Bruce McLaren’s Ford GT40 MkII leads the Jo Siffert/Colin Davis 4th placed Porsche 906LE during his winning drive shared with Chris Amon…
The Kiwis’ took the chequered flag in the infamous, Ford executive determined ‘form finish’ which arguably deprived Ken Miles the victory he deserved.
Bruce McLaren in the winning GT40 passes the ‘Maranello Concessionaires’ Richard Attwood/David Piper Ferrari 365P2, DNF lap 33 with water pump failure (Getty)
‘Scuds’ was the nickname of David McKay’s Ferrari, Porsche and Volvo dealership on Sydney’s North Shore…
Here is the team with its Brabham BT23A Repco ‘740’ 2.5 V8 at Warwick Farm in 1967’ish. Not sure of the exact date, but it looks warm and Cusack carried #7 in the Hordern Trophy on 3 December 1967 so my tip is that weekend. He finished behind Frank Gardner’s Alec Mildren owned Brabham BT23D Alfa Tipo 33 V8, its race debut and John Harvey’s Brabham BT11A Climax.
Mind you, Cusack carried the same number in the 18 February ’68 Tasman Round won by Jim Clark’s Lotus 49 Ford DFW, Greg was out on lap 4 with brake problems. Upon a closer look, the car in the shot below, during the Tasman round does not have the green band at its noses tip, so let’s go for the shot above as pre Hordern Trophy.
From the left is the beautifully liveried Holden HR Station Wagon tow car.
It’s probably toting the big 186cid 3 litre ‘six’ and ‘three on the tree’ manual tranny. Mechanic Bob Atkin, later a Director of SV, then El Supremo McKay and driver Greg Cusack. Greg was a very successful Ford dealer himself in Canberra. He was said to have been as quick as anyone on his day but ‘those days’ didn’t happen often enough! The trailer is a ‘Rice’ rated then and eagerly sought after now.
Top period shots, luvvem!
Cusack at the Farm during the ’68 Tasman round in the SV BT23A (oldracephotos.com)
Chris Amon did some laps in the car that 1968 Warwick Farm 100 weekend too. I wonder if David McKay was keen to see just how fast the car could go- Chris was one of the fastest guys on the planet at the time after all, or perhaps he was helping with car setup.
That Tasman he was racing a works Ferrari Dino 246T his own team were running, and SV’s Ferrari P4/350 Can Am.
(D Grant)
The colour shot below is of Cusack on the same weekend- he was out of the championship race on lap 4 with brake problems whereas Chis was fourth in his Ferrari, Jim Clark won in a Lotus 49 Ford DFW.
(P Houston)
Credits…
Michael Gasking Collection/Repco, oldracephotos.com, oldracingcars.com, Perry Drury, Doug Grant, Peter Houston
Tailpiece…
(P Drury)
Denny behind Jack’s BT23A in the Longford paddock in March 1967, Brabham won the Monday Tasman race taking the one and only Repco engined Tasman win, using a ‘640 Series’ 2.5 V8.
Chris Amons STP March 701 Ford, at Clermont Ferrand, French GP weekend 4 July 1970, reflected in the gals ‘sunnies’,this is a signature Rainer Schlegelmilch shot but I never tire of them!…
Amon, French GP, Clermont Ferrand 1970, ‘works’ March 701 Ford (unattributed)
Chris qualified the car well in 3rd, one slot in front of Jackie Stewart in Ken Tyrrell’s similar, albeit Dunlop, rather than Firestone shod car. Chris raced the car into 2nd behind Rindt’s winning Lotus 72 and in front of Brabham’s Brabham BT33, all cars Ford Cosworth powered.
Amons March 701 at Clermont in 1970. he won the Non-Championship BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone in April in it but no championship Grands Prix despite a very close 2nd to Pedro Rodriguez’ BRM P153 in a Belgian GP Spa, slip-streaming thriller (Cahier)
The ever innovative Derek Gardner with an ‘aero-tweak’ being tested on Francois Cevert’s Tyrrell 002 Ford during Italian GP practice at Monza on 10 September 1972…
This huge sleeve over the exhausts is cowled from the oil coolers back, the idea being to harness the exhaust gas energy to entrain air through the sleeve and enhance airflow and hence better cooling thru the oil rads.
Francois hadn’t done too many laps when the ‘prophylactics’ parted company with the car at very high speed, bouncing their way into lightweight schrapnel around the famous autodrome, fortunately ‘002’ was well clear of any following cars at the time!
The shot below shows a standard ‘006’ rear end to give an idea of how the car appeared sans ducts.
Ken Tyrrell and Jackie Stewart discuss the sublime weather before Francois is sent on his way. These cars evolved a lot throughout 1972/3, the Tyrrells arguably (Lotus 72 pace duly noted!) the quickest cars of the era from the time ‘001’ first raced at Oulton Park later in 1970 until Stewart’s retirement and Cevert’s death at Watkins Glen at the end of 1973.
Date and place unknown, 1973 Tyrrell 006 Ford, Cevert up (unattributed)
Monza 1972 wasn’t a good race for the ‘Boys in Blue’ at all though, JYS popped a clutch on the line and was lucky not to get ‘whacked up the clacker’ at a million miles an hour and Francois’ engine ‘popped’ on lap 14. Emerson Fittipaldi took the race and the ’72 title in his Lotus 72D Ford.
FC looking very ‘chillaxed’ prior to the ’73 British GP at Silverstone, Tyrrell 006 Ford (unattributed)
You might find this story about Cevert’s early career of interest if you haven’t already seen it;
I wrote an article a while back about Team Tyrrell and innovation…
Have a read of it if you haven’t, its amazing just how ‘edgy’ Ken’s boys were over the years given their resources relative to bigger, better funded teams;
Roll on into mid-1973 and Derek was considering his overall design and aero alternatives for his 1974 car…
Here Francois is testing ‘005’ during British GP practice at Silverstone in mid July, JYS did a few laps in the same car carrying #42. It looks remarkably cohesive for a car designed originally with a totally different bluff nose aerodynamic concept!
Compare and contrast the ‘normal’ bluff nose Tyrrell ‘006’ Cevert races here in front of James Hunt’s March 731 Ford at the British GP, Silverstone in 1973, with the ‘005’ chisel nose he tested in practice above. Hunt was a splendid 4th, Cevert 5th, Revson took his first GP win in a McLaren M23 Ford (unattributed)
It was a good year until the US GP, JYS took his third title in the ‘low polar moment of inertia’, short wheelbase, twitchy but very quick in both Stewart and Cevert’s hands, Tyrrell 005/006 cars.
Click on this link for a short story about those cars;
Gardner had a pretty handy additional test pilot in Chris Amon who was contracted the drive the spare Tyrrell 005 in the end of season North American GP’s at Mosport and Watkins Glen.
Chris was always rated as a test-driver by all he raced with from Ferrari’s Mauro Forghieri ‘down’.
Amon raced ‘005’ in side radiator/chisel nose spec in Canada. He didn’t race it at Watkins Glen after Francois’ fatal accident on the Saturday resulted in Ken Tyrrell withdrawing the teams cars for the race, which would have been the retiring Stewart’s 100th GP.
Chris Amon 10th in Tyrrell 005 Ford in the Canadian GP, Chris has ‘modified’ the cars nose during the race. JYS was 5th in 006, Cevert DNF after a collision with Scheckter, Peter Revson won the race in a McLaren M23 Ford (unattributed)
Derek Gardner tested the ‘chisel nose, side radiator’ aerodynamic approach pioneered by the Lotus 56 at Indianapolis in 1968.
After the history making changes at the 1973 seasons end Derek Gardner threw out the conceptual approach he had decided upon for 1974.
The proposed car was to be a ‘highly strung thoroughbred’ from which maestro’s Stewart and Cevert could extract every ounce of performance. His change was to a much more forgiving chassis attuned to the developmental needs of ‘cub drivers’ Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler for 1974, his ‘007’ design was the very effective result.
(unattributed)
Tyrrell 007 Ford cutaway above. The design comprised an aluminium monocoque chassis, Ford Cosworth 3 litre DFV V8, Hewland FG400 5 speed transaxle, disc brakes inboard front and rear, wishbone front suspension with coil spring dampers, rear suspension by single upper link, lower parallel links, radius rods and coil spring/damper units anf adjustable roll bars.
Tailpiece: The ’74 Tyrrell 007 Ford in Depailler’s hands, Swedish GP in which he was 2nd and Scheckter’s 1st, winning the South African’s first GP. Evolution of Derek Gardner’s aero thinking clear from ’73-’74, mind you he went back to a bluff nose for his outrageous P34 6 wheeler for 1976…
(unattributed)
Credits…
Rainer Schlegelmilch, Doug Nye ‘History of The GP Car’
Chris Amon is not a driver one readily associates with the very successful 1970 Ferrari 312B and even then only in a ‘lost opportunity’ kind of way…
As he drove from his digs in Maranello the 20km to the Modena circuit Ferrari used for testing each time in mid 1969 he did so with an increasingly heavy heart.
Chris had motor racings dream job, Ferrari’s ‘number one’ driver and the considerable resources of the famed Scuderia at his disposal. He tested and raced F2 and Tasman Dino’s, Sports Prototypes, big Can-Am Group 7 cars and of course GP cars. The company car was not to be sneezed at. Ferrari’s drivers were only marginally less popular than the Pope, he loved living in Italy, enjoyed the food, people, the vibe in Maranello and testing the cars, Mauro Forghieri rated him one of the teams greatest test drivers and of course his racing of them.
But in his terms, as one of the five best drivers in the world at the time, he was not achieving the grand prix winning success he deserved, so many times he had led races in 1968 and early in 1969 only to have the car fail beneath him. And now, a car he thought looked fabulous and was testing well had an engine which consistently ‘grenaded’ behind him at Modena in the most spectacular fashion.
What should he do? Stay with Ferrari in the belief the engineering problem would be solved or move to another team with a Ford Cosworth powered car was the decision which tortured him…
Amon, Monaco 1967 in the awful race in which his teammate Lorenzo Bandini died the most gruesome, fiery death. Denny Hulme’s Brabham BT20 Repco won from Hill’s Lotus 33 BRM and Amon (unattributed)
The partnership between Amon and Mauro Forghieri was a fruitful one based on great mutual respect, which is not to say they always agreed! Here with 312 at Zandvoort in 1967. How young does he look?! Ferrari team-leader at 24 by the end of 1967 (unattributed)
He joined Ferrari in 1967 as one of four drivers- Lorenzo Bandini, Mike Parkes, Ludovico Scarfiotti and himself. The ‘pudgy’, heavy 312 of 1966 evolved into the 1967 car, quite the sexiest looking of any GP car. After the end of the sports car season it became a very fast one fitted with a lightweight block and F2 derived gearbox- and from Monza with four-valve heads the car flew. Amon believed the 390bhp claimed for it and described the (’67 and ’68) chassis as ‘an absolute dream to drive’. Chris should have won at Watkins Glen in front of the two Lotus 49s but the engine blew 12 laps from the end. In Mexico Chris qualified well in second but pitted for fuel.
A road accident early in the 1967 season put him out for a while, his speed had been demonstrated in all types of car, his place in the team was cemented despite an awful season for Ferrari- the tragic death of Bandini at Monaco and the effective end of Mike Parkes’ career in a huge, high speed Belgian GP, Spa shunt.
Amon with Ferrari 312 in the Monza pits, Italian GP 1967. Q4 and 7th in the race won by John Surtees Honda RA300 (Schlegelmilch)
For 1968 his teammate was Belgian ‘Wunderkind’ Jacky Ickx.
One of the ‘crosses Ferrari F1 drivers sometimes bore’ was Enzo Ferrari’s obsession with sports car racing, particularly Le Mans. Whilst the team had better resources than most, the impact of the sports car program on F1 was great or little depending upon the competitiveness of said GP cars at the time! In mid-season, the focus was on the Sports Cars, after that F1 was re-prioritised.
In 1968 Ferrari ‘spat the dummy’ at CSI rule changes (ending unlimited cars and changing to 5 litre Sports Cars and 3 litre Prototypes) not building a car for the season with a consequent focus on F1 and development of a car which could have won both ’68 world titles.
