Tag Archives: Test Day

Indy Monza Daytona – Kurtis KK500C

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In 1954 Kurtis Kraft built nine Kurtis KK500C roadsters and today’s featured car chassis #376 was entered for the 1954 Indianapolis 500 International Sweepstakes as the Merz Engineering Special for Fred Agabashian to drive.

Kurtis 500C, Silverstone Classic, Test Day,

Fred qualified the #77 for the 24th spot on the grid and finished in 6th place third best of the 9 KK500C’s which all made the start.

Kurtis 500C, Silverstone Classic, Test Day,

The following year Walt Faulkner took over the #77 for the Indy 500 and starting 7th went one better than Fred and finished 5th.

Kurtis 500C, Silverstone Classic, Test Day,

For 1956 chassis #376 was rebranded as the Hoyt Machine Co Special and entered in the Indy 500 as the #10 for Ed Eliian who qualified 14th but had to retire 40 laps short of the full distance with brake issues.

Kurtis 500C, Silverstone Classic, Test Day,

Jimmy Reece qualified the #5 Hoyt Machine Co Special 6th at Indy in 1957, but retired 18 laps short of the full distance with throttle issues.

Kurtis 500C, Silverstone Classic, Test Day,

In 1958 Gene Hartley failed to qualify the Hoyt Machine Co Special for the 500 but with Jimmy Reece back at the wheel the car finished 5th in the race of the Two Worlds at Monza.

Kurtis 500C, Silverstone Classic, Test Day,

After returning from Italy #376 was rebranded as the Wheeler Foutch Special and entered for Red Amnick for the Indy 500, Red qualified the #87 26th but retired after an accident and completing only 45 laps.

In April 1959 Dempsey Wilson qualified #376, now returned to Hoyt Machine Co Special colours, 4th for the Daytona 100 USAC race run at the then brand new Daytona Superspeedway.

Dempsey spun the #24 out at turn 2 on lap 28 of the Daytona 100 and then took over the #75 Racing Associates Kazuma for the 2nd event of the day a shortened 50 mile “Libre”, open to all comers, race from which he was flagged running in 9th place having completed only 17 of the scheduled 20 laps.

Chassis #376 was retired from competition in 1962 and was fitted with a V8 and clothed as a road car until 1995 when it was returned to the condition in which it is seen today, this car is considered one of the most original roadsters to have survived having never been converted to a super modified spec for dirt track racing.

My thanks to Willem Oosthoek and Jerry Entin at The Nostalgia Forum for anticipating my question regarding events at Daytona in April 1959.

Thanks for joining me on this “Indy Monza Daytona” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a seriously modified FIAT. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Gathering African Dust – Maserati 300S #3057

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Today’s featured car the Maserati 300S chassis number #3059 was sold to Benoit Musy of Fribourg Switzerland midway through 1955.

Benoit is known to have raced #3057 in at least 16 events which including a pair of maiden wins Spa and Chimay in 1955 and three more in 1956.

Maserati 300S, HGPCA Test Day, Silverstone

In October 1956 Benoit was killed driving a Maserati 200S at Monthlery and two years later the car was acquired by Automovel e Touring Clube de Angola, Africa where it is known to have been entered in at least five events up until 1962.

Before it’s last known in period event the motor was damaged and replaced with a Ford V8. After the 1975 Communist Revolution in Angola the car was turned into a street car but was soon left to gather dust for over a decade until it was discovered by Norwegian Stein Johnson who imported the car to Oslo in 1991.

Between 1992 and 1994 #3059 was restored in the UK with a fresh motor, what remained of the original motor was repaired and fitted into chassis #3069.

#3059 seen above at a HGPCA test day at Silverstone last year currently belongs to German Stefan Rettenmaier.

Thanks for joining me on this “Gathering African Dust” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Bugatti. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Identity Crisis What Identity Crisis ? – Maserati 250F #2522/16/23/26

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Welcome to the second edition of Maserati Monday, today’s featured Maserati 250F chassis #2522 was built as a works car for the 1956 season. So far so good, it was raced twice in Argentina at the beginning of the season by Stirling Moss carrying the older #2516 identity finishing a best 2nd in the second non championship race.

Back in Europe the #2522 appears to have been raced with it’s correct #2522 identity until August 1956. During this period Stirling won the Glover Trophy at Goodwood and followed that up with a win in the 1956 Monaco Grand Prix.

Cesare Perdisa was given #2522 to drive in Belgian Grand Prix, while Stirling Moss driving another 250F took an early lead in the race only to lose it to a slow starting Fangio driving a Ferrari on lap 5. On lap ten Moss lost a rear wheel and ended up running back to the pits where he took over #2522 from Cesare and went on to finish 3rd behind the two Ferrari of Collins and Paul Frère.

In the French Grand Prix Cesare and Stirling ended up sharing #2522 again finishing 5th. In the British Grand Prix Stirling drove #2522 to a solo 8th place finish and in Germany #2522 now driven by Umberto Maglioli retired with steering problems which reoccurred in the Italian Grand Prix after Maglioli had handed over #2522, now running with the #2523 identity, to Jean Behra.

Maserati 250F, HGPCA Test Day, Silverstone

Over the winter #2522 with the #2523 identity was fitted with a V12 motor in place of the original straight six, the car was run in practice in the non championship race at Siracusa and again by non other than El Maestro Fangio in the practice for the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix, but the V12 was never raced.

Argentinian all round sportsman Carlos Menditeguy drove #2522/16/23 refitted with a six cylinder motor in the non championship 1957 Grand Prix de Reims where he qualified 9th and retired with a gearbox issue. For the non championship GP di Pescara and championship 1957 Italian GP Fangio was assigned #2522/16/23 but he only drove it in practice.

