Auto Racing Analysis Racefacts Bulletin and Model Review (8/24/97)
26 August 1997
AUTO RACING ANALYSIS RACEFACTS BULLETIN August 24, 1997 Dale Jarrett (Ford Quality Care Yates Ford Thunderbird) won Sunday's Bristol Goodys Headache Powders 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race; the victory was his fourth of 1997, tying his career-best season win total of four in 1996. The win was his first Winston Cup victory on a "short track." The victory was not Dale Jarrett's first win at Bristol, however, as he won Bristol's August 23, 1991 NASCAR Busch Grand National race. Bristol joins Atlanta and Darlington as venues where both Dale and father Ned have scored NASCAR Winston Cup wins; Ned Jarrett won the July 25, 1965 Bristol NASCAR Winston Cup race! The win was only the second Winston Cup win at Bristol for Yates Racing, joining the April 8, 1990 victory scored by Davey Allison! Jarrett now has twelve career Winston Cup victories, the first eleven all coming on superspeedways in races of 400 miles or more in duration! The Bristol victory was his ninth for Yates Racing! With four of the six 1997 "short track" Winston Cup races completed, Jeff Gordon has two wins (Bristol and Martinsville) and Rusty Wallace (Richmond) and Dale Jarrett (Bristol) one apiece; Chevrolet and Ford are tied at two wins each. Ron Fellows (AER Manufacturing Billy Hess Chevrolet) won Sunday's Watkins Glen Parts America 150 NASCAR Craftsman Truck race, becoming the first Canadian to win in the Truck series and scoring the most prominent win by a Canadian in a NASCAR national touring series since Earl Ross won the September 29, 1974 Martinsville NASCAR Winston Cup race in a Junior Johnson Chevrolet! SCCA Trans-Am veteran Fellows stretched his streak of scoring at least one major North American pro series win per season to twelve seasons (1986-1997) with the victory; the Craftsman Truck series joins the Canadian GM Challenge and Firehawk series and the SCCA Trans-Am series on Ron's win list! Fellows won the 1994 and 1995 Watkins Glen SCCA Trans-Ams! Other most recent major victories in NASCAR touring series by Canadians? Gary Smith, May 20, 1995, Wenatchee Valley, Northwest Tour; Roy Smith, September 30, 1990, Tri-City, Winston West; Larry Caron, July 1, 1989, Holland, Grand National North; Trevor Boys, April 2, 1984, Greenville, All-American Challenge; Don Biederman, June 24, 1982, Mt. Clemens, Grand American (Don's most recent win in the old Late Model Sportsman National points series: July 17, 1977 Oxford Plains); Gary Kershaw, November 22, 1981, Riverside, Winston West; Jean-Paul Cabana, April 23, 1978, Catamount, NASCAR LMS National (Jean-Paul's first LMS National win came when he finished ninth overall and first LMS, February 17, 1962 at Daytona); and Denis Giroux, September 4, 1972, Stafford 200 Modified National event. Bob Senneker (JR Automation Ford Thunderbird) won Sunday's Milwaukee Trak Auto 200 ASA AC-Delco Challenge event as he scored his all-time record 83rd win in the series and extended Ford's streak of ASA seasons with at least one win to six seasons, 1992-1997. Senneker has won at least one ASA AC-Delco Challenge race in 23 seasons, failing to win only in 1987 from 1974 through 1997! Bob first appears in ARA's racewinning records on July 28, 1967 when he won the Berlin 100 Super Stock race! Andrea De Lorenzi (Caffe Essse Tatuus) swept the two-race Watkins Glen season finale of the U.S. Formula Ford 2000 series to become the season's only three-time racewinner! Two-time 1997 racewinner Zak Morioka (KFC of Brazil Van Diemen) finished fourth in both events to win the 1997 title! The series produced nine winners, all first-time series victors, consecutively, in its first nine 1997 events! Jimmy Spencer (Zippo Spencer Chevrolet Monte Carlo) won Saturday's Bristol Food City 250 NASCAR Busch Grand National race. The victory was Spencer's first BGN win of 1997 as he became the twelfth driver to win a 1997 BGN event. The win was Spencer's sixth in the series, all in GM products! He won the 1989 Hickory, Orange County, and Myrtle Beach BGN races in Buicks and the 1992 Myrtle Beach and Orange County BGN events in Oldsmobiles! The 1996 and 1997 Bristol BGN events followed a pattern: the first race was won by a Roush Ford entry (Mark Martin in 1996, Jeff Burton in 1997) and the second event by a Chevrolet driver scoring his first win of the season (Jeff Fuller in 1996, Spencer in 1997). Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) won Sunday's Belgian GP at Spa, his third consecutive victory at Spa and fourth at the venue (joining his 1992 victory)! Schumacher is the sixth driver to take consecutive victories at Spa (he won in 1995 driving a Benetton-Renault prior to his 1996 and 1997 Ferrari wins) and his three-race streak ranks second all-time at Spa behind four-race win streaks by Jimmy Clark (1962-1963-1964-1965 in Coventry Climax-powered Lotus entries) and Ayrton Senna (1988-89-90-91 in Honda-powered in McLarens)! Two-race win streaks were achieved by Alberto Ascari (1952-53 for Ferrari), Juan Manuel Fangio (1954 for Maserati, 1955 for Mercedes), and Damon Hill (1993-1994 for Williams-Renault). Schumacher and Ascari are the only Ferrari drivers with two (and two consecutive) Spa wins; the others were scored by Peter Collins (1956), Phil Hill (1961), and John Surtees (1966). Senna is the all-time leader in Spa wins with five, followed by Clark and Schumacher with four wins each, Fangio with three, and Ascari, Damon Hill, and Alain Prost with two apiece as seven drivers have won 22 of the 32 Spa World Driver Championship events. Ten other drivers (Giuseppe Farina, Peter Collins, Tony Brooks, Jack Brabham, Phil Hill, John Surtees, Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren, Pedro Rodriguez, and Nigel Mansell) have one win each as 17 drivers have won at Spa. Eighteen World Championship events were held at Spa between 1950-1970; the "modern era" at Spa has seen the venue used fourteen times, in 1983 plus 1985 through 1997! The last ten (1988-1997) Spa events have been won by only three drivers: Ayrton Senna, Damon Hill, and Michael Schumacher! Ferrari now leads the Constructors in all-time Spa wins with 7; McLaren is next with six followed by Lotus with five, Williams with 3, Alfa Romeo and Benetton at two apiece, and Maserati, Mercedes, Vanwall, Cooper, Eagle, BRM, and Renault with one apiece. The record Spa win streak for Constructors is held by McLaren with five (1987-91), four by Honda-powered McLarens (1988-91). Coventry Climax-powered Lotus cars won four straight (1962-65). Ferrari also leads the Engine Manufacturers in Spa wins with 7; Coventry Climax, Honda and Renault are next with five wins apiece. Alfa Romeo and Cosworth Ford have two wins apiece, with Maserati, Mercedes, Vanwall, Gurney Weslake Ford, BRM, and TAG Porsche at one apiece. ARA MODEL REVIEW This week the Racefacts Bulletin begins a regular presentation of ARA Model Reviews; in each case, a competition history of the car or car model and driver or drivers is also presented. BRUMM 1:43 SCALE FERRARI DINO 156/61 120-DEGREE V6-ENGINED CAR #3, WINNER, DUTCH GP AT ZANDVOORT, 1961, WOLFGANG VON TRIPS Brumm models (manufactured in Italy) are 1:43 scale and are presented in see-through plastic display cases with removable covers. The 1:43 scale is a good compromise between space considerations regarding display and sufficient size to permit reasonable levels of detail. Model length: 3.5 inches; width: 1.375 inches; height: 0.875 inch Model construction: Metal with plastic interior (detailed) and windscreen Display case length: 5 inches; width: 2.5 inches; height: 2.5 inches This Brumm model is a faithful replica of Wolfgang Von Trips' racewinning car in the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on May 22, 1961. The victory was the first for the 120-degree V6-engined Ferrari Dino 156/61 and was Von Trips' first World Championship race win! The model's proportions, details (windscreen, mirrors, roll hoop, exhausts, wheels and tires, car number, placement and angle of car number, and suspension system, as confirmed from photograph in Ferrari F1 1948-63 by Piero Casucci, Libreria dell'Automobile, Milan) are modeled correctly and in detail! In his book, Directory of Grand Prix Cars 1945-65 (Aston