Review: Ferrari 312 P 1969 season
Background
The 312 P was created for Ferrari’s 1969 return to the World Sportscar Championship following a refusal to compete in the ‘68 series owing to the FIA’s unilateral decision to ban top flight Prototypes with engines of over three-litres in an attempt to reduce speeds. Enzo Ferrari considered the decision blatant favouritism towards Porsche and elected to go Can-Am racing instead.
The new car was unveiled at the Hotel Real Fini in Modena in December 1968 and was subsequently put through an intensive test programme to include track work at the Modena Autodrome, Vallelunga and Monza. It would ultimately go head-to-had with similar Group 6 Prototypes from Porsche (908 and 908/02), Ford UK / Alan Mann (Ford P68 F3L), Alfa Romeo (Tipo 33/3), Alpine (A220), Matra (MS630 and MS650) and John Wyer’s Gulf-backed Mirage outfit (Mirage M2 and M3).
Wyer’s Gulf Racing outfit would also be in contention for outright victories with its Ford GT40s which ran in the five-litre Group 4 Sports cars along with a plethora of independently run Lola T70 Mk3B GTs.
The ten round 1969 World Sportscar Championship kicked off with the Daytona 24 Hours on February 1st and 2nd. However, as only a manufacturer’s best five finishes counted towards their final points tally, Ferrari decided to skip Daytona in favour of further development.
1969 Sebring 12 Hours
The 312 P made its competition debute at the Sebring 12 Hour race on March 22nd.
One car was taken for Chris Amon and Mario Andretti to drive (chassis 0868).
Opposition in the Group 6 Prototype class comprised four works Porsche 908/02s and a trio of Autodelta Alfa Romeo T33/3s.
The best five-litre Group 4 Sports cars would also be in the hunt for outright victory. Favourites were the Gulf-backed JWAE Ford GT40s and four privateer Lola T70 GTs, including Penske’s Daytona winner.
The 312 P proved shatteringly fast straight out of the box and needed practically no adjustment.
Despite having never previously driven the car, Andretti put it on pole with a new circuit record.
The Penske Lola T70 of Mark Donohue / Ronnie Bucknum qualified second and the Porsche 908/02 of Gerhard Mitter / Udo Schutz was third.
On the grid, Amon lagged for a moment while the car built up fuel pressure. At the end of lap one, he had dropped to seventh while Porsches held first through fourth.
At the three hour mark, Amon had risen to second behind the Donohue / Bucknum Lola.
Amon then took the lead for 21 laps, but a spin to avoid a rubber cone thrown up by a slower car handed the advantage to Porsche.
The Ferrari was still second at mid-distance when a Chevron lost its rear bodywork down the main straight. Amon collected a piece of debris that partially blocked the 312’s radiator intake and immediately caused the engine to overheat.
After a two-minute stop to repair the ductwork, the temperature was still too high; enough water had escaped as steam to form vapour locks in the cooling lines. Despite a number of stops, the mechanics were never able to properly clear them.
Nevertheless, the car continued, somewhat down on power and belching clouds of white smoke on the overrun.
Around an hour later, 0868 was black flagged for no lights which took eight minutes to cure.
Problems for Porsche meant that Ferrari later regained the lead. However, a final ten minute stop for water meant the Jacky Ickx / Jackie Oliver Gulf GT40 inherited a lead it would retain until the end.
As the GT40 was a Group 4 car, Ferrari’s second place finish meant they won the Group 6 class.
1969 Le Mans Test
The next weekend, Ferrari took the only other 312 P completed so far (chassis 0870) to la Sarthe for the annual Le Mans Test (April 29th and 30th).
This time, Chris Amon was partnered by Ernesto Brambilla.
Significantly, Porsche arrived with a brand new car that would change the face of racing. The as-yet un-homologated 917 was a five-litre out-and-out Prototype. It would ultimately run in the Sport category as Porsche announced they would build 25 examples.
