The Ferraris 340 America, 250 Europa GT, 195 Sport and the Maserati Tipo 61 ‘Birdcage’. What do these cars all have in common? The short answer is that one example of each of them did not fair too well in the hands of one Charles Nall-Cain, better known as Lord Brocket, who until being rumbled for insurance fraud in the mid-nineties was a well-known collector of Ferraris and Maseratis. After the crash of the classic car market in 1990 and facing mounting debt, Brocket attempted to defraud his insurers for around £4,500,000, alleging that these cars had been stolen from his collection. Despite later withdrawing his claim, Brocket ended up spending a few years in prison because of it.
But what happened to the cars in the meantime is a sad tale.
195 Sport 0123S as it appeared on Kidston.com
A quick breakdown of the cars, if you’ll pardon the pun (which you’ll only get later). Just 23 340 Americas were built, and Brocket’s 1951 specimen was one of only 11 of these that had the beautiful Vignale body made up of one gracefully sweeping arc from front to back when seen in profile (other bodies were built by Ghia and Touring). Since it has been restored it looks nothing like the original, but is simply made up: it has lost its windscreen to become a faux-Spyder, and has missing bumpers, different air intakes and outlets and so on. The 340 America was the first of the now famous Ferrari Americas, and also the first to use the naturally aspirated Lampredi 4.1 litre V12 that had been initially developed for the Ferrari F1 arm; it was no slouch. While the 250 Europa was another grand tourer style Ferrari to use the puissant Lampredi V12, the later 250 Europa GT shortened its wheelbase from 2,800 to 2,600 mm and opted for a Colombo 3 litre V12 based on that of the 250 Mille Miglia. It was the 250 Europa GT that Brocket had. With coachwork by Pininfarina and Vignale, it represents another important milestone in the history of Ferrari, being that it was the first to have the ‘GT’ monicker. 28 were built, of which Brocket’s model was the penultimate example to roll off the production line. Just to gauge how rare these cars are, fewer 250 Europa GTs (and 340 Americas for that matter) were built than 250 GTOs. This exact model was originally owned in succession by two Dutchmen, and raced once at Zandvoort, even taking part in a couple of hill climbs before Brocket became its sixth owner in 1980.
Gregor Fisken with 2456 at Laguna Seca in 2000
Brocket’s 1950 berlinetta chassis 195 Sport, one of only three to be bodied by Touring, also had an interesting life before he owned it, racing for example at Silverstone, the RAC International Rally and the Tour de France in 1951, while one of the other Touring 195s led at Le Mans and won the 1950 Mille Miglia. The 195 Sport concerned here was actually in need of total restoration when Brocket purchased it, having allegedly been found in the USA rusting in an avocado grove, but this doesn’t excuse what happened to it. Then there is the 1960 Maserati Tipo 61 ‘Birdcage’, a hugely important car. A chro-moly frame of about two-hundred tubes welded together gave this car its nickname as well as a much lighter but more rigid chassis than most of its contemporaries. A Camoradi Birdcage in white and blue team colours won the Nürburgring 1000km in 1960 with Stirling Moss behind the wheel, and again in 1961. Other drivers to throw around a 2.9 litre, 250 bhp, 177 mph Birdcage included the greats Jim Hall, Carroll Shelby and Lloyd ‘Lucky’ Casner himself, who originally founded Camoradi specifically to race the Birdcage. The Birdcage that Brocket owned was raced in 1960 and 1961 but was then partially destroyed in a garage fire and later dismantled. Brocket bought the bits and gave it a new frame, body and engine. The Tipo 61 and its ancestors (Tipos 63, 64 and 65) are crucially significant in the history of Maserati racing, being the last we saw of the marque in racing until the 21st century. Designed by Giulio Alfieri, three Tipo 61s in Camoradi colours were also entered at Le Mans in 1960, but despite being thrillingly quick all had to retire suffering from various problems including starter motor trouble for instance, a great shame.