1968 Spanish Grand Prix. Ferrari 312/68 Q1 and led until fuel pump failure on lap 58. Hills Lotus 49 Ford won (unattributed)
The 48 valve V12 was developed to give circa 410bhp at a time the Ford Cosworth DFV gave much the same, albeit the Fazz lacked the mid-range punch of the DFV, Amon quipped that ‘there was nothing at home below 9800rpm’. The engine also had high water and oil temperatures with consequent power loss. The Ferraris went to the grid carrying 8-10 gallons more ‘juice’ than the Cosworth cars, a weight penalty of 55-70 pounds, despite all of that the 312/68 was a very competitive, if unreliable beast.
In amongst the damp North Sea dunes at Zandvoort in 1968. Dutch GP Q1 and 6th, the race won by Stewart’s Matra MS10 Ford (Schlegelmilch)
French GP, Rouen 1968. Q5 and 10th in the race won by teammate Ickx, the ‘rainmaster’ who started the damp race on full wets and drove away in the early laps when, again, a driver, Jo Schlesser, died in another fiery accident in the Honda RA302. These accidents accelerated changes to circuit and car safety, not that they were the last horrible fiery deaths in the period. Amazing Rainer Schlegelmilch shot of Rouen and the butt of Amons 312; look at the hay bales, tyre distortion and the presence of wings which grew thru ’68 (Schlegelmilch)
In 1968 the grid was ‘awash’ with Ford Cosworth DFV’s- Lotus, McLaren and Ken Tyrrell’s Matra’s were fitted with them. Colin Chapman waived his exclusivity agreement to the engines upon Ford’s Walter Hayes request that he do so ‘for the good of GP racing’ such was Hayes’ fear of Lotus dominance. Not that Ford’s position was diminished by more DFV powered cars on the grid than less!
Amon in the Oulton Park Gold Cup 17 August 1968. I had this shot on my bedroom wall for years as a scho0l kid! Wings are growing…Amon 2nd to Stewart’s Matra MS10 Ford (unattributed)
For Ferrari, BRM, Weslake and Honda the impact of the Ford engine was great. The DFV was built on modern, tape controlled equipment bought for the purpose which meant the quality of the product was consistent, parts made would fit all engines. Prior to that some GP engines were to an extent hand fettled and bits needed to be modified to fit each engine, which was effectively bespoke. Cosworth’s quality control and the pressure on them to rebuild the engines in a timely consistent way for all took a while to get sorted, but the writing was well and truly on the wall, the Ford engine a considerable F1 weapon of course right into the eighties and beyond in F3000 guise.
None of this was lost on Amon of course, the competitiveness of his compatriot Bruce McLaren’s cars in 1968 was something he observed and discussed with both Bruce and Denny Hulme.
Italian GP, Monza 9 August 1968. Giulio Borsari makes some adjustments to Ickx’ 312. Forghieri devised this ‘movable aerodynamic device’ operated by oil pressure. The wing went to hi-angle mode in 1/2/3rd gears but feathered for low drag with the throttle open in 4/5th gears. It returned to download position in those gears when the brakes were applied. An override switch was fitted which Chris liked and Ickx had removed (Klemantaski)
Amon putting the movable wing to good effect at Monza in 1968. Q3 and DNF after an accident, Hulme won in a McLaren M7A Ford (unattributed)
But Chris was ‘on fire’ in 1968. Ferrari were on the front row nine times, eight to Amon and took four poles, three to Amon, but unreliability robbed them, and Chris of three probable wins. Ickx took the only race win at Reims during the tragic French GP in which Jo Schlesser died in the Honda RA302.
At Monza Chris led until an oil leak onto a rear tyre caused an almighty accident which destroyed the car. He dominated in Canada despite clutchless gear changes from lap 12 but of course the gearbox broke under the strain, the clutch should not have failed.
Chris on the way to a 1969 Australian GP victory at Lakeside, Queensland on 2 February. He won the Tasman Series beating the Team Lotus Rindt/Hill duo and others. Left front of the Dino 246T off the deck thru the very fast kink opposite the pits (Rod MacKenzie)
1969 started well, Chris tested his 246 Dino Tasman cars thoroughly at Modena before shipping the cars home to New Zealand.
He convincingly won the Tasman Cup in 300bhp, 24 valve cars he helped develop and a team he put together. He collaborated with David McKay’s Sydney based Scuderia Veloce who provided on ground back-up for the mix of speed and reliability needed for this championship of intensity- eight races in eight weeks.
He beat the factory Lotus 49s of Hill and new-signing and probable ‘fastest guy on the planet’ Jochen Rindt taking four wins including the NZ GP at Pukekohe and AGP at Lakeside. The series of depth also included Derek Bell (in the other Dino), Frank Gardner (Mildren Alfa T33 V8) and Piers Courage (Brabham BT24 Ford DFW).
Back at Maranello the finishing touches were being made to the 312P, Ferrari were back in endurance racing that year, and the latest evolution of the 312 GP car.
Strategically the future for Ferrari was bright despite the financial difficulties the team were in early in the year.
Discussions underway with Fiat were consummated in June, Enzo Ferrari had effective control of the racing department for his lifetime whilst Fiat took over the development of the road cars, and a considerable amount of cash changed hands.
The injection of working capital allowed Ferrari to build the 25 512S Sports Cars required for homologation into Group 5 for 1970 and to develop Ferrari’s first ‘clean sheet’ 3 litre F1 car, the flat-12 312B.
Ferrari authorised Forghieri to start this program early in the year well before the Fiat deal was done, the Fiorano test facility, opened in 1972 is another example of the sort of investment which would not have been possible without Fiat’s investment.
Monaco 1969 Amon beside Jackie Stewart’s Matra MS80 Ford which won the title that year . Q2 anf a failed diff. Note the lack of wings, banned overnight by the CSI. Hill won in a Lotus 49 Ford (Yves Debraine)
From Amon’s perspective then, he was potentially in the right place.
He was esconced in one of the sports greatest teams, he had won the Tasman, Ferrari was in the process of doing a deal with a partner with deep pockets, a new car was underway for 1970 but 1969 could be a challenge with an evolution of the ’68 cars and more Cosworth powered cars on GP grids! It was critical to Chris the 312B tested well.
Whilst Mauro Forghieri worked on the design of the 312B Ing Stefano Jacoponi was responsible to do what he could with the obsolescent V12. The chassis was much the same although the cars appearance was different with a flatter nose and evolution of wings, partially at the whim of the (CSI) rulemakers who banned, rightly, high-wings during the Monaco GP weekend.
The V12 was changed with heads which reversed the porting, returning the exhausts to outside the Vee lowering the cars centre of gravity and reducing turbulence around the rear wing. Inlets were in the Vee, more radical cams were developed and disastrous efforts made to reduce frictional losses and release power by reducing main bearing area…
Amon, Q2 DNF engine, Spanish GP, Montjuic Park, Barcelona 1969. Stewart won in a Matra MS80 Ford. Look at that oil cooler trying to do just that (unattributed)
Forghieri with the 312/69 in the Silverstone, British GP paddock. V12 cooling issues clear by the ‘orrible oil cooler/duct incorporated into the rear wing. Amon Q5 and DNF lap 45 with gearbox failure. Stewart’s Matra won after a titanic battle with Rindt’s Lotus. 3 Ferrari’s were entered #32 the spare (unattributed)
Early in the season Ferrari entered only one car for Amon. He was second on the Spanish GP grid and inherited the lead after the two Lotus 49’s crashed with wing failure, with a lead of over 30 seconds the engine seized. At Monaco he was second when the diff failed and at Silverstone, joined by Pedro Rodriguez both retired with ‘box and engine failures.
To add to these frustrations and be in no doubt elite sport is as much mental as physical, his erstwhile teammate Ickx- Amon had been demonstrably the quicker of the two in 1968 was winning races in Brabham’s year old spaceframe chassis BT26. That car was now as consistently fast and reliable with a DFV in 1969 as it was consistently fast and unreliable with a Repco ‘RB860 Series’ V8 in 1968. Amon’s disappointment with his situation was immense, he was a race-winner in a reliable Ferrari or another car.
Such were their problems Ferrari withdrew from the German GP on 3 August, Ickx won there, to prepare the new 312B for Monza, it simply was not worth racing the fast but unreliable 312/69.
Amon had great hopes for Mauro Forghieri’s new for 1970 car, the ‘clean-sheet, Flat-12 engined 312B…
Amon readies himself for the off, Modena, exact date unknown (GP Library)
Mauro Forghieri’s Ferrari 312B was one of the most beautifully integrated Ferrari’s ever built, whilst much is made of the engine the success of the car was about far more. Doug Nye; ‘The 312B…was quite the best integrated 3 litre F1 package yet created. It would remain the best packaged of all Ferrari’s until the Postlethwaite 156 appeared in 1985’ he said writing in 1986. I always thought the 312T/T2 were pretty handy bits of integrated kit, but the point is, the car was a beautifully designed and executed car!
The talented Modenese born engineer saw at close hand as an at thecircuit race-engineer the success of the Lotus 49 and its imitators, the engine beautifully integrated with the chassis and the powerful, torquey, compact, relatively frugal and reliable nature of the Cosworth DFV itself. The engines basic dimensions and valve angles gave instruction to a whole generation of engine designers.
The suspension of the competition were all period conventional; wishbones/wishbones or rocker/wishbones at the front and single top-link, lower wishbones and radius rods for fore and aft location. The 312B followed that course.
Aerodynamics were still a black art but the CSI’s mandated lower wings meant airflow to the critical rear wing needed thought as the wing could no longer be mounted high in ‘clean air’. Remember, at the time traction was important, the cars had a wonderful surplus of power over grip.In the end that problem solved as much by tyre alchemy as wings let alone the 1969 4WD blind-alley of which Ferrari was not a part.
A 12 cylinder engine was a ‘Ferrari given’. Forghieri’s challenge was to unlock sufficient power to combat the DFV despite the inherent packaging issues of the longer engine and frictional losses and other bottom end shortcomings which were such problems in the existing V12.
Ferrari 312B 1970 showing the chassis structure and rear ‘boom or beam’ to which the engine attaches (Nye)
Forghieri’s chassis was another of Ferrari’s ‘aero constructions’. They were not monocoques in the British sense but rather a tubular internal frame stiffened by riveted on ‘ally panels. Not a problem, Ron Tauranac’s old-fashioned spaceframe BT26’s were race winning GP cars in 1969 until effectively outlawed by the ‘bag tank’ rules of 1970.
The clever bit, ‘praps learning from the DFV’s simple chassis mounts mandated by Lotus designer Colin Chapman to Cosworth’s Keith Duckworth was the use of a ‘beam’ aft of the usual drivers bulkhead to which the engine mounted. This provided a very stiff structure but also very good, better than all other cars in 1970, airflow to the rear wing. It promised more downforce and therefore grip for less angle, drag, than the other cars.
Note the rivets on the rear beam which is part of the cars chassis to which the engine attaches, it also biolts to the bulkhead behind the driver. Low nature of engine and good airflow onto the wing. Oil cooler ducts also in shot (GP Library)
Ferrari factory drawing of the Flat-12 312B engine showing its deep base chamber, roller bearing mains, narrow included valve angle, induction tracts above the heads, exhausts below and extensive cross-bolting of the split crankcase castings (Nye)
Engineers Forghieri, Rocchi and Bussi’s 3 litre Flat-12 engine was conceived in that horizontally opposed configuration to get the cars centre of gravity lowand get the engine out of the airstream to the wing. The need for lower frictional losses was met by the use of just 4, the old V12 had 7, main bearings. The design used 2 plain bearings in its centre and ball bearing races at each end.
Bore and stroke were 78.5mm x 51.5mm, vastly oversquare, for a capacity of 2991cc. Four overhead camshafts and 4 valves per cylinder were used, the heads evolved from ’69 V12 practice. Lucas fuel injection was carried over onto the new engine. The cams were driven by gears from the crank’s nose.
Doug Nye; ‘The light alloy block was cast in 2 parts and united on a crankshaft centreline bolted flange…Light alloy cylinder liners were used, cooled by water circulation at their upper ends, by oil circulation down below. The crankshaft was machined from a steel forging, each of its six crankpins carrying two con-rods. The crankshaft nose gear drove alternator, ignition distributor and and fuel metering unit via gears and pinions. The crank tail drove the valvegear train. A tiny flywheel assembly incorporated a rubber vibration damper. Forged titanium con-rods were used…and Mahle forged aluminium pistons…a single oil pressure pump was driven off the rear of the RH cylinder timing gear fed the oil filter mounted behind the fuel metering unit.’
