Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph of these two Ferraris at the Silverstone Historic Festival meeting in August 2001.

Both cars belonged to Brazilian Carlos Monteverde, the one of the left being a 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, chassis 0738TR, with the Gioacchino Colombo designed 2,953cc V12 engine and was driven in the race by Carlos Monteverde himself. On the right is a 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza, chassis 0568M, with the Aurelio Lampredi designed 3,000cc 4-cylinder inline engine and was driven in the race by David Franklin. This car had a very chequered history about which the programme of the event says this:

'Built in 1955, with the three-litre four-cylinder engine - following the rule of thumb that the type number multiplied by the number of pots gives the capacity - this sleek sports-racer has an extraordinary competition history, if not with star drivers.

Originally supplied to French racer François Picard, it finished third in the '56 Agadir Grand Prix in Morocco, and third back on home soil on the speedbowl at Montlhéry, just outside Paris. Thereafter the Italian stallion spent much of its life in Scandinavia, where initially Swedish owner Tore Bjurström used it for the popular local pursuit of ice racing!

From there a short hop to Finland to its next custodian, Carl-Otto Bremer, who returned it to more conventional pastures. After finishing sixth in the '57 Swedish Grand Prix at Kristianstad, won by Jean Behra/Stirling Moss in a Maserati 450S, Bremer confined his major outings to the Helsinki GP thereafter, and the combination won in '59 having finished third the previous year.

Carlos Monteverde acquired  'The Ice Racer' two years ago, and commissioned Tony Merrick to undertake a full mechanical restoration, while leaving the body original. David Franklin has tested the car extensively and says it is beautifully balanced with its five-speed transaxle, but races it for the first time here.'

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph taken at Redgate Corner on the opening lap of a Shell Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge race at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

The Ferrari in second place is the 1952/54 Ferrari 625, #0482, of Alexander Boswell, originally a Ferrari 500 that raced in the World Championship races of 1952 and 1953 when there was a 2-litre capacity limit. When this was increased to 2½ litres in 1954 the cars were lengthened, the engines replaced by 2½ litre units, and it was re-designated a Ferrari 625. On 28 July 2017 I showed a photograph of this car at the HGPCA meeting at Donington Park earlier in 2004. The car on the outside leading the race is the 1937 Maserati 6CM of Stefan Schollwöck and is chassis #1547, a car originally belonging to Austin Dobson. Behind Alexander Boswell is the 1939/50 Alfa Romeo 158 of Carlo Vögele, being driven by Willie Green, and on 24 May 2018 I featured three other photographs of the car at this meeting. Just visible at the rear is the 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa of Carlos Monteverde, #0738TR, which I pictured in the pit lane at this meeting on 29 January 2016.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a car I've featured several times before, and it's seen here again at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

It's Alexander Boswell's 1952 Ferrari 625, originally a 2 litre Formula 2 Ferrari 500, but fitted with a 2½ litre engine in 1954 and converted to a 625 to compete in the new 2½ litre Formula 1. By 2004 it had acquired a 3 litre sportscar engine, and this barchetta.cc record shows the history of #0482. There are three other Ferraris in this photograph, as well as the 1953 Maserati A6GCS of Carlo Vögele (no. 37): the yellow car in front of the 625 is Carlos Monteverde's 1958 Ferrari Testa Rossa (#0738TR), next to that is the 1958 Ferrari 250GT LWB Berlinetta TdF of Thomas Studer (#0909GT), and in front of that is Erich Traber's 1954 Ferrari 250 Europa GT Coupe (#0357GT).

Friday's Ferrari

This car took part in one of the Shell Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge races at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

It's Carlos Monteverde's 1958 Ferrari 250 TR Spyder, more commonly known as the Testa Rossa, seen here in the pit lane during a practice session. The serial number of the car is 0738TR and I've featured it before, on 10 January 2014.

Friday's Ferrari

The first Ferrari 250TR (Testa Rossa) that I saw was one entered in the British Empire Trophy race at Oulton Park in April 1958 by the Equipe Nationale Belge. Here are photographs of two Testa Rossas seen in the pit garage at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

This is the 1958 Testa Rossa of the Brazilian Carlos Monteverde. The serial number is 0738TR.

Also a 1958 model (and also left-hand drive) Italian Pietro Brigato's car, driven at Silverstone by Paolo Bozzetto. This car's serial number is 0758TR.

Friday's Ferrari

Last week's photograph was of a line of cars featuring four different Ferraris at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 2001. Today we have photographs of the cockpits of three of those cars:

This is the 1954 Ferrari 750 Monza, serial number 0568M

This is the 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, serial Number 0738TR.

This is the 1950 Ferrari 166MM Barchetta, serial number 0040M.

You will notice that, although they are Italian cars, two of the three are right-hand drive instead of the expected left-hand drive. This is because races at most circuits (in Europe at least) are run in a clockwise direction. Most of the corners are therefore right-hand ones and having right-hand drive cars is advantageous as far as weight distribution and the driver's view of the apex of the corner are concerned. I don't know why the Testa Rossa is left-hand drive; I have photographs of other examples of this Testa Rossa model which are right-hand drive.

Friday's Ferrari

There are actually four Ferraris seen in this photograph taken at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 2001. The nearest car is a 1954 Ferrari 750 Monza (0568M) and next to that is a yellow 250 Testa Rossa of 1957 (0738TR). Car number 37 is a 1955 Maserati 300S, beyond that is a red Ferrari 166MM Barchetta (0040M) from 1950 and then a yellow 1956 Ferrari 500TR (0682MDTR). The red coupe beyond that is, I think, an AC Cobra.

The 750 Monza, which was introduced in 1954, was a 3 litre version of the 2 litre Mondial and was named 'Monza' after winning its first race at that circuit in the hands of Mike Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli. The bodywork for cars was originally designed by Pinin Farina, but it is the later cars with Scaglietti designed bodies which are perhaps better known. This particular car spent most of its life in Finland, hence the Finnish flag on the headrest.