340 America is 0138 AM at Elkhart Lake in 1985. Courtesy of Marcel Massini.
What happened to the examples that Brocket owned is a horrifying story to say the least. Afflicted by the aforementioned financial troubles, Brocket hatched a plan to defraud his insurers by staging a ‘theft’, even suggesting at one point that there had been interest from ‘Japanese buyers’ in the models. What he in fact did was have two employees dismantle the cars, cut up their bodies, scatter them across his large estate and bury them. Several engine parts and an OSCA 2000 also met an unfortunate end, although unfortunately little is known about what happened to it. His estranged wife at the time happened to be caught attempting to forge a prescription to quench her drug addiction, and ended up spilling the beans to the police. Brocket was duly tried and convicted. The 250 Europa GT has happily been accurately restored to its former glory, but during its restoration the body and many of the parts have had to be built again from scratch. The same is true of the 340 America which was virtually destroyed and is now residing in the USA, but the reconstruction is not at all true to the original as far as looks are concerned, and it has a different engine altogether. The Tipo 61 has been restored extensively and raced again in dark red at Laguna Seca in 2000. The 195 S however has not been fully restored yet; all that remains of the original body is the boot lid and badges. It remains for sale in its current state. Brocket also had time added on to his prison sentence when it emerged that he had been involved in further fraud, this time passing off a fake Ferrari 250 SWB that he had had built on the base of the much less valuable 250 GTE 2+2, giving it the serial number of a real short wheelbase 250 that had been missing for a long time. He may have got away with it had the real 250 SWB not been found, but that’s another story for another time.
It could be one of the most unlucky or one of the most useful chassis of all time, to me it's one of the most desirable ever.
#2053GT crashed hard during the 1964 500km of Spa, apparently for the last time. Judging by the only two pictures I could find Francis van Lysbeth was very lucky to get out of the car in one piece and to be racing again at the 1000km of the Nurburgring few weeks later. The team was Ecurie Francorchamps and it is legitimate to think all four cars (our 2053 GT and three GTO) were more than determined to obtain a good result. Only one will manage to finish the race, 250 GTO 4153GT in fifth position.
This was the second race alone for van Lysbeth on the #2053GT but the car had been reasonably busy all its life. It was in fact its second race for 1964 (2nd place best result) after 7 total races in 1963 in which it obtained a 3rd, a 4th and a 5th placement. 1962 was indeed the beginning of a new life for #2053GT after a nasty accident at the 1000km of the Nurburgring almost got it written off. At the time of the accident in fact the car was wearing already its second (possibly third) "dress" and it was to be changed yet again.
The car left the factory line in early 1960 as a 250SWB but it was retained by Ferrari as "muletto" or development car. Some were led to think that this very chassis was Enzo Ferrari's and subsequently Giotto Bizzarrini's personal car but in reality such car would have been #0523 GT. According to other sources it might have also been the mysterious "Anastasia" GTO development mule.
What most trustworthy Ferrari historians proved is that our car started as a Boano (hence the confusion with Bizzarrini's) and it was sold in early 1960 as SWB to Milan's Scuderia St. Ambroeus, to the name of Casimiro Toselli that raced it extensively and successfully the whole year before trading it back to the factory. As everybody knows 1961 is a pivotal year for Ferrari and the GTO development and not much is known about what happened during this time to #0523 GT. It's known that the car was by then silver with wide red longitudinal stripe and there's photographic evidence of it at the paddock of the 1961 Le Mans possibly taken there by works driver Willy Mairesse. By the end of the year Stirling Moss himself would test some experimental modifications at Monza (hence the theory about the car being "Anastasia" by then) until it was finally sold to Ecurie Francorchamps after being upgraded with 6 Weber 38 DCN carburetors.
The car raced 5 times in 1962, most notably with Jacques Swaters taking it to victory twice, until the fateful 1000km of the Nurburgring in may saw the car damaged almost beyond repair.
At the time it was common to use this kind of chances to give the remains to italian coachbuilders which then had the chance to give us some of the most amazing creatures we still admire today. I'm ever so thankful that this chance was given to Drogo.