Given the 917 was likely to become the fastest two-seat racing car ever manufactured, it seemed the FIA's desire to reduce speeds had backfired because of their desperation to bolster grids.
Things started badly for the Scuderia at Le Mans; during a tow start early on, a stone was thrown up which holed the radiator. As a result, the 312 P didn’t appear until the afternoon session.
Amon ultimately posted fifth quickest time, nearly four seconds slower than the similarly open-topped Matra MS630/650 in second.
Unsurprisingly, the new Porsche 917 went fastest overall and was over three seconds quicker than the second placed Matra.
After the Le Mans Test Ferrari set about designing a Berlinetta body for the 24 Hour race in June.
1969 Brands Hatch 6 Hours
On April 13th, Brands Hatch hosted a 6 Hour race for what was round three of the 1969 World Sportscar Championship. The British event marked the debut for JWAE’s Gulf-backed three-litre Group 6 car: the Mirage M2.
In the Ferrari, Chris Amon was joined by Pedro Rodriguez. Chassis 0868 (the car used at Sebring) qualified second. It started from the middle of the front row between the works Porsche 908/02 of Jo Siffert / Brian Redman (pole) and the Scuderia Filipinetti Lola T70 Mk3B GT of Jo Bonnier / Herbert Muller (third).
A trio of other works 908/02s qualified fourth through sixth.
Amon made a perfect start and, by the end of lap one, he and Siffert were already well clear of the rest.
On lap five, Siffert pushed past and built a lead his Porsche would never lose.
With 40 minutes gone, Amon suffered a puncture and rejoined seventh.
20 minutes later, the Ferrari was back up to fourth.
0868 had climbed to third after four hours of racing, but seemed unable to do anything about the leading pair of Porsches.
In the final hour, the Ferrari wasn’t running so well; it transpired the accelerator cable had stretched which meant Amon was only able to use one third throttle. This allowed the fourth place 908/02 to pass and meant Porsche swept the podium positions.
Victory went to the pole starting example of championship favourites, Siffert and Redman.
1969 Monza 1000km
Both 312 Ps were then on hand to contest round four of the 1969 World Sportscar Championship: the Monza 1000km on April 25th.
Chris Amon and Mario Andretti were allocated chassis 0870 as used at the Le Mans Test. This car had a slightly more powerful engine and more anti-dive built into the front suspension.
Pedro Rodriguez and Peter Schetty drove chassis 0868, the ex-Sebring and Brands Hatch car. Since its last outing, 0868 had been fitted with an F1 gearbox which was around 18kg lighter than the original Group 6 unit.
Andretti was first out in practice, but on his second lap, he fell foul of one of the chicanes and crumpled 0870’s nose. This put the car out of action until the final half hour when he and Amon were able to borrow the nose from the sister car.
Day two of practice saw Schetty suffer a 160mph blowout on the exit of Ascari. The flailing tyre damaged 0868’s suspension, tore the rear body apart and smashed the oil tank. Nevertheless, the car was repaired in time for the race and started third.
After Schetty’s blowout, Ferrari switched to an older compound of Firestone tyre that didn’t get so hot.
Andretti / Amon qualified on pole. The Ferraris were split by Siffert / Redman for Porsche. Like the other works Porsche's in attendance, their 908/02 had been equipped with revised Langheck bodywork for this high-speed circuit.
The Ferraris made superb starts. They headed into the first corner with Andretti ahead of Rodriguez, but by lap three, Siffert’s Porsche had slithered past them both.
Rodriguez went into second and set a new lap record in his pursuit of the Porsche. He and Siffert exchanged the lead a couple of times before Rodriguez managed to build a gap and hand Schetty a 20 second advantage.
On lap 14, Andretti, who had been third, came crawling round to the pits with a flat tyre. He rejoined in sixth and, after the first round of driver stops, 0870 had recovered back to third.
Ten laps into his stint, Schetty was back in the pits with tyre trouble and the car proved difficult to restart which dropped him from the lead down to fourth.
By the time of the second driver stops, Siffert / Redman led from Amon / Andretti and Rodriguez / Schetty.
