28 Nov Rear-view Mirror
A regular look back at old motoring and motor sport items…
With the 9-Hour Intercontinental GT Challenge taking place at Kyalami on December 3 followed a week later by the Cape 9-Hour at Killarney, these photos of the classic SA enduros that took place in the 1960s will stir some memories for older motor sport enthusiasts. In the 1965 Kyalami 9-Hour race, the British pair Peter Sutcliffe and Innes Ireland shared a Ford GT40 (car no.6) and drove it to second place overall and 10th on Index of Performance behind the winning David Piper/Richard Attwood Ferrari 365 P2. With less than half-an-hour to race, the Ford was leading by two laps but a disintegrating left-front wheel was slowing the car. However, the pit crew did not bring the car in for a quick wheel change that would have maintained the lead, so the Ferrari eventually made up the deficit and took the chequered flag. In the same race, after an early and lengthy pit-stop for a spark plug change, the Jackie Epstein/Paul Hawkins Ferrari 250 LM (car no.5) finished third overall and 14th on Index.
The previous year, Hawkins joined Frank Gardner in the Willment 7-litre Ford Galaxie. Sadly, overheating problems early on led to a blown cylinder head gasket and the car was withdrawn from the race. But to the delight of the fans, the team repaired the car and four hours later the thundering Ford returned to ther fray. But although the car finished the race it was not classified due to having being been officially retired.
(NB: No copyright infringement is intended with any of the images used to illustrate these articles.)