Born in Vignale Monferrato, 45 minutes drive south of Turin, in 1936, Piero Drogo was a former racing driver that worked as a mechanic at Stanguellini after his family returned to Italy after having emigrated in Venezuela during the war. After having established his own Carrozzeria Sports Cars in Modena he started taking orders from private clients mostly arriving with Ferrari in need of a new body. This was a time very likely to be considered the true renaissance of motor car and is incredible to think that few blocks away there used to be coachbuilders such as Drogo, Neri & Bonacini and Scaglietti. Most of them creating these cars without ever making drawing of them. This sort of neighborhood also explains another common misconception, the creation of the notorious #2819 GT breadvan, created by "beaters" from Neri & Bonacini and not Drogo as usually stated.
On #0523 GT Drogo created one of the loudest and in my opinion most beautiful designs ever to dress a 250SWB. The signature pointy nose, the elongated figure and the tight fit of the body on the chassis creates an outrageous wave that gracefully and violently wraps the rear section of the car and the rear arches.
It sure is painful to see the pictures of the car violently smashes after rolling over and the canopy brutally removed to take van Lysbeth out of the car on that fateful 17th of May of 1964 at Spa.
It is not certain where #0523GT is now. Some say that it was rebodied as SWB but many support the theory that the car was never to be rebuilt again and it may still be somewhere in the Ecurie Francorchamps belongings. Unfortunately the value of a SWB these days makes the second theory quite unlikely but I do hope one day someone will return the car to its unique lines.
Many hours of research didn't give me any lead in finding the position of the car today, any suggestion or tip would be extremely appreciated.
This August is definitely a great month for Classic Cars Auctions. Some of the most amazing cars in history will go under the hammer and I sure regret not being able to witness in person the exciting last moments of ownership for those selling them.
The majestic and unique Manta Bizzarrini is set to trade hands in Pebble Beach at Gooding and Company's auction on the 18th and 19th. Very first design of the newly founded firm, the Manta arguably marks the appearance of the wedge style and "the seventies" in car design. Starting from the innovative frame of the Bizzarrini P538 the car seems to wipe out all the designs made before with an uncompromising 15 degree windshield, three seats with the driver in the central position and its outrageous color scheme. The estimate seats comfortably between 1.3 and 1.5 million dollars. I sure hope this car more luck than what happened to the even more revolutionary Lancia Stratos HF which missed the lower estimate shy of €200.000 last summer.
Find here some pictures I took some years back at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The Manta will be in great company, the catalogue also offers a striking 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Coupe Aerodinamico ($1,750,000 - $2,500,000), 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC ($3,750,000 - $4,500,000) and three famous prototypes like the 1970 Monteverdi HAI 450 SS ($600,000 - $800,000), 1964 Ford GT40 ($5,000,000 - $7,000,000) and the 1957 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider ($6,000,000 - $8,000,000).
My personal favourites probably being the 1955 Maserati A6G/2000 Berlinetta ($1,500,000 - $2,000,000) and the almost perfect 1959 Lancia Flaminia Sport ($375,000 - $450,000).
If you were impressed by the offer of Gooding and Company then you should not be disappointed by RM Auctions, except for the fact that they are offering two Auctions this month alone! On the 17th and 18th in Monterey they will offer a frankly striking array of vehicles. It is very hard for me not to publish here most of the catalogue. One of the pure gems is the 1955 Ferrari 410s Berlinetta, the beauty and the beast itself. A car rarely seen in meetings and events and one of the most beautiful shapes ever conceived by Scaglietti.
Also in the catalogue no less than 3 true everlasting icons of car racing history such as the 1971 Porsche 917/10 Spyder Can-Am ($2,900,000-$3,500,000), the "Icon" itself 1968 Ford GT40 Gulf/Mirage Lightweight that also served as camera car in the legendary "Le Mans" movie and the 1987 Porsche 962 IMSA Camel GT ($1,200,000-$1,600,000).
Porsche is also well represented by the 1981 Porsche 935 JLP-3 IMSA ($1,300,000-$1,800,000) and no less that the actual factory works prototype of the 1963 Porsche 904/6 Carrera GTS ($1,800,000-$2,200,000).