Side on flat-12 engine detail, DOHC, 4 valve, Lucas injected, single plug, how low do they take the CofG with this approach?! See rad header tank and extinguished bomb, the latter messy in terms of flow to the wing and exposed! Check out the very clever roll bar brace; it triangulates and stiffens the rear beam structure as well as providing a neat, faired mount for the wing itself (GP Library)
312B front end detail. Suspension top rocker actuating coil springs and Koni shocks and lower wide based wishbone. Note ally ducting behind rad to exhuast hot air via ducts in the fibre-glass nose (GP Library)
Butt shot of the 312B as it heads out onto Modena Autodrome with Amon saying a few silent ‘Hail Marys’ as to engine life no doubt! Ducting to oil coolers, rear mounted battery and outboard brake discs/suspension all clear (GP Library)
Amon watched the jewel of a car evolve at Maranello, it was with a great deal of optimism that he approached his early tests at Modena.
Right from the start he and Forghieri were happy with the chassis, the sort of balance they achieved with the earlier V12’s was still present. The car was lighter, was good under brakes had good traction and top speed for as long as the new, powerful engine lasted…
With Chris in the car the 312B had a series of monumental, catastrophic engine failures due to piston, crankshaft and lubrication problems. Amon; ‘I could feel that it was tremendously strong and powerful during those early tests, but it kept flying apart, i thought hell i can’t stand any more of this…’
After one of these sessions in August Chris said ‘enough’ and decided to leave the team.
Its ironic that Amon made the decision to leave due to the early failures of an engine which became a paragon of powerful reliability for a decade winning 3 drivers, 4 manufacturers and 1 sportscar championship for the Scuderia. Its performance was only compromised by its low/bulky architecture, a strength but an impediment in the ‘wing car ‘ era when the engine took space needed for ground-effect tunnels.
The engines bottom end failings were resolved by building a tilting dyno-bed at Maranello to reproduce oil surge in corners. The crank torsional issues were sorted by the addition of a Pirelli cushion coupling between the crank and flywheel. In this form the 1970 spec engine developed 460bhp from 11500-11700 rpm rising to 510bhp@12000 rpm in 1979/80.
But for Chris it was all too much, he could see another season of Ferrari DNF’s caused by the repeated engine failures which had cost him victory or good placings on so many occasions. He saw his immediate future best served by driving a Ford Cosworth DFV powered car, the dominant engine of the time, so off to the nascent March concern he went.
He hadn’t burned his Ferrari bridges though, he was invited to be a member of the teams 512S sportscar squad in 1970…but Enzo Ferrari did say to the Kiwi that he, Ferrari, would win a race before Chris did!
Ickx, having made a smart move to Brabham in 1969 came back to Maranello for 1970 as ‘numero uno’ and was unlucky in some ways, in a season of great cars, not to win the title in the 312B!
The 312B came on strong, all issues solved in the second half of the season, the car won in Austria, Mexico and Canada for Ickx and at Monza for Regazzoni. Had the car started the season as well as it finished, noting Rindt’s death at Monza took out the seasons fastest combination, Ickx would have won the title. Mind you, there are plenty of new cars down the years that if they had reliability from the start of the season would have taken the title.
This group of shots (the one above and those at Modena below, all are undated sadly) are included for the sake of completeness; they are all of the same session. They show the beauty of this incredibly good, important for Ferrari car.
The photos convey a certain sense of calm as well, despite the problems which were apparent with the engine from the start. Apart from Chris of course, i am sure he felt far from calm trying to best assess his short and longer term options!
Driving careers are fickle things; he felt he had to seize the moment having in his mind stayed at Ferrari a season too long. Hindsight is brilliant of course, in fact he stayed a season too little, his testing skills may well have meant the car started the season better prepared than it did. Ickx wasn’t a noted test driver and new-boys to F1 Regazzoni and Giunti weren’t in a position to make the contribution Chris could and had made since 1967…
Another view of the roll bar/wing mount covered earlier (GP Library)
Forghieri with the pad, sans rear wing in this shot (GP Library)
Who is the belle of the ball!? Lotus 72 was ‘the radical’ of 1970: side rads, rear weight distbn, torsion bar suspension but all the other race winners that year were ‘conventional’ front rad cars; 312B, BRM P153, Brabham BT33, March 701. Best aero direction not clear at this point in GP history nor would it be until the Lotus 78 started the ‘wing car’ trend (GP Library)
Chris Amon, Modena June/July 1969. He lost many races due to bad luck, the decision to leave Ferrari tho wasn’t so much bad luck as a judgement call which time proved was the wrong one. Wonderful hindsight i know (GP Library)
(GP Library)
Amon lost in his thoughts, Modena 1969 (GP Library)
Amon Post Ferrari…
This article is not about Amon’s career, rather Ferrari elements of it. What follows is not a full summary of the balance of his wonderful career.
For Chris 1970 was frustrating!
The March 701 was not the best car of the season but both he and Jackie Stewart in Ken Tyrrell’s car ‘made it sing’. Stewart took a Spanish GP win and Chris the BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone, an F1 win but not the GP win he sought.
He came close to that in a titanic battle with Pedro Rodriguez’ BRM P153 at Spa in a test of the brave, bold, skilful and precise, just coming second.
He proved as quick as anyone in 1970, again. His record head to head in the 10 Championship GP’s he and Stewart raced the 701, the Scot in a Dunlop rather than Firestone shod car was 8/2 in Stewart’s favour. In all but 2 occasions Chris was only 1 or 2 grid slots behind Stewart who was arguably the best driver in the world at the time if not its fastest. Until his death most would argue that was Jochen Rindt. There is little doubt the Tyrrell 701 was a better prepared car than Amon’s March works car. The point to take here is that Amon was ‘right thereabouts’ with the best driver in the world at the time.
Amons March 701 being tended by the cars designer Robin Herd at Monaco 1970, Q2, DNF suspension failure,Ronnie Peterson’s customer, Colin Crabbe owned yellow March 701 behind. Rindt won in a Lotus 49C Ford (unattributed)
If the departure from Ferrari was not strategically the right one for all the reasons outlined earlier in the article, the departure to the new March outfit was a ‘leap of faith’ largely i suspect in designer Robin Herd which provided a competitive Cosworth powered car if not the quickest one. Amon knew Herd from their March days, Robin designed the first McLaren F1 car, the M2B and the ’67 CanAm Championship winning M6A Chev.
March were a company whose very successful raison d’etre was the construction and sale of production racing cars, its works teams secondary considerations. Its not hard in that context to work out what Max Mosley and Robin Herd’s prime focus was in 1970; to win in FF, F3 and F2 to flog cars for the coming year. Chris signed relatively early for March, before he knew they were selling 701′ s to ‘every man and his dog’ including the 1969 world champion for 1970. In 1970 Amon, Siffert, Stewart, Servoz-Gavin, Cevert, Peterson, Andretti and others raced 701’s. Works drivers Amon and Siffert didn’t have the cars to themselves.
Brabham, McLaren and BRM would have been better places to be in 1970 than March. Not that BRM was an attractive option in 1969.
Chris joined Matra who made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, back to a V12 for 1971 and 1972, taking a Non-Championship GP win in Argentina in 1971 and again lead races more than once only to experience car failures or punctures.
1971 Argentinian GP placegetters; Henri Pescarolo March 701 Ford, Amon 1st where he belongs! Matra Ms120 and Carlos Reutemann McLaren M7C Ford Ford (GP Library)
During 1972 Matra were mainly a single-car entry for Amon its focus increasingly on Endurance Racing success.
German GP 1972. Amon Matra MS120D Q8/15. Ickx won in a Ferrari 312B2 (unattributed)
Tecno in 1973 was a disaster but Chris raced a third Tyrrell in Canada (Q11 2 slots behind Stewart in the unfamiliar car and 10th in the race) and the US (Q12 at the time the team withdrew from the race) for Tyrrell but not converting that into a 1974 drive after the death of Francois Cevert and retirement of Jackie Stewart at Watkins Glen.
His own Amon F1 car was also a disaster in 1974, a project commenced after a return to March in ’74 ‘evaporated’ over the Christmas New Year period seemingly after a failure in communication between Max Mosley and Chris. An engine development business with ex-BRM engineer Aubrey Woods also cost the Kiwi a lot of money. Looking at Chris’ career and some of the decisions suggests he needed a decent business manager, or a better one if he had one!
In Tyrrell 005 in the Kendall Centre, Watkins Glen. Note the inboard front brakes of Derek Gardner’s design. Tragic weekend with teammate Francois Cevert’s high speed, fatal practice crash in an 006 chassis. Both remaining cars withdrawn and Jackie Stewart didn’t get the chance to race in his last, planned GP (Mike Glynn)
Amon in Tyrrell 005 Ford, Watkins Glen, USGP practice, 6 October 1973 (unattributed)
In 1975 he raced the Talon MR1 Chev F5000 (nee McRae GM2) in the Tasman Series and in the US showing he had lost none of his skill despite a car not as good as the ubiquitous, highly developed Lola T332’s.
Amon enters the Sandown paddock, Saturday 22 February 1975. 5th in the race, Talon MR1 Chev, car behind is John McCormack’s 2nd placed Elfin MR6 Repco. John Goss won in a Matich A53 Repco (M Bisset)
The only time i saw Chris race was in the final round of the ’75 Tasman at Sandown in February, he did the full series in one of Jack McCormack’s Talons, not the ‘fastest tool in the shed’ but Chris made the car sizzle despite junk engines which failed 3 times. He took a win at Teretonga, the final Kiwi round and was quick everywhere whilst the car stayed together.
I was a starstruck teenager who didn’t stray too far from his pit the whole weekend. On circuit what was impressive was his speed which was deceptive. He drove the car in a very ‘neutral’ fashion through the slow/medium corners where so many others were ‘tail out’. Across the top of ‘Marlboro Country’ a fast entry quicker corner his carrying speed and control was a joy to watch as was his precision under brakes into ‘Dandy Road’. I still recall the toe/heel too; on the brakes late and a change down late as well, a short/few revs blip at the throttle, easy on the DG300 box. A pro.
‘Auto Actions’ Paul Harrington gets the gen from Amon, Sandown Tasman ’75 practice Saturday, looks like its tough going! McRae GM2/Talon MR1 clones lovely cars (M Bisset)
Late in 1975 he had some drives of Mo Nunn’s Ensign GP cars, he and Nunn developed these pretty, effective cars into machines which shaded many of the big budget teams in 1976.
He was 10th on the Spanish GP grid, finishing 5th, 8th on the Zolder grid but lost a wheel and flipped the car emerging unscathed in the race. At Monaco he was Q12 and 13th. At Anderstorp he was a terrific 3rd on the grid but crashed out of 4th on lap 39 when the cars suspension failed.
Swedish GP, Anderstorp 1976; Amon Ensign N176 Ford in between Patrick Depailler’s Tyrrell P34 Ford and Gunnar Nilsson’s Lotus 76 Ford. Scheckter won in the other P34, Amon an amazing Q3 and accident caused by suspension failure (unattributed)
Chris missed the French GP injured after Sweden, Patrick Neve qualified the car 26th, perhaps more indicative of the machines pace without an ‘ace’ at the wheel…
At Silverstone for the British GP, Chris qualified 6th, this time a water leak the cause of a DNF.
The problems of a low budget team in terms of design and preparation were clear, Chris decided he had ‘had enough’ of GP racing in this way and elected not to take the re-start of the German GP after Niki Lauda’s accident. The risk of something breaking on that circuit in that car was simply too great.
1976 showed he had lost none of his sublime, deceptively fast skill, speed and testing ability. He was still only 33 despite having his first Championship GP drive in 1963.
Amon’s last pro drive. Mont Tremblant CanAm 12 June 1977 in Walter Wolf’s Wolf Dallara WD1 Chev, grid 2 and DNF. Race won by Klauser’s Schkee Chev (Bob Harmeyer)
Amon’s last race was in Walter Wolf’s single-seat Can Am car in 1977before saying ‘enough’, recommending Gilles Villeneuve for the ride before returning to his native New Zealand and farming at Bulls in the ‘Land of The Long White Clouds’ North Island. He sold the property some years ago but is not too far from the local racing scene and maintains a long-standing commercial relationship with Toyota.
Chris Amon had a career most of us can only dream about, life is all about the decisions we take, perhaps the decision to leave Ferrari in 1969 was the worst he ever made but in the same circumstances i suspect many of us would have made the same call.
To me though he should be remembered for what he achieved rather than what he didn’t: wins at Le Mans, Daytona 24 Hours, Monza 1000Km, a Tasman Championship, NZ (2) and Australian GP wins against some of the best drivers in the world, two non-championship F1 races and many individual race wins and the respect and fear of his peers. From 1967 to 1972 he was in the top 10 drivers in the world, for some of those years top 5.