Publications, distributed in US by Motorbooks International), author Mike Laurence states: "The 1961 Dino 156 was a spectacular-looking car, low and clean with a mean look from its twin-nostril nose cone." In The Grand Prix (W.W. Norton & Company), L.J.K. Setright states "The first version of the new Formula 1 Ferrari to appear was much more convincing. It was of course, rear-engined, Ferrari having capitulated to progress with his 1960 Formula 2 car. The 1961 Formula 1 version was new, but essentially similar, its chassis frame a fair imitation of the Cooper's, staunch conservatism showing in the centre-lock wire wheels, and the hand of the designer Chiti showing in the rakish twin-nostril air intake for the radiator in the extreme nose." In Grand Prix Ferrari (Robert Hale & Company, London), Anthony Pritchard writes: "Although the new Ferrari was a big, hefty car compared with the 1960 Formula Two Lotus and Cooper, the Maranello team was well satisfied with its basic design and concentrated on detail improvements for the coming season. The prototype car had forged front wishbones, but these were replaced by tubular welded-up components-tubular rear wishbones had in fact been used from the outset. It was also possible to try different suspension settings on the 1961 cars because the rear wishbones were adjustable both in length and in the location of the inner pivots. There were new front suspension uprights of stronger construction and redesigned anti-roll bars front and rear. The most striking innovation for 1961, however, was the introduction of the twin-nostril nose design, a feature first seen in 1939 on the E-type E.R.A., which became a characteristic feature of both single-seater and sports Ferraris. The rear of the bodywork now had a reverse angle and the grille was inset." The Ferrari Dino 156/61 Formula One racer competed in seven races in the 1961 World Drivers Championship powered by the Ferrari 156F1 120-degree V6 engine. The engine specifications per Casucci's book show that the engine featured light alloy cylinder heads and block; cast iron alloy pressed-in liners; and four main bearings. Bore and stroke was 73 x 58.8 mm; displacement 1476.60 cc, compression ratio 9.8: 1; power 190 bhp at 9500 rpm; valve gear consisted of two overhead camshafts, two valves per cylinder. The engine was fitted with 2 Weber 40 IF3C carburetors, four coils and one distributor. Lubrication was by dry sump. The clutch was multiple-plate, the gearbox a five-speed plus reverse. The fuel tank capacity was 130 litres and the engine weighed 470 kilograms. Richie Ginther drove such an entry in seven races (Monaco, Zandvoort, Spa, Reims, Aintree, Nurburgring, and Monza); Phil Hill and Wolfgang Von Trips competed in six of the races (all but Monaco) in 120-degree V6-engined 156/61s, and Giancarlo Baghetti in one race (Monza). The seven races totalled twenty starts for this model/engine combination in 1961. The car achieved four wins (two each by Hill and Von Trips), five runnerup finishes (two each by Hill and Von Trips, one by Ginther), and three third-place finishes (two by Ginther, one by Hill) for a total of twelve "podium" results, or 60.0% of the twenty starts! The 120-degree V6-engined 156/61 failed to achieve at least one "podium" position in only one race (Reims, won by Giancarlo Baghetti in a semi-factory 65-degree V6-engined Ferrari). The 120-degree V6-engined cars achieved two 1-2-3 finishes (Hill-Von Trips-Ginther at Spa, Von Trips-Hill-Ginther at Aintree) and one 1-2 (Von Trips-Hill at Zandvoort). Ginther also achieved a fifth-place finish at Zandvoort, giving the cars 13 Top Five finishes in 20 starts, or 65.0%. The cars achieved two finishes outside of the top five, Hill ninth at Reims and Ginther eighth at the Nurburgring. The average finish for the cars was 7.2; as they were competing against each other, their best possible average finish was 2.05. Their starting position average was even better, at 3.15 versus a best possible of 2.05. The cars qualified 1-2-3 (Hill-Von Trips-Ginther) at Zandvoort and Reims and 1-2 at Spa (Hill-Von Trips) and Aintree (Hill-Ginther). Ginther qualified second