GT40 bites the dust?

[Mike Drew]

Hi guys,

I got to Thunderhill Raceway at 6;00 p.m. today; my fiancee was driving a two-day track event here. Reportedly, on the second lap of the first session of the morning, an original GT40 went off the track HARD at the exit of the fast, uphill turn 8, leaving the track violently and going into a ditch at speed, blowing apart and winding up on its roof.

People described it as a genuine, original GT40, NOT a replica. It's red, wearing the #18.

That sounds like P/1018, the former Scuderia Filipenetti Mk 1 that is run out of Reno, and looked after by Intrepid Motorsports. Last time I saw this car, it was being driven into the wall at Sears Point and the whole front end had been cleaned off. So it wouldn't surprise me to learn that it got wrecked again, but this time it sounds far more serious.

The driver was okay, and in fact, he reportedly dusted himself off and then spent the rest of the day driving a vintage NASCAR racer, so the wreck obviously didn't bother him too much.

The question is--was this really P/1018, or just a car painted up to replicate it? Numerous people in the know claimed it was a genuine car worth a million bucks.... :cry:

 

[Malcolm]

In which case it will get fixed up. It is hard to write off a million dollar car. Probably get two out of the wreckage for good measure as well!

 

[Randy V]

Would be a crying shame for the car to be destroyed..

Each time this happens the cars become a little (to a lot) less original.

Reminds me of the axe in the museum. Purportedly the very axe George Washington used to cut down the storied Cherry Tree.. Of course, over the years its had a few restorations. The handle was replaced twice and the head replaced once.. But it IS an original!

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

As Malcolm said, these cars are so valuable that if this did happen, it will get repaired and restored and run again. Damn shame about it, though. This car seems not to have led a charmed life, evidently.

 

[Ronnie Spain]

Mike,

GT40 P/1018 is in Australia, and painted blue and white. The car which regularly ran in red with #18, correctly ex-Filipinetti as you say (from Le Mans 1967, being a Brescia Corse car because Filipinetti had sold off both their cars by then) was 1042. I had a fascinating time examining that car, completely stripped out for restoration, up by Seattle in June last year. But I found out when at Monterey in August that the car had been purchased and was going to Switzerland. Sadly, as thankfully very seldom happens, the new owner has remained anonymous to me, but it would be unlikely that a full restoration would have been carried out yet, and in any case it would be a miracle for that to be the car that was at Thunderhill. So as of writing this I have no idea what car was crashed there.

Glad to hear the driver is OK. That's the main thing.

Better try and find out what the car was then, hadn't I?

Ronnie

 

[Jack]

When Ronnie speaks, everyone listens! Thanks for the input.

 

[Ronnie Spain]

Molleur,

I didn't have much input for this one. All I was able to say was what the car wasn't. I have no idea what the car was.

Must try harder.


Ronnie

 

[Mike Drew]

Molleur,

I didn't have much input for this one. All I was able to say was what the car wasn't. I have no idea what the car was.

Must try harder.

Sorry I brain-farted on the chassis number, confusing it with the race number it has always worn. Here are photos I took of P/1042 (with #18) at Monterey in 2007.

I wasn't at Thunderhill when the supposedly-original GT40 was destroyed Saturday, but the description of the cornerworkers and witnesses (none of whom purport to be GT40 experts, and many of whom probably can't tell the difference between an original, a replica, and a new Ford GT) closely matches this car.

Ronnie--can you confirm that the car in the photos here, which was wrecked in the front end at Sears Point a couple of years ago, and was being run out of Reno by Intrepid Motorsports on behalf of the owner, has since changed hands and is safely elsewhere, in pieces? Or could it be possible that it was reassembled, brought to the track for a shakedown run, and then was violently dismantled upon arrival there? :cry:

 

[Chris Wilson]

Hi Guys

Have recently joined the forum and was interested in this thread.

As the current owner of 1018 I can vouch for the fact that it was not my car that was crashed that sad day - and that 1018 is still very much in its Shelby American blue with white stripes colors!

I thought I'd also add to Ronnie's post in as much as whilst I do in fact live in Australia (sunny Perth!) the car is kept in the UK and still run by Lanzante for me who ran it for the last two owners.

I did bring it over in 2011 for the Philip Island Historics, and since then I also ran it at the Spa Six Hours last year and in just a few weeks it's off to Le Mans Classic and the back over again in September for the Revival.

So yes, the car is still being raced hard, but fortunately so far, it's been kept between the white lines!

When I purchased the car Ronnie was very helpful at that time and assisted me with A number of my enquiries at that time and he's still very much the guru for these cars!

I look forward to keeping abreast of developments on this forum.

Cheers

Chris Wilson

 

[Mike Drew]

Is there anyway that the title of this thread can be changed to reflect the proper serial number of the car which was purportedly crashed, since we know for a fact it's not P/1018? I don't want the ghost of this thread to follow P/1018 around forever?

 

[Randy V]

Welcome to GT40s Chris...

The header on the thread was changed when I got here this AM, so I just cleaned up the titles on all the messages which were inherited from the original subject header. There will still be references to 1018 in this thread, but now that the story has been told and corroborated by the owner of the car, there should be no harm/foul...

Thanks all...

 

[Chris Wilson]

Hi Randy

Many thanks for getting onto this so quickly - glad to see the forums are moderated so efficiently.

Now - back to watching the live web stream from france of the big one - although with Audi dominating the top 5 it looks like there is little doubt what the outcome will be!

Cheers

Chris

 

[rjanot]

Thanks for your posts Mr Wilson. I had the pleasure to see P/1018 at Spa 6 hours meeting last September. Here you will find two different pics. It was well driven !!! And I am very happy to see you again in 3 weeks for Le Mans Classic.

I saw P/1042 at Spa Classic meeting few weeks ago. It still has its Brescia Corse / Scuderia Filipinetti delivery. It was prepared by Burgol racing based in Switzerland but was driven by a French guy at this occasion.

Hi Randy

Many thanks for getting onto this so quickly - glad to see the forums are moderated so efficiently.

Now - back to watching the live web stream from france of the big one - although with Audi dominating the top 5 it looks like there is little doubt what the outcome will be!

Cheers

Chris

 

[rjanot]

Here I post 3 pics of P/1042 taken May 26 at Spa Francorchamps.

 

[Graham Taylor]

Sorry about the wreck. From all the posts it seems like it was a replica. Not such a bad loss, altho bad in itself. I have Ronnie Spains book on all GT40's and am still a little confused on the chronological order of the cars built. I guess I need to read it a few more times.

 

[Graham Taylor]

I do have the pleasure of riding in post production chassis #1115 once in awhile at Summit Point Raceway in WV at our vintage events. I do believe that it is an original chassis remaining after the production run was ended.

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

I do have the pleasure of riding in post production chassis #1115 once in awhile at Summit Point Raceway in WV at our vintage events. I do believe that it is an original chassis remaining after the production run was ended.

1115 is a Safir chassis car, not an original Abbey tub.

 

[Andrew Komosa]

Not wishing to be a GT40 bore, but GT40P/1115 is/was for sale in the UK and is indeed a Safir MkV http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/find/4100_results.asp?&dealerid=11047&lCarID=1708055

 

[Richard]

Here are some pictures of RED GT40's I took at Kirkland. So at least two summers ago these cars were on the West Coast.