Bot wow, Amon in a 312B in 1970, if only…
Etcetera…
Ferrari 312B cutaway (unattributed)
Bleeding the brakes with Dave Ramsay, F5000 Talon MR1A Chev during the Long Beach GP weekend in September 1975. Amon 4th, race won by Brian Redman’s Lola T332 Chev (D Ramsay)
Bibliography…
Automobile Year 16, 17 and 18, Doug Nye ‘History of The GP Car 1965-85’, GP Encyclopaedia, MotorSport March ’84 Amon article by Alan Henry
oldracingcars.com is one of my standard, always reference sources- checkout Allen Brown’s piece on the cars and each chassis built here; https://www.oldracingcars.com/ferrari/312b/
Photo Credits…
Getty Images, Rainer Schlegelmilch, Mike Glynn, Klemantaski Collection, GP Library, Rod MacKenzie, D Ramsay, Bob Harmeyer, Yves Debraine
Tailpiece: ‘This thing is a Jet if only they could keep it together for more than 10 laps?!’ …
This 1967 Life magazine was staring at me, waiting for me to pick it up in my favourite bric-a-brac store in Chapel Street, Windsor. I was more than happy to give it a good home. It celebrates the Brabham F1 team achievements in 1967…
Articles on motor racing have never been mainstream in such global publications, of course the article has a lot of general rather than specific enthusiast interest stuff. But I thought the photos worth posting and a little of the contents.
Jack Brabham pondering setup changes. US GP 1967 (Life)
All of these photos were taken during the US Grand Prix weekend, held on 1 October at Watkins Glen.
By that stage of the season the new Lotus 49s had the consistency as well as the speed they demonstrated from debut at Zandvoort in May. Clark and Hill finished 1-2 at the Glen in the Ford Cosworth DFV engined cars.
Denny Hulme was fourth and Jack fifth. Denny won the 1967 Drivers title and Brabham the Constructors, for the second year on the trot.
Those spaceframe BT24s powered by 3-litre Repco ‘740 Series’ SOHC, between the Vee exhaust V8s were chuckable, fast, successful cars. They were still quick in Jochen Rindt’s hands early in 1968 against even more formidable opposition, despite having only 320bhp or so.
Denny Hulme, Watkins Glen 1967 (Life)Betty Brabham and Jack. Car is BT24 Repco. Watkins Glen, US GP 1967 (Life)
‘Life’ credit ‘The pre-eminence of Australia and New Zealand in automobile racing to Brabham…
He is responsible not only for the Brabham Racing Organisation (the F1 team), but also for Motor Racing Developments Ltd, which constructs the Brabham designed cars (Ron Tauranac may have a view on that!): Jack Brabham conversions Ltd which produces go-faster kits and treatments; and Jack Brabham Motors Ltd, a garage and car dealership’.
Jack was a busy boy indeed! I think at that stage he was still ‘ghosting’ a magazine column or two as well in addition to managing the relationship with engine partner Repco.
Bruce McLaren in his McLaren M5A BRM, US GP 1967. DNF with water hose failure. With Cosworth power from 1968 his GP cars found success (Life)
‘It isn’t only Jack Brabham and Denis Hulme who bring glory to their part of the world…
Contributing to the lustre are Bruce McLaren, 30, as well known as a manufacturer of racing cars as a driver, and Chris Amon, 25, who was in fourth place in the World Championship standings going into the final race (the Mexican GP)…McLaren has won three GP’s during his career. Amon…still seeks his first victory which could come at any time’.
Chris Amon, Ferrari 312. Watkins Glen 1967. DNF in the race with engine failure (Life)Jack Brabham; post race, happy mode in the Brabham pit. Looks like an apple in hand! Watkins Glen 1967 (Life)
The little Alfa Duetto’s DOHC 1570cc would have struggled ferrying this lot, even for a lap…
It’s the victory parade after the 1968 ‘Warwick Farm 100′ won by Jim Clarks’ Lotus 49 Ford DFW from teammate G Hill, with Piers Courage third in his little McLaren M4A Ford FVA.
What driving talent aplenty in this car!
Driving the car is 1960 Australian Gold Star Champion Alec Mildren, Mildren also an Alfa Dealer and incredibly successful and generous race team owner of the 1960-1970 period, the Dutto immaculate in white and wearing a set of ex-GTA wheels, I wonder who owns it now?
Behind Alec is a youthful Alfredo Costanzo, first local home in an Elfin Mono Ford 1.5 and later to be very successful in Australia’s latter F5000 days and the Formula Pacific era in cars owned by Porsche Cars Australia’s Alan Hamilton, another very generous benefactor of the sport.
Brabham, Moss and Clark needing no introduction…
Clark won the race, the Lotus 49 was the F1 standard from its 1967 Dutch GP launch, reliability cost Lotus the titles that year- the light, nimble beautiful handling Brabham BT24’s did the trick, Denny Hulme pipping Jack for the Drivers Championship and Brabham Repco winning the Constructors laurels.
In 2.5 litre ‘DFW’ spec the Ford Cosworth powered cars were formidable Tasman weapons, Clark won the 1968 title and Jochen Rindt was the fastest man of the series in 1969, if not the most reliable.
Jim Clark, Lotus 49 DFW, WF 1968. (Peter Windsor)
The Tasman Cup entries in 1968 were as interesting and diverse as ever
Moreso than previous years in fact- the interesting shot below was taken as the cars lined up for practice in Warwick Farm’s pit lane and shows the business end of the new Len Terry designed 2.5 litre V12 BRM P126. Its Hewland DG300 gearbox is just visible behind the Lucas fuel pump mounted to the rear of the ‘box, the Shell ‘el cheapo’ oil catch tank is a nice ‘in the field’ touch! Richard Attwood in the hotseat retired from the race with gearbox dramas.
Two of the P126’s were entered in the Tasman, Bruce McLaren raced a car in the New Zealand rounds and took a win at Teretonga, the cars were in the Southern Hemisphere to be race proven, after the abortive H16 program, before the European F1 season but there was always a scramble to drive the old, light, nimble and reliable 2.1 litre V8 P261.Pedro Rodriguez raced it at WF finishing sixth in a car which had so much Tasman success, Jackie Stewart took the title in a P261 in 1966.
In front of the BRM is Frank Gardner’s Alec Mildren Racing, one off, Brabham BT23D Alfa. This magic little car was powered by a 2.5 litre V8 developed via Alfas’ endurance racing Tipo 33 program. Its twin vertically mounted distributors fired two plugs per cylinder- a distinctive visual element of the little DOHC, two valve, injected engine. Later in 1968 the car won the Australian Drivers Championship in Kevin Bartlett’s capable, quick hands.
Forward of Frank is Piers Courage’ McLaren M4A Ford FVA- he came to Australasia with this car and two engines and did incredibly well, perhaps its not unfair to say he re-launched his career with this self funded Tasman effort. Numerous podium placings were surpassed by an heroic win in hopelessly wet conditions on one of the ‘biggest balls’ circuits of the world, Longford a fortnight after his strong third at WF ahead of many more powerful and equally nimble cars as his little F2 McLaren.
This McLaren stayed in Australia after the Tasman being bought by Niel Allen, and was also raced successfully by Warwick Brown in the formative stages of his career.
WF pitlane Tasman Series 1968. (Brian McInerney)
Graham Hill and friends, Warwick Farm paddock 1968. (Brian McInerney)
Graham Hill was perhaps not as focussed on a win as teammate Clark…get your hands off that young woman you bounder!
Was there ever a bloke from ‘central casting’ who looked more like a dashing, debonair driver than G Hill? He did not have the absolute pace of teammates Clark, Stewart or Rindt but was a driver of incredible ability, the only winner of motor racings World F1 Title/LeMans/Indy ‘Triple Crown’ of course.
His greatest moments were to come in 1968 when he picked Team Lotus up by the scruff of the neck, despite the loss of his good friend Jim Clark, providing the leadership the team needed whilst Colin Chapman recovered from his own grief at losing his driver, friend and colloborator in April, only months after this race meeting.
Lotus’ wins in the Drivers and Constructors Titles in 1968 owe a lot to Hill’s character as well as his determination and speed.
Hill from Amon and Courage. Lotus 49 DFW, Ferrari Dino 246T, and McLaren M4A FVA. 2nd, 4th and 3rd respectively. WF 1968, the majesty of the place clear in this shot. (Unattributed)
Jack Brabham had a short 1968 Tasman.
His Brabham BT23E was powered by Repco’s latest 740 Series SOHC V8 and competed in only the Warwick Farm and Sandown rounds.
In fact Repco, for all their F1 success didn’t ever have much Tasman glory in their own backyeard…to be fair the primary reponsibility of the Repco Tasman program each year was to sort out the engines for the coming Grand Prix season, but all the same, a few local wins should have been achieved given the resources deployed?
This fabulous car stayed in Australia, acquired by Bob Jane at the Tasmans’ duration, it was raced for him by John Harvey who was always fast in it, but also unlucky, surviving a high speed accident at Bathurst after a component failure, the low point for the team.
Brabhams BT23E Repco all ready to qualify with a fresh set of Goodyears. Car in front is the BRM P261 V8 of Rodriguez, Courages’ McLaren body on the deck behind Jack. WF pitlane 1968. (Brian McInerney)
Stirling Moss tells Clark about the fast way around ‘The Farm, both drivers loved the place and won there. ‘Lucas Opus’ spark-box prominent between the Vee of the Cossie DFW. Ford DFV famous as a load bearing member of the car, this shot showing the suspension componentry and its attachment to the engine and ZF ‘box. Suspension itself conventional for the day; inverted lower wishbone, single top link, twin radius rods and coil spring/damper, adjustable roll bar. Front suspension inboard; top rocker visible. Nice. WF Tasman 1968. (Brian McInerney)
The Eyes Have It.
Chris Amon (below) absolutely focussed on the task at hand. He came back with another two Dinos he ran with the assistance of David McKay’s Scuderia Veloce in 1969, lifting the title in a tremendous and very popular fashion.
In 1968 he was very competitive, winning the first two Kiwi rounds at Pukekohe and Levin but did not ultimately have the speed of the Lotuses of Clark and Hill. The car was a Ferrari 166 F2 (1.6 litre formula at the time) to which was fitted the 2.4 litre DOHC, two valve, injected V6 engine from the cars used at the start of the 3 litre Formula 1 in early 1966.
In the 1968 Australian Tasman Rounds Amon mixed the racing of the Dino single seater with McKay’s P4/CanAm 350 Ferrari i wrote about a week or so back.
Chris Amon, Ferrari Dino 246T, WF, Tasman Series 1968. (Brian McInerney)
This shot captures the atmosphere of the Tasman Series generally and Warwick Farm specifically…
There is no hassle of the drivers by the appreciative crowd and vice-versa, there would be uproar these days of course.
Piers Courage is looking relaxed and happy about his third behind the Lotuses of Clark and Hill, and Amon fourth, is still figuring he could take the title with two rounds remaining at Melbourne’s Sandown and Tasmania’s Longford- ultimately he fell short of Clark by 8 points, Amon taking two wins to Clark’s four.
Piers Courage and Chris Amon on the WF warmdown lap. McLaren M4A FVA and Ferrari Dino 246T. Australian summer male ‘fashion’ of the day on full display. (Bruce Thomas)
Jim Clark savouring the plaudits of the crowd and one of his last wins, Lotus 49 Ford DFW, 18 February 1968…
Jim Clark, Lotus 49 WF 1968. (wirra)
Grid and Results…
Etcetera…
(B Jackson)
Get a move on chaps…
And things go better with Coke it seems- brake bleed in process. Note the solid front rotor on Graham’s Lotus 49 rather than the vented ones first used in 1967. Nice shot of the front bulkhead and inboard front suspension mounting treatment.
(Peter Windsor)
Chris Amon in the Warwick Farm pitlane, Ferrari Dino 246T, 1968 was a useful exploratory season for the successful two car assault in 1969.
(Brian Jackson)
Piers Courage alights his McLaren M4A Ford FVA as Ray Parsons, in ‘Australian summer mechanic’s clobber’ awaits instructions for the next round of tweaks before the next session, one of which is to increase the size of the nose mounted duct to get a bit more cool air into the cockpit.
(John Ellacott)
Superb John Ellacott shot of Frank Gardner in the one-off Alec Mildren Racing Brabham BT23D Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 2.5 V8- she is puffing a bit of blue smoke in best Alfa tradition!