at Monaco, Hill won the pole at the Nurburgring, and Von Trips won the Monza pole. Hill achieved the best average finish, 3.0, and best average start, 1.50, as he won five consecutive poles and qualified fourth once (Monza). Hill suffered no retirements in the 120-degree cars. Prior to his tragic fatal accident at Monza, Von Trips' average finish was 5.4 and included one mechanical retirement while without that retirement his average was 1.5; Monza increased it to 9.67. Von Trips averaged a starting position of 2.67, never qualifying lower than fifth but earning only one pole, for the fateful Monza race. Ginther's average finish in the cars was 7.14; he suffered two mechanical retirements, however, his average finish in the races he completed was 4.2. Richie's average starting position was 4.57, harmed by a fourteenth-place start at the Nurburgring. Baghetti competed in a 120-degree V6-engined car only at Monza; he started sixth and was fourth when mechanical problems caused his retirement, resulting in an 18th-place result. The cars achieved five Fast Laps, two apiece by Ginther and Hill, one apiece by Ginther and Baghetti. The cars completed 882 of 1013 possible laps, or 87.07%. Hill led with 99.31% of possible laps completed, followed by Ginther's 91.79%, Von Trips' 73.44% (85.83% before Monza), and Baghetti's 53.49%. The cars led 272 of a possible 390 laps, or 69.74%; discounting Monaco's 100-lap race (with only Ginther competing in a 120-degree car and leading 13 laps), the percentage increases to 89.31%! One of the cars led all but one of the seven races, the German GP at the Nurburgring, led flag-to-flag by Stirling Moss. Hill and Von Trips each led four races, Ginther three. All three cars led at Reims (Hill led twelve laps, Von Trips five, Ginther three) while two of the cars led the same race at Spa and Aintree (Hill and Von Trips) and Monza (Hill and Ginther). The cars led 100% of the Zandvoort race (Von Trips led the whole event), 100% of the Aintree event (Hill led 69 laps, Von Trips six), and 100% of the Monza race (Hill 36 laps, Ginther seven). Von Trips led the most laps, 156, followed by Hill's 93 and Ginther's 23. Prior to Monza, Von Trips' Laps Led Percentage was 63.15%! Ferrari easily won the 1961 Constructors title, 57 points gross (45 net) to Lotus' 35 (gross and net), with the 120-degree car scoring all but nine of the Ferrari points (earned by Baghetti's French GP win in a 65-degree car). The 120-degree V6-engined Ferrari 156/61's first appearance came in the May 14, 1961 Monaco GP. Richie Ginther drove the car, qualifying second and finishing second, on the lead lap, 3.6 seconds behind Stirling Moss in his Rob Walker-entered, Climax FPF four-cylinder powered Lotus 18. Ginther led the first thirteen laps of the 100-lap event. Ginther and Moss shared Fast Lap. Three of the cars were entered for Von Trips, Hill, and Ginther for the succeeding Zandvoort (Dutch GP), Spa (Belgian GP), Reims (French GP), Aintree (British GP), and Nurburgring (German GP) events. The trio was joined by Baghetti for the Monza (Italian GP) race. Ferrari did not compete in the season-closing Watkins Glen (United States GP) race. On May 22, 1961 at Zandvoort, Hill took the pole, Von Trips qualified second, and Ginther third! Von Trips won by 0.9 second from Hill after leading every lap of the 75-lap race! Ginther finished fifth, also on the lead lap. Jim Clark set Fast Lap in the works Lotus 21-Climax FPF. Hill won the pole for the June 18, 1961 Spa race with Von Trips qualifying second and Ginther fifth. Hill won by 0.7 second from Von Trips; Hill led 20 of the 30 laps, Von Trips seven. Ginther finished third, also on the lead lap, and set Fast Lap. The three laps not led by the 120-degree V6-engined Ferraris were led by Olivier Gendebien in a 65-degree car entered by Equipe National Belge. The July 2, 1961 Reims starting grid saw Hill-Von Trips-Ginther 1-2-3. Hill led the first twelve laps and laps 19 through 37 but a spin and resulting contact with Stirling Moss caused him to finish only ninth, completing 50 of 52 laps. Von Trips led laps 13-17 but then his engine failed and he placed 