Unfortunately, Amon only did a lap-and-a-half before the oil pressure zeroed. He returned to the pits on foot after abandoning the car out on the circuit with crankshaft failure.
Rodriguez was thus in second when, on his third lap, the Mexican emerged from Parabolica in a cloud of smoke after an enormous spin. The mechanics changed a couple of punctured tyres and he re-joined third.
Another three laps had passed when, heading down the main straight, a small piece of fibreglass behind the rear tyre that had punctured came adrift. This allowed air to get into the tail section which blew off at high speed. 0868 veered sharply to the left and went into an enormous 100 metre spin after which the car slammed backwards into the barrier.
Rodriguez was fortunate to escape unhurt, but the car sustained heavy damage.
Victory fell to the Siffert / Redman 908/02 with the sister car of Hans Herrmann / Kurt Ahrens Jr. second.
After its crash at Monza, 0868 was dismantled. It never raced again but did serve as the basis for a Pininfarina design study (the 1969 Ferrari 512 S Speciale).
1969 Targa Florio
Ferrari skipped round five (the Targa Florio) where Siffert / Redman took their third consecutive victory.
1969 Spa 1000km
Having hoped to run two cars at the Spa 1000km on May 11th, chassis 0868 was deemed beyond repair so 0870 was Scuderia Ferrari’s sole representative in Belgium.
It was originally entered for Amon / Rodriguez but, as Amon was absent though illness, Ferrari called upon David Piper instead.
0870 had a new engine and retained the anti-dive front suspension although the consensus was the car was easier to drive without it owing to a lack of brake feel when the nose didn’t dip.
All three days of practice were wet and 0870 qualified in fourth position. The three-car front row comprised Paul Hawkins / David Prophet on pole (Lola T70 GT Mk3B GT), Jacky Ickx / Jacky Oliver in second (Mirage M2) and Brian Redman / Jo Siffert in third (Porsche 908/02 Langheck).
Tellingly, Siffert had posted a time over half a second quicker than the pole-starting Lola driving the newly homologated Porsche 917 in what was its maiden race. However, he opted to use the trusty 908/02 instead of the terrifyingly unsorted 917.
It turned out to be a good decision; the only 917 to start went out on the first lap with engine trouble.
Unlike practice, the race began in dry conditions.
On lap three, Siffert and Rodriguez passed Hawkins and began to pull away from the rest of the field.
On lap eight, the leaders tore into Eau Rouge where they came across Karl von Wendt’s Porsche 907 in the middle of the road. Siffert ducked round on the inside while Rodriguez tried to go by on the outside. Unaware that Pedro was there, von Wendt blocked him and the cars touched. The 907 span, left the road and went up and over a bank completely destroying an advertising hoarding.
Rodriguez had to take it easy back to the pits where the car was quickly checked over and deemed safe to continue. Rodriguez was only stationary for twelve seconds and rejoined in third. By this time, Siffert had a one minute lead.
Rodriguez put on a real charge and did a double stint at the wheel. After a couple of fuel stops he was back into second and had reduced Siffert / Redman’s lead to 37 seconds.
However, at this point, Siffert picked up the pace and, when the gap got no smaller, Rodriguez handed over to Piper. The Mexican did get back in for the final stint, but Siffert and Redman proved uncatchable.
The Ferrari eventually finished three-and-a-half minutes down the road but managed a creditable second place. Vic Elford and Kurt Ahrens Jr. rounded out the podium in one of the sister 908/02s.
1969 Nurburgring 1000km
Although a new 312 P Berlinetta was now waiting at the factory (0872), Enzo Ferrari wanted it reserved for Le Mans so only 0870 was taken to Germany for the Nurburgring 1000km on June 1st.
By contrast, Porsche turned up with no less than five 908/02s, some wearing updated Flunder bodywork. There was also a solitary 917 for whoever was unlucky enough to draw the short straw.
