Friday's Ferrari

This car competed in the Shell Ferrari Historical Challenge race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It’s a 1956 Ferrari 860 Monza which has a Lampredi designed 3,432cc 4-cylinder inline engine and, in conjunction with the 290MM, was victorious in the 1956 World Sportscar Championship, winning three of the five races on the calendar, the 12 hours of Sebring, the Mille Miglia, and the Swedish Grand Prix. This car, #0604M, won the Sebring race that year driven by Juan Manuel Fangio and Eugenio Castellotti. At this Silverstone meeting the car was driven by the then owner Nicolaus Springer. and a later owner of the car was Chris Evans.

Pre-1952 Grand Prix Cars at Silverstone

This is a photograph that I took at Luffield Corner during the Pre-1952 Grand Prix Cars Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

Leading is the 1932 Alfa Romeo Monza of Terry Cohn with Tony Bianchi’s 1948 Talbot Lago T26C on the outside and the 1939 Maserati 4CL of Norbert Schmitz-Koep at the rear.

Cooper T45/51

This car took part in the Pre-1966 Grand Prix Cars Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's the 1958 Cooper T45/51 of Rod Jolley which has a 4-cylinder inline 2,495cc Coventry Climax FPF engine. It is a 1958 T45 model uprated to the specifications of the 1959 T51, and is chassis #F2-23A-58.

1959 Maserati T61

This was one of the competitors in the 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It’s Alan Minshaw’s 1959 Maserati T61, generally known as a Maserati Birdcage on account of its space frame chassis and which has a 4-cylinder inline 2,850cc engine. It's chassis #2453, which was totally wrecked in an accident at Daytona in late 1959 but the remains were used to re-create the car in the early 1990s.

1950s Sports Car Racing at Silverstone

This is a photograph that I took at Luffield Corner during the 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

The number 35 car is the 1960 Cooper Monaco of John Harper and it’s being closely followed by James Shead in his 1959 Lotus 15. Behind them are two Lister Jaguars, and the red number 10 in the background is Martin Stretton in Peter Scott’s 1955 Maserati 300S.

1935 Alfa Romeo 8C-35

This is one of the cars that competed in the HGPCA Pre '52 GP Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's the 1935 Alfa Romeo 8C-35 of Paul Grist and has an 8-cylinder 3,822cc engine with twin overhead camshafts. It was built to challenge the Mercedes Benz and Auto Union cars but rarely managed to get the better of them. The Alfa Romeo 8C-35 was introduced when the Tipo B Monoposto – or P3 as it is more popularly known – became overdue for replacement.  The P3 had itself been derived from the Monza and had flown the Alfa flag with great success between 1932 and 1935. The 8C-35 never beat the German cars in a top level Grand Prix but did succeed in doing so in a number of smaller races, in the hands of Tazio Nuvolari.

1957 Maserati 300S

This car competed in the 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It’s Burkhard von Schenk’s 1957 Maserati 300S, a model that was built from 1955 to 1959 to compete in the 3-litre class of the World Sportscar Championship. The Maserati 300S has a 6-cylinder inline 2,991cc engine and Burkhard von Schenk’s car is chassis #3082.

1958 BRM P25

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998 celebrated the 50th anniversary of racing at the Silverstone circuit with a display of cars representing each of the years from 1948 to 1997, and this is the car that represented 1957.

It's the 1958 BRM P25 of Steve O’Rourke and is a car that was said to be the fastest of the 1954-1960 Formula 1 era, partly due to the oversquare (102.87 mm bore x 74.93 mm stroke) 2,491cc engine allowing for larger valves to be fitted. The car was plagued with reliability problems, however, and the only Grand Prix win was Jo Bonnier's victory in the 1959 Dutch Grand Prix. Behind it is the Ferrari 500TRC of Modi Enav which represented 1958.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph I took at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

The  two cars took part in the Magneti Marelli UK Race for Pre-1961 Grand Prix Cars and are setting out from the pit lane during a practice session. Leading is the 1954 Maserati 250F of Dieter Streve-Mülhens which has a 6-cylinder inline 2,490cc engine. It was originally chassis 2501 but with the Maserati team's habit of swapping chassis numbers around it was later 2526, then 2523, 2504 and back to 2523 again. Following it is the1960 Neil Corner’s Ferrari Dino 246 F1 car which escaped Ferrari's annual demolition of obsolete Grand Prix cars at the end of that season and was sold to New Zealander Pat Hoare. It's the car with which Phil Hill won the 1960 Italian Grand Prix but was modified for Tasman Series racing with the 2,417cc F1 engine replaced by a 2,953cc engine as used in the Ferrari 250 TR sports cars. The chassis number was changed from #0007 to #0788.

