Tag Archives: Schetty

Class But No Championships – Ferrari 312P #0872

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For 1968 a new championship was announced for 3 litre / 183 cui prototype sports cars called Championnat Internationale des Marques. A lack of entries for the series led to a late change in the rules which extended the life of the Ford GT40 and Lola T70 for four years and inadvertently gave Ferrari and Porsche a window in which to build the 512S and 917 models respectively.

Ferrari 312P, Goodwood Festival of Speed

For 1969 Ferrari built it’s first 3 litre / 183 cui prototypes using detuned V12 engines from it’s Formula One programme. In all three 312P’s were built by the factory two open top Spyders and the closed top Berlinetta chassis #0872 featured today.

Although the 312P’s are not remembered as being a match for the Porsche 908’s that ran in the same class they did take several class wins when they finished. #0872 won it’s class at Daytona in 1970, 4th overall, driven by Mike Parkes and Sam Posey, and again at Sebring driven by Parkes and Chuck Parsons who replaced Posey.

In 1971 #0872 appeared with Spyder bodywork and Luigi Chinetti and Garcia Veiga took another class victory at Daytona in the 24 hour marathon.

Ferrari 312P, Goodwood Festival of Speed

When #0872 was first raced by Chris Amon and Peter Schetty at Le Mans in 1969 carrying the #19 the car was a last minuet substitute for chassis #0868, which had crashed a couple of weeks earlier at Monza, and was raced with the #0868 identity due to the difficulty in getting the correct international travel documents for #0872 ready in time.

Chris Amon hit a fuel tank from the fatally disintegrated Porsche 917 of John Woolfe on the opening lap, causing #0872 to catch fire and it’s subsequent retirement without injury to the New Zealander.

Ferrari 312P, Goodwood Festival of Speed

In the spring of 1971 #0872 was dismantled, the engine, transmission, suspension and steering were subsequently fitted to a brand new chassis known as the Chinetti Special / Flying Shingle, a car which did not finish at Daytona in 1972 and manged 9th overall 6th in class at Le Mans in 1974 driven by Jean-Claude Andruet and Teodoro Zeccoli.

In 1980/81 all the parts of #0872 were reunited along with it’s original Berlinetta body, and the Flying Shingle has been reconstructed without any of the original parts from #0872.

Thanks for joining me on this “Class But No Championships” 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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Big John’s Return – Ferrari 512M

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Today’s featured Ferrari is a 512M replica of the type that I looked at last June.

Ferrari 512M, Siverstone Classic

My research indicates this car appears to be one of at least 2 replica’s built by Bob Houghton in the UK around 1990.

While I was looking into the history of todays featured car I was surprised to learn that 1964 World Champion ‘Big’ John Surtess drove a Ferrari 512S, chassis #1038, in a little remembered return to the Ferrari fold, with Jacky Ickx to finish 2nd in 1970 Spa 1000 kms behind the Porsche 917 driven by Jo Siffert and Brian Redman.

Surtees who became World Champion, driving for Ferrari in 1964, walked out on the team at Le Mans in 1966 after a disagreement over driver arrangements for the 24 hour classic. In the process Surtees threw away a good shot at the 1966 World Championship in which he eventually finished 2nd despite driving an unfancied and unreliable Cooper Maserati for the balance of the 1966 season which had started well with a win for Ferrari in the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix.

Jacky Ickx again drove chassis #1038 on it’s second and final outing at Le Mans in 1970 sharing with Peter Schetty. A single accident in the rain had eliminated four other Ferrari 512S’s and a fifth had dropped out soon after the start. Ickx was in 6th place four hours after the start of the race and climbed all the way up to second around midnight before skidding off at the Ford Chicane killing one marshal injuring a second and writing off the car which was never to be seen again.

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

PS 18 08 12 Thanks to Tim Murray for pointing out that John Surtees won the Belgian Grand Prix driving a Ferrari 1966 not the Monaco Grand Prix as originally stated.

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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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