VIN: the Gulf Racing Ford GT40 Mk1 chassis P/1076
History of chassis P/1076
Chassis P/1076 was one of three Mk1 GT40s built for the works Gulf Oil-backed John Wyer Automotive Engineering squad to use in the 1968 World Sprtscar Championship.
Whereas a new three-litre engine limit came into effect for Group 6 Prototypes in 1968 (owing to the monster speeds attained at Le Mans in 1967), the Group 4 Sports class (for which the Mk1 GT40 was eligible) permitted engines of up to five litres.
With the two-litre advantage afforded to Group 4 machinery expected to at least put the GT40 on a par with the Group 6 runners at high speed tracks, John Wyer elected to run a trio of tricked out Fords equipped with all the latest equipment.
The three cars in question (P/1074, P/1075 and P/1076) were the most highly developed Mk1 GT40s to ever race. Monocoques and bodies were substantially lightened, cooling was optimised as was the brake system, engines were constructed to the finest tolerances and wider rear wheels installed.
Whereas P/1074 and P/1075 were raced extensively during the ‘68 season, P/1076 appeared just once. Its only outing came at the Le Mans 24 Hours which unusually took place at the end of the season (the weekend of September 28th and 29th) owing to widespread protests, strikes and civil unrest in France earlier in the year.
Allocated to Brian Muir and Jackie Oliver who qualified ninth, Muir did the first stint, but on his final lap before handing over to Oliver, the Aussie beached P/1076 in the sand at the Mulsanne corner. Having spent three hours just about digging sufficient sand away to escape, Muir then burnt the clutch out trying to get away and P/1076 was retired.
Nevertheless, Gulf Racing team-mates Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi went on to take Ford’s third straight win at Le Mans en route to the 1968 World Sportscar Championship crown having accrued three more points than title rival Porsche.
John Wyer’s Gulf-backed outfit continued to run the GT40 during the 1969 World Sportscar Championship when the FIA reduced the 50-car Group 4 homologation requirement to just 25 units which led to the emergence of the Porsche 917.
P/1076 appeared at three races in 1969.
Having qualified eighth and led during the early hours of Sunday morning at the Daytona 24 Hours (despite an overheating engine), a tyre blowout caused Jacky Ickx (who was sharing the car with Jackie Oliver) to lose control and crash.
At the Sebring 12 Hours seven weeks later, a freshly repaired P/1076 was allocated to David Hobbs and Mike Hailwood who qualified 13th but retired when a ball-joint pulled out of the front suspension which caused a wheel to come off just passed mid-distance.
The car’s final competitive outing was at the 1969 Le Mans 24 Hours where it finally came good. Once again allocated to Hobbs and Hailwood who qualified 14th, P/1076 ultimately crossed the line third overall to bag second in the five-litre Group 4 class while team-mates Jacky Icky and Jackie Oliver secured Gulf Racing’s second successive win at la Sarthe and Ford’s fourth in a row.
In 1970 John Wyer sold P/1076 along with P/1074 to David Brown in Tampa, Florida. Brown retained the car until 1972, since which time it has passed through the hands of several private owners to include Harry Heinl, Fred Knoop, Joel Finn, Otis Chandler, Chuck Kendall and Leslie Barth.
Notable History
29/09/1968 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (B. Muir / J. Oliver) DNF (#11)
02/02/1969 WSC Daytona 24 Hours (J. Ickx / J. Oliver) DNF (#1)
22/03/1969 WSC Sebring 12 Hours (D. Hobbs / M. Hailwood) DNF (#23)
15/06/1969 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (D. Hobbs / M. Hailwood) 3rd oa, 2nd S5.0 class (#7)
1709 sold to David Brown, Tampa, Florida (along with P/1074)
1972 sold to Harry Heinl, Miami, Florida
1976 sold to Fred Knoop, Atherton, California
Later 1970s sold to Joel Finn, New York
Later 1970s sold to Otis Chandler, Los Angeles, California
Later 1970s sold to Chuck Kendall, Los Angeles, California
1984 sold to Leslie Barth, New Haven, Connecticut
Retained until 1996
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: unattributed
