CMC – 1:18 Ferrari 250 LM Winner Reims 12h 1964 #7 Chassis 5907 Hill/Bonnier (RHD)

Vehicle Background

This 250 LM was sold new to Maranello Concessionaires, the Ferrari representative in England. The car first competed in 1964 with Roy Salvadori at the Coppa Intereuropa in Monza. Later, Jackie Stewart, Lucien Bianchi and Innes Ireland also raced with him. In September 1965 the vehicle was sold to Peter Clarke, who continued to use the car until 1968. It was then briefly owned by David Piper.The uniqueness of the 1964 Reims 12 Hours was that it started at midnight. Setting off in the pitch black of the night was made even more difficult by the Le Mans start procedure. The first laps were characterized 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 in front of the Virage de Thillois.At 6 a.m., long after the sun had risen, John Surtees was leading by 56 seconds over Joakim Bonnier, Graham Hill’s teammate. At this point, the three factory GT40s and two Shelby Daytonas were out. The lead changed mainly due to the different pit stop tactics. Just before 11 a.m. Surtees came into the pits to refuel. 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. With new brake pads, Surtees seemed to be able to make the impossible possible. He made up a huge amount of time on Bonnier in a short space of time; at times he was five seconds per lap faster than the Swede. When Bonnier came into the pits for the final fuel 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 drove the Ferrari at and sometimes above the limit for more than an hour, putting extreme demands on the vehicle’s technology. At Surtee’s last stop he didn’t change his tires due to time constraints, but that now paid off. Ten minutes before the end he came into the pits with a flat left front tire. When he returned to the track he was 1½ laps behind the Hill/Bonnier Ferrari, which won the race.