First published in 2021 copyright © Watermark Publications (UK) Limited Text copyright © Doug Nye Design and Production Ian Lambot Design Concept Susan Scott Copy Editing Julia Dawson All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. . Colour Separation Evergreen Colour Management, Hong Kong Printed in China ISBN 978-1-873200-64-3
CONTENTS
12
17 The International Scene 1964 – 5
237
1 Setting the Scene
15
Tour de France Automobile
237
2 A Matter of Regulation
21
Bridgehampton 500Kms
251
3 Decades of Development
29
Paris 1000Kms
252
4 Developing a Champion
41
Interlude – Mallory Park
256
5 Trial and Adversity
49
Tour de Belgique Automobile
256
6 Chassis and Drivetrain
55
Bahamas Speed Week
258
7 Carrozzeria Scaglietti
63
8 Styling Ferrari’s 250GTO
71
18 Edoardo Lualdi Gabardi
269
9 GTO/64 in Production
83
19 The Italian Scene 1964 – 1
279
97
20 The Italian Scene 1964 – 2
299
21 The International Scene 1965
323
Foreword
10 The 1964 Season Beckons 11 The Major Players
107
12 Planning the Campaign 1964
129
13 The International Scene 1964 – 1
Sussex Trophy, Goodwood
324
139
Monza 1000Kms
327
Daytona Continental 2000Kms
139
RAC Tourist Trophy, Oulton Park
328
Sebring 12-Hours
146
Grand Prix de Spa 500Kms
332
ADAC 1000Kms, Nürburgring
334
Vanderbilt Cup, Bridgehampton
336
Coppa Emilio Materassi, Mugello
338
Interlude – BARC Whit-Monday meeting
338
14 The International Scene 1964 – 2
161
Sussex Trophy, Goodwood
161
Targa Florio
162
Silverstone International
170
Grand Prix de Spa 500Kms
172
ADAC 1000Kms, Nürburgring
180
15 The International Scene 1964 – 3
191
Le Mans 24-Hours
191
Reims 12-Hours
212
16 The International Scene 1964 – 4
221
Grand Prix du Limbourg
221
Guards Trophy, Brands Hatch
222
Interlude – Candlestick Park
224
Freiburg-Schauinsland hillclimb
227
RAC Tourist Trophy, Goodwood
229
Grand Prix Suisse de la Montagne
233
Chamrousse hillclimb
234
22 Vincenzo Nember and Clemente Ravetto
341
23 The Italian Scene 1965 – 1
351
24 The Italian Scene 1965 – 2
365
25 The Twilight Years
385
Later Lives
402
Racing History 1964
404
Acknowledgements
448
Credits
450
3 DECADES OF DEVELOPMENT
HAVING BUILT HIS BUSINESS, his racing team and his own reputation through the 1920s and ’30s, racing for Italy, for his home town of Modena, and for himself, Enzo Ferrari had finally become divorced from the new in-house Alfa Corse factory racing team in 1939, and had founded his own manufacturing business back in Modena. As part of his severance agreement with Alfa Romeo, he undertook not to manufacture rival motor cars under his own name for four years. He still found a way of building the two Auto Avio Costruzioni ‘815’ sports cars for enthusiastic customers to campaign in the 1940 Mille Miglia, but otherwise kept true to the word of his agreement.
Then the Second World War erupted, and any thought of
serious future car development took an enforced back seat, until 1944-45. Indeed, even while there was still a shooting war in Europe, Mr Ferrari was already planning for new car production post-war, under his own name. The first Ferrari car developed around a 1500cc V12 engine purpose-designed by engineer Gioachino Colombo, the same designer who had worked so diligently for Alfa Romeo (and for the Scuderia Ferrari) on the pre-war Alfa Romeo 158 vetturetta project among others.
Colombo had been an ardent supporter of Mussolini’s Fascisti,
and in the immediate post-war atmosphere of recrimination and vengeance he had a hard time – being suspended by Alfa Romeo and
the prototype Ferrari 125 sports car of 1947 – the taproot of the entire
widely vilified by many former workmates and contacts. But Mr Ferrari
marque.
would never show any antipathy towards capable workers happy to support a megalomaniac dictator … and Colombo’s work emerged in
At the 1951 Brussels Salon de l’Automobile, Ferrari launched
both a 2.56-litre 212 model and the big, muscular 4.1-litre 340 America. Maranello’s proliferation of interrelated models and engine
Opposite August 9, 1931 – Circuito
‘Silver Arrows’. Drivers here are Achille
Delle Tre Provincie. In what today is
Varzi (2nd), Louis Chiron (winner) and
Porretta Terme’s Piazza della Liberta,
Count Carlo Felice Trossi (3rd, co-driv-
Enzo Ferrari is seen here with his
ing with Guy Moll).
riding mechanic and long-time faithful retainer Peppino Verdelli (left), and the Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 in which he finished second to Tazio Nuvolari’s less powerful 6C-1750. This became Mr Ferrari’s last race as a driver.
Right above Near Colombaro, some seven miles south of central Modena, the Auto Avio Costruzioni-built ‘815’ with its 1.5-litre Fiat-based straight-8 engine undergoes a high-speed shake-down test before the 1940 Mille Miglia. Ferrari
Right top Poised for a twilight front-
built two of these Touring-bodied 815s
line Grand Prix victory, these Scuderia
for young customers Alberto Ascari and
Ferrari-entered Alfa Romeo Tipo B
the Marquis Lotario Rangoni. While both
Monoposti finished 1-2-3 in the 1934
impressed, neither finished the race.
Grand Prix de l’ACF at Montlhéry, outlasting all the innovative new German
sizes then progressed from the 2.56-litre 212 through the 225S (2715cc) to the 250S (2953cc) of 1952. And it would be that particular ‘250’ line of 3-litre V12-engined designs which then established the Ferrari name for many years, right at the cutting edge of Gran Turismo technology, and of sporting achievement.
Ferrari historian Godfrey Eaton once observed that while, “…
the total production of Ferrari cars during the first five years as an independent constructor stood around the 200 mark, 11 years later, when the 250 series came to an end, that figure had risen to between 3,000 and 3,500. Many other models had been introduced, but most of that [production] increase was due to the 250 series”.
