'64 250 GTO damaged at Goodwood Revival 2016

Thanks Steve!

Quite right, in racing, it really is not the car, it's always the driver who assumes the risk....

 

As posted earlier a lot of these cars are running repro engines, as well as repro bodies!!

 

My friends still race it on a regular basis. It had shunts back in the '62 and again in '63 during races. BUT.... was rebuilt in period by the factory; no restoration since. Currently longest single ownership of any of them.

Plus it has Not been modified with any go faster engine or other non period cheater tech, like so many others have been.

And I agree with Greg W.

 

Some people confuse value with price.

To many the opportunity to become successful enough to be able to afford one of these cars and run it on a track as it was run emulating an unmatched experience is limtless in value. If it takes a bump or scar... it only affects the price of the car. The experience to the owner is potentially so great... it is invaluable.

 

GTO's were only built to race. Look at a GTO on the grid before the off. There's a little perceptable shake very so often to display the pleasure the car gets from the outing. No better nor worse then your dog getting excited about 'walkies'. Neither the dog nor the car have the faintest idea what their price is.

In the TT this year the '64 GTO driver was having a blast, driving a tidy race when THUMP he's clouted hard on the rear right. The bodywork crushes into the wheel and the car does a 180 only to collect the Cobra that did the damage coming around the outside and crunching the front right too. Redmist, inexperience, ego or whatever the damage is done and all the effort to prepare and practice for the feature race is lost for a whole year.

No need to expect an apology or offer to help repair the damage. This is an infamous 'British Racing Incident' that occurs too often and all over not just at Goodwood of course. Motor racing is dangerous but anything more than a few dents and flatted tyres really should be unacceptable.

The 'Kinrara (it's an estate in Scotland) Trophy' run off on the friday night into the twilight was a delightful race for pre-'63 GT cars not so highly modified. Both GTO's (one a 330) had a good scrap and finished with no harm done to either car. The winner put on a master class in his SWB and was an object lesson in what historic is supposed to be all about. If they have this event next year; perhaps another couple of tame GTO's might appear and join in the fun and joy.

Yes fun and joy. The very purpose for which historic racing was invented. Just to see, hear and smell this stuff doing what it was designed and built for why spectators turn up. Sending the cars home well excercised but undamaged is what it's supposed to be all about.

Don't believe me? Ask your dog.

 

The typical "lifespan" of a race-car is a single season.....witness the new cars each F1 season.
GTO's came from factory '62-'63 S1 with 3 S11 re-bodies of S1 cars in 1964. These cars were raced in meaningful (LeMans/Sebring etc) for how many years...under "professional (points for WDC) management" until they became obsolete.....what year(s)....when did they become "old race cars with little value"?, late '65 or early '66?

My ? is when did the repairs made to crashed cars become "Out of Period", and thus any repairs made past point X in time....subtract from value? I am in the camp of the more original the metal the better.

Jack

 

This...is as good a point in time as any....agree too.

Jack

 

FWIW, Steve Earle ran the Monterey historics as he saw fit. Anyone and I mean anyone that over-drove would be invited back but could not drive the following year. Stirling Moss attended one in the early 1980s let the red mist descend and drove like a d:ck attended the following year but was not allowed to drive. That ensured that everyone drove fast but fair rather than allowing overdriving which can eventually turn it into a demolition derby....... Something like this can happen if you aren't careful
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I understand the dilemma between preserving originality and using the car for racing/ For my part, I can spend five minutes looking at a static car, but watch it running/racing for much much longer. I've been to lots of historic racing (though not Goodwood) and it is wonderful spectacle.
I would however tend to agree that at least anecdotally there is room for Goodwood to tighten policing of cars and driving standards -panel damage is not a big problem but people damage is and one car (nearly?) had debris in the crowd.

 

A couple of thoughts:

The reason cars stay at Monterey (after they are done racing) is that transporters are not allowed in during the event; and all participants are strongly encouraged (if they want to return in the future) to keep their cars on display the whole weekend. My group finished Saturday afternoon, and we kept all our cars in the paddock until Sunday night (again, it should be a fan driven event).

Monterey encourages historical accuracy, and it's getting better all the time. They also have been aggressive about policing driving for reasons someone (GregW?) alluded to - if people are going smash cars, then people with the better cars will stay home (why risk it?). If everyone behaves, everyone wins.

Timmmmmy - That's obviously the Group 6 crash at RA a couple of years ago. Many things went wrong there, and that's not to say that it couldn't happen again, but the flagging is generally well done at MRLS; I took a start there in the past two years where the pole car was going too slow, and once we started hard on it, a guy in the front missed a shift - it could have ended that way (as in your pic). However, the flaggers were quick, and the drivers fairly alert, and just one car was damaged...

YMMV

 

I should have added that the Kenny Brack GT40 video is absolutely fantastic.

 

Well, A Race car is for race, for track, no limits. In many case these cars finished in bad conditions.
since Gto exists all have changing parts, so at the end, purists are paying what?
A old car, with a palnares, but in most of case a built and re-built car, a used and re-used car...

Thinking a Ferrari is art? Ok, a 250 Gto is nice, but compared to others....hum..
Thinking a Ferrari as a Van Gogh, imagine all owners changing colors, or drawing on it..
absurde....
A Van Gogh is original since the first day and today is always admired by everybody around the world.
Ferrari is in 2015 a brand of luxury...looking for next pigeons.

 

Yes, all replicas... And then why are you interested in Ferrari ?

 

For the pleasure of my eyes. For the rest...it smells bad.
Did you see replicas everywhere?

 

Ah, yes, the Road America circus. Many of these cars have cheater motors, and many of the drivers get itchy. I agree with exercising the cars vigorously, but not to the point of damage. Usually the vintage races at Elkhart are uneventful, but entertaining to watch. Just wish someone would get a little closer to Brian French in the F1 cars....

 

3647GT was repaired at the factory after all its crashes so done properly and authentically. Today it is said to be among the most original of all 250 GTOs.

 

I like watching the repared, rebuilt classic cars racing at Goodwood, but don't tell me they are original.
If it was art it would be an overprint circa 2015 on your Italian master by Bob Spanner of East London.
If it was a road car you'd never touch it, funny o'l world.

 

The difference and the beauty of GTO 3647 is that it was repaired/rebuilt by the original masters, Ferrari and Scaglietti so is totally authentic.

 

Gregory, very well said. Luca keeps telling me the same.

 

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