Prior to the race, Amon, Rodriguez and team manager, Mike Parkes, had done a test session at the Nurburgring. The car arrived for the race with increased ride height and a new fuel reservoir to counteract the effect of fuel surge when on low tanks.
The two days of practice were held in mixed conditions. Once again, qualifying was a battle between Siffert and Ferrari. The Swiss eventually took pole by one tenth of a second from the 312 P which lined up second. Another five Porsches were third through seventh.
The race began with a rolling start for the first time at the Nurburgring. Amon and Siffert both hesitated which enabled Mitter, Elford and Attwood to go past.
By the end of lap one, Siffert and Amon were back up to second and third respectively. On lap four, they headed the field.
A series of laps records were then set by the two drivers and, at quarter distance, their cars were still first and second, albeit with Redman and Rodriguez now at the wheel.
However, by this time, the Porsche was nearly a minute ahead and, by lap 20, Redman had doubled the advantage.
After the second driver change, Amon had to make an unscheduled stop to replace a couple of tyres which dropped him to fourth.
Within two laps of rejoining, he had passed Vic Elford’s Porsche to go third and was lining up the Stommelen / Herrmann entry when a bad vibration from the front sent him back to the pits for another tyre change.
Once again relegated to fourth, the Kiwi set a new lap record in his pursuit of the leaders.
Unfortunately, on lap 29, the Ferrari ground to a halt at Wippermann when the electrics cut out. Amon did briefly manage to get the car going again, but it soon cut out for good and Ferrari’s race was over.
Siffert / Redman took another win for Porsche with 908/02s also second, third, fourth and fifth.
1969 Le Mans 24 Hours
Next up was the Le Mans 24 Hours which took place over the weekend of June 14th and 15th (round eight of the 1969 World Sportscar Championship).
In addition to the brand new 312 P Berlinetta, which was allocated to Chris Amon and Peter Schetty (chassis 0872), Ferrari had also converted what was their sole remaining Spyder (chassis 0870) for Pedro Rodriguez and David Piper.
During tests at Modena and Monza, the Berlinetta body had proved a big improvement. For Le Mans, the anti-dive geometry was absent and both cars used the beefier Group 6 gearbox rather than the lighter F1 unit.
Porsche arrived with three 917s and three 908s (all in Langheck trim). Matra had a trio of MS630s and a solitary MS650. Alfa Romeo took a brace of Tipo 33/2s and Alpine were on hand with four of their new three-litre A220s.
The Porsche 917s would contest the Group 4 Sport category along with a pair of Gulf-backed Ford GT40s from JWAE.
After three days of practice, it was no surprise that pole went to one of the 917s (the car of Rolf Stommelen / Kurt Ahrens Jr.). The sister 917 of Vic Elford / Richard Attwood was second followed by a pair of 908 Langhecks.
Piper and Rodriguez qualified fifth in 0870 while Amon and Schettty were seventh in 0872. Chassis 0872 appeared at Le Mans with the ID tag of chassis 0868 so as to match the entry forms originally lodged with the organisers.
Unfortunately, the race was marred by a disastrous opening lap.
Driving his brand new Porsche 917, privateer John Woolfe lost control coming over the hump through the kink before Maison Blanche. With two wheels on the grass at over 150mph, the car slid wide and Woolfe couldn’t catch it.
The 917 hit the guard rail, flipped onto its roof and continued down the road before breaking in two and catching fire. The track was completely blocked with burning wreckage. Poor John Woolfe was thrown from the car and died in the helicopter as he was rushed to hospital.
Amon’s Ferrari had been immediately behind Woolfe and the Porsche’s burning fuel tank became lodged underneath 0872 which briefly caught fire. Amon pulled off the track and punched the integral extinguishing system which prevented the car from burning out. It was retired on the spot.
In the sister 312 P, Rodriguez had struggled to fasten his seatbelts. He pulled away well down the order and, as a result, escaped the melee intact.
With ten laps gone, chassis 0870 was 15th.
After two hours racing, Rodriguez had moved up to tenth. The Mexican did an almost three hour stint before handing over to Piper.