Silverstone 1998 - 1950’s Sports Car Race

This is a photograph that I took at Luffield corner during the 1950’s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1988.

The car disappearing on the left hand side is Peter Hardman's 1957 Aston Martin DBR1 and following that is Nick Linney's green & yellow Lister Jaguar Knobbly, hidden behind which is Alan Minshaw's 1959 Maserati T61. Number 10 is Martin Stretton in Peter Scott’s 1955 Maserati 300S and behind that is Rob Walton’s White & Blue Maserati T61. The silver car following this group is Don Shead’s Kurtis 500S. In the background, from left to right, are Tony Smith's Aston Martin DB3S, Ron Gammon's Lotus Eleven, David Heynes' Lister Jaguar and Adrian Hall's Lotus MkX Bristol.

1963 Aston Martin DP214

This is a photograph that I took at Luffield corner during the Coys of Kensington GT Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's Simon Draper's 1963 Aston Martin DP214 in which he shared the driving in the race with David Clark. This was one of two Project 214 cars built (the other being completely destroyed in an accident at the Nürburgring in 1964) and was based on DB4GT chassis 0194/R with the 3,670cc straight-6 engine bored out to 3,750cc.The car ran in the Le Mans 24 Hour race twice, retiring after 11 hours with a broken piston when in third place in 1963 driven by Bill Kimberley and Jo Schlesser, and in 1964 it was driven by Mike Salmon and Peter Sutcliffe but was disqualified after 18 hours for topping up with oil before the permitted time. It was in eleventh place at the time. Behind the Aston are the 1965 MGB of David Heynes/Mike Wilds and the 1960 Austin Healey 3000 of Ted and Mark Williams.

1935 Alfa Romeo 8C-35

This car competed in the HGPCA Pre '52 GP Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's the 1935 Alfa Romeo 8C-35 of Paul Grist and has an 8-cylinder 3,822cc engine with twin overhead camshafts. It was built to challenge the Mercedes Benz and Auto Union cars but rarely managed to get the better of them. The Alfa Romeo 8C-35 was introduced when the Tipo B Monoposto – or P3 as it is more popularly known – became overdue for replacement.  The P3 had itself been derived from the Monza and had flown the Alfa flag with great success between 1932 and 1935. The 8C-35 never beat the German cars in a top level Grand Prix, but did succeed in doing so in a number of smaller races, in the hands of Tazio Nuvolari.

 

1959 Cooper T51

This is a photograph that I took in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It’s the 1959 Cooper T51 of Andrew Garner which the programme of the event says has a 2½ litre engine, presumably the 2,495cc Coventry Climax FPF engine that powered these cars in 1959. The T51 was the car with which Jack Brabham won his first World Championship in 1959.

1961 Lotus Elite

This was one of the competitors in the Coys of Kensington Pre-1964 GT Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting  at Silverstone in July 1998.

It’s the 1961 Lotus Elite of Robin Longden which he and Roger Fountain drove in the race and the 'DAD10' number plate is a nod to Leston’s nickname ‘Daddio’ as a jazz musician

1959 Aston Martin DBR1

This car took part in the 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's the 1959 Aston Martin DBR1 of Simon Draper and has the 6-cylinder inline 2,922cc engine. It is chassis DBR1/4, the car that finished in second place at the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hour race driven by Maurice Trintignant and Paul Frère - the winner being DBR1/2 driven by Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby. DBR1/4 then finished in fourth place in the 1959 Tourist Trophy race, driven by the same two drivers - and again the race was won by DBR1/2 this time driven by Stirling Moss, Carroll Shelby and Jack Fairman.

Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph at Luffield corner during the Coys of Kensington Pre-1964 GT Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

Leading is the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO of Paul Pappalardo which has the 2,953cc V12 Tipo 168 engine and is chassis 5111GT. Behind it is the 1963 AC Cobra of Andrew Wilkinson.

