It's what these cars were meant to do-without racing the Ferrari name would be meaningless. Cosmetic damage is nothing to get upset about, many of these TdFs have had numerous repairs and restorations. Soon both will be back as they were.
I was 4 years old when the first GTO'***** the tracks. And got completely destroyed, and re-built. And again and again. All of them still exist. Most of them are regularly used to race. GREAT STUFF! We are lucky in that Ferrari has produced an incredible number of competition cars so that we can enjoy seeing them race eachother 40 years on. What's with all the other, more obscure makes, the cars all relegated to stuffy museums. Sad. They were built to run. I am by no means in the league where I can buy a vintage Ferrari and drive the cr*p out of it, barely keeping my 308 on the road. But it gets driven hard, on and off the track. Otherwise I might just as well buy a Bimmer. It's got nothing to do with showing the world that I can afford it or not, nor do I eat condor as a component of any of my meals. What I do have, though, is PASSION. Wether it is in my 308 GTSi or a 250MM, the thing has to run as it was intended, adrenaline levels rise, heartbeat up. That's called LIFE.
Sorry, but there are people with another opinion. For me, this is destroying historical cars. Yes, we can repair them. But it's like repainting a Picasso. Those guy's should better buy modern competition cars and run them in real races. But maybe they don't have the ability to race modern and faster cars.
1139 GT (Dr. Heiner Oettli, Switzerland, retired dentist) and 1401 GT (Plinio Haas, Switzerland, 80 years old). Marcel Massini
I tend to agree with Horsefly. I haven't seen the accident, apart from these pics, but it sure looks like a bad bit of driving from at least one of the two drivers involved. Vintage Ferrari's deserve more respect than that.
Check out all the Bondo flying off car #54. I remember at Cavalino one year at Moroso a lady lunched the motor in her 250 TDF. Hubby said no problem take the other car which I think was a 375 spider. Me I would have been crying.
As someone who's been in an "incident" with a Historic car in the Historics, while I can understand that some are upset over it, it's the cost of doing business. These cars are on the track, doing what they were designed to do. The goal is not to destroy them, but these things do happen. Heat of the moment. Mechanicals. Driver running out of talent. Whatever. Sure, it's sad to see, but would you rather see them running hard around tracks, or sitting on some static display in a garage or museum? The owners will surely have them repaired to "as good" condition. It may not be the "original" panel or paint, but by now, few cars have the original panels or paint anyway. And, if the original panel beaters and painters (or their progeny) are employed in the repairs, what's the problem? CW
In all honesty, I would have no problem with that. The time in which racing these cars was relevant is long gone. Today, they are far more then disposable racingcars, they represent a certain time in history. The more work is done on them, the lesser they serve that representing function. Having said that, I am all for having these cars run so they can not only be seen, but also be heard and experienced in a more broader sense. But that doesn't mean it is ok to trash them around like any other built up hobbycar. Agreed, accidents do happen, but I don't understand accidents like these. At least one of the two drivers involved took way too much risk considering the car he is driving.
The idea that this is the only way that these cars can be used is silly. I've put 500,000 road miles on my collection over 37 years and have participated in Historic Events like the Targa Florio where they've been used but not raced. We just finished a second 25K service on my MK-IV. I drive them on the Track but I don't race them. Image Unavailable, Please Login
"Nice" picture, right place right time. Do you have a sequence shot showing the incident you could post? Alberto
no one is denying, or even suggesting that owners be denied the privilege to act recklessly with their vintage race cars. The point is SHOULD they? I see the pictures above and all I think is "what a waste". A dentist and an 80 year old un-necessarily bending fabulous old cars - I have no idea who the prime offender was, but you get my point. I could be totally off-base, and the accident may have been just that, an accident, and not a case of someone improperly failing to yield the line into a corner when they had been beaten. If it is the latter, then gee, who "won" that race? who cares? These old beasts no longer have anything to prove; their glory days, competing w/ blood sweat and tears, are long over. Everyone seems to think that there are no vintage racers out there that still have original, period metal. Many do; I don't understand what seems to be the prevailing notion on this forum that a legitimate period racer draws sincere, misty-eyed emotion, but what could be original, hand-beaten bodywork is treated with as much regard as a Coke can. I am fortunate enough to have a car in my family that retains probably 75% of its body that was beaten by Scaglietti. The little crescent-shaped hammer marks are easily seen on the undersides of many of the panels. It would be an absolute crime to lose that history in a weekend warrior incident. Surely, there must be a way to race these cars, but under the rubric that "the cars are the stars" and treat them w/ the respect that they are undeniably entitled to. There must be a happy medium between keeping a historic racer in a bubble and rebodying it every several years with a shrug and "oh well, that's racing" attitude. I know that the former owner of 0536MD had a new body made for that car (which he raced the hell out of), precisely to preserve the original panels. Maybe that is the answer? Cornerswell, I think I was once told by Seibert that an incident like the one in this thread would get the offender booted out of the North American Historics for at least a year; is that the case, or is it enforced? My impression has been that there tends to be much more carnage in the European Shell Historics series than the North American one; do you agree with that?
I respect the people who have the guts to drive these cars like they should be used. They're the ones honoring the history of cars, not those who restore them and keep them in garages.
They are only original once!!!! After that does it matter? from the looks of it, these bodies were no virgins prior to the incident. Still a shame though.
Sorry Jim but I disagree. While it is great you have your fun in rally and road use I think the vintage race option is one of the best ways these cars remain vital and enjoyed by many. While racing across the pond is "over the top" in terms of aggressive racing incidents are not so common in US vintage racing. Further incidents in General Racing events put you out of there events for a year. I might further raise the issue of over restoration as an even more insidious way in which original panels are lost. A 166 I had (and raced and rallied) for some years ended up being "restored" some years later by a subsequent owner and most of it's panels ended up being replaced. Any use in public is great. Rally/tour, concours, road, and vintage race all get the old beasts out for the enjoyment of owners and enthusiasts alike. I just think that vintage racing is the best way to see these cars as they are viewed both in the way they were designed for on the track as well as the static, up close viewing in the paddock. It is a true shame when something requires a new panel, but better for that reason than the attainment of a silly level of perfection never seen in the day. Cheers, George
Unlike other's I don't presume to state what is the best use of other's possessions or lives. I remember sitting in a bar in Asia once with a guy who was going up stairs to bet on Russian Roulette and then head to a different bar to watch a live sex show. Didn't interest me but I didn't tell him that as I politely declined to join him and thanked him for the beer.
Anything can be fixed but having a car in a body shop is a pain in the ass, expensive and endless. They can build a custom house faster then fixing one of these.
I respect the people who have the guts to drive these cars like they should be used. They're the ones honoring the history of cars, not those who restore them and keep them in garages. I would like to thank the gentleman at the Cavalino track day several years ago that brought out his 1933 Alfa Romeo P3 and let the car rip beating many of the Ferraris on the track. The guy was no youngster either. Seeing and hearing the sound of that car the driving and the smile on his face was a top ten life event for me. I think that folks that really race these cars with skill should be commended. It is kind of like seeing and hearing a great concert performance and it really touches peoples lives in a unique way that a static display can not. Accidents do suck how ever.
