Ferrari Sport Cars Thread

Thank you .

 

WOW
3 races on the same day at 3 different locations - belgium, france and italy

 

This is supposed to show the mysterious n330 Ferrari (wrongly attributed to Carini ?) :

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1955-05-08_Coppa_Lombardia_Monza_Ferrari_750_0500M_Carini.jpg

Frustratingly I can't find period reports for the Coppa Lombardia.

 

This was a crazy time in the engine shop at Ferrari. With all of the motor failures at LeMan and earlier they may have been working around the clock on just four cylinder motors. The motor in my car was rebuilt with a new unnumbered crankcase and the head from the prototype motor originally in 0512/MD. Attached is the dyno page from this rebuild and is the motor in my car the I bought it in 1960. In many case the failures were apparently due to using the wrong kind of steel in the connecting rods which were just fine in compression but inadequate in tension. I suppose that the Ferrari experience with the lightweight 12 cylinder pistons did not work so well when requiring conn rods to stop the big and heavy 4 cylinder pistons at the top of the stroke. They must have changed things at the time since my motor went on to survive numerous races with no problem.
Best regards,
Robert

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Also:
#20 166 MM Berlinetta 0048 M Marcel Willemin 4th in class Sport under 2.6

 

Even more than 3:
- several races at the 17° Eläintarhanjo Djurgardsloppet (Helsinki Grand Prix ) in Helsinki (Finland)
- 22° Coppa Gallenga (Italy)
- 8° Gran Premio di Napoli had a "Corsa Sport Internazionale" support race (Italy)
- Nationaler Automobil-Slalom Dübendorf (Switserland)

 

Photo?

Marcel Massini

 

Sorry, I have no photo. But: while a photo can prove that a certain car & driver participated in a race, absence of a photo can mean a lot of different things: no pic was taken / pics were taken but got lost or were never published / car & driver did NOT participate.

Willemin was at least entered in this race.

 

At the time (8 May 1955) the car was still in Italian ownership (Macchieraldo) and on Italian license plates.
Naturally Willemin could have been entered with this car, which he acquired much later. And there was one more owner between Macchieraldo (8th owner) and Willemin (10th owner).

Marcel Massini

 

It seems that Willemin was in an optimistic mood when he entered for Spa and expected to have access to a race car at May 8th.
It might have been 0048 M but that is pure speculation without photo or other proof.

This source Grand Prix Spa 1955 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars (which is quite reliable) lists a class result suggesting that Willemin did participate.

 

Willemin already raced a 2000cc Ferrari at the Côte de Verbois in april (1st in the sport 2000 class). No photo, so unsure if 0048 M.

 

One more : Pasquini crashed his "berlinetta Ferrari 3000", with much damage to the car but none to him.

 

Correct results:
#3 166 MM Touring Barchetta 0014M Bengt Jonsson - 4th in 2-litre series production sportscar race.
#6 250 MM Pinin Farina Berlinetta 0252MM Björn Martensson - 2nd in over 2-litre series production sportscar race.
#7 250 MM Pinin Farina Berlinetta 0344MM Carl Lohmander - 6th in over 2-litre series production sportscar race.

0366AM was only mildly damaged when trying to get ahead Micheal Head's D-type. Stener lost control, upset the gardener by running over some bushes and eventually hit a tree - mildly. Rumors of a heavy crash were invented by people trying to explain why it was rebodied in the first place.

 

And:

#244 0360 AM, Franco Meloni, result unknown (and I have no pics)

 

8 May 1955:
To be a bit more precise:
XV Vermicino-Rocca di Papa hillclimb near Rome, XXII Coppa Gallenga.

Marcel Massini