Ferrari 333SP

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A Ferrari 333SP at the 1997 Donington 2 Hours , a race that was part of the 1997 FIA Sports Car Championship . At the wheel of the Belgian Didier Theys , who shared the wheel with the Swiss Fredy Lienhard and finished second overall
Former Momo-333SP at a demonstration lap in Road Atlanta in 2009
In 1994, in Road Atlanta, he achieved the first pole position for a 333SP in the first race; Mauro Baldi

The Ferrari 333SP was a sports car prototype that was developed at Scuderia Ferrari in 1993 and manufactured by Ferrari Engineering and Michelotto .

prehistory

Ferrari's racing activities were closely linked to sports car racing for over four decades. As early as the 1940s, Scuderia celebrated its first successes in monoposto sports and victories in sports car races. 1948 won Clemente Biondetti in the Mille Miglia and in 1949 celebrated Luigi Chinetti and Peter Mitchell-Thomson, 2nd Baron Selsdon on a Ferrari 166mm the first of nine overall wins at the 24-hour race at Le Mans . From the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, Ferrari was the defining brand in international sports car races. It was not until 1966 that Ford ended the long-term hegemony of Ferrari at Le Mans at enormous expense. The last Ferrari victory so far at the 24-hour race in western France was celebrated in 1965 by Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory in a Ferrari 250LM registered by the North American Racing Team .

Until 1973, the Scuderia was active in sports car races and held the prospect of further participation in the championships before the end of the season. The works drivers Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni tested a new prototype, the Ferrari 312PB-74 , in the winter . Although the drivers were very positive about the new racing car, the car never appeared on a racetrack. In the 1973 Formula 1 season , Ferrari lost its competitiveness, and some races, such as the Nürburgring , were not even entered. The decision to forego sports car races and to mothball the new prototype was a tactical consideration with far-reaching consequences. Since 1953 , the Scuderia had not competed in the sports car world championship in 1968 . But the involvement both in Formula 1 and in sports car racing has meanwhile gone beyond the technical and logistical possibilities of Ferrari. In addition, there was a tight budget that practically ruled out this double action. Since the success of John Surtees in 1964 , Maranello has been waiting for an overall victory in the Formula 1 World Championship. In order to finally achieve this goal, the focus from now on was entirely on this single-seater formula. In the spring of 1974, the management of the racing team therefore decided to discontinue its involvement in sports car racing.

Development history and technology

Basic information about the Ferrari 333SP

The 333SP was designed and manufactured on the initiative of an Italian entrepreneur and racing driver, the owner of Momo , Giampiero Moretti .

Moretti was able to convince Gian-Luigi Buitoni, the President of Ferrari North America, that it makes sense to invest Ferrari in the North American IMSA WSC series . He also found support from the marketing and sales managers at Ferrari, who saw sports car operations as an important tool for the US export market.

After the end of the Group C World Championship and the IMSA GTP series , the WSC series was a new racing formula with a clear set of rules and manageable costs. The prototype was designed and built by Ferrari Engineering - in close cooperation with Scuderia. The actual construction work was done by Gian Paolo Dallara and Tony Southgate , who had many years of experience in building racing cars.

The chassis was made of carbon fiber and aluminum honeycomb; this design gave the 333SP a weight advantage over the competition. The car was almost always at the weight limit and sometimes even below it, so that the chassis setup could be adapted to the respective race tracks by adding additional weights. A 600 hp V12 engine was used as the engine, which was derived directly from the Formula 1 engine F130, which was still used in the Ferrari F92A in 1992 . While the engine, which has a cylinder angle of 60 degrees, had a displacement of 3.5 liters in Formula 1, this was increased to 4 liters for use in the 333SP.

Like a few times before, Ferrari also circumvented the homologation rule with this vehicle. Those in charge of the International Motor Sports Association took offense at the complicated technology of the 12-cylinder engine with five valves per combustion chamber and complained that the engine did not come from a production vehicle, as stipulated by the technical regulations. It was only with the presentation of the Ferrari F50 , whose engine block was identical to that of the 333SP, that the criticism fell silent.

