Tag Archives: Mauro

Driving For Italy – Ferrari 312 T4 #040 & #038

The 1979 season was one of two halves in the first half the french Ligier team came out of nowhere with a fast car that took three wins from the first five races, Ferrari then muscled in with four race wins from five races and Renault scored what would turn out to be a one off win at the half way mark and the second half of the season was dominated by the Williams team who scored 5 wins in the last seven races with the Ferrari drivers Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve picking up the pieces and each scoring a win. Jody through his better consistency beat Gilles to the 1979 World Championship.

Ferrari T4, Race Retro

The car that Jody and Gilles used in 1979 was the Ferrari 312 T4 an improvised ground effect design by Mauro Forghieri that was compromised by the powerful 180 degree 3 litre / 183 cui V12 motor that got in the way of the under body aerodynamics that were an essential element for giving the car improved aerodynamic grip and cornering adhesion.

Ferrari T4, Race Retro

By their own admission early season runaway leaders Ligier had no idea why their car was working so well in Argentina and Brazil, and when a slight change was made to the material specifications of their ground effects design they had no idea why it continued to work so badly. Meantime Ferrari had just the right balance of mechanical power and reliability coupled with just enough aerodynamic grip to capitalize on Ligiers misfortune and first Gilles, in South Africa then Long Beach and then Jody, in Belgium then Monaco, took two wins a peace interrupted by third and final win for the Ligier driven by Patrick Depailler in Spain.

Ferrari T4, Race Retro

During the second half of the season Frank Williams team after many seasons operating out of a GPO telephone box on a shoe string budget finally juggled all the balls in the right order and came up trumps with a clean design that once it had become reliable was the class of the field for the second half of 1979 with five wins from seven races in Britain, Germany, Austria, Holland & Canada . Only Jody and Gilles spoiled the Williams party Scheckter securing the drivers championship with a win in Italy to become the first, and so far only South African Drivers World Champion. Jody, who once observed that when he was racing for Ferrari he was driving for Italy, took all three of his championship wins driving chassis #040 seen above at last years Race Retro.

Ferrari T4, Silverstone

Gilles Villeneuve came second in the 1979 championship his season being primarily remembered for one of the all time great dices in the history of Grand Prix when he pulled off an amazing second place finish racing wheel to wheel over several laps with third place Rene Arnoux in the French GP at Dijon.

Gilles chassis #038 seen above in the pits at Silverstone, where the Ferrari’s were uncharacteristically completely out classed, is known to have been driven to second place finishes by Scheckter in South Africa and Long Beach and a third second pace finish with Villeneuve at the wheel in the 1979 Italian GP.

It would be 21 long years before another Ferrari driver would win a World Championship though as we shall see in the coming weeks Ferrari did manage to win a couple of constructors championships in the 1980’s.

If your into organic food Jody Scheckter today runs an organic farm produce from which can be ordered from www.laverstokepark.co.uk

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Driving for Italy’ edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’

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Ferrari Turned Ugly – Ferrari 312 P #0876 ?

Some months ago I said that after Niki Lauda tested the proposed Ferrari 312 P sports prototype for 1974 he advised Enzo Ferrari that if he wanted to win the World Formula One Championship that he ought to drop the Sports Prototype Programme.

Ferrari P312 #0876 ?

(Ferrari 312 P 1974 Spec, Copyright holder unknown image will be correctly credited or removed upon request.)

The photo above shows Niki Lauda testing the 1974 312 P that is thought to be the work of Mauro ‘Fury’ Forghieri who simultaneously was working on turning the Formula One Ferrari 312 B3 into a competitive proposition.

It has emerged that it was more likely that Niki and Luca de Montemezolo between them successfully convinced Mr Ferrari that continuing the sports prototype programme was not a good idea.

Ferrari P312 #0876 ?

(Ferrari 312 P 1974 Spec, Copyright holder unknown image will be correctly credited or removed upon request.)

As can be seen above even after the alleged advice and Lauda’s test drive, the car, seen here with Niki’s team mate Clay Regazzoni at the wheel, was developed further with the wide front wing being added before the car was dropped and plans to enter the World Sportscar Championship were abandoned.