(Brian McInerney)
‘See you after the race then?’ Hill G dealing with another admirer of the feminine type.
(Brian Jackson)
First local driver home was Alfie Constanzo in his Elfin Mono Mk2B Ford twin-cam in eighth place, here shielding his eyes from the late afternoon sun- that’s Ian Fergusson in a Lotus 27 Ford twin-cam behind Alf, both of these cars are ANF 1.5s.
Photo and Other Credits…
Bruce Thomas, Peter Windsor, Brian McInerney, Wirra, John Ellacott, Brian Jackson
Stephen Dalton for the race program and ‘Racing Car News’ material
‘This is the prettiest car I have ever snapped’ said Dick Simpson. Hard to argue…
This is one of four Ferrari P4s built; chassis numbers 0856, 0858, 0860 and 0846, the latter a converted P3.
At the end of the 1967 endurance season two of the cars were lightened and modified to run in the ’67 Can-Am Series in the US, chassis 0860 and 0858. The latter was then acquired by Scuderia Veloce’s David McKay for one fabulous season in Australia. I wrote an article a while back about SV, David McKay and his 250LM #6321, have a read of it rather than repeat the background here.
Simpson’s shot is of Aussie Bill Brown at the wheel on 5 May 1968, the shot taken at the left hander after Warwick Farm’s (Sydney) Shell Bridge, it captures the curvaceous beauty of the thing!
The photographers and their artistry inspired this article, acknowledgement of them all but especially Dick Simpson, John Ellacott, Roderick MacKenzie, Ellis French and Lindsay Ross.
As Mike Spence buckles up his seatbelt in the Chaparral 2F Chev, he is surrounded by FoMoCo vehicles; #1 the victorious Gurney/Foyt, #3 Bianchi/Andretti and Hulme/Ruby Mk4s, and the #5 Gardner/McCluskey and Schlesser/Ligier Mk2s…not a Ferrari in sight! (unattributed)
1967 was a halcyon year of sports car racing, the high point of the ‘Unlimited Formula’…
A 5-litre limit for sports cars and 3-litres for prototypes was imposed by the FIA for 1968 so Ford had one more year to race their 7-litre Mk 2 and 4s.
Chaparral returned to Europe with the fabulous 2F Coupe after an exploratory endurance year with the 2D in 1966. Lola competitors struggled with engine reliability to match the excellence of the chassis, and Ferrari returned with 4-litre engines but with three-valve heads after a year of austerity in 1966. Ferrari mainly entered one P3 at each race while coping with widespread industrial unrest in Italy that year.
The season wasn’t all about just the big three; Alfa raced their T33, Porsche the 907, Matra their M630 V8 BRM engined cars, but in reality the season was about the big outright cars. It was an unforgettable year of sports car racing arguably caused by Enzo’s rebuff of Fords’ desire to purchase the Italian autocrat’s company five years before and the Lola GT/Ford GT40 program which followed.
The Ford Mk4 incorporated all the company learnings, the early failures of the GT40 and Mark 2 in 1964/5 and the triumph at Le Mans in 1966, where Kiwis Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon ‘won’ over the Ken Miles/Denny Hulme Mark 2 in Ford’s farcical Form-Finish.
The Mark 4 was of aluminium honeycomb construction and had much more advanced aerodynamics than the Mk 2, developed as it was from extensive testing of many variations of shapes to get the appropriate mix of top speed and downforce. The mechanical package was largely carried over and incorporated a 7-litre OHV Ford V8 fed by 2-four-barrel Holley carburettors giving circa 530bhp @ 6200rpm. The four speed Kar Kraft gearbox was again used after experiments with a two speed auto. Weight was circa 1100Kg.
All of the major contenders suspension layouts were similar; upper and lower wishbones at the front with coil spring/damper units and adjustable roll bars. And at the rear, single top link, twin radius rods, lower wishbone, coil spring/damper units and adjustable sway bars.
All three big-cars also had rack and pinion steering, and of course cast iron disc brakes front and rear.
The Chaparral 2F Chev was the most exotic of the three carsdespite its pushrod OHV 7-litre Chev V8. Fed by four 58mm Weber down-draught carburettors, the engine developed 575 bhp @ 7500rpm. The chassis was made of fibre-glass, weighed 793Kg dry, the advanced specifications extending to its three speed General Motors automatic transmission and advanced aerodynamics including distinctive high rear wing. The Texans had incorporated all they learned on their European campaign in 1966 with the 2D into the new 2F.
Ferrari’s P4 ‘aero-chassis had slightly wider tracks than its P3 forbear and was the result of evolution over previous seasons. Ferrari’s first mid-engined sportscar was the V6 engined 246P of 1961. Doug Nye records that chassis #0796 was cut up and lengthened slightly to accommodate a two-cam 3-litre Testa Rossa engine. The 1963 Le Mans winning 250P evolved from this prototype. So too did the 1965 winning 250LM, which was essentially a 250P with a roof and 3.3-litre V12, making it a 275LM in the eyes of many…
The 3.3-litre two-cam 275P followed in 1964, 275P2 and 4-litre four-cam 330P2 in 1965. The P2s departed from earlier Ferrari space-frame practice by utilisation of the ‘aero’ tube-frame semi-monocoque structure, whereby the frame was stiffened by rivetted sheet steel panelling. The model range is more complex than this as it also includes different engine/chassis combinations for customers. I will stick to the works cars for the purpose of this article.
The 4-litre P3 followed in 1966 with much improved suspension geometry to address inadequate camber control and to suit the latest generation of ever widening tyres. The 4-litre engine, adapted for Lucas fuel injection developed circa 420bhp @ 8000rpm. As outlined above, Ferrari’s 1966 season was impacted by industrial problems in Italy as well as team leader John Surtees midseason departure. The sports car and quite probably the World F1 Titles which were theirs to take with an ace at the wheel…and some luck with reliability.
The stiffness of the chassis was improved as Nye describes ‘…previous P-series Ferraris had carried their engines on four simple mounts plus plus two for the gearbox, the new P4 engine featured a stiffer crankcase and could be mounted as a semi-stressed structural member, picking up on four carefully triangulated mounts at the front, two each side and four at the rear.’
The engine, the block stressed as above, featured the three-valves per cylinder (two inlet and one exhaust with the inlets between the two camshafts of each bank) layout developed by Franco Rocchi in late 1966, as developed for the F1 cars. There were two plugs per cylinder still fired by good old fashioned coils, four of them. Lucas fuel injection fed the fuel. The engines capacity was 3967cc and developed 450bhp @ 8000 rpm.
Also new was a five speed gearbox made by Ferrari to replace the earlier ZF unit, the ZF5DS25 units as used in the Ford GTs, had been unreliable in 1966. Weight was 965Kg. Firestone replaced Dunlop as the teams tyre supplier.
And so the scene was set…the prototype completed 580 laps at Firestone tyre tests at Daytona in December 1966, Amon was the quickest ahead of Parkes, Bandini and Scarfiotti, the P4 timed at 338kmh along the back straight.
Quick, but as it was to transpire, but not quick enough.
The Parkes/Scarfiotti P4 0858 passes the #18 Casoni/Martini Ferrari Dino 206S, pursued by the Mike Spence/Phil Hill Chaparral 2F Chev, DNF with driveshaft failure. 0858 was second, the win was taken by Bandini/Amon in another P4, 0856 (unattributed)
1967 Endurance Season…
In the first race of the season, at Daytona the new Ferrari was immediately successful leading the race from the fourth hour and taking the first two places, Amon/Bandini ahead of Scarfiotti/Parkes and a modified P3/4 entered by Luigi Chinetti’s North America Racing Team . All of the 7-litre Fords retired or were delayed by maladies.
The Scuderia did not enter Sebring, but Amon and Bandini won again at Monza with Scarfiotti and Parkes second, the factory Fords again did not enter the race. With practice laps only three-tenths of a second apart, Bandini’s Ferrari and Spence’s Chaparral raced wheel to wheel from the off, but Spence retired early leaving Ferrari the rest of the race.
Bandini took the lead with Scarfiotti second in 0858, Rodriguez was third for NART and Vaccarella in the Filipinetti car in fourth. Ferrari’s four-litre prototypes now dominated the first four positions. A failed attempt by Rodriguez at overtaking the second-place works Ferrari resulted in his retirement. Note that RM Auctions in their sale dossier of the car several years ago claim Bandini and Amon won driving 0858, other independent sources say 0858 finished second.
Parkes and Scarfiotti fifth and best of the P4s at Spa in 0858. Ickx won in a Mirage M1 Ford (L’Automobile)
At Spa, ‘Rainmaster’ Ickx prevailed in John Wyers 5.7-litre Mirage Ford, Scarfiotti and Parkes could do no better than fifth in 0858. Vaccarella crashed out of the Targa lead in his P4 at Collesano, his home town…
And then came Le Mans.
As noted above this was the last Le Mans run under the unlimited formula. Ford won the previous year but at Daytona they were well and truly beaten by the P4s. Ferrari missed the Nurburgring 1000Km to be better prepared for La Sarthe. Three P4s were entered by the factory, the fourth an Ecurie Francorchamps entry.
The big V8s had the legs in practice, as proved to be the case in the race, but the Scarfiotti/Parkes P4 0858 was never far behind. A crash eliminated three Fords, the Mairesse/Beurlys P4 moved into third with the works cars chasing the leading Ford Mk4 of Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt. That vastly experienced pair drove a superb race taking Ford’s second Le Mans. Nye noted ‘…the race was decided on the Mulsanne. All the 7-litre Fords topped 320kmh. The 330P4 could not better 310kmh and the poorer breathing of the 24-valve 412Ps left them gasping, slower still’.
The works Ferrari finished four laps behind, the first Ford and second and third placed (Mairesse/Beurlys) Ferraris covered a distance unprecedented at Le Mans. Mike Parkes said to journalist/Le Mans Winner Paul Frere after the race ‘Never in my life have I driven a car so hard for so long’.
0858 on the way to second place at Le Mans in the hands of Ludovico Scarfiotti and Mike Parkes albeit four laps behind the winning 7-litre Ford Mk4 of Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt (unattributed)
The Brands Hatch BOAC International 500 was the final race of the endurance season and was to determine the championship for the year. Jackie Stewart joined Chris Amon in the works team to bolster Ferrari chances, Mike Parkes having badly injured his legs in an F1 crash at Spa.
Both chassis 0858 and 0860 had been converted to Spiders by the factory, removal of the roof and lightening the body saving around 40Kg. (Two independent sources claim 0858 was driven by Jonathon Williams and Paul Hawkins to sixth in this race, and that Amon/Stewart raced 0860 to second)
The race started at noon on Sunday under grey skies. John Surtees took an initial lead before Paul Hawkins replaced him in the third P4. After the first hour, Stewart had Spence’s Chaparral in his sights. Scarfiotti was behind him in another P4, followed by Jo Siffert in a Porsche 908. With regular driver changes and pit stops, the running order was continually evolving over the ensuing four hours. In the final hour, Amon was second.
With ten minutes to go, Stewart took the wheel, held the position and finished the race, securing the Manufacturers Championship for Ferrari, its 12th, defeating Porsche. Mike Spence won the race, the Chaparral 2F Chev finally taking a long promised win.
Factory CanAm 350 3/4 front . (Ferrari)
From P4 to Can Am 350…
With the endurance season over and regulation changes precluding the cars competition in the 1968 championship the factory modified two of the P4s, as mentioned earlier, 0858 and 0860 to better compete in the Can-Am Championship by lightening and modifying the cars, naming them 350 Can Am to contest the prestigious series in their most important market.
The cars were lightened considerably by becoming curvaceous Spiders instead of more curvaceous Coupes! Weight was reduced from 792Kg wet to 700Kg wet. The engine capacity was increased to 4176cc raising the power to 480bhp @ 8500rpm, the cars mechanical specification is as described above otherwise.
Fundamentally it was not enough.
It’s 1 September 1967, Brit Jonathon Williams is about to test an F1 Ferrari 312 for the first time at Modena. In the background is one of the P4/CanAm 350s, still with headlights fitted, also on Williams’ menu for the day – lucky boy. The first Can-Am round was at Road America on 3 Sept, the Can Am 350s first raced at Laguna Seca in Williams/Amon hands on 15 October, there was much work to be done yet! (Pete Coltrin)
Bruce McLaren had been contesting sports car races in the US since his Cooper days in the early 1960s. His first M1 McLarens were quick cars hampered by light but not powerful enough aluminium Oldsmobile engines. For 1967, he and Robin Herd designed and built the monocoque M6 powered by 5.9-litre, circa 525bhp iron Chev V8s and rewrote the record book in terms of dominance of this series.
