What other Ferraris competed at Paramount Ranch in the '50s? | FerrariChat

What other Ferraris competed at Paramount Ranch in the '50s?

Discussion in 'Vintage (thru 365 GTC4)' started by bitzman, Feb 11, 2019.

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  1. bitzman

    bitzman F1 Rookie
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    wallace wyss
    #1 bitzman, Feb 11, 2019
    I am trying to write a memorabilia piece about a short lived (18 months) racing venue in Malibu area in the 1950s. Paramount Ranch was a section of land (27000 acres)owned by Paramount, where they had a Western movie set and filmed hundreds of movies and TV series. They also built a road racing track but it was a disaster. Though the track was designed by a pro racer, Ken Miles, three drives were killed and once Willow Springs and Riverside was built no races were run there again.

    I can only find pictures on the Web of the Tony Parravano 375Plus racing there but was wondering what other Ferrari race cars raced there and what website I can find a picture of them or what book? (probablyh no use asking where Tony was last seen....he fled the US with the IRS hot on his trail)

    As far as other interesting cars that raced there

    I see
    Aston Martin (don't know what model?)
    D-type Jag
    C-type Jag
    Lotus (don't know what models)
    Triumph TR2

    As far as drivers who vaulted to glory, I found story on Dan Gurney for sure but don't know about Shelby, maybe he was already such a pro he didn't want to be in amateur (ie. non-paying) races.
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  2. Ferrari27

    Ferrari27 Formula Junior

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    #2 Ferrari27, Feb 11, 2019
    Not sure where you have looked so far but have you tried here:

    http://www.racingsportscars.com/track/archive/Paramount%20Ranch.html
     
  3. bitzman

    bitzman F1 Rookie
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    #3 bitzman, Feb 11, 2019
    I'll check that out.Meanwhile found another Ferrari competed there, Bruce Kessler, in a 500TR.


    O650 MDTR 56
    57/mar/09 5th OA
    1st EM Paramount Ranch
    modified +1.5
    preliminary Bruce Kessler #3
    -------------------------------------------------------------
    57/mar/10 acc.
    EM Paramount Ranch
    Sports +1.5
    main Bruce Kessler #3
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
    Is there a color picture of that car on the net? wonder if the car survived to the modern day?
    I think later on he became famous for ordering custom yachts and sailing about the world.
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  4. teegeefla

    teegeefla Formula Junior

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    #4 teegeefla, Feb 14, 2019
    For race results, go to this page and hit the link for each year.
    http://wsrp.cz/natus.html
    Scroll down to the Paramount Ranch events. It has race results for all classes and you can see many Ferraris listed. You might be able to get more info (and maybe photos) by Google searching under each driver's name.

    Here are some places with more info on Paramount Ranch (and may other tracks and events from that era):

    http://www.allongs.com/Nostalgia/
    look under the Fast Racing menu as Paramount Ranch photos are spread throughout the five pages

    http://www.team.net/www/ktud/us50s.html
    scroll down to a section on Paramount Ranch

    http://0398ca9.netsolhost.com/site.htm
    lots of material on many old cars and tracks...do the "site search" to narrow things down. Also check out their links page.

    here is film footage from an event in 1956
    https://thechicane.com/2010/02/16/more-unseen-50s-scca-footage-paramount-ranch-1956/

    and there was a film called "The Devil's Hairpin" that has racing footage (real and staged) from Paramount Ranch. It can be found/downloaded via a Google search.

    Hope this helps.
     
  5. Rory J

    Rory J Formula 3

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    #5 Rory J, Feb 14, 2019
    I wrote a feature story on Paramount Ranch several years ago for Motor Trend Classic using archival photos, you might be able to find a copy on eBay... I'd have to see what issue it was.
     
  6. bitzman

    bitzman F1 Rookie
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    #6 bitzman, Feb 14, 2019
    I was a little surprised that a pro racer, Ken Miles, designed the figure-8 track layout with another fellow and still three people got killed in not even two seasons. I think maybe Ken wasn't used to the high speeds of the newest race cars (like the D-type Jag and the Ferraris) and didn't design for that. Also having a tunnel through a cement bridge was not a good idea. I am glad that he didn't go on to tout his racetrack designing prowess.
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