It would appear 1974 spec 312 P was based on a short wheel base 1971 312 P chassis, probably #0876, this car, with it’s even more distinctive driver side cooler arrangement, than we saw in last weeks 1973 312 P blog, was never raced and has not ever been seen in public.

It is thought likely the car got destroyed on the orders of Enzo Ferrari early in 1974 before the Italian Tax Authorities were due to pay Mr Ferrari a visit.

My thanks to everyone on the 1974 Ferrari 312PB ‘evo’ thread at The Nostalgia Forum who contributed to this blog.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s Ugly Sister edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, and that you will join me again, tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Two Seat Grand Prix Car – Ferrari 312 P #0890

Last week on Ferrari Friday we looked at the catastrophe that befell the Ferrari teams Grand Prix effort as a result of Enzo’s illness sabbatical in 1972.

Ferrari 312 P, Goodwood FoS

The story of the Ferrari teams fortunes in sports car racing during this period were not quite so catastrophic but having red washed the World Sportscar Championship of 1972 winning all races except the Le Mans 24 hours, which the team did not enter allegedly because they did not believe their engine would prove sufficiently reliable, 1973 proved to be a disappointment.

Ferrari 312 P, Goodwood FoS

Matra who had only entered, and won, the Le Mans 24 hours in 1972 made a successful bid for the World Sports Car Championship in 1973. While this was by no means as comprehensive a blue wash as Ferrari had achieved the year before.

The absence of ‘Fury’ Forghieri who had been exiled to the Fiorano test track by FIAT management during Enzo Ferrari’s sabatical was tangible in terms of Ferrari’s flagging sports car results.

Ferrari 312 P, Goodwood FoS

This 1973 spec Ferrari 312 PB chassis #0890 was built for the 1972 season during which Art Mezario and Brian Redman drove the car to victory in the Spa 1000 kms.

Ferrari 312 P, Goodwood FoS

Mezario also drove to a solo non championship victory at Imola in a 500 km race in this chassis, #0890 only disgraced it’s self once from six starts in 1972 with an engine failure at Kyalami.

During 1973 #0890 was raced a further five times with 2nd place finishes it’s best results at Dijon for Ickx / Redman and at the Nurburgring for Carlos Pace / Merzario a partnership which brought the car a 3rd place in it’s final front line race in the 6 hours at The Glen.

Ferrari 312 P, Goodwood FoS

Chassis #0890 seen here at Goodwood Festival of Speed is easily recognisable being the only one of the six 312 P chassis that had the air intake modification to the drivers side chassis skin which appeared at the ADAC 1000 kms at the Nurburgring in 1973.

Ferrari 312 P, Goodwood FoS

In 1972 Ferrari built six 312 P chassis so that there could be a team of three freshly prepared cars at each of the World Championship races. The PB initials were used by the press to distinguish the car from the previous 312 P model of 1971.

Ferrari 312 P, Goodwood FoS

The 1972 Ferrari sports car team managed by Peter Schetty with Ermanno Cuoghi looking after the preparation of the cars was without doubt the class of the field,

Ferrari 312 P, Goodwood FoS

their cars powered by a water cooled 3 litre /183 cui 48 valve flat 12 motor that was in essence a Grand Prix engine detuned for reliability. Five of the six 312 P chassis originally built in 1972 are known to exist today.

Thanks for joining me on today’s PB edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and I hope that you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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‘Fury’ Returns – Ferrari 312 B3 #010

The first time I saw and heard a Ferrari racing in anger was on March 17th, 1974, in the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch. The day started out extremely wet and grey by the time a school friend, his parents and I had made it from the car park to the spectator enclosure we were all soaked through to the skin, with in minuets the cars filtered out of the pit lane opposite and there they were, two bright red Ferrari’s almost luminescent in the rain drenched gloom with a delightful throaty musical noise emanating from their 3 litre / 183 cui 312 flat 12 motors.

