Tag Archives: Racing Car

Ferrari Friday – 9th Danville Concours d’Elegance

Geoffrey Horton attended this years 9th Danville Concours d’Elegance last month and kindly shared today’s collection of Ferrari photographs.

Ferrari 500 Mondial Spyder, Danville Concours d'Elegance

Pride of place belonged to this Ferrari 500 Mondial Spyder PF Series I chassis #0408 MD which featured on this blog some time ago.

Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, Danville Concours d'Elegance

I still have not established if the Ferrari 250 GT Lusso chassis #4237 like the one above is actually missing or not, if anyone has any information about #4237 please do not hesitate to chime in below.

Ferrari F355 Spyder, Danville Concours d'Elegance

Moving forward a couple of decades the Ferrari F355 was fitted with a Japanese starter motor in an attempt to bring the marque up to compete with and beat the Honda NSX on price, reliability and handling when it was launched in 1994.

Ferrari F360 Spyder, Danville Concours d'Elegance

Ferrari’s 20th convertible the 360 Spider was launched in 2000, former Ferrari Formula One Team technical director Ross Brawn had one as his company car.

Ferrari California, Danville Concours d'Elegance

The Ferrari California, launched in 2008, was originally designed as a Maserati but sold only as a Ferrari to recoup the development costs

Ferrari 458 Italia Spider, Danville Concours d'Elegance

If stealth is your rocks your boat I guess matt black is the way to go, but I’m not sure I could ever get used to it, matt black to me looks like the new primer, something unfinished or a work in progress which is I am sure the last thing I’d think of in the event I ever bought a Ferrari 458 Italia Coupé.

Ferrari F12berlinetta, Danville Concours d'Elegance

Despite being launched last year to replace the Ferrari 599, I still have not come across a Ferrari F12berlinetta like the one above, I must get round to making an appointment with my local stockist.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photographs more of which will appear in next Wednesday’s blog.

Thanks for joining me on this “Ferrari Friday” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll resume this month’s 50th Anniversary celebration of the Porsche 911. Don’t forget to come back now !

Greenwoods Last Customer C3 – Chevrolet Corvette C3 Greenwood #12

In Law’s Instrumental Help – Ligier Matra JS17

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At the end of 1978 Chrysler Europe was taken over by Peugeot and almost immediately rebranded the French Simca and British Hillman models as Talbot’s resurrecting a name that had last appeared in Formula One in 1951.

In 1972 MATRA, who were taken over by Simca, withdrew from Formula One to concentrate on a successful sports car program which was itself discontinued at the end of 1974 after MATRA had won three consecutive Le Mans 24 Hour races and two World sports Car Championships under the direction of Gerard Ducarouge.

Laffite, Ligier MATRA JS 17, British Grand Prix, Silverstone

Ducarouge went to work for Ligier to design a Matra powered Formula One car in 1976, the JS5 was quite successful for a new comer and the following year Jaques Laffite won the 1977 Swedish Grand Prix driving a MATRA V12 powered Ligier JS7. MATRA stopped developing their V12 in 1978 and Ligier suffered a consequent dip in their fortunes.

For 1979 and 1980 Ligier opted for the popular Cosworth DFV V8’s and immediately returned to victory lane with two surprising wins for Laffite in Argentina and Brazil with the JS11 model, but the team lost it’s direction did not present the anticipated championship challenge. In 198O Laffite won just one race but the team scored enough points to finish second in the constructors championship.

Tambay, Ligier MATRA JS 17, British Grand Prix, Silverstone

By 1981 Peugeot returned the Talbot name to Formula One by teaming up with Ligier and an updated version of the MATRA V12 was used to power the JS17’s featured today. Laffite was to be teamed up with brother in law, ex Renault refugee, Jean Pierre Jabouille who was recovering from injuries sustained when he crashed his Renault Turbo in the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix.

Jean Pierre Jarrier stood in for Jabouille for the first two races but when Jabouille returned to the cockpit he failed to qualify for two races in five attempts so he was replaced by Patrick Tambay seen at the wheel of the #25 here for the second half of the season, but crucially Jabouille remained with the team acting as an engineer. Patrick qualified for all of the remaining races but did not finish any of them.

Ligier MATRA JS 17, Test Day, Donington Park

Laffite meantime scored a couple of 2nd place finishes in Spain and Sweden along with 3 third place finishes in Monaco, Britain and Germany. Just before the French Grand Prix Gerard Ducarouge was fired by Guy Ligier.

At the Austrian Grand Prix Jabouille was instrumental in helping Laffite choose the correct tyre to suit both the Ligier and the track which resulted in the car qualifying 4th behind two turbo charged Renaults and Villenueve’s turbocharged Ferrari.

Ligier MATRA JS 17, Test Day, Donington Park

During the race after passing Villeneuve and his quick off the grid Ferrari team mate Didier Pironi, Jaques chased down the leading Renaults. Alain Prost in the lead car retired with collapsed suspension before Jacques passed the second Renault for the lead and eventual victory when René Arnoux hesitated over taking a pair of back markers.

Jacques then retired in Holland and Italy before bouncing back with a win from 10th on the grid in Canada to put him 3rd in the championship table, 6 points off the leader, with a slim chance of winning the 1981 Drivers Championship going into the Caesers Palace Grand Prix held in Las Vegas. In the event Jacques qualified just 12th behind Championship leader Carlos Reutemann who was on pole in his Williams and 2nd in standings Nelson Piquet who was 4th in his Brabham.

