Welcome back to a short run of Ferrari Friday’s which will be running during the month of June.
Amazingly of the seven Belgian drivers known to have raced today’s featured 1959 Ferrari 250 LWB GT, only one raced the car under his own name.
Chassis #1321GT with a Single Louvre body by Scaglietti was supplied to Garage Francorshamps for “Jean Beurlys” aka Jean Blaton.
“Beurlys” drove the car on five occasions between 1959 and 1960 starting with a 2nd place overall and first in GT Class on the Tour de Cote de La Roche-en-Ardenne on the 12th of April 1959 which was followed two weeks later by the Le Mans Test Weekend in which he recorded 4th fastest time with same car.
Armand Blaton who raced under the pseudonym “Blary” won the Course de Cote de Charleroi, Bomerée hillclimb out right with #1321GT on the 31st May 1959 before the car was taken to the Nurburging where brothers “Beurlys” and “Blary” shared the driving to a 9th place finish overall, first GT Class, in the 1000 kms race.
Before the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hour race the car was taken back to the factory for servicing, repairs and for the original black stripe to be replaced with a yellow stripe.
For the French endurance classic “Beurlys” teamed up with “Eldé” alias Léon Dernier who obviously had a sense of humour when choosing his pseudonym with LD being his initials.
All joking aside the Belgian pair driving the freshly restripped #1321GT finished 3rd and again took class honours after 24 hours of racing.
“Beurlys” was entered by Ecurie Francorchamps to drive #1321GT in the Monza Grand Prix for GT cars but appears for reasons unknown not to have started the race.
Belgian Pierre Noblet became the first driver to compete in #1321GT under his own name when he shared the driving with “Beurlys” and “Eldé” at the 1960 Le Mans Test Weekend where the car was again credited with 4th quickest time overall, first in GT.
In May 1960 German architect Manfred Ramminger bought the car, but is only known to have entered it on one occasion for the 500 kms race at Spa in May 1963 where he is listed as having failed to arrive.
The original engine was reported as damaged and has been replaced twice since 1966, the car made it’s way to the USA in 1968 and has been with it’s present owner Charles T. Wegner since July 2011.
My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s of #1321GT taken at the Sanoma Historics last year.
Thanks for joining me on this “Belgian Pseudonym City” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a a 1931 Talbot 105 Team Car “G054”
