cosworth DFV engines and did a deal with MATRA, who’s chassis he had run in Formula 2, to supply Formula One chassis for Jackie Stewart. While finishing the new MS10 challenger MATRA built the MS9 as an interim development car featuring a shortened MS7 Formula 2 monocoque which was adapted to take the DFV as a stressed member.

MATRA MS9, Donington Museum

The interim car was fitted with suspension adapted from it’s sports car programme to acommodate the larger Formula One wheels. The car was painted in a zinc or other chromate pigmented primer usually found in the aerospace business, MATRA’s prime business, to protect aluminium alloy.

MATRA MS9, Donington Museum

Jackie liked the car in testing and elected to race the primer test car in the 1968 South African Grand Prix in favour of the new MS10. Apparently a late attempt was made to paint the car French blue but the paint chosen did not adhere to the primer.

MATRA MS9, Donington Museum

Finance for the new MATRA International Team was provided by a new natianalised French oil brand Elf, which took over a large number of French Caltex retail outlets in 1968 that were subject to a carefully orchestrated overnight nationwide rebranding program.

MATRA MS9, Donington Museum

Having qualified an impressive third with only the Lotus 49’s of Jim Clark and Graham Hill ahead of him, Jackie Stewart stepped into the MS9 to start the race knowing he did not have enough fuel on board to complete the race without a pit stop.

MATRA MS9, Donington Museum

However on lap 43 the car had to retire with a broken valve spring and dropped valve.

MATRA MS9, Donington Museum

This car was then replaced by the MS10 for the remainder of the season. Note the curved grey bar is part of a subframe that links the rear suspension and gearbox directly to the chassis which kept the rear suspension and gearbox in place when the engine was removed.

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

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