The 333SP was one of the first sports car prototypes with a sequential transmission . The car's biggest weakness at the beginning of the test drives, which were contested by Mauro Baldi , Nicola Larini and Dario Benuzzi, was the brakes. Favored by suspension components from Formula 1, however, the drivers reported very good driving behavior.

Costs and quantities

The 333SP was designed exclusively as a customer vehicle. Contrary to media reports to the contrary, the Scuderia was not interested in starting the car on its own. Due to the complex technology, however, the racing car was extremely expensive. The basic version costing incl. Motor 500,000 US dollars . The racing version, including two replacement engines, a replacement body, drive shafts, radiator, brake discs and replacement suspensions devoured double the sum.

A total of 45 chassis were built by Ferrari Engineering and later by Michelotto and numbered from 001 to 045. The first prototype, 001, was destroyed during a test drive and later rebuilt for a collector. Six other chassis, 035, 037, 042, 043, 044 and 045, were also built for collectors.

Races

1994

Although the first chassis were not finished until the spring of 1994, they were delivered to three teams in accordance with the contract. In addition to Giampiero Moretti, Andy Evans (for Scandia Motorsport) and Antonio Ferrari (for Euromotorsport ) also bought chassis. This type of racing car made its racing debut at the Road Atlanta 2-hour race in 1994 . After Mauro Baldi had achieved the fastest lap time in practice in the Momo-333SP, Jay Cochran won the race for Euromotorsport ahead of Baldi, who shared the cockpit with Chilean Eliseo Salazar .

A series of victories followed: The following 2-hour race by Lime Rock was won by Moretti and Salazar, who also remained victorious at the Watkins Glen race . After Moretti and Salazar also triumphed in Indianapolis , Andy Evans and Fermín Vélez won the two-hour race at Laguna Seca . Despite these successes, none of the Ferrari teams was able to secure neither the team nor the driver championship due to the late entry into the championship. The South African Wayne Taylor secured the driver's title . Oldsmobile won the manufacturers' championship .

1995

After the superiority in 1994, the Ferrari teams went into favorites in the IMSA-WSC-1995. The first race of the year was the Daytona 24-hour race . After only two-hour races had been driven so far, he wondered whether the 333SP could survive a 24-hour race without major problems before the racing event . Four cars were registered. The Scandia prototypes with starting numbers 3 and 33 were driven by Fermín Vélez / Andy Evans / Paul Gentilozzi / Eric van de Poele and Mauro Baldi / Michele Alboreto / Stefan Johansson . Giampiero Moretti, Eliseo Salazar, Wayne Taylor and Didier Theys started for Momo . In the Euromotorsport-333SP sat Massimo Sigala, Gianfranco Brancatelli , Elton Julian and Fabrizio Barbazza . Although all four cars were clearly in the lead at halftime, only one crossed the finish line. As feared, three cars failed due to technical defects. Only Euromotorsport came in eighth place in the finish and in the classification. However, 45 laps behind the winning quartet Giovanni Lavaggi / Marco Werner / Jürgen Lässig / Christophe Bouchut on a Kremer K8 Spyder .

The Daytona debacle was followed by success in the Sebring 12-hour race . The victory of Evans / Velez / van de Poele was Ferrari's first in 23 years in the oldest sports car race in the USA. 1972 had Mario Andretti and Jacky Ickx on a 312PB for until then the last time for the Italian brand on the Sebring International Raceway won.

From the third round of the season in Road Atlanta , a fourth Ferrari team was added with the racing team of the Swiss Fredy Lienhard . In 1995 the competition grew stronger and the Ferrari teams had to admit defeat more and more often. By constantly collecting points, the Spaniard Fermín Vélez secured the driver's and Ferrari the manufacturers' championship.