I DECADES OF DEVELOPMENT I
29
engine. But Monza testing revealed that lateral cornering forces
further improve the car’s cornering dynamics, while a lower bonnet
had been so elevated by the improved chassis frame’s capabilities
line could sweep down into a longer, lower nose cone. With the
that baffles within the sump were unable to prevent oil surging away
engine’s heaviest single component – its crankshaft – dropped
from the pump uptake, allowing the pressure pump to be sucked
closer to road level, the driveline and gearbox installation within
dry and thus starving the engine’s main bearings of oil. Bizzarrini:
the car was also lowered, further benefiting the car’s centre of
“The obvious solution was to adopt a dry-sump lubrication system”
gravity height.
as long-since proven on sports-prototype Ferraris. “This was done
and there were no further problems.”
cobbled together by Bizzarrini’s test team. It began running in
September 1961, initially in unpainted bare aluminium finish, its
Fitting dry-sump engines opened the door to further instant
A very roughly finished prototype Berlinetta was then
advantages in redesigning the basic 250GT theme. Where the
panels displaying their hand-hammered manufacture. Matt primer
original wet-sump bottom end had accommodated only 10 litres of
paint then dulled the shiny alloy effect. The car’s nose was entirely
oil, the dry-sump system with a remote-mounted tank elsewhere
new, tapered and elegant, a marked contrast to the bluff bow of the
within the car could provide 20 litres, offering cooling, de-aeration
250GT SWB style and with a smaller elliptical radiator air intake
and range advantages. The wet-sump engine had inevitably stood
than that of the Le Mans Pinin Farina 400SA Special. This ‘droop
tall, perched above its oil reservoir. Now the dry-sump alternative
snoot’ almost instantly earned this prototype hack the English-
was conveniently lower, reducing centre of gravity height that would
speaking press nickname ‘The Anteater’ – in Italian ‘Il Formichiere’. Pioneering Ferrari 250GT researcher Jess Pourret believed that this
44
I GTO/64 I
Opposite Late August or early
Right below Early in Monza testing, the
September, 1961 – testing at Monza
tail-end treatment of ‘The Anteater’ was
Autodrome. ‘Il Formichiere’, ‘The Ant-
entirely spoiler-free – ignoring the spoiler
eater’ shows off its roughly formed
lessons already adopted on Ferrari’s
hand-hammered aluminium body panel-
works sports-prototypes.
ling, as Ing. Bizzarrini’s now legendary Ferrari 250GTO prototype stands poised in the Monza pit lane before further running. Its rough and ready appearance and unresolved proportions belie a work of art in progress.
Right bottom In later testing these kickup ramp panels were added at the ends of each rear fender, seeking to correct the tail-wagging behaviour which earned
‘The Anteater’ its other nickname – ‘Il Papera’ – a tail-waggling gosling …
Il Papera was a pure race car, a brutally spartan test and/or
competition Berlinetta that was not only extremely light, but also light years away from being a habitable Gran Turismo car such as the 250GT SWB or the eventual 250GTO, even in competition form. As tested it might have weighed less than 800kg.
Ferrari authority Franco Lombardi has confirmed that during
the relevant period Mr Ferrari quite often had Bizzarrini experimenting on some new project, running independently and in parallel with formal in-house projects being developed by the Ufficio Tecnico led by Carlo
test hack was probably based on a regular 250GT SWB Comp. car
Chiti, with young turk Mauro Forghieri as a freshly recruited junior
chassis ‘2053GT’, retrieved by the factory from its original 1960 owner
colleague. The Old Man had always been keen to place his designers
Casimiro Toselli.
in competition with one another. And he was plainly attracted by
Bizzarrini’s ‘crazy horse’ reputation for lateral thinking, usually pursued
However, even then a 250GT ‘Passo Corto’ such as Toselli’s
would have been a valuable asset, instantly saleable at a good price to
with frenzied energy.
a ready market. More compelling evidence is that Toselli’s ‘2053GT’ actually reappeared in its more or less standard 250GT SWB form after the Bizzarrini project group’s development programme. However battered an SWB might have been, it seems unlikely it would have made sense to modify it as drastically as ‘The Anteater’ had been, and then to reverse the process to retrieve standard specification. It has always seemed unlikely, therefore, that ‘The Anteater’ really would have been cobbled together on that individual ex-Toselli SWB chassis.
A great problem for historians here has been that Giotto
Bizzarrini himself has always been an engineer with his eyes on today and tomorrow, never upon yesterday. Like so many Italian racers, ‘near enough’ in recollection has always seemed ‘close enough’ as this writer can confirm with 1970s experience of questioning this vibrant, mercurial man. In old age – as is entirely predictable – his published recollections on many topics appear (to this author) to conflict with contemporary evidence and, far more significantly, with that of some of his contemporary Ferrari associates.
While English-language commentators, then and today, often
refer to the prototype car as ‘The Anteater’, within Bizzarrini’s group it is clear that they nicknamed it ‘Il Papera’ – the ‘goose’ or ‘gosling’, though others preferred the translation, ‘duck’ or ‘duckling’ – evidently because during testing it showed an alarming tendency, under hard acceleration, to wag its tail.
I DEVELOPING A CHAMPION I
45
March 21, 1964 – XXIV Sebring 12-Hours, Hendricks Field,
last Saturday’s Sebring 12-Hour race, won so effectively by the
Florida, USA
three works prototypes. Leading the bunch is the seventh-place
12-hours duration on 8.36kms/5.19-mile circuit
1964 GTO of Pedro Rodríguez/David Piper, followed by the older GTO of Ed Cantrell and the second-place works 275P of Ludovico
146
I GTO/64 I
The front cover of the March 27, 1964 issue of the British weekly
Scarfiotti/Nino Vaccarella”.
magazine ‘Autosport’ bore a high-angle Ozzie Lyons photo of one
of the infield turns on Sebring’s Hendricks Field aerodrome circuit.