Last but not least there's the novelty of Virgil Exner's 1960 Plymouth XNR concept car. Admittedly not one of my favourite cars. I find its shapes too "cartoonesque" for my tastes. But then again... how often does it happen to see such a famous unique car trading hands?
Find here some of the videos RM produced to present this particular auction.
It's common for these auction houses to offer for sale such incredible vehicles and to reach equally incredible bids. That's why the real surprise of the month is RM's auction in Denmark, presenting the Aalholm collection on the 12th of August featuring more than 175 motor cars, formerly part of the Automobil Museum. All lots will be presented without reserve and in my opinion, at very conservative estimates. Possibly because most of the cars are not restored to RM's incredible usual level or possibly in an attempt to try and attract a wider audience. Whatever the reason, there will sure be some nice bidding action and some smiley faces at the end of the day.
The museum's offer stretches from a 1958 Trojan Cabin Scooter with a high estimate at £740.31 (really??) to an uber cool 1926 Citroën Kegresse Half-Track that is expected to go for as little as £2,300.
The queen of the auction in my opinion will be the 1954 Arnott Sports, Arnott's only Lea Francis (push-rod - twin cams high in block) powered Sports from a production of seven cars. Miss Daphne Arnott founded the make in London in 1951 and produced cars for roughly 6 years. It was a brave attempt and she also managed to put a car on the grid of the 1955 and '57 Le Mans 24 Heures, where it was stopped by technical failures. This is truly a nice piece of car and the estimate of 2,300 to 3,900 GBP is to my eye, hard to believe.
Go to RM's website for all the info you may need and don't forget to subscribe to their twitter account for a live feed of the auctions!
From the original 189 applications for entry the A.C.O. selected a most promising field, but pre-race withdrawals (most notably of all the American cars, Chevrolet Sting Ray Corvettes and Chaparrals, and of the works Abarths the A.S.A.s and the new Osca) removed much of the piston-engined novelty.
Even with all the reserves admitted, the smallest field (48+1) for several years started. Ferrari was once again the marque to beat, a formidable task as 11 factory and private cars represented the Scuderia, four 4.9 330LM open and coupe Prototypes, three open 3.0 250Ps and four 3.0 GTOs (one a 330LM/GTO hybrid). Their large-car opposition included only two full teams, neither of them full-time: Briggs Cunningham's three lightweight competition E-type Jaguars and the Aston Martins, a 4.0 215 Prototype, a private and two works DB4GTs.
One new sound on the circuit was the beat of American Ford V-8s, installed in two A.C. Cobras as "slow" (about 160 m.p.h. maximum) as the Jaguars on the Straight, and a rear-engined Lola G.T. Prototype, which started despite its late arrival for scrutineering and the extensive modifications subsequently required. A 3.8 Lister-Jaguar and the modified (simplified rear suspension and 5.0 V-8 engine) Type 151 of Maserati-France completed the "big" entry. A lone M.G.B. faced four 2.0 Porsches, two Prototype flat-8s and to 2000GS fours. Two Sunbeam Alpines and a 1.6 Alfa Romeo made up the next class; two Lotus Elites and two Alfa Romeo Giulia GZS the 1300c.c. class. Rene Bonnet and an Austin Healey formed the 1150-c.c. class.
A Deep Sanderson joined three elongated but pretty 1 litre Alpines and two elongated Bonnets. Two smaller Bonnets, two Fiat-Abarths and a scruffy DKW Special made up the "conventional" field. Finally, racing with the others but only against the clock to average 93.2 m.p.h. as a formula equating its power unit with piston engines could not be agreed, was the Rover-B.R.M. gas turbine car, the first so powered to run in a classic road race and naturally a centre of interest. Breaking with tradition it was flagged-off individually from a facing-direction-of-race not tail-to-pit position.