21st. Ginther took over the lead from Hill, led laps 38-40, and then his engine failed and he placed 15th! The 65-degree V6-engined car of Baghetti won the race for Ferrari over Dan Gurney's Porsche! Hill took another pole, for the July 15, 1961 Aintree race, with Ginther starting second and Von Trips fourth. Von Trips led laps 7-75 to win by 46.0 seconds over Hill, the leader of the first six laps! Ginther had an early spin but recovered to finish third, only 0.8 second behind Hill! Ferrari failed to take only one honor, Fast Lap, with Tony Brooks achieving that feat in a Climax FPF 4 cylinder-powered BRM 48/57. Hill won the pole for the August 6, 1961 German GP at the Nurburgring and ran second early, setting Fast Lap, but faded to third place, on the lead lap. Von Trips qualified fifth but finished second, never leading but only 21.4 seconds behind Stirling Moss at the finish; Moss led the entire race in his Rob Walker-entered Lotus 18-Climax FPF. Ginther qualified fourteenth, the 120-degree V6 car's worst 1961 start, and finished eighth, albeit on the lead lap. Von Trips won the pole for the September 10, 1961 Italian GP at Monza with Ginther starting third, Hill fourth, and Baghetti in a car entered by Scuderia Sant Ambroeus sixth. Von Trips' fatal accident on lap two cast a pall over the proceedings. Baghetti set Fast Lap and was fourth when he retired after 13 laps with engine failure, placing 18th. Ginther led seven (4, 6, 8-9, 11-13) laps but retired after 23 laps with engine failure, placing 14th. Hill led the remaining 36 of the 43 laps to take a 31.2-second victory over Dan Gurney (Porsche) and the 1961 World Championship. Alan Henry writes in Ferrari: The Grand Prix Cars, "In order to conserve their engines during this long hard run, the Ferraris were all fitted with high final-drive ratios which meant that they were tardy getting off the line, allowing Jim Clark's Lotus 21 to get in amongst them on the first lap. Coming down to Parabolica second time round, Von Trips was getting into his stride and had just passed Jim Clark before the braking area, but it appears that he moved over on the Lotus before he had completely cleared its left front wheel. The two cars interlocked wheels, and the Ferrari cartwheeled up the bank, along the spectator fence, before crashing back on to the grass at the side of the circuit. Clark emerged unhurt, badly shaken, but Von Trips had been hurled from his car and lay fatally injured at the track side. Behind the spectator fence, fourteen members of the public had also been killed." The sad conclusion to Wolfgang Von Trips' career ended a record of accomplishment in open wheel formula, sports car, sports car endurance, and hillclimb racing. In Ferrari: The Grand Prix Cars (Hazleton Publishing; US distributor Motorbooks International), Alan Henry writes: "Von Trips, well, he was just Von Trips-easygoing, uncomplicated and totally unhampered by any sort of technical grasp of the sport. Apocryphal or not, the best tale about "Taffy's" lack of understanding when it came to matters technical, is shown by the alleged occasion he came into the pits and the mechanics told him that a roll-bar was broken. Von Trips glanced up at the Ferrari's rollover bar and said, incredulously, is it?" Von Trips first came to international prominence by winning the GT 1300 cc class in the 1954 Mille Miglia driving a Porsche. In 1955 he finished third (with Andre Simon) in the Dundrod Tourist Trophy driving a Mercedes 300 SLR. In 1956, Von Trips drove (with Hans Herrmann) a Porsche 550 Spyder in the Sebring 12 Hours; they finished sixth overall and won the Sports 1500 class and the Index of Performance! Von Trips then teamed with Umberto Maglioli to take fourth overall and first in Sports 1500 in the Nurburgring 1000 Kilometers for Porsche. In the LeMans 24 Hours, Wolfgang teamed with Richard Von Frankenberg to take fifth overall and first in Sports 1500 for Porsche! Von Trips continued this litany of Porsche successes by winning the Berlin GP for sports cars at the Avus on September 16, 1956! Wolfgang had also competed in the nonchampionship Monza 1000 Kilometers in a Ferrari