CMC Ferrari 250 LM, Winner Reims 12h 1964, #7, Chassis 5895, Hill/Bonnier, RHD - 1/18

Description

CMC Ferrari 250 LM, winner Reims 12h 1964, #7, chassis 5895, Hill/Bonnier, RHD. High-quality collector's model in 1:18 scale.

This 250 LM was sold new to Maranello Concessionaires, the Ferrari agent in England. The car first raced in 1964 with Roy Salvadori at the Coppa Intereuropa in Monza. Later, Jackie Stewart, Lucien Bianchi and Innes Ireland also drove it in races. In September 1965, the car was sold to Peter Clarke, who continued to race it until 1968. It was then also briefly owned by David Piper.
The uniqueness of the 1964 Reims 12-hour race was the midnight start. Driving off in the pitch dark was made even more difficult by the Le Mans start procedure. The first laps were characterised by a three-way battle between the two Ferrari drivers Graham Hill and John Surtees and Richie Ginther's Ford. For almost an hour, at average speeds well over 200 km/h, the three drivers regularly overtook each other before the Virage de Thillois.
At 6 o'clock, long after the sun had risen, John Surtees was leading with a 56-second lead over Joakim Bonnier, Graham Hill's team-mate. At this point, the three works GT40s and both Shelby Daytonas had retired. The lead changed hands mainly due to the different pit stop tactics. Just before 11 o'clock, Surtees came into the pits for refuelling. However, the pads on the front brakes also had to be changed. Although the N.A.R.T. mechanics worked quickly, the team lost two minutes in the process. With new brake pads, Surtees seemed to be able to make the impossible possible. He made up an enormous amount of time on Bonnier in a short space of time, at times he was five seconds faster per lap than the Swede. When Bonnier came into the pits for his final refuelling stop half an hour before the end of the race and handed the car back to Hill, Surtees took the lead. He had completed all the necessary stops and could have finished the race without stopping again. He had driven the Ferrari at and sometimes over the limit for more than an hour, putting the car's technology under extreme strain. At Surtee's last stop, a tyre change was not carried out due to time constraints, which now took its revenge. Ten minutes before the end, he came into the pits with a flat left front tyre. When he returned to the track, he was 1 ½ laps behind the Hill/Bonnier Ferrari, which won the race.

Item number: M-261