The Neglected Kit Resurrection Groupbuild

John Coverley
Finally found some 1/32 NART decals. Decided to finish it looking like it had just been driven for 24 Hours. Almost 50 years since this Ferrari last won Le Mans with this car.

Steve Wilson
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Aaaaah!!! nostalgia... On two counts actually... First:
A 250 LM entered by the North American Racing Team (NART) won the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans driven by Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory, which remains as Ferrari's last overall victory in the endurance classic. The car is on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. About 32 models were built in 1964 and 1965. Ferrari had intended that the 250 LM be homologated for racing as a Group 3 Grand Touring Car, but in April 1964 the FIA refused, as Ferrari had built considerably fewer than the required 100 units. Therefore the 250 LM had to run as a Prototype until it was homologated as a Group 4 Sports Car for the 1966 season.
(In motorsports, homologation is the approval process through which a vehicle, a race track, or a standardised part is required to go for certification to race in a given league or series)
The 250 LM was the last Ferrari to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans... I was 14 years old!!!
I saw that race with my Dads mate, he was a 1950's racing driver himself, he had taken me to races since I'd been 4 & 1/2 yrs old and he was now my friend also...

Second:
At that time I'd been building 1:32nd Airfix models for a few years, converting them into slot cars for my Scalextric... Not just Airfix but John is building one and it reminded me of those halcyon days🙂

Great build John, thanks for the reminisces👍🙂

Choppa Nutta
Nice !!
I really like this !
looks ready to race 🙂
This is the new cover page to the TNKR groupbuild page 🙂

SoJohn what's next on your TNKR building board/photo album ? 😄

Choppa Nutta
(0., )

John Coverley
Thanks for the comments"boys". Steve, have you ever thought of going on "Mastermind" with your vast knowledge of Ferrari it would be a walk in the park🙂 If Ferrari do produce a car with the intention to win Le Mans outright, who would you pick to drive it. It's not like in the "old days" when F1 drivers had a weekend off from GP's and drove at Le Mans.
As for my next TNKR it will probably be an Italeri 1/48 BAE Hawk, but won't be straight away🙂
I'm off to bed now it's going up to 1:00 am.

Choppa Nutta
Yeah Steve do it !! that is one episode I would watch 😄
I'd probably pick the Stig to do the Le Mans, but I can imagine Mark Webber giving it a decent go 🙂
Anyhow, when you get round to your Hawk will you be doing it in a Red Arrows scheme ?

Steve Wilson
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Ha! ha! ha!
Well now there's a great question John...
My personal choice is:
Team would be run by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. A couple of allocated gophers who would do his running about, but have no power of giving orders, taking control of a situation or of decision making, all this will be done in full team weekly debriefing meetings, with the final decision of Luca with full team agreement.
No Managers, Chiefs or Heads of Department. Each department will be allocated a team leader, being the most knowledgeable and trustworthy in his area of expertise, cutting out the delusions of grandeur element...

Car 1:
No. 1 driver... Fernando Alonso (as car leader driver)
No. 2 driver... Anthony Davidson (race and set up experience)
No. 3 driver... Daniel Ricciardo (for his sheer race & overtaking ability this year, whilst pushing Seb to the back of the team)

Car 2:
No. 1 driver... Juan Pablo Montoya (race ability & experience)
No. 2 driver... Valtteri Bottas (race ability & proved himself to me this year)
No. 3 driver... Nico Hulkenberg (proved himself to me this year)
Car 3:
No. 1 driver... Lewis Hamilton (with therapy to help him give up his childishness, without affecting his natural racing ability)
No. 2 driver... see below
No. 3 driver... see below

Rest of seats... to be filled by up & coming fully qualified, experienced no less than twenty years old drivers of note and with a full Road Driving Licence for their Country of Birth at least, along with a Super Licence...

No expense spared for the best all types of Mechanical specialists.
Latest Tools, Equipment, Computers and Software, all with fully qualified operating staff.
All of these areas fully updated regularly & as necessary & when needed, all staff fully briefed and updated in their area daily, to ensure on best operating expertise and knowledge at all times.

Choppa Nutta
lol at your comments on Lewis, although his temperament has improved over this last year

add Kimi and Jenson to car three I reckon 🙂
Valtteri and Ricciardo are definite talents, they have really impressed this year as has Hulkenberg !!

Phil Marchese
Love this kind of talk! Nice build. Great memories. I ve pulled mine out of the box several times and also tossed a slot body 62 GTO IN THE BOX for temptation!

John Coverley
Steve,you're sure you are not really called Ross Brawn,with all that knowledge of how a team should run. I agree with Choppa on Kimi and Jenson. Both very mechanically sympathetic to their cars and both with a few races under their belts.
When I get around to the Hawk I'll be finishing it off with a "What if" desert scheme.

Steve Wilson
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@John...
Kimi would cost too much in Choc-ices!!! Lol (((😄 )))
I have an awe inspiring image of Kimi firmly etched forever in my memory... Picture the scene!!!
We're at the German Grand Prix, 2004 I think!!! Schuey is leading the race by a comfortable margin, but an eager to win Kimi is eroding his lead with a gritty determination in his M-m-m-m-m-m-Mc-m-m-m-m-m...
his M-team Ferrari seeking missile. Schuey weaves his way through back markers with inch perfect precision, when suddenly there's a wall of thick foggy smoke completely blinding the track ahead. Nobody knows what's in it or the other side of it, undeterred and with a split second decision, Schuey blasts his way through the blinding cloud, back markers lifting right left and center. But hotly pursued by the Flying ice cool Fin when he came upon the right hand curve, he saw the obstructive cloud a little further on and the slowing vehicles. Without even a flinch or even the hint or slightest thought of a lift, the M-team car literally flies into the cloud, all four wheels off the road, punching a hole clear through to the otherside, giving all other cars a clear visible way through.

So whats happened this year???

John Coverley
Perhaps he hasn't got used to the new formula and a new team.