Testa Rossa but the gearbox failed after one lap! For the final FIA World Sports Car Championship event of 1956 at Kristianstad (Sweden), Von Trips had his first taste of a car capable of overall victory in such an event as he teamed with Peter Collins in a works Ferrari 290MM; they finished second by 39.9 seconds. Von Trips was entered by Ferrari for the September 2, 1956 Italian GP at Monza but did not start as a steering arm broke in practice, causing a wreck and minor abrasion injuries. Von Trips competed in four Formula One races in 1957 driving Ferrari-entered Lancia D50s. He relieved Cesare Perdisa and Peter Collins in the 1957 World Championship season-opener at Buenos Aires, finishing sixth, two laps down. He competed in the nonchampionship Buenos Aires race two weeks later, finishing eighth on aggregate, one lap down, after heat finishes of ninth and eighth. His Monaco GP started from ninth position; his engine failed after 95 of 105 laps and he placed seventh with relief from Mike Hawthorn. Von Trips started eighth in the Italian GP at Monza, pitted to check on a vibration, but finished third, only two laps down, scoring his first World Driver Championship points and thus ranking 11th in the 1957 standings! Von Trips drove a Porsche RS in the 1957 European Hillclimb Championship, scoring victories at Mont Parnassas and Lenzerheide. In 1957 World Championship Sports Car action, Von Trips drove for Ferrari. Teamed with Alfonso De Portago in a 290MM, the team failed to achieve a prominent result in the Buenos Aires 1000 Kilometers. At Sebring, teamed with Phil Hill in a 290MM, the duo suffered a mechanical retirement. Von Trips drove a 315S in the Mille Miglia and finished second overall! He then teamed with Wolfgang Seidel in the Caracas round driving a 290MM and finished third overall, winning the Sports 3000 class. Von Trips competed in six World Driver Championship Formula One events in 1958 driving for Ferrari. He started twelfth at Monaco and for the second consecutive year he placed seventh after his engine failed with ten laps remaining (this time after 90 of 100 laps)! He started 21st in the French GP at Reims but scored his second-ever "podium" finish, third, on the lead lap! Von Trips started eleventh in the British GP at Silverstone; engine failure after 59 of 75 laps placed him tenth. Wolfgang started fifth in the German GP at the Nurburgring, overcame a lap two stop for brake work, and finished fourth, on the lead lap. The Portuguese GP at Oporto saw him start sixth, stop to have his hood latched, and still finish fifth, only a lap down. Monza brought bad luck, as after starting sixth in the Italian GP, he hit Harry Schell on the first lap. Von Trips was thrown out of his car and broke his leg. Nevertheless, Von Trips' nine points scored in 1958 ranked him tenth in the World Championship! Von Trips became an official "champion" in 1958, however, as he won the 1958 European Hillclimb Championship! He won the Trento-Bondone (Italy), Mt. Parnassas, and Gaisberg Hillclimbs driving a Porsche RSK 1500. He also won the Zeltweg Austrian Sports Car GP for Porsche. Wolfgang's World Championship Sports Car efforts for Ferrari produced three "podium" finishes in 1958. Driving Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa 58 V12s, Von Trips teamed with Olivier Gendebien to finish second at Buenos Aires and third at the Nurburgring. He finished third in the Targa Florio classic with Mike Hawthorn. Sebring and LeMans produced retirements, Sebring a mechanical failure (teamed with Hawthorn) and LeMans as the result of an accident (teamed with Wolfgang Seidel). Von Trips competed in only two World Driver Championship events in 1959. Driving a Porsche 718 RSK Formula 2 car at Monaco, Wolfgang was the fastest F2 qualifier, started twelfth, set F2 Fast Lap on lap one, but crashed on the second lap, eliminating himself and all of the other Formula 2 entries! He was entered in the Porsche F2 car for the German GP at Avus bid did not start. Back with Ferrari for the season finale at Sebring, he qualified sixth but contact with Tony Brooks on lap one impeded his efforts; Wolfgang still