The Bruce and Denny Show was underway. The Ferraris contested the series entered by Harrahs Casino who were also Ferrari distributors, and were comprehensively blown off along with the rest of the grid.
Factory 350 Can Am butt shot. Absence of lights clear in the weight saving process. Ferrari ‘box in P4 replaced problematic ZF unit of P3, gorgeous if not quite as as much as the P4 parent! (Ferrari)McLarens’ papaya M6A Chev looms in Jim Hall’s Chaparral 2G Chev mirrors. #21 is Parnelli Jones’ Lola T70 Ford and Dan Gurney’s partially obscured Lola T70Mk3b Chev, ALL DNF! The race was won by Surtees’ Lola T70Mk3b Chev (unattributed)
0858 From the US to Australia via Italy…
David McKay had raced his 250LM 6321 in Australia since 1965 but the car was getting older and ‘she was often racing out of class and racing against pure prototypes…During a visit to Maranello I broached the subject with Mike Parkes and the factory’s General Manager Ermano Della Casa. I had seen the P4s at Le Mans in 1967 where Mike and Scarfiotti had finished a gallant second to Fords’ 7-litre steam roller and had fallen in love with the car’.
‘To me it typified all the art, beauty and grace of the old world pitted amongst the brashness and might of the new…In due course I received word that I could buy 0858 for the considerable sum of US$30,000.
Riverside CanAm 1967. #12 Roger McCluskey Lola T70 Chev, #27 Williams Ferrari Can Am 350, #19 Bill Amick McLaren M1C Chev, Jerry Entin McLaren M1C Chev (unattributed)
The car which raced unsuccessfully in the States at Laguna Seca, Riverside and Las Vegas would be fully rebuilt and shipped to Sydney by Christmas 1967. This would be in good time for the Australian Tasman rounds where Amon would conduct it in the sportscar support events and surely set a cat amongst the pigeons…’
Chris Amon raced a Ferrari 246T looked after by Scuderia Veloce during The Australian Tasman that summer and in 1969, the year in which he was Tasman Champion.
McKay ‘The less charitable said the factory wanted the car as far away as possible so that they could forget the ignominy of the Can-Am venture. The car had managed a fifth at Laguna Seca, eighth at Riverside and a DNF at Las Vegas with Amon who had surely wrung everything out of it’.
Note that some sources say Jonathon Williams raced 0858 and Amon 0860 in the Series, another source suggests Amon raced the car twice, at Laguna Seca and Riverside, and by Williams at the final round at Las Vegas. Australian Sports Car World magazine in a feature about the car published in 1985 wrote that who drove which car cannot be accurately determined.
Take your pick…I am inclined to either uncertainty, or, I imagine Amon would have related directly to McKay at the time which car he drove, and by the time McKay wrote his autobiography he had no vested interest in the car his financial investment in it having ended in 1968, vendors or their agents and their claims should be treated with the Caveat Emptor dictum in mind…
The two 350 Can Ams at rest, Riverside paddock 1967. #23 Amon #27 Williams eighth and DNF…0858 and 0860 or…0860 and 0858 take your guess (unattributed)Chris Amon using the big twelves horsepower to good effect at Riverside 1967, eighth. All the drivers who raced the P4 commented on how sweet the chassis was (unattributed)
McKay ‘This should have turned me off but I comforted myself with the thought that there were no 8-litre McLarens in Australia and certainly no Bruce or Denny to worry us. Alas, it only required a local in his own device powered with a local 4.4-litre V8 to unravel our dream. (Frank Matich in his Matich SR3 Repco 4.4 V8).’
In fact the performance of Frank Matich in his self built car should not have been a surprise to either McKay or Amon. Matich had contested most of the 1967 Can-Am, including the three events in which Amon participated and was also flogged by the McLarens. Matich didn’t finish a race in fact…but the Sydney built, space-frame chassis, 400bhp Repco 4.4-litre V8 engined Matich was slightly quicker than the 350 Can Am and was match fit after a tough season in the US.
The Ferrari was not to have it easy in Australia that summer.
Frank Matich, wife Joan, his team and Firestone technicians on the pit apron at Riverside, 1967 Can-Am. Grid 20 DNF accident. Matich SR3 Repco; space-frame chassis car powered by Repco 620 Series 4.4-litre SOHC V8 400bhp @ 7000rpm. Surtees’ Lola T70Mk3B Chev behind (unattributed)
Again David McKay picks up the story ‘As starting money was imperative for such an expensive undertaking I sounded out all the major circuits. All were enthusiastic and all promised to pay a modest enough $350 a start. It goes without saying that when Geoff Sykes (Warwick Farm boss) set the standard, a ‘yes’ on the phone was sufficient to seal the agreement’.
‘There was great excitement at the wharf when the open crate carrying the plastic wrapped P4 was lowered over the liners side. There were a couple more huge wooden crates I hadn’t expected. These turned out to be another engine, gearbox, transaxle, suspensions, disc brakes, all manner of rose joints and sixteen wheels-in reality a second P4 apart from the simple tube-chassis and the brief, skimpy fibre-glass bodywork. That US$30000 was immediately halved in our minds and much of my initial disappointment at seeing the rather unattractive Can Am bodywork evaporated’.
0858 shortly after its arrival in Sydney at SV’s workshop, Wahroonga (WOT)
‘Engineer Bob Atkin and I were keen to get the crate and boxes home to Wahroonga to prod the beast into life. This we did and again I felt disappointment. Where was the distinctive wail I heard in the cold air at Le Mans? It was now deeper, throatier but somehow more common, less exciting.
Unfortunately I never felt any warmth for the P4, certainly not its fault for the car was out of its milieu, away from the understanding hands which cared for it and probably thinking it was back in that coarse country, America, of which it had nothing but bad dreams.
I hoped a reunion with Amon would be beneficial but Chris was more involved with his Tasman Dino and his forthcoming battle with Clark and Hill in their Lotus 49 Ford DFW’s.’
Jim Clark, Chris Amon and their respective mechanics share a joke around Chris’ Ferrari 246T at Longford, March 1968. Clark won the series in his Lotus 49 DFW, Piers Courage the race in a gutsy wet weather drive in his McLaren M4A FVA F2 car. Clark fifth and Amon seventh. Clark was killed that April and Amon returned to take the 1969 Tasman Championship…the P4 was by then sold (oldracephotos)‘Don’t pick your nails Chris!’ Amon and McKay in the cockpit of 0858 at Sandown, Melbourne, February 1968. McKay first assisted Amon in the 1963 International Series, Amon drove the SV Cooper T53 Climax (Rod MacKenzie)Scuderia Veloce Team at Warwick Farm 1968; 250LM 6321, Brabham BT23A-1 Repco and the P4/Can Am 350 0858. This shot was taken at the 18 February Tasman Meeting, 250LM I am guessing was not raced, Greg Cusack in the Brabham was a DNF in the Tasman race won by Clarks’ Lotus 49 DFW, Amon raced the P4 (David McKay’s Scuderia Veloce)Amon gets the drop from Matich in the SR3, Surfers Paradise, February 1968. Ordinary crowd numbers, surfs up at Main Beach maybe? (wolseley680)
Australian race record of ‘0858’…
Ray Bell was a journalist for Racing Car News magazine in the 1960 and 1970s, he wrote evocatively about the car’s race record on The Nostalgia Forum in 2002…
‘The first race for the car in Australia was February 10 at Surfers Paradise.It was the Saturday and it was clear that there were some shocks headed for the lap record after Matich recorded 1:10.2 in practice.
Matich dudded the start, however, but scorched around to be the first to take the lap record over the 100mph mark with a 1:10.6 (101.98mph) to Amon’s 1:10.7, reeling the Ferrari in after four laps and diving under it when a slower car baulked Amon.
Two more 5-lappers were scheduled for Sunday, with Matich and his 4.4-litre tube-framed SR3 leading away and getting a full second advantage on the first lap. The record was equalled as he took another win. In the second, Amon was a non-starter.
Rod MacKenzie’s shot of the Surfers race one start from a different angle. ‘Spare tyre’ on Ferrari was mandated by dopey Australian sports car rules of the day. The Matich carries its spare under the driver’s front screen. Beefy spoiler on the SR3, its 1968 the ‘Year of Wings’ is just getting underwaySuperb John Ellacott shot of Chris Amon looking as relaxed as he can be with Frank Matich ‘up his clacker’! Homestead Corner Warwick Farm, February 1968 (John Ellacott)
A week later at Warwick Farm came the race I speak of so often.
The report says Matich ‘left the Ferrari breathless…’ as he led Amon a merry chase. That they came past us side by side, with a Tojiero between them being lapped and grass clippings flying on one lap in the race shows that it wasn’t all that breathless!
Again, Matich was pressed to a new circuit record (these are outright records, faster than the Lotus 49s and the Amon Dino managed on the day) of 1:28.5 in staving off the Ferrari. Amon retired with reported ignition trouble on lap 7 or 8. (McKay advised the ignition leads were plucked off one bank of cylinders having been taped carefully out of reach of a half-shaft)
Check out the YouTube footage of this race…
WF start. Both Matich #1 Matich SR3 Repco and Niel Allen in the white Elfin 400 Chev get the jump on Amon’s Ferrari at the start. WF is a horse racing facility still, it ceased as an International car race venue after the 1973 Tasman Series (Wirra)Amon leads Matich into Shell Corner, lap 1 , Sandown Tasman Round Sports Car race, 25 February 1968. car with white stripe down the nose at left the Bob Jane Racing Elfin 400 Repco (Rod MacKenzie)
The opening gambit of the Sandown Park report, the next week (February 25), was ‘This was the first time the Sandown crowd has had a chance to see Frank Matich really trying. The reason was, of course, that he had Chris Amon and the P4 Ferrari to worry him.’
Matich bogged down at the start (‘nearly burned a hole in the startline with wheelspin…’) and Chris led away, but after a lap or two ‘braking late for Peters, Frank closed on Chris and went under him as they accelerated out onto Peters (the back straight).’ Matich won by four seconds, took the sports car record down to 1:07.2 (Clark nobbled the outright record in the Australian GP on the same day with a 1:07.1) and Matich bowed out of any further contests. He wasn’t happy to go to Longford.
Matich SR3 Oldsmobile in the Sandown Park paddock in 1966 (Mike Feisst Collection/The Roaring Season)‘Longford March 1968. The wet Monday morning after Amon set off a lap down on the field after battery failure on the grid. The road was wet from the first shower of the day that turned into a deluge later for the Tasman race (won by Piers Courage in his F2 McLaren M4A FVA). The overcast conditions, wet road and river in the background combine to give perfect lighting to highlight the car. Location is coming off Kings Bridge, the shot taken from the old Longford water pump-house station. The 1880s railway bridge is in the background’ So said ‘austmcreg’ on The Nostalgia Forum, photo credit Jim and Pat Smith. Amazing shot and commentary!
There, Longford, of course, Amon had the fastest time ever through the trap on the flying mile and lapped at 2:14.4 in practice to easily take pole.
In the Saturday race Amon set a new outright lap record of 2:12.6, four tenths quicker than Clark had done in the earlier preliminary event for the Tasman cars in the Lotus 49. This was 12.2 seconds better than the previous record, held by Bob Jane.(Elfin 400 Repco 4.4)
At that stage, it was only reasonable to conclude that Amon wouldn’t hold the record over the whole weekend, but the heavens opened and deluged the circuit for Monday, his P4 suffered a battery failure (McKay wrote that mechanic Bob Atkin simply overlooked to charge the dry cell Varley battery) and didn’t even start the soggy sports car race, and the open-wheelers paddled round with Piers Courages’ McLaren M4A FVA 1.6 taking the win.
Longford pit counter scene with the curvaceous Can Am 350 centre stage. Both Amon and Bill Brown drove the car at this meeting. Matich did not enter, having safety concerns about the circuit in the SR3. Little yellow stickers on Fazz rump say Gatto Verde, gifts from Alf Francis to David McKay (Harold Ellis)
In his book, McKay (David McKay’s autobiography ‘Scuderia Veloce’) describes the torment of choosing a driver for the car for the ensuing year. His choice might have been Big ‘Pete’ (Ian) Geoghegan, but there was pressure to give Bill Brown a go. There was also the possibility that Pete’s huge frame might not fit… he was put into the team’s 250LM for the year.