1995 saw the first use of a 333SP in Europe. Against the express request of Scuderia, Euromotorsport Racing Inc. registered its 333SP in this year's 24-hour race . To Massimo Sigala and Jay Cochran former French Formula 1 driver came René Arnoux in the team. The car broke down after just seven laps due to an engine failure.

1996

At the first race of the season, the Daytona 24-hour race , the new Momo regular driver Massimiliano Papis provided an extra spectacle. American racing fans have been calling him “Mad Max” since the race at Daytona International Speedway . Papis drove the Ferrari 333SP with starting number 30. Before its last stint, the car was in second place, but was badly damaged after an accident. The body was more or less held together by tape. Still, Papis delivered a top class performance. First he rounded back (in the lead was a Riley & Scott-Oldsmobile, driven by Wayne Taylor), then he reduced his deficit to a few seconds with a series of record laps. Taylor dragged his prototype, which was suffering from an overheated engine, slowly around the course. What finally saved Taylor, who was now also driving at the limit, was the Ferrari's enormous gasoline consumption, triggered by the record laps of Papis. When Papis refueled a few laps before the end, the race experienced one of its most amazing events. Papis raced at full speed - 320 km / h was measured - through the pit lane (a speed limit was only introduced a year later) to get fuel. He lost the race just under a minute behind Taylor.

Papis took his first victory on a 333SP at the 3-hour race at Road Atlanta , which he won with Giampiero Moretti. Despite victories in Lime Rock and Watkins Glen as well as a few other podium finishes, Papis could not win the overall standings. Wayne Taylor secured this again and, as in 1994, the manufacturers' championship went to Oldsmobile.

In 1996 Andy Evans reported his 333SP at Le Mans. He formed a team with Velez and Yvan Muller . After 33 laps, the car stopped on the track with no fuel in the tank. A second 333SP was from Rating in front of Belgium who used the Scandia Motorsport car. This car had an accident on Sunday morning and also retired.

1997

In 1997, the FIA sports car championship, a new sports car racing series based on the technical and sporting WSC regulations, began to develop in Europe . As a result, the 333SP was also used more regularly in Europe. These races were characterized by very small starting fields, whereby the competitors were quite well-known. Joest Racing brought the TWR Porsche WSC-95 at the start and Courage Compétition sat Courage C36 and C41 a prototypes. Fredy Lienhard and Didier Theys won the race at Circuit Zolder . Since only four races were driven in the new series in the debut year, all of which were also won by different participants, no championship ranking was carried out.

A 333SP crossed the finish line for the first time in Le Mans . For spectators and media representatives, the third outing at Le Mans was again the attraction and Moretti, Theys and Papis brought the car to the finish line in sixth place in the overall standings despite many technical problems. This meant second place in the LMP prototype category - 1st place went to the overall winner, the TWR Porsche from Joest Racing. The second 333SP that took part in the race was canceled after just 18 laps.

Despite some successes in individual races, an overall victory in the IMSA series failed again.

1998

In 1998 there was finally the long-awaited overall victory in the Daytona 24-hour race , which Moretti won together with Baldi, Theys and Arie Luyendyk . The Sebring 12-hour race could also be won again and at the end of the year Ferrari won the manufacturers' championship for the second time.

Surprisingly, the Ferraris dominated the season in Europe. Vincenzo Sospiri and Emmanuel Collard , who drove for the French JB Giesse team , won six of the eight races of the season and achieved the championship title for the team. Lienhard and Theys achieved another victory for the Swiss team Horag-Lista Racing, which came second in the final ranking .

In Le Mans, the 333SP of Taylor, van de Poele and Velez only reached eighth place overall in 1998 , but with this placement it was able to achieve class victory in the prototypes (LMP1). Moretti, Baldi and Theys' car crossed the finish line in 14th place, which meant third place in the LMP1 class.