Ferrari stranglehold on World Championship endurance racing. The
Scorching round it, with parked aircraft in the background, were
Italian cars’ grip was locked firm, not only in the sports-prototype
three Ferraris, two closed Berlinettas (race numbers ‘30’ and ‘31’)
category seeking race victory overall, but also in the far more widely
with a works-entered 275P open-cockpit sports-prototype (number
market-influencing Gran Turismo category.
‘23’) closing fast upon them … Flipping open that magazine cover
page revealed the caption: “FERRARIS ALL. With all the evidence
Grant reported, “… Ferrari had a field day at Sebring last Saturday,
of an airfield circuit in the background, three Ferraris corner during
when Mike Parkes and Umberto Maglioli headed a 1-2-3 with their
That front cover spoke volumes about the contemporary
The British magazine’s garrulous Scottish editor Gregor
Below A poster promoting the ‘12 Hours of Sebring’ race in March 1964.
Opposite Preparing for the Sebring 12-
Above Just pre-race this lateral white
Hours in the jam-packed Ferrari garage
recognition stripe was applied to the
at the old Hendricks Field aerodrome.
scuttle top and flanks of the NART
The GTO/64 bottom left, showing off its
250GTO/64 (‘5571GT’) for David Piper
rooftop aerofoil, is car No 31 for Carlo
and Mike Gammino, to enable easy
Mario Abate/Jean Guichet, while the No
differentiation from the sister works-
21 tail panel and car is the John Surtees/
entered car, which we now know to
Lorenzo Bandini 275P ‘0822’, which will
have been ‘5575GT’ …
finish 3rd, while No 24 on the far right, also with its tail panel off, is the Graham Hill/Jo Bonnier Maranello Concessionaires 330P (‘0818’), which did not finish.
up a splendid show, the Bob Holbert/Dave MacDonald car winning the big GT category, and finishing fourth overall.” He added: “The race was watched by the biggest crowd ever to go to Sebring – estimated to exceed 60,000”.
Ferrari’s second opportunity to confront the latest that Shelby
Cobra, Ford and – as will be related shortly – General Motors had to offer, in defence of the Italian marque’s long-held status as GT World Champion was, it must be said, relatively feeble. Mr Ferrari was always reluctant for his works team to be perceived as racing against his
Tipo 275P, to set a new distance record for the 12-Hours. They
valued customers. He’d had bitter experience of being on the receiving
covered 1,112.8 miles to average 92.364mph …”.
end of racing ‘against the works’ in the early days of Scuderia Ferrari
back in 1930-31 – when his team’s private Alfa Romeos found them-
He went on to describe how, for the first time since Formula
1 cars had run on the circuit, in the World Championship title-deciding
selves competing against the factory entries from Portello. The private
1959 United States Grand Prix there, “… a lap at over 100mph was
entrant’s costs remained the same, as Mr Ferrari vividly recalled, while
recorded. John Surtees in the 330P Ferrari did 3 minutes 6.2 seconds
any chance of a major prize-money share was greatly diminished.
(100.539mph). He and Lorenzo Bandini finished third, behind Ludovico
Scarfiotti/Nino Vaccarella, after being delayed near the end with brake
in the later-season 1964 Targa Florio and Spa 500Kms ran under the
troubles”. However, Gregor continued, “Carroll Shelby’s AC Cobras put
fig-leaf identity of the Milanese Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus – in which
This is why, as we shall see, works-prepared GTO/64 entries
Ferrari works team director Eugenio Dragoni remained a leading figure
I THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE 1964 I 1
147
158
I GTO/64 I
last the race”. Tony commented on how “… the Cobra team were well rehearsed in their pit work even though there was some confusion from time to time, but it was nothing compared with the Chinese fire drill which was a feature of some of the Ferrari pit stops”.
Immediately after the Johnson/Sanesi/Stoer incident Tony
reported, “the two accidents cast a shadow over the Cobra pit and rumors started to circulate concerning the condition of both Johnson and Stoer, but the situation brightened considerably when Johnson reappeared with nothing more than a black eye to show for his accident. Unfortunately, the Johnson/Gurney car had been the leading Cobra, lying fourth at the time and on the same lap as the third-place Ferrari. However, when the flag fell the Cobras finished four, five, and sixth overall behind three Ferraris, and one, two and three in the GT class – which was the object of the exercise”.
While the Ferrari works team’s sports-prototypes were shipped
triumphantly back to Maranello, the works car ‘5575’ accompanied them less happily and, indeed, it is possible that during shipping the car’s aerofoil-bearing roof was damaged, since before its next public appearance – as an Equipe Nationale Belge entry at the Spa 500Kms in May – the car’s roof had been replaced by a new, plain panel. Damage or progressive development, no definitive record of the reason for this modification seems to have survived. GT World Championship points post-Sebring Points added: Ferrari 4.8 – Cobra 14.4 Running total: Ferrari 16.5 – Cobra 18.3
One week after the Sebring race, back in England, Ford
Advanced Vehicles then announced its new 4.2-litre mid-engined V8 endurance-racing GT model, and the Maranello Concessionaires team prepared to race its Ferrari GTO ‘4399’, which had been rebodied during the winter to the latest 1964 design, complete with a small Left This lovely photograph of the
aerofoil set into the trailing edge of the roof. In initial form this car
NART-entered Daytona-winning Ferrari
featured warm-air induction and a smooth hood – later to be converted
250GTO/64 (‘5571’) – assigned to the Anglo-American pairing of David Piper/
to ram air induction with a hood blister and intake. It was sprayed plain
Mike Gammino – was taken before race
red, without (as yet) Colonel Hoare’s favoured pale-blue stripe and nose
day’s lateral white identification stripe was added across the scuttle and
surround, and its racing debut in rebodied form quickly followed – at
flanks, just ahead of the Prancing Horse
Easter Monday Goodwood.
NART badge. Note the car’s rooftop aerofoil above its sloping airflow ramp.
I THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE 1964 I 1
159
Coupe’s steering going “eerily light”, the car’s nose wandering, and
and some of the driving on view around this dauntingly dangerous
its front brakes tending to lock when applied at high speed. The
high-speed road circuit was described as being “… breathtaking to
makeshift spoiler was trimmed down by an inch, and the Daytona’s
say the least”.
handling and cornering power was transformed. Phil then knew he
“… had something worthwhile to work with”. On the Shelby team’s
prisoners. In Jenks’s notebook he wrote “… there were also saloon
Cobra roadsters the windscreens were angled back as steeply as
car races – of no importance”. The Coupes de Spa which preceded
possible to minimise frontal area, and an ugly rectangle of
the 500Kms actually saw Claude Dubois win comfortably in his
aluminium sheet cut and pop-riveted into place just beneath each
Jaguar 3.8, but behind him as ‘Motoring News’ reported, “… a
car’s radiator air intake to act as a primitive chin spoiler. In contrast
young newcomer named Jacques Ickx Jr (Lotus Cortina) … went off
the gracefully bodied Ferrari 250GTOs and GTO/64s were run in
at Burnenville, injuring himself – though not too seriously. Tragically,
essentially the same form as delivered to the circuit. While the
the Lotus Cortina shot up a bank into the crowd and fatally injured
Shelby Cobra pits and paddock area became a buzzing hive of
one spectator, also seriously injuring two others …”. For some that
frantic industry, the works-backed Ferrari teams’ areas in particular
day’s saloon car race had proved to be of shattering importance.
seemed to be a haven of ordered serenity.
the big race itself was spectacular, to put it mildly. The enormous
On race day, the fine combination of British Ferrari works
Spa-Francorchamps was a venue which seldom took
The British weekly’s race report proceeded: “The start of
driver-cum-development engineer Michael Parkes and Maranello
field seemed to contain every hairy GT car available, and the sight of
Concessionaires’ GTO/64 ‘4399GT’ simply led the entire distance,
Cobras and Ferraris – to say nothing of the Astons and Porsches
with no serious opposition after Hill’s spectacularly fast Cobra
– jostling as they went through l’Eau Rouge like so many karts was
Daytona Coupe suffered fuel blockages, costing it much valuable
absolutely stupendous.
time in the pits.
was past him as they went round the Stavelot curve, the Cobra
Ferrari’s fine reliability record was demonstrated as usual
“Phil Hill made a fabulous start in the AC Cobra, but Parkes
with five Ferraris in the top six places, the solitary infiltrator being
suffering engine trouble. It was Piper who held second place behind
Porsche’s veteran works driver Edgar Barth who placed fifth overall
the Maranello Concessionaires’ entry, and behind his green Ferrari
in the factory 904GTS. Although Parkes always looked the winner,
came Guichet (Ferrari), Protheroe (E-type), Bandini (Ferrari), Bianchi
the race for minor placings behind him was quite close and exciting,
(Ferrari), Bondurant (AC Cobra) and Salmon (Aston Martin). Phil Hill immediately came into the pits to have a petrol blockage cleared and by the time the car had had two more pit stops for the same reason the car had lost too much time to be a serious threat. Left Seen here before practice for
Opposite The downhill start at Spa
the Spa 500Kms, of the four Ferrari
photographed from the Eau Rouge
250GTO/64s entered these two are
crest. Phil Hill leads away in the Cobra
(21) the ‘long-roof’ ‘4675GT’, run
Daytona Coupe from Lucien Bianchi
under a Scuderia Filipinetti entry for
(right) in the Ecurie Francorchamps
Jean Guichet, and (23) the remodelled
GTO/64 ‘5573’; Michael Parkes in the
‘short-roof’ ‘5575GT’ – now with plain
Maranello Concessionaires GTO/64
roof panel, the aerofoil type used at
‘4399’ (left); and Dick Protheroe’s
Sebring having been replaced – run
‘Lightweight’ Jaguar E-type Low-Drag
under the Equipe Nationale Belge/
Coupé (centre). David Piper’s modified
Ecurie Francorchamps banner for
‘Series 1’ GTO ‘4491’ (25) and the two
Lucien Bianchi. Guichet finished the
GTO/64s of (left) Lorenzo Bandini
race 2nd and Bianchi retired.
(‘5573’) and (behind Piper) Jean Guichet (‘4675’) follow on …
176
I GTO/64 I
« The start of the big race was spectacular … The enormous field seemed to contain every hairy GT car available,
and the sight of Cobras and Ferraris … jostling as they went Brian Joscelyne – ‘Motoring News’
I THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE 1964 I 2
«
through Eau Rouge … was absolutely stupendous.
177
No 25 (‘4399 GT’) Ireland/Maggs – Maranello Concessionaires Ltd 6th overall – 2nd in 3-litre GT category and 3rd GT overall. Car weight: 1,083Kg/2,387.58lbs [making this British entry the second lightest of the four GTO/64s] START – 16.00: Ireland drove opening stint and logged 276km/h (171.5mph) at the Poste 44 speed trap at 17.28 Stop 1 – 17:45 (stint duration 1hr 45mins): refuel and driver change to Maggs – rejoined at 17.47 Stop 2 – 19:43 (1hr 56mins): refuel and Maggs rejoined at 19.44, so driving a double stint Stop 3 – 21:43 (1hr 59mins): refuel, add oil and no driver change recorded – rejoined at 21.44, so driving a triple stint. [However, 1:56 + 1:59 + 1:54 = 5hrs 49mins, over the maximum 4 hours permitted. Highly probable therefore, that at this stop Ireland took over and the commissaire’s reported driver identification was inaccurate.] Stop 4 – 23:40 [really 23.38] (1hr 54mins): refuel and driver change (?) to Ireland – rejoined at 23.38 [really 23.40 – it appears that the times were reversed in the ACO’s ‘Journal de Course’ record] Stop 5 – 01:42 (2hrs 2mins): refuel and replace brake ‘parts’ [driver
change to Ireland unrecorded, but a change over to Maggs was recorded at following pit stop] – rejoined at 01.47 Stop 6 – 03:45 (1hr 58mins): refuel, add oil and replace spark plugs, and driver change to Maggs – rejoined at 03.53 Stop 7 – 05:55 (2hrs 2mins): refuel and no driver change recorded [Maggs driving a double stint] – rejoined at 05.58 Stop 8 – 07:58 (2hrs 0mins): refuel, add oil and change both rear wheels, and driver change to Ireland – rejoined at 08.02 Stop 9 – 09:58 (1hr 56mins): refuel, brakes checked and driver change to Maggs – rejoined at 10:03 Stop 10 – 12:06 (2hrs 3mins): refuel, add oil and driver change to Ireland – rejoined at 12.07 Stop 11 – 13:59 (1hr 52mins): refuel, add water and driver change to
Right June 20, 1964 – Le Mans 24-
Maggs – rejoined at 14.01
Hours. The great race’s intangible
FINISH – 16.00 (1hr 59min) – having officially completed 4,403.62kms (2,736.86 miles)
early evening atmosphere, with tiered spectators on the approach to the Dunlop Curve. The Ireland/Maggs Ferrari 250GTO (‘4399GT’) is about
Overall positions hour-by-hour: 15th for the first three hours, then 13th
to be passed by the Surtees/Bandini
– 9th – 8th – 9th – 9th – 8th – 10th – 7th – 10th – 9th – 8th – 7th
works 330P (‘0822’), with the white-
from the end of hour 15 to the end of hour 18 – followed by 6th for the final six hours, 19 to 24 inclusive
204
I GTO/64 I
nosed NART 330P (‘0810’) crewed by Rodríguez/Hudson in hot pursuit, while the Noblet/Berney Iso Grifo A3C, No 1, follows on behind.
I THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE 1964 I 3
205
A northerly run of just over 50 miles then returned the pack
to the city of Pau, where its famous 1.71-mile street circuit hosted four one-hour races, two each for the GT and Touring categories, each divided by class – up-to and over 2-litres. The big GT event was the last of the day, but after the first three stage races had been run successfully on dry roads, a rainstorm blew in and the heavens opened on the big and powerful Gran Turismo contenders. John Sprinzel: “Guichet led for a while but had two quick pit stops, Pau lap length 8.31kms/5.16 miles
during which the excitable Ferrari mechanics managed to change a broken wiper blade. Bianchi was also having trouble with wipers but stayed in the race, only to be passed by the Porsches of Klass and Buchet …”. ‘Bobby’ Klass won again, from Buchet, with Guichet’s Ferrari fourth ahead of Dubois and Bianchi, who had fallen back to sixth. Guichet lost time, “… exploring the ornamental flower beds instead of staying on the track”.
The convoy of travel-stained, hot – but wet – competing
cars then set off on a 200-mile eastbound run. Davenport reported, “… the night section that was to come was the most difficult of them all and one section from Molitg-les-Bains to Talairan caused many cars to lose time. Retirements during the night were heaviest in the GT section, [including] the Alfa Romeo of Jean Hébert which crashed on the descent of the Col de Jau”.
Just before dawn, the weary pack arrived at the foot of the
21.25km (13.2 mile) Col du Minier hillclimb, some 30 miles north
Above A striking Porsche poster featur-
of Montpellier. From the village of Coudoulous at around 280 metres
ing the 1964 Tour de
(918 feet) the roadway ascended – corners tightening in its upper
France Automobile.
Col du Minier
section – to the crest at 1,264 metres (4,146 feet). Of the 20 surviving GT category contenders, Bianchi managed to stave off the Porsches, while Guichet lost time, falling to sixth.
Another 100-mile road section led to the aerodrome circuit
stage at Albi, where Jean Guichet held off Bianchi and Dubois, and Annie Soisbault de Montaigu impressed everyone with real pace in the Belgian-entered GTO/64 (‘5575GT’). John Davenport: “The racing at Albi was fairly unexciting, except for watching Annie Soisbault lap everyone several times with her Ferrari in the first GT Albi lap length 3.51kms/2.18 miles
race. Her husband, Philippe de Montaigu, with Claude Dubois, in another Ferrari, had great trouble with oiled plugs and had to push start for the race much to the amusement of the crowd”.
244
I GTO/64 I
8, 9 and 10: the Pau street circuit, the Col du Minier hillclimb, and another comparatively dull aerodrome race circuit at Albi. Below A brave sight while it was still running, the Cobra Daytona Coupe of Bob Bondurant/Jochen Neerpasch leads the Christian Poirot/Claude Maubaque Porsche 904GTS round Rouen-lesEssarts’ cobbled Nouveau Monde hairpin.
« The night section that was to come was the most
difficult of them all and one section from Molitg-les-
Bains to Talairan caused many cars to lose time … with retirements heaviest in the GT section … John Davenport – ‘Motoring News’
I THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE 1964 I 5
«
Opposite Diagrams for 1964 Tour Stages
245
May 10, 1964 – I Coppa Città di Volterra, Tuscany 10.2kms/6.33 miles – rising 480 metres/1,574 feet
only had the prototype car won the Daytona Continental, two had contested the Sebring 12-Hour race and on April 25 another rebodied ‘Series 1’ GTO, shared by Corrado Ferlaino and Luigi
Above The programme for the first Coppa Città
di Volterra.
Volterra is a picturesque, ancient, walled mountain-top town some
Taramazzo, had finished a fine fifth overall in the Targa Florio.
1,700 feet up in the Tuscan hills. It had been one of the 12 cities
of the Etruscan League, then spent centuries as a troublesome and
(‘4091GT’) proved to be the class of the field, and he drove it
often rebellious part of the Florentine Republic. Following that rule’s
impeccably to win both overall and in his class – which at that event
collapse in 1530, the town passed into the control of the Medici
was for over-1600cc Gran Turismo cars. His winning time was 6m
family, then the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
9.3s, at an average speed of 97.402km/h (60.5mph). In truth,
however, he had faced weak opposition, with second FTD being set
Into the spring of 1964, the hillclimb-organising AC di
Bologna had persuaded the local and police authorities to close a
by Carlo Zuccoli in his Lotus-Cortina saloon, from ‘Nicor’s Abarth-
section of road leading north-east up to Volterra from the village of
Simca and a Ferrari 250GT driven by a gentleman using the
Saline. The course began on a gentle gradient with a number of fast
pseudonym ‘Lothar’.
and medium-speed corners through open farmland before beginning
to steepen considerably, climbing through a sequence of hairpins
Lualdi and his already successful GTO/64 – the major XXVI Coppa
before entering Volterra itself.
della Consuma run two weeks after Volterra, on May 24.