David Mckay again picks up the story ‘After the Tasman Series and Amon’s departure I decided to put Bill Brown behind the wheel despite certain misgivings. I liked Bill, he was a pleasant and helpful fellow who could be faster than some but rather more accident prone than others. He damaged the LM rather too frequently through overdriving…Yet I hoped Bill would mature, the red mists would disappear and he would conduct the P4 in accordance with my instructions. I had no illusions he would run with Matich, Amon hadn’t managed to…I had chosen the easy option rather than taking a chance and putting in perhaps the only local who would have given Matich a run for it-Pete Geoghegan.’
Here is Pete Geoghegan hustling McKay’s 250LM 6321 around Bathurst at Easter 1968 in the manner the SV boss liked so much (Dick Simpson)
‘Pete was already four times AustralianTouring Car Champion and was sweeping all before him in his Mustang. More important, was his driving of the ‘old red lady’ (McKay’s 250LM) in which, despite his big weight disadvantage (Pete was a very big lad, morbidly obese, the medicos would describe it) he was re-writing her lap times. Perhaps had I not been so occupied with other events that year, had not been out of the country so much I would have bitten the bullet, asked Bill to step aside and given Pete the hot seat-but could he have fitten into that little space? We’ll never know now but in the light of subsequent events I was wrong and I am sorry Pete…’
Pete Geoghegan in that car would have been worth travelling a very long way to see, a driver of awesome world class ability as McKay alludes to, if you go back into the early days of Pete’s career he drove the Geoghegan family Lotus single seaters and 23B but in essence most of his career was spent in Touring Cars and other cars with roofs
Another of Dick Simpson’s stunning shots. Bill Brown, Mount Panorama, Hell Corner ,Bathurst , Easter 1968 (Dick Simpson)
Ray Bell…’Bathurst was the first outing on April 14 & 15, which I would have thought daunting enough. With wire fences, rough surface, two serious crashes injuring top drivers in the Gold Star event’s practice sessions and all, one might be a little careful in such a fast car.
But Bill was out to show his stuff. The first race was a 3-lapper mixed in with the open-wheelers. Bartlett won that in the Brabham BT23D Alfa with Bill second about 11 seconds adrift and just 1.6 seconds clear of Niel Allen in the Elfin 400 Chev after Allen had spun on the first lap. Bartlett had fastest lap in 2:19.1, Allen did 2:19.4 and Brown 2:21.6. Maybe he was being careful after all…
As the report points out, ‘The last time anyone went really fast on Mt Panorama was back in 1962, when both David McKay and Bib Stillwell equalled Bill Patterson’s flying eighth time of 169.81mph. It has been said often since that it would probably take a sporty car to better it.’
As mentioned above, Brown took the speed up to 181 mph, a big hike, but he was in pursuit of Allen at the time. The Elfin lapped in 2:18.4 but was parked at the top of the mountain when Brown scored his lucky win, with Geoghegan second in the LM, which improved its personal best time from 2:34.2 to 2:30.8 this first time the big fella got into it. Brown lapped in 2:19.6, just shy of the 100mph mark.
0858 in the Warwick Farm paddock February 1968…the start of wings on the front, added since original factory build (WOT)Bill Brown in the RAC Trophy, Warwick Farm, May 1968. Sand in the throttle slides of the car so DNF (Rod MacKenzie)
Warwick Farm’s annual RAC Trophy race was on May 5.
This was a prize event on the best circuit. Matich lapped in 1:29 for pole, Allen did 1:32.9, Brown 1:33.0 for the outside of the first row. But the Ferrari managed to get ahead of the Elfin off the line and was second into the first corner and stayed there as Matich built up a lead of about ten seconds over the early laps. Sand got into the throttle slides of the V12 engine, however, and the Ferrari retired to give Allen second spot.
This was the race where Matich ‘unwound a blinder on the last lap just to prove the car was still ‘with it’, chopping 1.2 seconds off his Tasman meeting record and leaving the new time at a staggering 1:27.3′
The boss himself having a tilt during practice at Warwick Farm. David McKay in the big car, not so sure he mentioned this in his book (G Lanham)0858 sans rear bodywork, shot at SV workshop in Sydney (WOT)
Lakeside on May 12 brought a pair of Scuderia Veloce 1 – 2s,but the opposition had died in the pre-race buildup. Matich cracked the lap record in practice with a 53.7 in his first appearance at the circuit since his crash there in 1965. Allen did a 55.3, Brown a 57.2.
The minor race came first, with Allen scoring a win and Matich fastest lap (55.2, new record anyway) with the Elfin taking the lead from the start as Matich eased away with a sick engine. Matich pitted, but continued, the Repco suffering a loose valve seat, which prevented him getting top horsepower as he nailed it to get that record in the book. Brown finished 1.5 seconds behind Allen and actually lapped two tenths faster at 56.3, both of them under Allen’s old record.
The main event was a twenty-lapper, and in the minutes before the race Matich declared himself a non-starter and Allen trickled back into the pits with a bolt out of the steering. Brown was able to walk it in (best lap 58.4) as Geoghegan showed all his abilities at the helm of the 250LM to fill second ahead of a Lotus 23B. His best lap was 59.3 and he was less than nine seconds behind at the finish.
0858 cockpit shot taken at Surfers Paradise by Rod MacKenzie. Momo steering wheel, Veglia Borletti instruments all very Ferrari period-fitments. Note venting of wheel arch to release air pressure (Rod MacKenzie)
There was yet another race, an eight-lapper, at the end of the day, with the 2.5 open-wheelers combining with the fastest sports cars. The report doesn’t clearly explain how Allen got to be behind Phil West’s Scuderia Veloce Brabham BT23A Repco, but he was and seemingly couldn’t do anything about it. Brown won as he liked, scoring another SV 1-2 with West second this time.
I would say that West got away best, then the brute force of the bigger engined cars overpowered him, only Allen was stuck behind him as Brown got through to the lead. Anyway, Allen spent the rest of the race back there in a frustrated third, ‘perhaps over-flushed with determination, hounded West in the best showing of brute tactics seen for a long while, the big Elfin almost running over the Brabham into BMC lap after lap as West stopped to look at the view and Brown scampered up over BP. Allen tried to go under into KLG, avoiding disaster by a hair’s breadth, and pushed the Brabham wheel to wheel round the Eastern Loop. This excitement was too much, added to by Geoghegan who forced the 250LM to the front of Scott’s Lotus 27 to fill fourth spot.’
Des White wrote well, didn’t he? He pressed on. ‘The big battle looked worse as the backmarkers were lapped, disaster being forever imminent as very slow cars found themselves caught up in the 140mph battle between Allen and West, the Elfin being stopped and pointed with a dexterity seldom seen these days. Allen failed to get through, perhaps through trying too hard, and it was disappointing to see him slipstream to the flag. Should the big power of the Elfin have carried it from Shell to the flag first? Maybe, and there been breathing space for the initial build up.” Best lap to Brown, 56.6, Allen did 56.7, West 55.9, winning margin less than two seconds (1.6, actually).
SV lined up on the Surfers Paradise dummy grid prior to the 6 Hour in 1968. L.R; Leo and Pete Geoghegan 250LM which won, Des West/Bill Reynolds 275 GTB ninth, and Brown/Palmer 350 Can Am DNF accident (Rod MacKenzie)
Ray Bell, ‘Probably the event dearest to McKay’s heart was the Surfers Paradise 12-hour…
And he had Jim Palmer over from New Zealand to co-drive with Brown. But Palmer wasn’t up to it, lapping over five seconds slower than Brown in practice and wearing himself out in the process. Matich, who was racing quite a lot during this year, even entered the SR3 in this race with Glynn Scott as co-driver (only 2.3 seconds behind Frank’s times), so this car was the pace as the race got going, Brown following it through the field after both started slowly (Le Mans start). Lapping slower cars soon after the start, Brown was pushed off line and ran over some tyre markers on the edge and holed the radiator. The P4 was out…
David McKay saw the race slightly differently ‘…I had asked NZ Champion Jim Palmer to co-drive with Brown. Jim was a fast, safe driver very much in the Spencer Martin mould. I erred by not having Palmer start the race…The field as in the past, was composed of fast and slow open and closed cars and as always the onus is on the overtaking car. A second or two lost by backing off the throttle to make sure the tortoise knew he was about to be swamped was sensible driving…Less than 15 minutes into the race, Brown came up behind a Fiat 125 saloon, on the approach to Firestone, a fairly quick left hander. The Fiat driver, unaware Brown was diving down the inside held his line. The P4 had nowhere to go but over the grass and a white tyre marker demolishing the nose and oil cooler…Brown bought the mortally wounded P4 to a halt in front of our pit’.
Bell, ‘Matich’s Repco engine dropped its bundle very late in the race and Geoghegan and his brother Leo won the race in the Scuderia Veloce 250LM.
‘That was the end of the P4’s racing in Australia. Matich was to debut his SR4 with its 5-litre quad-cam engine in November, cementing his position as top dog in the field and enabling him to go on and take more outright records.’
‘0858’ in cigarette company Team Gunston colours in Bulawayo, South Africa 1969. Note the car now has lights refitted – installed in Australia for the Surfers 6 Hour (unattributed)
Sale of ‘0858’ to Paul Hawkins…
Due to an error in paperwork, the car was invoiced to McKay rather than in Amon’s name, bringing forward the impost of import duty. The Customs Department provided extensions of time with the assistance of the Italian Chamber of Commerce who wanted the car to race in the Surfers 6 Hour and form the centre-piece of a Sydney trade show.
Under pressure to pay the duty, which was close to 100% of the cars purchase price!, or export it, McKay put the word out ‘…dear old Paul Hawkins had heard about the car being for sale from Chris Amon at an Oulton Park meeting. I was in the workshop when ‘Hawkeyes’ call came through ‘Is the car for sale?’ ‘Yes’, ‘How much?’ ‘US$30,000’. ‘If I buy it will you go me halves in a return ticket to Sydney?’. ‘Yes, ok’. ‘I’ll be there the day after tomorrow’. I’ll meet you Paul’
‘Simple and straightforward. Paul was making a name for himself as a successful sports car and GT racer and had been a favourite of Firestone…The car was to be shipped right after Surfers for Paul would drive it in South Africa’s sports car series with tobacco sponsorship and he would win’.
350 Can Am in the East London pits, front lights now faired. The car won this 500km race (royckdboats)
Paul raced the car in South Africa from November 1968 to January 1969 winning the Cape Town 3 Hour, GP of Bulwayo, Pietermaritzburg 3 Hour and the East London 500 Km.
As McKay mentioned above Hawkins was an Australian International plying his trade via his own team and as a ‘hired gun’ by works teams. He was racing a Lola T70 Mk3B Chev during the Tourist Trophy at Oulton Park, his car ending up in the trees, after probable suspension failure, poor Paul dying in the particularly gruesome accident and ensuing fire.
Both Hawkins and Alberto Ascari, the only two drivers to ‘Scuba Dive’ at Monaco both died on May 26, in an arcane bit of trivia. Mike Hailwood raced ‘0858’ at Magny Cours, first and Dijon DNF in May.
Gearbox fettling perhaps, prior to the East London event. 4.2-litre DOHC three valve per cylinder Lucas fuel injected V12. Ferrari 5-speed ‘box with ZF limited slip diff. Battery of coils clear to see (royckdboats)
The car was sold in the realisation of the Hawkins Estate,through David Piper, who raced so many mid sixties sports Ferraris’ of his own, and occasionally as a works-driver, to Alastair Walker who raced the car back in South Africa in November-December 1969 with sometime GP driver Rob Widdows as his co-driver.
The car was uncharacteristacally unreliable, perhaps tired, ‘0858’ failed to finish the Kyalami 9 Hour, Cape Town and Bulawayo 3 Hour events. ‘0858’ was second at the Lourenco Marques, Mozambique.
In 1971 David Piper bought the car from Walker, still with its extensive inventory of spare parts, enough as McKay states to make a second car less chassis…which is what Piper did. Ferrari provided him with all the necessary P4 blueprints in 1974. Piper, Nye says ‘had the chassis made by the original people in Modena. Ferrari gave it the number ‘0900’, a serial number also applied to a Chinetti parts built 312P in the US’. Several run-on cars have been built by Piper since.
David Piper sold 0858 to Florida real estate man/Ferrari collector Walter Medlin in 1971. He retained it until it was offered for sale – having been seized by the US Internal Revenue Service to pay Medlin’s outstanding tax debt – via RM Auctions in 2009. The car was eventually restored by Talacrest in the UK, somewhat controversially in the eyes of some, to its Spyder/Barchetta specification.