On the 13th April 1958 Maria-Teresa de Filippis made her Formula one debut driving #2522/16/23 in the non championship GP di Siracusa and finished 5th, a month later she was not so lucky failing to qualify for the Monaco Grand Prix driving the same car. Carrol Shelby was the last person recorded as having driven #2522/16/23 in period he qualified 17th and retired after just 1 lap with handling issues and ended up taking over Masten Gregory’s 250F and recording a shared 4th place finish one lap down, a performance for which he was not awarded any world championship points. #2522/16/23 then passed into the hands of Scuderia Centro Sud.

Towards the end of 1958 chassis #2522/16/23 was given the identity it carries to this day namely #2526 and passed through the hands of Keith Campbell, Richard Bergel, Lord Angus Clydesdale, Earl of Strathmore, Bobby Bell and it’s current owner Peter Heuberger for whom the car is seen prepared in the pits at last years HGPCA Test day at Silverstone last year.

To keep you on your toes David McKinney records that the identity #2522 was also used for the original chassis #2507 now owned by Jose Albuquerque which as you know I looked at last week !

With thanks to David McKinney and his book Maserati 250F which was kindly lent to me by Tim Murray.

Thanks for joining me on this “Identity Crisis What Identity Crisis ?” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you’ll join me tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a vintage Bugatti. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS It is with great sadness that I have learned that David McKinney passed away a couple of weeks ago. It was my privilege to meet David on a couple of occasions and for GALPOT to have benefited from his knowledge which he never hesitated to share on many more going back to the blogs earliest days.

I am sure you will join me in sending sincerest condolences to Davids family and many friends. RIP David the man who knew “lots of things“.

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In Law’s Instrumental Help – Ligier Matra JS17

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At the end of 1978 Chrysler Europe was taken over by Peugeot and almost immediately rebranded the French Simca and British Hillman models as Talbot’s resurrecting a name that had last appeared in Formula One in 1951.

In 1972 MATRA, who were taken over by Simca, withdrew from Formula One to concentrate on a successful sports car program which was itself discontinued at the end of 1974 after MATRA had won three consecutive Le Mans 24 Hour races and two World sports Car Championships under the direction of Gerard Ducarouge.

Laffite, Ligier MATRA JS 17, British Grand Prix, Silverstone

Ducarouge went to work for Ligier to design a Matra powered Formula One car in 1976, the JS5 was quite successful for a new comer and the following year Jaques Laffite won the 1977 Swedish Grand Prix driving a MATRA V12 powered Ligier JS7. MATRA stopped developing their V12 in 1978 and Ligier suffered a consequent dip in their fortunes.

For 1979 and 1980 Ligier opted for the popular Cosworth DFV V8’s and immediately returned to victory lane with two surprising wins for Laffite in Argentina and Brazil with the JS11 model, but the team lost it’s direction did not present the anticipated championship challenge. In 198O Laffite won just one race but the team scored enough points to finish second in the constructors championship.

Tambay, Ligier MATRA JS 17, British Grand Prix, Silverstone

By 1981 Peugeot returned the Talbot name to Formula One by teaming up with Ligier and an updated version of the MATRA V12 was used to power the JS17’s featured today. Laffite was to be teamed up with brother in law, ex Renault refugee, Jean Pierre Jabouille who was recovering from injuries sustained when he crashed his Renault Turbo in the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix.

Jean Pierre Jarrier stood in for Jabouille for the first two races but when Jabouille returned to the cockpit he failed to qualify for two races in five attempts so he was replaced by Patrick Tambay seen at the wheel of the #25 here for the second half of the season, but crucially Jabouille remained with the team acting as an engineer. Patrick qualified for all of the remaining races but did not finish any of them.

Ligier MATRA JS 17, Test Day, Donington Park

Laffite meantime scored a couple of 2nd place finishes in Spain and Sweden along with 3 third place finishes in Monaco, Britain and Germany. Just before the French Grand Prix Gerard Ducarouge was fired by Guy Ligier.

At the Austrian Grand Prix Jabouille was instrumental in helping Laffite choose the correct tyre to suit both the Ligier and the track which resulted in the car qualifying 4th behind two turbo charged Renaults and Villenueve’s turbocharged Ferrari.

Ligier MATRA JS 17, Test Day, Donington Park

During the race after passing Villeneuve and his quick off the grid Ferrari team mate Didier Pironi, Jaques chased down the leading Renaults. Alain Prost in the lead car retired with collapsed suspension before Jacques passed the second Renault for the lead and eventual victory when René Arnoux hesitated over taking a pair of back markers.

Jacques then retired in Holland and Italy before bouncing back with a win from 10th on the grid in Canada to put him 3rd in the championship table, 6 points off the leader, with a slim chance of winning the 1981 Drivers Championship going into the Caesers Palace Grand Prix held in Las Vegas. In the event Jacques qualified just 12th behind Championship leader Carlos Reutemann who was on pole in his Williams and 2nd in standings Nelson Piquet who was 4th in his Brabham.

Reutemann inexplicably choked under the championship pressure during the race to finish 7th out of the points while Piquet salvaged a fifth place finish, one spot ahead of Jacques, enough to win the Championship. Alan Jones won the race in his Williams thereby depriving Jacques of a third place finish in the Championship, so for the third consecutive time Jacques Laffite recorded what would be his career best 4th place finish in the final championship standings.
With only the #26 scoring any points all season Ligier finished the season 4th in the Constructors Championship.

Thanks for joining me on this “In Law’s Instrumental Help” 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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