By the time this event was run, the new GTO/64 body
shape had become familiar to enthusiastic tifosi worldwide. Not 282
I GTO/64 I
At Volterra, Lualdi’s similarly rebodied Ferrari 250GTO/64
But a far more serious hillclimbing challenge then awaited
May 24, 1964 – XXVI Coppa della Consuma, Florence, Tuscany Opposite May 10, 1964 – Coppa Città
speed corners with some demanding
di Volterra. Lualdi’s impeccable pace
and deceptive surprises for the unwary.
in ‘4091GT’ won this Tuscan event, both overall and in class. On such open hillside roads, at speeds around 140mph, there was always plenty of rock-hard scenery awaiting the inattentive … or unlucky.
Right below May 24, 1964 – Coppa della
Consuma, Tuscany. Flashing through
12.5kms/7.7-miles – rising 870 metres/2,854 feet
This old-established and mighty Tuscan hillclimb took place barely nine
the finish is the right-hand drive ‘Series
miles north-east of the city of Florence. The Coppa della Consuma was
1’ Ferrari 250GTO driven that day by
in fact one of Italy’s oldest and most classic automotive hillclimbs, first
Corrado Ferlaino in place of his Targa Florio GTO/64 ‘3413GT’. The old car –
conceived by the AC di Firenze which was itself Italy’s fourth oldest
Below One of the faster courses on
loaned by Mennato Boffa – was the ex-
motor club, founded in February 1900 and preceded only by the motor
the Italian hillclimb calendar, the Volterra
Bowmaker ‘3647GT’, frequently crashed
venue punctuated fast and medium-
by Tommy Hitchcock in 1963.
car clubs of Milan, Turin and Padua.
The new club’s leading light had been the enthusiastic Cavalier
Ugobaldo Tonietti, who first proposed a timed competitive hillclimb on the winding road leading from Pontassieve up to the Passo della Consuma in 1901. That project failed due to lack of entries, but the event was then run successfully in 1902. A tricycle rider named Nourry set fastest time on a de Dion-Bouton, only for his success to be protested by Cav. Tonietti himself, who had been second fastest in his four-wheeled Panhard. He claimed that Nourry had pushed his trike part of the way, an action forbidden within the rules. After intense debate the race commissioners accepted the protest, and Tonietti was installed as winner of his own inaugural event, while Nourry had to content himself by accepting his own prize for the tricycle category.
I THE ITALIAN SCENE 1964 I 1
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I GTO/64 I
Left Accelerating across the stone bridge into the town of Firenzuola is Corrado Ferlaino in his GTO/64 ‘3413GT’, heading for a third place finish overall behind former GTO owner, Roman jeweller Gianni Bulgari, in his victorious 2-litre Porsche 904, and ‘Kim’s 1.6-litre Alfa Romeo TZ. Firenzuola is regarded as Tuscany’s most war-damaged town, with 98 per cent of its buildings totally destroyed. Here were happier times.
Dragoni, who was by then the Ferrari works team’s Direttore Sportivo, Sigala finally agreed to buy the freshly overhauled Ferrari GTO/64. The haggling had started at 10,000,000 lire and he closed the deal for 9,400,000. Mugello was to prove a daunting stage for his expensive big-car debut.
Saverio Ciattini’s race report in ‘Auto Italiana’ described how
the race proved to be a “monologue” by the triumphant Porsche 904GTS owner-driver Gianni Bulgari. Ciattini wrote, “the Roman driver took the lead on the first lap and ended the race in the same position, without any of his direct opponents – Sigala, Nicolosi and then Ferlaino – being able to disturb him in any way. After the initial outburst that allowed him to build a significant advantage over the pursuers, Bulgari was able to slow down the charge so much that the average, which in the first and second laps had been 106km/h, then dropped slightly”.
In fact, the Roman jeweller tore home to complete the five
tremendously challenging laps in 3h 7m 58.3s, having averaged 105.651km/h (65.66mph) for the entire 200 miles. Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ driver ‘Kim’ (Sergio Pedretti) came home in second place, over 17 minutes adrift, but his nimble 1600cc twin-cam Berlinetta had beaten off Ferlaino’s GTO/64, which finished third – the Neapolitan ownerdriver’s time for the full distance being some 7 minutes longer still, at 3h 22m 13.4s.
Unfortunately, Oddone Sigala’s early second place was marred
by ignominious retirement in a roadside ditch, after he had collided with Sergio Bettoja’s Mercedes 220SE while trying to lap him.
June 28, 1964 – X Predappio-Rocca delle Caminate, Emilia-Romagna 4.0kms/2.49 miles – rising 230 metres/754 feet
Above The programme for the 11th
Coppa Emilio Materassi, bearing a map of the entire 41-mile road course on its Italian racing-red cover.
One week after his fellow GTO/64 privateer had been road racing at Mugello, Edoardo Lualdi reappeared in the Italian Trofeo della Montagna hillclimb series at Predappio, near Forli – barely 18 miles from the Adriatic coast near the eastern end of the Emilian plain. Driving his GTO/64 (‘4091GT’) among 97 starters, he emerged triumphant, setting FTD overall with a time of 3m 20.0s at an average speed of just 72.0km/h (44.74mph), which becomes understandable when one considers that 19 hairpin bends were packed into those 2½ miles climbing up to the Rocca delle Caminate castle, Mussolini’s
I THE ITALIAN SCENE 1964 I 2
303
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I GTO/64 I
Opposite The sheer sense of proportion demonstrated by Ferrari’s in-house ‘shape man’ Edmondo Casoli for the 250GTO/64 and its rearengined sister, the 250LM, is seldom better demonstrated than in this classic Geoff Goddard photograph, taken below Bivio Polizzi. Here the Ravetto/ Starrabba GTO/64 (‘4091GT’) leads the Toppetti/Grana LM (‘5995’). Right Clemente Ravetto hammers
‘Pippo’ (‘4091GT’) down the Via Vincenzo Florio in Collesano, under the admiring (and always respectful) eyes of the Carabinieri. Like all good Sicilians they would often urge the red cars on.