At the outset I wrote that four P4s were built, three P4’s and one converted P3 ‘0846’...
In the best traditions of historic racing there are now more P4s than in period…there are three or four ‘run-on’ cars built by Piper’s concern. In addition, ‘0846’, written off by the factory after a crash and fire at Le Mans in 1967 has been reborn, recreated or replicated depending upon your view of it.
I’m not suggesting ‘the experts’ necessarily know it all either.
Etcetera…
Amon at Warwick Farm (G Paine)Chris consulting with his crew in the Sandown pitlane, David McKay in shirt and tie (G Paine)Bill Brown, who drove the car after Amon’s departure back to Europe also had a steer of the Can Am 350 at Longford in both practice and a preliminary race (David Keep)(Rod MacKenzie)
That ‘Australian’ spare tyre which was fitted as a consequence of our local sports car regs at the time. SV solution was a neat one even if the weight is well outside the cars wheelbase, where else to put it!? The yellow ‘Gatto Verde’ stickers were a gift from Alf Francis to McKay. McKay makes mention of it in his autobiography but not actually what the stickers mean/represent. Ideas anyone?
Bibliography…
David McKay ‘David McKays Scuderia Veloce’, Paul Frere ‘Cars in Profile 246SP-330P4 Ferraris’, Doug Nye ‘The Potent P4…A Ferrari Fierce and Fine’ Sports Car World July/Sept 1982
Thanks to Stephen Dalton for the assistance in research material sourcing
Photo Credits…
Dick Simpson, Roderick MacKenzie, John Ellacott, wolseley680, WOT, Jim and Pat Smith, Ellis French, The Roaring Season, David Keep, oldracephotos, royckdboats, Mike Feisst Collection, Pete Coltrin, Harold Ellis, Glenn Paine, Geoff Lanham
Tailpiece…
Lets go out as we came in, with a fabulous shot, this time by Harold Ellis of Bill Brown, the sun gleaming off 0858 before blasting down the Longford public roads, big V12 howling at 180 miles per hour in February 1968…
Mauro Forghieri asks Jacky Ickx about his wonderful creation on the Belgian GP grid, Spa 1970. Inboard front suspension, top rocker actuating a spring/shock, lower wishbone. Twin radius rods at rear in evidence. Single top link, and lower wishbone also used at rear. Well protected Lucas fuel injection trumpets, and low nature of engine clear (R Schlegelmilch)
Jacky Ickx awaits the start of the Belgian Grand Prix, he finished eighth amongst a fantastic battle between Pedro Rodriguez and Chris Amon on this spectacular, fast and oh-so-dangerous classic circuit in the Ardennes…
Amon left Ferrari at the end of 1969 , a team he adored and had raced for since 1967. He had been very competitive throughout in F1, Sports Prototypes, and the Tasman Series, but the Championship F1 victory he sought had eluded him.
Spa vista 1970 (Bruce Thomas)
Mauro Forghieri designed the all-new 312B for 1970…
The core of the design was a horizontally opposed 12 cylinder engine utilising only 4 main bearings to minimise power-sapping frictional losses. The ‘Boxer’ engine layout allowed a very low centre of gravity and cleaner airflow for the rear wing amongst other benefits.
Engine ‘Type 001’. 180 degree, DOHC, four valve, Lucas fuel injected ‘Flat 12’. Distributor, coil and Dinoplx electronic ignition. Very oversquare at 78.5×51.5 Bore/Stroke, 2991cc. 11.8:1 compression ratio, circa 460BHP at 12000RPM in 1970, rising to over 525BHP throughout the 70’s (unattributed)
Chris tested the car late in 1969, several massive engine failures convinced him to leave the team to drive a competitive car powered by the dominant, powerful and reliable Ford Cosworth DFV V8. And so it was that his Cosworth DFV powered March was beaten throughout the season by the 312B’s and in Belgium by the BRM P153 V12 of Rodriguez.
Chris’ Ferrari departure proved to be another of Amon’s poor timing decisions, his capacity for being in the ‘right place at the wrong time’ was legendary. Forghieri’s design was both reliable and fast in 1970, Ickx won three races and newcomer Clay Regazzoni one- Ferrari narrowly missed the drivers and constructors titles to Jochen Rindt, posthumously, and Lotus.
In fact the engine was brilliant, one of the greatest in F1, powering cars which took Niki Lauda (1975 and 1977), and Jody Scheckter (1979) to world titles, and in endurance form winning all the classic endurance events but the two 24 Hour races at Le Mans and Daytona. In its early form the DOHC, four valve, Lucas injected, 2991cc engine developed around 460BHP at a time the DFV developed circa 435BHP.
The chassis of the 312B was also new and whilst not a ‘full-monocoque’, the combination of aluminium reinforced space-frame tubing was very effective and forgiving to drive.
Newcomer Ignazio Giunti was the best placed Belgian GP 312B in fourth, Ickx having a variety of problems. The race was won by Rodriguez by a second from Amon with Jean Pierre Beltoise third, a further 1.43 minutes adrift, such was the pace of Pedro and Chris.
Amon set a new lap record in his chase of Rodriguez at 152MPH, but Pedro was ‘Spa fit’ having set a 160MPH lap in a 4.5 litre flat 12 Porsche 917 the week before…oh to have seen either race!
There was a chicane at Malmedy for the Grand Prix which was unused during the 1000 Km classic but all the same, 160MPH was the fastest ever lap-time of a road circuit anywhere in the world at the time.
(W Buhrer)
Jacky Ickx, Ferrari 312B, La Source hairpin, Spa 1970 (R Schlegelmilch)
The very cosy, comfy cockpit of Ickx’ Ferrai 312B. Lockout for reverse gear in the gated 5 speed ‘box plain to see , Momo steering wheel, Veglia instruments, just luvverly in every way (R Schlegelmilch)
Etcetera…
An all Ford DFV powered front row at the races start: Jochen Rindt’s Lotus 49 wedged by Amon’s March 701 on the nearside and Stewart’s similar pole winner on the outside…Ickx the best of the 12’s on this ultimate power circuit on the second row (unattributed)
Out into the Ardennes Forest …Rindt from Ickx, Beltoise, Brabham in the distance and the yellow speck Peterson…Lotus 49 DFV, Ferrari 312B, Matra MS120 V12, Brabham BT33 DFV, and March 701 DFV (unattributed)
But Pedro Rodriguez won the day in the BRM P153 V12…over the years there have been rumours the BRM engine was ‘fat’ that day, but these have been scotched by Doug Nye amongst others. Also, Pedro was supreme at Spa and Tony Southgates’ P153 and ’71 P160 BRM’s were fast, if not always reliable race-winners (unattributed)
Photo and other Credits…
Bruce Thomas, Rainer Schlegelmilch, Illustrations by Werner Buhrer
Enzo Ferrari at the launch of his 1969 endurance contender the 312P…
Motorsports governing body introduced new sports car rules for 1968; Group 4 Sports Cars with a capacity limit of 5 litres and a minimum production of 50 cars, and Group 6 Prototypes with a maximum of 3 litres. In effect the CSI were making obsolete the ‘unlimited cars’ being built by Ford and Ferrari, ( the 7 litre ‘pushrod’ Ford MkIV, 4 litre ‘racing engine’ Ferrari P4) which they considered were getting too fast for the circuits of the time.
Ferrari, in time honored fashion didn’t race in 1968 in protest at this sudden rule change but returned in 1969 with the Group 6 312P, again in time honored fashion using many parts he had ‘on the shelf ‘ from other cars.
The chassis used was a downsized version of their 1968 Can Am challenger the 612P…It was a semi-monocoque, a spacefarme reinforced by aluminium sheet. The first cars were built with high downforce Spyder bodywork, but later cars were built or re-bodied for Le Mans as stunning low drag Coupes.
Aluminium semi-monocoque chassis. Double wisbones, coil springs, Koni shocks at front. Single top link, lower inverted wishbone, twin radius rods, coil springs and Koni shocks at rear. Adjustable sway bars front and rear. Rack & pinion steering. Ventilated discs all round. 680 Kg.
The 3 litre V12 was based on the highly successful old sports car engine albeit with 4 valve heads and Lucas fuel injection…Ferrari claimed 420 BHP, all of which hit the road through a 5 speed transaxle.
312P engine, 5 speed gearbox and rear suspension. 60 degree V12, 2.99 litres. 77X53.5mm bore/stroke. 11:1 compression ratio. 4 valves per cylinder , DOHC, Lucas fuel injection and circa 420BHP @ 9800RPM. (Tony Adamowicz)
Chassis ‘0868’ was shown to the public at the Hotel Fini in Modena in December 1968, which is probably where this unattributed shot of Enzo Ferrari with the car was taken.
From the outset Ferraris’ sports car plans in 1969 were limited as the development of the 3 litre ‘Flat 12′ engine for F1 in 1970 was Technical Director, Mauro Forghieris’ main project.
The first car was damaged in testing, but repaired and put on pole at Sebring by Mario Andretti, the car finishing second co-driven by Chris Amon despite overheating after a collision with a slower car.
Chris Amon leaps aboard the 312P he shared with Mario Andretti at Sebring 1969.
Smoky Amon. Ferrari 312P, Sebring 1969. Second outright and first in class with Mario Andretti (Nigel Smuckatelli)
The car was very fast at Brands Hatch, but the Le Mans testing weekend revealed the need for slippery coupe bodies on the Mulsanne. The bigger issue was the appearance of the Porsche 917, 25 examples of which had been built by the Germans to comply with the CSI’s new Group 4 rules, not what the rule makers intended at all…
The 312P’s were fast at Monza filling the first 2 grid positions but failed to finish with tyre problems, the Firestones not coping with the rigours of the Monza banking.
Pedro Rodriguez, Nurburgring 1000Km 1969.
The 917 was on pole at Spa, but Amon proved the 312P’s competitiveness again, he broke the lap record at The Nurburgring. At Le Mans the two cars entered were fitted with gorgeous Coupe bodies formed around shortened 206SP Dino windscreens.
The 917 was on the Le Mans pole… but few believed they would last the distance, Amons 312P was damaged by debris from the fatal accident which befell the John Woolfe 917 on lap 1, the other car suffering gearbox failure after a retaining nut vibrated loose several times. Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver won the race in Ford GT40 ‘1075’ the same chassis victorious the year before.
Chris Amon behind the 312P, now with Coupe body, at Le Mans 1969 with Peter Schetty. The car was out on lap 1, running over debris from the John Woolfe 917 accident (Pinterest)
The arrival of the 917 was a game changer, Ferrari responded with some of the Lire invested in his business by Fiat, in building 25 512S 5 litre cars to go head to head with Porsche in what many say was the greatest 2 years of sports car racing ever, 1970 and 1971.
The two remaining 312P’s were sold to Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team at the end of 1969, the cars scoring class victories in major races such as Daytona, and Sebring and also racing at Le Mans in 1970 where Tony Adamowicz, and Chuck Parsons were non-classified but tenth. The other car was taken as a spare and unraced.
Wet weather 1970 Le Mans shot of the NART 312P. (Bruce Thomas)
NART Adamowicz/ Parsons 312P Le Mans 1970 , tenth in the race won by the Herrman/ Attwood Porsche 917K (Pinterest)
The 312P has only a small part in Ferrari racing history but the factory learned valuable lessons from the program when it next raced a prototype, the 3 litre 312PB in 1971, this car using a variant of the F1 ‘boxer’ engine, the 312PB the dominant and championship winning sports car of 1972.
Etcetera…
Amon/Schetty Ferrari 312P Le Mans pits 1969.(Pinterest)
Pedro relaxes before the off, Bridghampton CanAm 1969. (Dogfight.com)
‘0870’ in the 1969 Bridghampton CanAm pitlane. Rodriguez was 5th in the heavy relatively low powered 3 litre car, Hulme and McLaren 1st and 2nd in McLaren M8B Chevs. (Dogfight.com)
Mike Parkes in the NART 312P , Daytona 1970. Tall man, and bubble as a consequence (Pinterest)
Another shot of the Adamowicz/ Parsons 312P during Le Mans 1970 (Yves Debraine)
Interesting drawing showing the differences in dimensions of the Spyder and Coupe versions of the 312P (Pinterest)
Photo Credits…
Pinterest, Tony Adamowicz, Nigel Smuckatelli, Yves Debraine, Bruce Thomas
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