At around the four hour mark, Piper came into the pits as the car was jumping out of fifth gear. 18 minutes were lost while the problem was fixed which dropped the car back out of the top ten.
Six hours in, the Ferrari lay ninth, but had started to consume a great deal of oil. At this stage, it began to call into the pits as often as was allowed (every 25 laps). Two gallons were typically put in at every visit.
Rodriguez and Piper were still in ninth when, just as dawn broke, the Ferrari encountered serious trouble. The transmission began to tighten up and, with its oil consumption ever rising, 0870 was retired. The decision to abandon was made at 5:20am, 223 laps into the race.
Against the odds, Porsche were defeated by the Gulf-backed GT40s which finished first and third. Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver took the win from the Porsche 908/02 Langheck of Hans Herrmann / Gerard Larrousse. David Hobbs and Mike Hailwood rounded out the podium in the sister GT40.
Fiat Purchases 50% of Automobili Ferrari
Less than a week after Le Mans, FIAT purchased a 50% stake in Automobili Ferrari for $11m.
The deal was finalised on June 21st. It saw Enzo Ferrari maintain control of the marque’s racing operations while FIAT took over the passenger car division.
Flush with cash, Enzo Ferrari immediately gave the go ahead for a new five-litre Prototype to take on the Porsche 917: the Ferrari 512 S.
In late August, both 312 Ps (one of which was still being rebuilt after its fiery retirement at Le Mans) were sold. The buyer was Ferrari’s US distributor, Luigi Chinetti, who wanted the cars for his North American Racing Team (NART).
1969 Bridgehampton Can-Am
In Chinetti’s ownership, a 312 P made only one further appearance in 1969.
While chassis 0872 was undergoing its post-Le Mans rebuild, 0870 was entered for the Can-Am race at Bridgehampton (September 14th). It appeared alongside Ferrari’s Group 7 612 P in which Chris Amon had contested the previous four rounds and collected a pair of third place finishes.
Pedro Rodriguez was loaned to NART for the 70 lap event at Bridgehampton. He qualified eleventh behind Tony Dean’s Porsche 908/02 (one of the few other three-litre cars in the race).
Rodriguez was ultimately able to pull out a substantial lead over Dean, but on the very last lap, he had to stop for fuel. The Mexican was stationary for around 40 seconds and rejoined just as Dean swept past the pits.
Fortunately, in the last mile, Dean was slowed by a backmarker and Rodriguez re-took fifth position to claim the honour as first under three-litre car home.
There was no more racing for either 312 P in 1969.
Subsequent History
For 1970, NART acquired a pair of brand new 512 S Ferraris, but the 312 Ps had not been forgotten; both three-litre cars were entered for Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans.
Daytona was a great success for the 312 Ps. Sam Posey and Mike Parkes finished fourth overall and won the Prototype class in 0872. Tony Adamowicz and David Piper claimed fifth overall and second in class with 0870.
At Sebring, Adamowicz and Luigi Chinetti Jr. retired 0870 with a faulty water pump after 56 laps. The sister car of Mike Parkes and Chuck Parsons (0872) finished sixth overall and fourth in the three-litre Prototype category.
Both cars should have raced at Le Mans, but because a sponsorship deal fell through at the last minute, chassis 0870 for Sam Posey / Francois Migault was withdrawn. It was purchased that weekend by French collector, Pierre Bardinon.
Meanwhile, chassis 0872 for Adamowicz / Parsons did start. It was plagued with electrical glitches caused by dreadful weather. After 24 hours, 0872 was still running, but had covered insufficient distance to be classified as a finisher.
In an attempt to stay competitive, 0872 was fitted with a lightweight Spyder body for 1971. It picked up a fifth at Daytona and eighth at Sebring.
The car was then further modified and appeared twice more in period: at the 1972 Daytona 6 Hours (DNF) and 1974 Le Mans 24 Hours (ninth).
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ferrari - https://www.ferrari.com, ACO - https://www.24h-lemans.com & unattributed