Healey 3000 in Sebring trim, its drivers being Paul Hawkins and Timo
720kms (447-mile) distance, but it had taken them 49 minutes longer
Mäkinen. They enjoyed the circuit, but as the car was burning up Dun-
than the works drivers in their sports-prototype.
lop rubber at the rate of one set of tyres every two laps, it was obviously
going to lose a good deal of time … Fastest was the Filipinetti GTO of
encountered during the long, hot drive around the Madonie mountains,
Bourillot/de Bourbon in 44m 46s …”.
and ‘4091GT’ proved particularly fast along the coastal three-mile-long
Buonfornello Straight, its high fifth gear really paying off. When asked if
The Ferrari works team arrived in force with three rear-engined,
The Sicilian GTO/64 duo enjoyed duels with any other car they
3.3-litre V12 275P2 prototypes. On race day to the wild excitement of
the car’s width made it tricky to place on the often narrow and rough-
the huge and partisan crowds spectating all around the long circuit, it
surfaced course, Clemente Ravetto answered, “… the circumstance
was local star Nino Vaccarella who took the chequered flag to score an
provided the advantage of faultlessly keeping the possible pursuer
immensely popular win. He co-drove his works 275P2 (chassis ‘0828’)
behind …”.
with Lorenzo Bandini, and they led home four factory-entered Porsches which filled second to fifth places overall. And in 12th place, winning
May 9, 1965 – XI Castell’Arquato-Vernasca, Emilia-Romagna
the 3-litre GT category, came ‘Pippo’ – driven well and consistently by
9.775kms/6.07 miles – rising around 260 metres/850 feet
Ravetto and Prince Starrabba. While Vaccarella had stopped the clock
at 7h 1m 12.2s in winning overall, the Sicilian pair in their GTO/64
Castell’Arquato is a medieval town folded within the Val d’Arda
completed the full 10 laps in 7h 50m 57.2s. They had covered the full
region of the Piacenza hills, some 20 miles west of Parma. To opera fans it is celebrated as the birthplace of librettist Luigi Illica, who
I THE ITALIAN SCENE 1965 I 1
357
September 19, 1965 – Coppa Nissena, Caltanissetta, Sicily 10.5kms/6.52 miles – rising 396 metres/1,299 feet
Caltanissetta lies in the volcanically active hills of central Sicily, dominating the valley of the river Salso. Four centuries after Christ, the Carthaginian admiral Nicia had established a fort there, and his name – borne by the fort – was pronounced similarly to the Arab word ‘nisa’ (women). So the settlement became known as the ‘fort of the women’ – in Italian, Caltanissetta – and the name had been adapted to create the Coppa Nissena.
On the island of Sicily, of course, Clemente Ravetto was a
well-respected local figure, in both business and sport. So when he drove his GTO/64 (‘4091GT’) to victory in the local Coppa Nissena therefore relied on braking. But the deceleration was insufficient to
hillclimb, the always demonstrative local tifosi gave him a rapturous
avoid a violent double impact against the wall. While airborne, the
reception. Practice had promised a straight fight for FTD between
right front wheel of the [LM] came off, ending up far away.
the two Palermitano owner-drivers – Ravetto in the GTO/64, and the
young Ferdinando Latteri in his ‘Series 1’ GTO (‘3765LM-GT’).
“Lualdi’s condition would significantly improve over the next
48 hours, but without his presence the Trofeo Lumezzane then
became the prerogative of Nember and Sigala …”.
leaving him a pedestrian. The Ferrari was taken to the nearby
The Brescia Corse pair thought their dead-heat on times
workshop of the locally well-known Caltanissettan racing preparer,
at 4m 20.6s each was hilarious – their average speed for the fast,
Michele Tornatore, who worked on it until 2am that night. However,
open and hazardous climb having been 117.421km/h (72.96mph).
he found the damage could not be repaired as no replacement parts
Into third place overall behind them came ‘Noris’ (Giacomo Moioli)
could be obtained in time, and so tools were cleared away, the shop
in his always well-prepared and well-driven Porsche 904GTS, 2.1
closed and the disappointed driver and his friends and helpers
seconds off the Ferraris’ pace, while fourth fastest was a single-
accepted the inevitable non-start.
seater – Luigi Malanca’s Formula 3 Wainer-Ford, clocking 4m
23.3s. And where the local Brescian battle was concerned, it was
impeccably, soaring to the summit 11 seconds faster than his
Oddone Sigala who received the Trofeo Angelo Maifredi for the best
practice time and, more importantly, five seconds faster than
three-event aggregate by a local competitor.
Latteri’s competitive time. Still, Filippo Cosentino in ‘Auto Italiana’
But Latteri’s older car broke its differential during practice,
This cleared the field for ‘Clementino’ Ravetto, who drove
As for former GTO/64 campaigner, Edoardo Lualdi Gabardi,
he would recover from the injuries sustained in his frightening incident at this event: “After I had a bad accident with the [250] Le Mans at the ascent of Lumezzane, near Brescia, my chassis was replaced by Ferrari. With the car repaired, I participated in the Gallenga 1966, but I did not win”. He was lucky to be there.
Above left Oddone Sigala corners
‘Nanni’ Nember winds his ‘long-roof’
the Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus Ferrari
Ferrari 250GTO/64 (‘4675GT’) round
250LM (‘6173’), with its reshaped
one of the eight sharp hairpins on
‘Drogo’ nose, on the Lumezzane
this demanding climb to the Nevegal
hillclimb against one of Italy’s less
ski resort. He won his class and set
attractive backgrounds. His exact
4th FTD overall. That offset road
match for FTD with Nember’s
registration plate has been refitted
GTO/64 was remarkable.
to the car’s repaired nose after hav-
Opposite September 26, 1965 –
Coppa Alpe del Nevegal hillclimb.