The field got away cleanly on a hot afternoon. At the end of the first lap Simon in the Maserati boomed past in the lead and during the opening stages, he fought off the Ferraris of Parkes, Surtees and Rodriguez. The new Aston Martin, after an excellent start, fell back slightly but kept in touch with the leaders. But troubles came early. The DKW completed only one hesitant lap, a Fiat-Abarth two, while a Lotus and the M.G. embedded themselves in the Mulsanne sand, while a DB4GT made a pit stop. Then Masson rolled his Bonnet down the centre of the approach to the Esses in front of the tight leading group which was about to lap him. They all avoided the wreck but Phil Hill, fifth in the Aston Martin 215, hit fragments of the Bonnet and also incurred transmission damage which ultimately caused his retirement.
In their pursuit of Simon, Rodriguez and Surtees broke the lap record again and again, Surtees finally cutting four seconds off the existing record while the average for the first two hours was only fractionally under 200 km/h. The big Maserati gained a few laps respite during the first Ferrari stops but slowed during the third hour and went out with transmission failure.
Ferraris now commanded the race. The gearbox trouble which had already put the Hansgen-Pabst Jaguar out slowed the Salvadori-Richards sister car. Just past 8 PM the engine of Bruce McLaren's Aston Martin let go distributing a generous quantity of oil in the fast corner just after Hunaudières. First to hit the oil was Roy Salvadori in the Briggs Cunningham entered Lightweight Jaguar E-Type. Salvadori lost control, briefly regained it but then ran onto the grass and spun. He hit the bank backwards and, with his seatbelt undone as he had been having problems with it, he was ejected though the rear Perspex window onto the back. The car caught fire but was quickly extinguished and Roy survived miraculously with just cuts and heavy bruising. Next to arrive at the scene was 'Franc' (Jacques Dewes) in the Aston-Martin DB4 GTZ. He spun but managed to avoid hitting anything though the René Bonnet Aérodjet LM6 of Jean-Pierre Manzon crashed whilst trying to avoid him. Manzon was thrown out when his car rolled leaving the hapless Christian 'Bino' Heins with few options. In avoiding Manzon, who was lying on the track, he hit the oil and spun, hitting the LM6 and a lamp-post. The Alpine-Renault burst into flames with Christian trapped inside. The fire-fighters struggled with the fire out as they tried to get Bino out of the car. He was taken to hospital but was declared dead on arrival. A post mortem revealed that he had probably died almost instantly from head injuries.
The Surtees-Mairesse 250P extended its lead through the evening and at midnight had completed 117 laps averaging 197.6 km/h. It was followed by Bandini-Scarfiotti (250P, 116 laps), Rodriguez-Penske and Gurney-Hall (N.A.R.T. 4.0 330LMs, 112 laps) the former about to retire with an oil leak, and the surviving Aston Martin (Kirnberley-Schlesser, 112 laps). Meanwhile, the unobtrusively consistent Rover-B.R.M. had covered 103 laps and was as fast as most cars through, for example, the Esses, thus dismissing pre-race suspicions that it might be a mobile roadblock.
The Aston Martin climbed to third before retiring in the early morning, turning the Barth-Linge Porsche in seventh place into the first non-Ferrari and the Grossmann-Cunningham Jaguar, eighth, the highest British car.
Speeds fell considerably as the Sarthe mist lay thick on the circuit. The Lola lost over two hours with gearbox trouble, returned to the race but soon rolled in the Esses as the gearbox selector failed again. Car after car had fallen out so that by 9 a.m. there were only 17 runners. 8 Ferraris, 2 Bonnets, a single A.C., the M.G., an Alpine, a Porsche, a Sunbeam and a Lotus. The remaining Jaguar was stationary at its pits while its front (mangled when Grossmann took the escape road at Mulsanne after a pin in the brake pedal linkage snapped), was rebuilt with cannibalized parts. At 18 hours the average speed of the leading Ferrari was 196.3 km/h but at 10.40 a.m., immediately after a refuelling stop, it caught fire and Mairesse spun it in the Esses before abandoning. But still six Ferraris led with remarkably few small cars left to impede their progress, and the Rover-B.R.M. was (unofficially) eighth. The Porsche had slipped several places after losing a wheel.
