In my opinion, racing technology was still ADVANCING at that time. In other words, there was still room to grow because the cars were nearing 200mph at the fastest races. Human drivers can still control a car up to those speeds. Beyond 200mph, it becomes extremely dangerous. After the 200 mph barrier, the racing technology could still advance even further to higher speeds, but what mere mortal human being could drive a car at 300mph around LeMans or elsewhere? The sanctioning bodies had no choice but to start restricting airflow, lowering displacement, etc. The cars then became rolling billboards for sponsors. It was no longer about ADVANCING the technology in the quest for greater SPEEDS. The speeds had become as fast as they could get by about 1969 or 70. Unless somebody can build a 100 mile race course on private land where the straightaways will allow 300 mph, it's no longer about speed. It's about sponsors.
Hi Arlie, I'm not sure about the sponsors bit. I think the Carrera Pan-America cars of the early 50s looked quite neat with sponsor decorations. The GLTL Lotus (1967) looked pretty smart, and also the JPS cars. Now it's big business, manufacturers, share-holders and spy scandals - bring back the good old days! Nathan
Well that's #0854 in it's 1969 (post-East London S.A. fire) 'cut-down' spyder configuration .... .... and it only raced twice more in Piper's hands before he sold it - in June '69 at the Norisring, where, IIRC, it carried #6. .... So that must photo be from the Solitude Rennen at Hockenheim in July '69.
Big business means sponsors. Arlie is 100% right, sponsorship has ruined motorsport. Yes some cars look good with the right signwriting but the underlying concept of corporate pressure on a sport has removed the quality from it and replaced it with a soulless shadow of itself. Many say Colin Chapmans greatest invention was sponsorship, but IMO if we are to blame him for this, then he killed motorsport. Pete
Speaking of Piper cars, does anyone have any other pictures of this car? I beleive its from Kyalami 1968? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Paul, Here's another photo from a German magazine ("Auto Motor und Sport"). Piper's #0854 in 1969 at Hockenheim with n°1. At the Norisring 1969, car was n°8. So, n°56 is another race in Germany. I noticed on the back of the photo "Flugplatzrennen 69 - driver Hans Hermann in David Piper's car"... (Flugplatzrennen means airfield race). Image Unavailable, Please Login
After some more researches, I found the following: Flugplatzrennen Wunstorf, Germany 17 august 1969. Driver Hans Hermann in David Piper's car. Maybe the last race of #0854?
Thank you for sharing that, Francis. Indeed you are correct. I was making that post from my work (without the benefit of my photos / archives to refer to). Pipes did actually run at the Norisring as N° 6 - but in 1968 - when he won the event. See below. The photos below came from this German website (there are a few more of 412P #0854 in both '68 and '69 on there): http://www.norisringhistorie.de/norframe3.htm Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
You just beat me to it, Francis !! I found this photo on the Atlas F1 Nostalgia forum a while back. Definately Wunstorf !! And very likely too. Image Unavailable, Please Login
David still has a souvenir of it, hanging on a wall in a corner of his garden. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sorry, Ed - I don't - but it's not Kyalami, but Killarney (still in 1968) - a smaller (totally different) track near Cape Town. This is how #0854 appeared at Kyalami in '68: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yes, I know the Norisring website (really interesting)... Hope David Piper will save the precious body part! Let's talk more about #0854... From a French magazine (Sport-Auto) we have the Kyalami 9 hours 1969. Jacky Ickx is in the Mirage, Dick Attwood in #0854 and Paul Hawkins in the orange #0858 canam car. Again, we can see the different cars, with two Renault 8 Gordini and also a Volvo... Image Unavailable, Please Login
No - surely that's late 1968, Francis - before David converted #0854 into the cut-down spyder. Yours is the same photo that I posted at the bottom of the previous page (in a smaller size). Edit - check your own photo caption, Francis ! (Kyalami68) .... and Yes - more later.
I see they've added a couple of new photos of #0854 since I last looked at it. This colour one is nice: Image Unavailable, Please Login
Funnily enough the "Precious" ones survived. In those days race cars were tools to win races and once they were obsolete they were often discarded. After Maranello Concessionaires/Ferrari were done with 0854, after 1967 she was no longer eligible to win championship points, David carried on with non championship races. (It's not clear if David actually owned 0854 at that point or ever as her ownership documents don't reflect that he did and that Maranenllo Concessionaires still did during the period David carried on but he certainly had control of her.) The good news is that David simply used her original alloy body as a tool to make fiberglass replacement panels which were easier to repair/replace after a shunt and her original alloy panels survived and are now being reunited with the car. After the SA fire which destroyed one of the Fiberglass bodies and other components the good new is that the chassis/engine/ and gearbox survived and David rebuilt 0854 and continued racing her. There are VERY few unmolested race cars from the day. Long chains of owners did their thing and the cars became what they are. Are there any totally original old cars? Is there one that remained with the Factory after it's glory days and for 40 years was untouched? If there was could that car possibly pass into private hands? Would the Factory carefully clean, change the fluids and belts before delivery without any doing any traditional restoration? What would people think about such a car? What would Judges think about such a car? Would the heads of the screws line up? Would there be over spray? Stay Tuned...
There were other interesting 'precious body parts' at the bottom of David's garden, the last time I visited him. Image Unavailable, Please Login
.... and this is what lay underneath that fibreglass 412P tail .... interesting ? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Nice one, Boudewijn - thanks for sharing. Here's another more familiar one - image copyright © Rainer Schegelmilch, IIRC. Image Unavailable, Please Login