378
I GTO/64 I
ing been absent at Lumezzane.
observed that, “… the 5m 28.5s obtained by the winner was not
904, ‘Nanni’ Nember and his Ferrari GTO/64 (‘4675GT’), and ‘Matich’
exceptional, but nevertheless sufficient to ensure first place ahead of
(Gianni Lado) in his Abarth 2000. ‘Noris’ was fastest in the Porsche,
‘Gordon’ … [who] finished with the time of 5m 33.5s [in his Abarth-
with a climb in 4m 29.2s, pursued by ‘Matich’ on 4m 36.4s. Nember
Simca 2000]”. Ravetto’s average speed for the 6½-mile climb was
was much slower at 4m 47.3s, but explained that he had been handi-
115.068km/h (71.49mph).
capped by the lack of third gear. With a time of 5m 02.4s, ‘rainmaster’ Dalla Torre and his fleet lightweight Abarth 1300 seemed outclassed.
September 26, 1965 – VIII Coppa Alpe del Nevegal, Belluno, Veneto 7.5kms/4.66 miles – rising 574 metres/1,883 feet
But while practice had been run in overcast but dry conditions,
the Sunday for the competitive runs dawned to rain, fog and even a hint of snow. The rain eased as the initial 1000cc touring car class began
One week later, in Italy’s north-eastern province of the Veneto, this
their climbs, but later runners would still find the road surface wet and
Nevegal event was run at Caleipo-Sossai, a couple of miles south-east
treacherous due to mud, gravel and debris washed down onto it from
of Belluno, the most important city of the eastern Dolomites.
the surrounding slopes.
Practice on this tortuous 4½-mile hill, which laced its way
through eight hairpins up to the ski resort of Piano Nevegal, saw a
It was ‘Matich’ – the Trieste-born 27-year-old Veronese driver
– who made the best of the conditions in his 2-litre Abarth, winning
predicted battle begin between ‘Noris’ (Giacomo Moioli) in his Porsche
I THE ITALIAN SCENE 1965 I 2
379
CHASSIS ‘5573GT’ This left-hand-drive Ferrari Berlinetta, the second such car, was built new to ‘short-roof’ GTO/64 specification without rooftop aerofoil – finished in Rosso Cina (China red) with Blu Cina (China blue) seat upholstery, its ‘Certificato d’Origine’ being issued by the factory on June 11, 1964. It was run initially as a works team car in two consecutive FIA GT World Championship-qualifying races – the 1964 Spa 500Kms and ADAC 1000Kms at the Nürburgring – before becoming Luigi Chinetti’s second NART team car from Le Mans 1964 forward. It was driven during that season by all of Ferrari’s Formula 1 team drivers – team leader and 1964 Formula 1 World Champion Driver John Surtees, Lorenzo Bandini, Ludovico Scarfiotti and Pedro Rodríguez – plus Ferrari’s 1961 Formula 1 World Champion Driver Phil Hill, by 1964 Le Mans 24-Hour race winner Jean Guichet, and by future Ferrari Formula 1 works team member Michael Parkes. ‘5573’ made 10 race starts during the 1964 season plus a start in the Freiburg-Schauinsland hillclimb, all of which were qualifying rounds for the year’s FIA GT World Championship. The car achieved two 2nd-place finishes overall – in the ADAC 1000Kms and Paris 1000Kms – plus four GT-class wins. It failed to finish twice, on one occasion due to John Surtees’ accident during the Goodwood TT. Its full record for 1964 also includes one 3rd place finish, two 6th places overall, one 7th, one 9th and one 11th. It was also driven during the year by Jo Schlesser, Fernand Tavano, Bob Grossman, and Skip Hudson. After passing through several hands, in 1972 the car was subsequently acquired by Pierre Bardinon, with whom it remained as part of his renowned Mas du Clos collection for the next 42 years.
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I GTO/64 I
1964 Car prepared by Ferrari works for racing debut as a Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus entry May 17 – Grand Prix de Spa 500Kms, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium Lorenzo Bandini #22 – 3rd overall 3rd in class May 31 – ADAC 1000Kms, Nürburgring, West Germany Jean Guichet/Michael Parkes #83 – 2nd overall 1st in class June – Car acquired by Luigi Chinetti & Jan de Vroom, New York, NY, USA June 20-21 – Le Mans 24-Hours, La Sarthe, France Fernand Tavano/Bob Grossman #27 – 9th overall 6th in class July 4-5 – Reims 12-Hours, Champagne, France Bob Grossman/Skip Hudson – DNF August 9 – Freiburg-Schauinsland hillclimb, West Germany Ludovico Scarfiotti #60 – 6th overall 1st in class August 29 – RAC Tourist Trophy, Goodwood, UK John Surtees #26 – DNF accident October 11 – Paris 1000 Kms, Montlhéry, France Pedro Rodríguez/Jo Schlesser #1 – 2nd overall 1st in class November 29 – Over 2-litre GT 5-laps, Nassau, Bahamas Pedro Rodríguez – 7th overall November 29 – Nassau Tourist Trophy, Nassau, Bahamas Pedro Rodríguez – 6th overall December 6 – Nassau Trophy, Nassau, Bahamas Phil Hill – 11th overall 1st 3-litre GT class
1965 Car acquired by Bob Grossman, Nyack, NY, USA Car acquired by Walt Luftman, Rye, NY, USA 23rd May – USRRC Bridgehampton Vanderbilt Cup, Long Island, USA Walt Luftman #47 – DNF accident lap 16
1966 Car acquired by John Cuccio, Westport, CT, USA
Car acquired by David Erwin, Horseheads, NY, USA 1970 Car acquired by Kirk F. White, Paoli, PA, USA
1972 Car acquired by Pierre Bardinon, Mas du Clos, Aubusson, France
1982 August 31 – 20th anniversary GTO Tour – Paris-Mas du Clos, France Pierre Bardinon
1987 May 22 – Cartier ‘Hommage à Ferrari’ exhibition
I LATER LIVES I ‘5573GT’ I
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Left September 16, 1964 – Tour de
France Automobile. Annie Soisbault de Montaigu’s Ferrari 250GTO/64 (‘5575GT’) pluming down the Pau circuit’s Avenue Gaston Lacoste towards the start-finish line of the round-the-houses race stage.
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