Reutemann inexplicably choked under the championship pressure during the race to finish 7th out of the points while Piquet salvaged a fifth place finish, one spot ahead of Jacques, enough to win the Championship. Alan Jones won the race in his Williams thereby depriving Jacques of a third place finish in the Championship, so for the third consecutive time Jacques Laffite recorded what would be his career best 4th place finish in the final championship standings.
With only the #26 scoring any points all season Ligier finished the season 4th in the Constructors Championship.

Thanks for joining me on this “In Law’s Instrumental Help” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Forward With Fragrance – McLaren Cosworth M19C

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Mimicing the general out line of the 1969 Championship Matra MS80, as did many others including the Tyrrell’s 001-004, the McLaren M19A was designed by Ralph Bellamy for the 1971 season. It’s original rising rate suspension was soon abandoned in favour of the conventional McLaren M14A suspension.

After coming within a few laps of winning the 1971 South African Grand Prix with Denny Hulme at the wheel the cars best championship result came at the 1971 Canadian Grand Prix where Mark Donohue finished third in a privately entered example entered by Roger Penske.

McLaren Cosworth M19C, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

For 1972 McLaren found sponsorship from Yardley cosmetics who were less than impressed with the way BRM, whom they sponsored in 1970 and 1971, went about their business. On only their second world championship appearance in 1972 Denny Hulme won the South African Grand prix from 5th on the grid.

The M19 was given a diet in time for the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix where one car appeared in C spec with lightened front chassis bulkhead fabrication and numerous other weight saving modifications.

McLaren Cosworth M19C, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Denny Hulme finished second in the 1972 Austrian Grand Prix ahead of team mate Peter Revson both driving M19C’s a seasons best for the ‘C’ spec cars that was matched at the 1972 Canadian Grand Prix where Revson finished ahead of Denny.

McLaren Cosworth M19C, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

In early 1973 Peter Revson finished second in the South African Grand Prix driving a Ford Cosworth DFV powered M19C on the models last championship appearance.

McLaren Cosworth M19C, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

The M19C’s were replaced by the McLaren M23 model, one of which Denny drove on it’s debut in the 1973 South African recording pole position and a fifth place finish.

Thanks for joining me on this “Forward With Fragrance” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS My thanks to Tim Murray for pointing out Denny’s 1972 South African Grand Prix victory which I omitted from the original text.

Wrong Footed By Safety Car – Ferrari F10

Spanish Sadness – Parnelli Cosworth VPJ4

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The 1974 Canadian Grand Prix saw the debut not only of the Penske PC1 which I looked at last week but also of the also the Vels Miletich and Parnelli Jones team Parnelli VPJ4 a car that unlike the Penske PC1 was built in the United States.

The Cosworth DFV powered Parnelli was designed by Maurice Phillipe and on it’s debut in Canada Andretti qualified 16th and finished a respectable 7th just one spot short of a championship point.

At the following US Grand Prix an electrical issue intervened which saw the cars late arrival on grid and disqualification after 4 laps.

For 1975 the team lost one of it’s main backers Firestone who withdrew from Formula One at the end of the 1974 season. However the Goodyears on which the car was forced to run did not seem to hinder the Parnelli’s performance. At the non championship International Trophy run at Silverstone Mario brought the Parnelli home in third.

Andretti, Panelli Cosworth VPJ4, Spanish Grand Prix, Montjuich Park

At the Spanish Grand Prix, where today’s photograph was taken by Carles Bosch, Mario qualified 4th. Mario was involved in an opening lap fracas inadvertently pushing pole starting Niki Lauda in to the path of his team mate Clay Regazzoni while John Watson crashed his Surtees into the back of Andretti.

Mario emerged in second place from the melee behind James Hunt, who was unscathed, with a crabbing car with a bent suspension. Hunt in the Hesketh led until spinning off on oil leaving Mario in the lead ahead of John Watson’s Surtees.

Mario led for ten laps before the suspension finally gave way leading to his retirement. The race, which only started after the teams mechanics had spent Saturday morning ensuring all the barriers around the Montjuich street cuircuit were properly secured, was stopped prematurely after Rolf Stommelen who inherited the lead from Andretti left the road when the rear wing collapsed on his Embassy Hill. Stommelen’s car ended up taking down a lamp post and some fencing which killed a marshal and four spectators and injured several more.

Mario managed two points finishes, fourth in Sweden and fifth in France during the remainder of the 1975 season. With the team running out of funds Mario finished sixth in the 1976 South African Grand Prix, at the inaugural US GP West held at Long Beach Mario retired before the team folded and concentrated on it’s US Formula 5000 and USAC programs. Mario eventually rejoined Lotus for the remainder of the 1976 season and won the season’s finale Japanese Grand Prix.

I have tried unsuccessfully to contact Carles Bosch who took today’s photograph if you know him please do not hesitate to get in touch below.

Thanks for joining me on this “Spanish Sadness” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

French Built Championship Winner – MATRA Ford MS80 #MS80/3

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For 1969 MATRA CEO Jean-Luc Lagardère took a gamble to try and win the 1969 Drivers and Manufacturers Championships by suspending the entry of MATRA V12 powered cars by the works MATRA team and putting all of the teams efforts behind Ken Tyrrells Ford DFV powered MATRA International team cars.