By 1.40 p.m. on Sunday the gas turbine car had completed its target distance. Of the big cars only the Gregory-Piper Ferrari, which had been in the sand at Mulsanne, really hurried to regain lost places as the race ran out. Ferrari won as expected but the extent of their victory could hardly have been forecast. Their demonstration of speed and endurance was the more outstanding because of the failures of other marques. 5 out of 11 Ferraris retired, only three of them with mechanical derangements. They equalled the Bentley and Alfa Romeo record of four wins in a row quite apart from gaining their seventh victory. The winning car covered more than 4,500 km. for the first time, took the Index of Performance award away from the small cars for the first time since 1950 (the Beltoise-Bobrowski Bonnet was a lowly seventh), and was second to the Bonnet in the Thermal Efficiency classification. It was also the first all-Italian-car and drivers-victory at Le Mans.
The first basically-new car in road racing for decades and attempted forerunner of a new era that still has to come, the Rover-B.R.M. performed superbly and would have won any Le Mans 24-hour Race before 1957. Graham Hill, Ginther and the mechanics were greeted by the loudest cheers of all at the conclusion of a triumphant demonstration.
(source of information: "the LE MANS 24-Hour Race", by David Hodges, Temple Press Books, 1963, London)
Today's bicycle stroll in Hyde Park offered as usual an amazing classic on display.
A 1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast was laconically parked on the side of the road, possibly waiting for a late photographer.
Only 36 (+1) left the Pininfarina factory in Turin between 1964 to 1966 and this is one of only 8 right hand drive, quite an exceptional sight indeed.
The Superfast was the last of the "America" Series and arguably the most desirable of all. Presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 1964 it boasted the 5.0l Colombo Engine, 395 hp and a top speed of 275 km/h.
It's my favourite design ever to dress the 330 2+2 chassis, with sleek and dry decorations and a proportion of volumes that state nothing but speed and comfort.
The value of the model peaked in the late eighties, when a Series I traded for $800.000 and lost interest through the nineties. In recent auctions the demand seems to have grown yet again and I wouldn't be surprised to see this beautiful example changing hands for around the million dollars mark.
This very car is likely to be S/N 6659SF, completed in early September 1965 after 11 months of construction. It features Grigio Argento paint with "Rosso Mercedes" leather. The car allegedly came back to England after spending some years in Australia.
Who knows, maybe Peter Sellers saw this car and immediately decided to buy one, in fact he received his in "nocciola-naturale" almost exactly 12 months later.
In 1951 the XKI20C came as a surprise to other Le Mans contenders, but in the following year the reputation of Mercedes-Benz and the 3.0 300SL preceded them. The performance of the streamlined coupés in the Mille Miglia suggested that they were superior in maximum speed to the Ferraris and Jaguars and certainly not inferior in road-holding, thus provoking some over-hasty revision in rival equipes' preparations. The Jaguars arrived with new bodies and ran their first high-speed trials during practice. They overheated and were partly and hopefully modified on the spot; many British hopes for victory were consequently centred on the DB3 Aston Martins. Ferrari was represented by an assortment of cars: 4.1, 3.0, 2.7 and 2.6, open and coupé.
Briggs Cunningham entered two lighter, shorter C4Rs and a C4RK coupe. Of the Talbots Levegh's at last looked like a contemporary sports car, and Gordini entered the dainty 2.3 which had done so well at Monte Carlo and was expected to put up another good performance at Le Mans (if it lasted). Lower in the capacity order came a 2.1 Morgan; two Frazer-Nashes and two Lancias in the 2-litre class; a Gordini, three Jowetts, a Porsche and an Osca in the 1.s-litre class; two IIOO-C.C. Porsches and one IIOO-C.C. Simca, six Renaults, a Panhard and two D.B.s; and, in the 750-c.c. class, three more Panhards. A first-class entry, despite the non-appearance of the expected Alfa Rameo and Pegaso teams, which on paper at any rate, promised a close-fought race.
