Tag Archives: Picard

34mm Turbo Restrictor – Mitsubishi Pajero T3 Prototype

Leave a Reply

The second generation Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero was built between 1991 and 1999, today’s featured 1996 T3 Prototype was built to compete in the Granada Dakar Desert Rally and aside from the name and a few components shares little in common with it’s commercial namesake.

Going into the 1996 Granada Dakar Rally Mitsubishi were looking to win their 4th Dakar Rally 4 wheel title outright, their first since 1993, as were ’91, ’94 and ’95 winners Citroen.

Mitsubishi Pajero T3 Prototype, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The T3 Prototype was built on a space frame competition chassis featuring double wishbone and coil spring suspension all round, the tad over 2m / 6’6″ wide, with a 3m wheel base chassis was covered with a 4m carbon fibre and Kevlar body.

Weighing only 1410 kgs / 3100 lbs the vehicle was powered by a 2.4 litre / 147 cui 4 cylinder 16 valve 4G64 motor fitted with an inter cooled Turbocharger and a new for ’96 mandated 34mm air restrictor that kept the power output down to a claimed 300hp.

Mitsubishi Pajero T3 Prototype, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Thee T3 Prototypes were entered for crews; Bruno Saby/Dominique Serieys who won in 1993, Kenjiro Shinozuka/Henri Magne and Jean-Pierre Fontenay/Bruno Musmarr.

A fourth T3 Prototype with RVR Space Runner bodywork was entered for Hiroshi Masuoka / Andreas Schulz and the whole team was backed up with 9 trucks and 76 personnel led by Ullrich Bremer who were also mandated by the regulations to compete.

Mitsubishi Pajero T3 Prototype, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Pierre Lartigue and Michel Perin completed a hat trick of wins in their Citroën ZX Rallye Raid Evo 5, a car which traces it’s origins back to the Peugeot 205 T16, while Jean-Pierre Fontenay and Bruno Musmarr came home in 3rd, driving today’s featured #206 seen at Goodwood Festival of Speed, ahead of the sister car of Bruno Saby and Dominique Serieys which finished 7th and 17th place Kenjiro Shinozuka and Henri Magne.

Kenjiro and Henri went on to win the event in 1997, Jean-Pierre with Giles Picard won in ’98, Hiroshi and Andreas won in 2003 the year after Hiroshi won the event for the first time with Pascal Maimon, all of these victories counting towards the 12 Dakar overall 4 wheel victories Mitsubishi have won to date.

Thanks for joining me on this “34mm Turbo Restrictor” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for Mercedes Monday. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Wade In The Water – MGB Roaster DRX 256C

Leave a Reply

Today’s MG is a special B built with aluminium body panels at Abingdon to take part in the Sebring 12 Hours.

MG B, Race Retro

The car as seen here features a ‘Droop Snoot’ nose of the same type worn by it’s sister car DRX 255C at Le Mans in 1965.

MG B, Race Retro

However DRX256C, to the best of my knowledge, was never raced at Le Mans in period and certainly not with the Syd Enever designed nose

MG B, Race Retro

which I believe first appeared at Le Mans in 1963 fitted to a ‘B’ registered ‘7 DBL’ then in 1964 fitted to ‘BMO 541B’ and finally DRX 255C in 1965.

MG B, Race Retro

Paddy Hopkirk and Andrew Hedges qualified DRX 255C 46th and averaging 98 mph came in 2nd in class at the Le Mans 24 hours behind a Porsche 904 GTS.

MG B, Race Retro

Andrew Newton is the current owner of DRX 256C Barrie Williams and former Grand Prix Driver Mike Wilds are well known UK club racers. The drivers of DRX 256C at Sebring in 1965 were American Brad Picard and Canadian Al Pease.

MG B, Race Retro

Picard & Pease qualified 50th and finished 32nd 6th in class in a race that is best remembered for a flash flood which saw some parts of the track under 6 inches of water.

MG B, Race Retro

Some drivers described them selves as being up to their elbows in water during pit stops,

MG B, Race Retro

and I believe the lead Jim Hall / Hap Sharp Chaparral 2a recorded a lap time of 12 minuets at one point during the deluge.

MG B, Race Retro

I highly recommend viewing the Shell Promotional Film called the 12 hour Grind with commentary by Chris Economaki which can be seen on youtube starting with this link for those wishing to fast forward to see what happened when the heavens opened up the wet action starts here, I have never seen anything quite like it.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Wade in the Water’ edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow, don’t forget to came back now !

Share

Scaglietti Pontoon – Ferrari 250 TR #0754

1 Reply

I’d like to thank Geoffrey Horton for today’s photograph of David Love’s 1958 Ferrari 250 TR seen here at Danville Concours d’Elegance in 2008.

Ferrari 250TR, Danville Concours d'Elegance

The 250 TR powered by the lightweight 276 hp 2,953 cc /180 cui Colombo Tipo 125 engine was a hugely successful sports car winning the Le Mans 24 hour race, with Phil Hill and Oliver Gendebien at the wheel in 1958 and further variations winning the endurance classic in 1960 and 1961.

#0754, originally painted blue, was sold to Yugoslavian born Guatamalan Jaroslav Juhan co driver of the car, under the ‘Equipe Los Amigos’ banner, in the 1958 Le Mans 24 hours with Frenchman François Picard who collided with the Lotus of Jay Chamberlain in heavy rain six hours into the race.

After Le Mans #0754 returned to the factory for repairs to the Scaglietti pontoon bodywork and was re painted red before being shipped to Vasek Polak a friend of the now retired from racing Juhan.

Once in the USA #0754 was driven to numerous overall and class victories by Jack McAfee, George Keck and Jack Graham.

Jack Graham comprehensively damaged the car on the October 22nd 1960 when he locked his brakes at Laguna Seca and came to rest against an oak tree. After surviving serious injuries Jack retired from racing.

Bob Gengami had the car repaired and raced it in 1962 selling it on to Bob Allen who advertised #0754 TR as ‘freshly overhauled’ in 1964 when David Love acquired it.

David described the car he purchased as ‘completely unusable’ and after unsuccessfully suing the vendor began the slow process of restoration to the condition in which we see the car here. Along the way David raced the car from 1965 to 1968 and since 1974 he has raced #0754 in historic events.

The 250 TR is generally accepted as one of the two most desirable Ferrari’s amongst auctioneers, behind the 250 GTO, a 1957 250 TR was sold for US$ 12,100,000 in May 2009.

Thanking Geoffrey for sharing this sumptuous photograph, more details and photographs on the history of #0754 TR can be found on Tams old race car site here.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s Scaglietti pontoon edition of Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres and that you’ll join me again tomorrow when I’ll be celebrating the life of one of this blogs earliest contributors Mr Edwin Arnaudin. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share