finished sixth, albeit four laps down! Von Trips also drove the Porsche entry in the Reims Formula 2 race, finishing fifth, on the lead lap. Wolfgang scored one "open wheel" win in 1959: he won the July 12, 1959 Nurburgring "Eifelrennen" Formula Junior race driving an Italian-made Stanguellini! Von Trips drove for Porsche in its RSK in the 1959 FIA World Sports Car Championship events, teamed with Joakim Bonnier. Wolfgang and Joakim finished third overall, and won the Sports 1500 class, in the 1959 Sebring 12 Hours. They also placed 4th in the Index of Performance. The duo led the Targa Florio by seven and one-half minutes after 13 of the 14 laps but suffered mechanical failure on the final lap! The Nurburgring 1000 Kilometers produced a better result, seventh overall and second in Sports 1500. In Goodwood's Tourist Trophy, the pair led overall and finished second overall and won the Sports 2000 class! Before Sebring, Von Trips competed in the Pomona 150 USAC Sports Car race on March 8, 1959 in a Ferrari, but the car retired on the first lap with mechanical problems! Von Trips won the August 1, 1959 Avus sports car event in a Porsche RSK. Wolfgang Von Trips competed in nine World Driver Championship events in 1960, eight for Ferrari and one for Scuderia Centro Sud. Buenos Aires' Argentine GP produced a fifth-place start and finish, one lap down. Von Trips failed to finish Monaco for the fourth consecutive time, starting eighth and placing eighth after retiring with clutch failure after 61 of 100 laps. At Zandvoort he started from fifteenth but finished fifth, one lap down. In the Belgian GP at Spa he started tenth and placed tenth due to a gearbox-caused retirement after 22 of 36 laps. The gearbox failed yet again at Reims after 31 of 50 laps; this time, Von Trips had risen from a sixth-place start to be second at the point of his retirement! Wolfgang started the British GP at Silverstone seventh and finished sixth, two laps down. Oporto's Portugal GP produced his best 1960 result; after starting ninth he finished fourth, on the lead lap. Von Trips drove Ferrari's Dino 246P Formula 2 car in the 1960 Italian GP at Monza, starting sixth and finish fifth overall, two laps down. Within the Formula 2 ranks, however, he swept the board as he was Fast F2 Qualifier, set the Fast F2 Lap and finished one lap ahead of Hans Herrmann as first F2 finisher! Von Trips drove Scuderia Centro Sud's Cooper-Maserati in the season finale at Riverside, starting sixteenth and finishing ninth, three laps down. Von Trips' ten points in 1960 ranked him sixth in the 1960 World Driver Championship. Von Trips also competed in five "standalone" Formula 2 events in 1960. He drove for Ferrari (Dino 156 F2) at Siracusa (Syracuse, Italy), starting fifth but leading laps 28 through 56 to win by 19.2 seconds over Maurice Trintignant. At Solitude, Germany he started second in the Ferrari Dino 246P and won by 3.6 seconds over Hans Herrman; Wolfgang set Fast Lap and led the final four laps of the twenty-lap race. The German GP at the Nurburgring was for Formula 2 entries in 1960; Von Trips drove for the Porsche team in their 718 RSK-engined car and started and finished second, 1.3 seconds behind teammate Joakim Bonnier after leading laps 8 and 9 of the 32-lap event. Von Trips again drove the Ferrari Dino 246P at Modena, Italy; he started and finished third, on the lead lap, but set Fast Lap and led early before suffering a broken brake pipe. Wolfgang's final Formula 2 appearance of 1960 came in the October 8, 1960 Innsbruck, Austria event driving for the Austrian Motorsports Club in a Cooper 43-Climax FPF; he finished second, on the lead lap, 11.6 seconds behind Hans Herrmann. A five-race "championship" for Formula 2 in 1960 consisted of the Syracuse, Brussels, Pau, Aintree BARC 200, and Nurburgring German GP events. The emphasis was primarily on a constructors championship; Von Trips competed in only the Syracuse and Nurburgring events and thus was not a real contender for the driver title, yet his 14 points placed him tied for third with Joakim Bonnier and Stirling Moss behind Jack Brabham's 20 and Maurice Trintignant's 18! Von