Ferrari 312 B3, Goodwood, FoS

A couple of weeks ago when I found myself in front of one of those very same Ferrari 312 B3’s, at Goodwood, the contrast in the weather could not have been greater, but my absolute joy at the sight of it was not in the least diminished, even though this time the car made no sound as it was pushed into it’s allotted spot in the Goodwood paddock.

Ferrari 312 B3, Goodwood, FoS

The Ferrari 312 B3 was never going to win any awards for beauty if it looks like it was designed by committee, that is because it was.

Ferrari 312 B3, Goodwood, FoS

In 1972 designer Mauro ‘Fury’ Forghieri built an experimental Grand Prix car in which he had tried to arrange all the cars ancillary components, oil tanks and coolers, as close to the centre of gravity of his new design as possible. The vehicle known as the ‘Snow Plough‘ was extensively tested but the handling proved to be too nervous to ever be entered in a race.

Ferrari 312 B3, Goodwood, FoS

Mid way through 1972 Mr Ferrari was not well and took some time off from the day to day running of his company and Mauro Forghieri, under pressure from FIAT executives in Turin found himself dropped from the team designing the 1973 Ferrari Grand Prix challenger which was eventually designed by Franco Rocchi Giacomo Caliri under the direction of FIAT’s Stefano Colombo.

Ferrari 312 B3, Goodwood, FoS

The 1973 Ferrari 312 B3 featured Ferrari’s first ever aluminium monocoque chassis which, in another Ferrari first, was manufactured by Thompson in England. The engine was used as a stressed member of the chassis following a lead set by Colin Chapman in 1967 with the Lotus 49 which used the Ford Cosworth DFV as a stressed member of the chassis, thus saving the considerable weight otherwise necessitated by an engine subframe.

Ferrari 312 B3, Goodwood, FoS

The long wide and low 1973 312 B3 including chassis #010 seen here were not a great success and upon his return to work in the summer of 1973 Mr Ferrari withdrew his cars from Grand Prix racing for several races and recalled Mauro Forghieri from his duties at the Fiorano test track and tasked him with making the 1973 car more competitive.

Ferrari 312 B3, Goodwood, FoS

‘Fury’ as Forghieri was allegedly nick named applied all of the lessons learned from the ‘snow plough’ project to the large 1973 B3 chassis mounting long thin inclined radiators behind the front wheels and oil tank ahead of the rear wheel to reduce the polar moment of inertia in an effort to improve the cars handling.

Ferrari 312 B3, Goodwood, FoS

Upon their return to the track the reconfigured cars were not any more competitive but over the winter of 1973/74 with the arrival of Niki Lauda the cars were extensively tested and refined into a much more competitive proposition for the 1974 season.

Ferrari 312 B3, Goodwood, FoS

For 1974 the 312 B3’s appeared with completely reworked interim bodies that featured tall air boxes as pioneered by future Ferrari designer Dr Harvey Postlethwaite on James Hunt’s #27 Hesketh March 731.

Ferrari 312 B3, Goodwood, FoS

With future Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo now heading the racing team management the revamped cars showed an immediate and consistent improvement in qualifying and in the races.

Ferrari 312 B3, Goodwood, FoS

Chassis #010 shown here was qualified 3rd in the hands of Niki Lauda at Brands Hatch for the non championship Race of Champions. Niki led during the early stages of the race but in a twist of irony he was over taken in a breath taking move on the outside of Paddock Bend by this chassis former incumbent Jacky Ickx who drove a Lotus 72 during the 1974 season.

Ferrari 312 B3, Goodwood, FoS

A couple of races later in Spain Niki Lauda won his first Grand Prix in a newer 312 B3 chassis with the definitive bodywork of the type worn by chassis #010 at Goodwood.

Lauda finished 4th in the 1974 season World Drivers Championship while more experienced team mate Clay Regazzoni was in contention for the championship right until the last race of the season when he was piped to the post by Emerson Fittipaldi in a McLaren.

My thanks to Aardy at Ferrari Chat for confirming the chassis number.

Thanks for joining me on this Fury edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil psycho on tyres’, I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Super Hugger. Don’t forget to come back now !

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