Stirling Moss

I attended most of the Christie's/Coys International Historic Festival meetings at Silverstone in the 1990s and Stirling Moss was at many of these meetings, either taking part in the racing or just joining in a track parade with one of the cars being displayed at the meeting.

I took this photograph at the Coy's meeting in July 1998 where he shared a drive in a Shelby Mustang GT350 with Robert Brooks in the Coys of Kensington Pre-1964 GT Car Race.

1954 Lancia D50

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998 included a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the opening meeting at the circuit in 1948. There was a display in the paddock that weekend of representative vehicles for each of those 50 years which included this Lancia D50 of 1954.

The programme had this to say about the car:

 

'The Lancia Ferrari D50

 

Silverstone is proud to display a Grand Prix car that has not been seen in Britain for over 40 years. The Lancia D50 was not only a winner, giving Fangio his fourth world title, but the project itself was so costly that it was instrumental in bringing the company to its financial knees and forcing a takeover by Fiat.

Vincenzo Lancia, while one of Italy's leading racing drivers in his day, kept the car company he founded out of serious competition, fearing the cost and diversion from the main task of building road cars. However, his son Gianni had a rather different approach and thus Lancia successfully raced sportscars in the 1950s.

For the 1954 season he decided the company should take in the might of Mercedes Benz and Maserati at the highest level of the sport: Grand Prix racing. Designer Vittorio Jano produced an innovative design with a high-revving 2.5 litre 90-degree V8, and the engine was utilised as a stressed member with the front suspension assembly bolted to it.

The engine was also mounted at an angle in the chassis to allow for an offset propshaft that assisted with a low cockpit. But the most obvious innovation was the outrigger pannier tanks between the wheels which improved the airflow and the balance of the car as the fuel load lightened.

The suspension incorporated a De Dion tube at the rear with a tubular front wishbone and leaf spring set-up at the front. The chassis was largely constructed from small diameter tube and overall the car was beautifully detailed and also very light.

After two wins in minor Formula 1 races in Italy, the D50-mounted Alberto Ascari qualified second at Monaco and was set to take the lead when he crashed spectacularly into the harbour, amazingly sustaining only a broken nose. Tragically, he was killed four days later in an accident at Monza while testing a sportscar.

By then Lancia was in financial trouble, and Fiat struck a deal whereby the D50 project, including six cars, were handed over to Ferrari. Engineers Jano and Luigi Bazzi moved over to their former rivals at Maranello to further develop  the cars and the following year they were developed into true winners. Using a car, now known as the Lancia Ferrari, in 1956 Fangio took the machine to victories in Buenos Aires, Silverstone and the Nürburgring on the way to his fourth World title. Peter Collins won with the car at Spa-Francorchamps and Reims.

The car was further modified in 1957 and re-designated the 801 but no major victories followed. Two of the ten D50s have survived, one at the Biscaretti Museum and one retained by Fiat which is the car Silverstone proudly displays today.

 

by Andrew Marriott'

Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph during the Coys of Kensington Pre-1964 GT Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

The leading car is a Ferrari 250 GT, but it was obviously a late entrant as the programme of the event doesn't show a number 22. There was also a Ferrari Challenge race at this meeting, but there's no car number 22 in that race either. I've tried looking at details of all the Ferrari 250 GTs and I can't find the chassis number of this car, so all I can say about it is that it has the Gioacchino Colombo designed 2,953cc V12 engine which powered most of the Ferrari 250 series of cars. The following car is the 1961 Lotus Elite of Christopher Ross and behind that is the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO of Paul Pappalardo, chassis 5111GT.

1938 ERA E-Type

This is a photograph I took in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's the 1938 ERA E-Type, chassis GP1, here with a 1,980cc supercharged engine but originally with a 1½ litre unit. This and its sister car, chassis GP2 were the only two E-Type ERAs built. Only one other ERA was built later and that was the  G-Type, designed after the Second World War to compete with a Bristol 2 litre engine as a Formula 2 car, but actually competed in the Formula 1 World Championship races in 1952 when they were run under Formula 2 rules. That car later became the basis for the Bristol 450 sports car that competed at Le Mans in 1953, 1954 and 1955.

 

It was owned by Duncan Ricketts but didn’t take part in this meeting, though Duncan drove Julian Mazjub’s 1938 Alfa Romeo 308C in the HGPCA Pre-1952 Grand Prix Car Race.