Trips drove for Ferrari in 1960's World Championship Sports Car events. He finished second, teamed with Joakim Bonnier in a Testa Rossa 60 V12, in the Buenos Aires 1000 Kilometers. Teamed with Richie Ginther in a Dino 246S, he recovered from a first-lap incident to finish second in the Targa Florio, only 6 minutes 3 seconds behind the winner. Von Trips was teamed with Phil Hill in Testa Rossa 60s for the Nurburgring 1000 K and LeMans 24 Hours; he led early at the Nurburgring but was eliminated by mechanical problems. At LeMans, the team's management made a fuel miscalculation resulting in the duo's retirement. Von Trips also drove for Ferrari in his final season of World Championship Sports Car competition, 1961. Von Trips and Richie Ginther started a Dino 246/61 in the 1961 Sebring 12 Hours and led laps 26-58 before retiring with mechanical problems. They then joined Willy Mairesse and Giancarlo Baghetti in a 250 Testa Rossa and finished second overall and fifth in the Index of Performance. The Targa Florio finally brought Wolfgang's first (and sadly, only) overall victory in a World Championship Sports Car event, as he teamed with Olivier Gendebien to win in a Dino 246/61; Von Trips also set Fast Lap. Wolfgang teamed with Ginther and Gendebien in the Nurburgring 1000 Kilometers to finish third after starting another entry with Phil Hill, who retired while leading after skidding off on ice! Unfortunately, Wolfgang's final effort, in the LeMans 24 Hours with Richie Ginther, saw the duo running second when mechanical problems forced their retirement. Von Trips' 1961 World Driver Championship results are reviewed earlier in this report except for the 1961 Monaco season-opener, where he drove a 65-degree V6-engined Dino 156/61 (as did Phil Hill). Von Trips qualified sixth, reached fourth by lap 26, and was running fourth when he crashed on lap 99, still retaining fourth place in the final rundown as he maintained his record of never finishing at Monaco! When Von Trips left Monaco in 1961, he ranked fourth in the standings with 3 points behind Stirling Moss (9), Richie Ginther (6), and Phil Hill (4). After Von Trips won the second 1961 event (Zandvoort), his twelve points vaulted him into a tie for first with Moss with Hill third at 10 points. Hill's subsequent win at Spa with Von Trips second made the score Hill 19, Von Trips 18, Moss and Ginther 12 as the series had its third consecutive different leader! These four drivers failed to score at Reims and thus after four races the top four positions remained the same! Von Trips won the British GP at Aintree and now led with 27 points to Hill's 25; Ginther was now third with 16 as Moss had been scoreless in three consecutive events! Moss won the German GP with Von Trips second and Hill third; Von Trips now had 33 points to Hill's 29; Moss was now third with 21 as Ginther failed to score in Germany and remained at 16. The Monza tragedy coupled with Hill's victory gave Hill the title with 38 points (34 net) to Von Trips' 33. Von Trips could have been overtaken for second ranking by Moss but Moss scored no points at Monza or Watkins Glen while Ginther, scoreless at Monza and not competing at Watkins Glen along with the other Ferrari drivers, saw his previous fourth place ranking taken by Dan Gurney, the runnerup finisher in a works Porsche in the Monza and Watkins Glen races. Von Trips' 1956-1961 FIA World Driver Championship career encompassed 27 starts, two wins, two runnerup finishes, four third-place finishes, six Top Three "podium" finishes, sixteen Top Six finishes, one pole, 156 laps led, and four races led. Von Trips posted one Did Not Start, sixteen finishes and eleven retirements (seven mechanical retirements and four accident-caused retirements). Von Trips' 1954-1961 FIA World Sports Car Championship career encompasses 27 documented starts, one overall win, seven overall runnerup finishes, and fourteen overall Top Three "podium" finishes. He finished in the overall Top Five sixteen times and in the overall Top Ten eighteen times with ten retirements. Von Trips also took nine class wins. 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