The Cunningham coupe led at the end of the first lap but was soon overwhelmed by the two Ferraris of Ascari and Simon, which were setting a quite unrealistic sprint pace. The Jaguars, and the Mercedes, were quietly holding back at their pre-determined speed. On the sixth lap Ascari stopped with a slipping clutch, and returned to the race apparently intent only on putting the lap record out of reach of his rivals. Moss moved into second place and on the eighth lap Manzon took the Gordini past the two other Jaguars. Within the hour Parnell's DB3 coupe went out with rear-axle trouble and Poore soon followed with the second works Aston. The overheated Jaguars all retired in the second hour, the Mercedes began to move up and, as Simon faltered, Manzon led. He was followed by WaIters' Cunningham and Kling, the latter shortly to be delayed by the defective dynamo which ultimately put him out of the race.
At midnight the Gordini led (at 104.4 m.p.h.) by a lap from Levegh (95 laps), Lang and Helfrich (94), Chinetti (Ferrari, 92) and the Macklin Collins Aston Martin (91 laps). Fog in the small hours slowed the race to about 95 m.p.h. and positions remained unchanged until dawn. Then brake failure ended the Gordini's "win or bust" run, whereat Levegh's Talbot led the He1frich Niedermayer 300SL by the healthy margin of four laps and the Hemard-Dussous Panhard took over the lead on Index.
Mercedes-Benz seemed content to hold their position on Sunday. The Porsche and Osca entries, still disputing the I.5-litre class, fell out, leaving it to the Becquart-Wilkins Jupiter (in repetition of the 1951 race). Aurelias, eighth and ninth overall at noon, commanded the 2-litres, while Porsche and Panhard led the 1100c.c. and 750c.c. classes respectively. Briggs Cunningham, who drove his own car for 20 out of the 24 hours, pushed on in a passionate effort to succeed.
In the early afternoon Lang's Mercedes passed its slowing sister car, a rear-axle failure put the last works Aston Martin out (leaving one privately-entered DB2 to represent the marque) and the Talbot in fifth place crashed. Then, with an hour and a quarter to go, a connecting rod on the leading Talbot snapped, and Levegh, who had consistently refused relief and was bemused with fatigue, was out of the race. The two Mercedes automatically won, deservedly in view of their superb preparation and control, but not perhaps without an element of luck. The Nash Healey was third, followed by the Cunningham, the Simca-Vincent Ferrari and the first of the Lancias. Altogether 17 oddly assorted cars of the brilliant field of 57 which started 24 hours earlier survived this most eventful race.
(source "The LE MANS 24-Hour Race" by David Hodges, Temple press Books, 1963 London)
Fantastic shot of Jackie Stewart powersliding towards victory in Jarama, 1970. Behind Jackie Oliver's BRM burns after a hard hit on Jacky Ickx's Ferrari. Only five drivers will finish the race, Bruce McLaren will take second place with a whole lap difference from the Scotsman. The footage of the accident is horrifying. The gasoline bursts almost immediately from Ickx car and wraps the two in fractions of a second, awfully close to the spectators. The marhalls try to extinguish the fire from the other side of the curve washing the drivers that have to pass in the middle. The Ferrari will eventually rolls towards them because of merciful gravity. I all this disaster Stewart's foot seem to need a little powerslide to dry the tires right after crossing the little river of the extinguishers.
A sentence I hear more and more from motorsport documentaries is "you just need to keep the fear on the back of your head". This picture seems to wrap this sentence with a flaming ribbon.
Luigi Chinetti has been one of my personal heroes for a long time. His life a manifesto of motorsport. Being a huge enthusiast for long distance racing, especially for the "golden age", I came across his Scuderia N.A.R.T many times. I won't even try to make a short story of his life, achievements, designs and victories. I would like to remember him for his Le Mans in 1949. His 166M was the first Ferrari to ever win the legendary competition, but the incredible aspect of the event is that he gave the steering wheel to the Baron Peter Mitchell-Thomson for a mere 20 minutes. This was in fact the minimum time necessary for him to be recognised as official co-driver. I can't even start to understand what it would be like to drive flat out a raging sportscar for that amount of time, lap after lap after lap, in a track where the only rest for the mind is in a neverending Mulsanne straight. Simply amazing.
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