1999 to 2003

At the end of the 1998 season, the IMSA GT series was discontinued. The indirect successor was the American Le Mans Series , in which the 333SP were rated in the Le Mans Prototype (LMP) class. This season , however, this vehicle could not achieve any more victories against the new competitors from Panoz and BMW . The best result was a second place in the Road Atlanta race . The downward trend continued in the 2000 season ; there was no longer any podium finish either, and after this year the teams that had previously relied on the 333SP in this racing series withdrew completely.

The racing history of the 333SP also ended prematurely at Le Mans. In 1999 , only one vehicle of this type had taken part in the race and had retired after only 71 laps. In the following year, however, no 333SP took part, although six reports had been submitted for this vehicle.

On the other hand, things went much better in the FIA ​​Sports Car Championship, where the trend from 1998 continued in 1999. The JB Giesse team was able to defend the title with Vincenzo Sospiri and Emmanuel Collard as well as a second vehicle driven by Mauro Baldi and Laurent Redon . This time, however, the decision was tighter because the team could only win the first three races of the season. However, the French competitor DAMS , who won a total of four races with a Lola B98 / 10 with the drivers Jean-Marc Gounon , Éric Bernard and Christophe Tinseau , did not take part in all races, was also thrown back several times due to failures at the beginning of the season and achieved at the end only third place. Second place in the championship was again achieved by a Ferrari team with BMS Scuderia Italia , which with drivers Emanuele Moncini and Christian Pescatori was able to record another victory for the 333SP. The Monegasque racing team GLV Brums , whose drivers were Giovanni Lavaggi and Gastón Mazzacane , also won a race with this vehicle .

The JB Giesse team won the third title in a row in 2000, this time again extremely dominant with five wins in ten races. The drivers were Christian Pescatori and David Terrien . The second-placed BMS Scuderia Italia achieved another victory with Enzo Calderari , Lilian Bryner and Angelo Zadra . In 2001 JB Giesse Team did not compete again, but BMS Scuderia Italia and GLV Brums continued to rely on the 333SP. BMS Scuderia Italia won the title with Pescatori and Zadra, who won two races, GLV Brums was able to show another victory with Lavaggi and Christian Vann . However, this team did not get beyond 7th place in the overall standings, and the Ferrari engine had already been replaced by a ten-cylinder from Judd .

The last race of a 333SP was in June 2003, when Giovanni Lavaggi and Xavier Pompidou retired with a nine-year-old vehicle at a sports car race in Monza with engine failure.

literature

  • Pino Casamassima: Storia della Scuderia Ferrari. Nada Editore, Vimodrome 1998, ISBN 88-7911-179-5 .
  • Leonardo Acerbi: 60 years of Ferrari. Heel, Königswinter 2007, ISBN 978-3-89880-815-6 .
  • Peter Braun, Gregor Schulz: The great Ferrari manual. Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-501-8 .

Web links

Commons : Ferrari 333SP  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 1997 Donington 2 Hours
  2. ↑ Ferrari: FERRARI F333 SP. In: Ferrari.com. Ferrari, accessed February 12, 2020 .
  3. ^ Peter Braun, Gregor Schulz: The great Ferrari manual. Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-501-8 , p. 214.
  4. ^ Peter Braun, Gregor Schulz: The great Ferrari manual. Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-501-8 , p. 214 ff.
  5. ↑ Information about the 333SP
  6. ↑ 333SP chassis numbers ( Memento from August 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ 1992 Road Atlanta 2 Hours
  8. ↑ Lime Rock 2 Hours 1994
  9. ^ 3 Hours of Watkins Glen 1994
  10. ↑ Indianapolis 2 Hours 1994
  11. ↑ 2-hour race at Laguna Sec 1994
  12. ↑ 1995 Daytona 24 Hours
  13. ↑ Sebring 12-hour race in 1995
  14. ^ Peter Braun, Gregor Schulz: The great Ferrari manual. Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-501-8 , p. 217.
  15. ^ 24 Hours of Daytona 1996
  16. ↑ Road Atlanta 3 Hours 1996
  17. ^ 6 Hours of Watkins Glen 1996
  18. ^ FIA sports car race in Zoller 1997
  19. ↑ 1998 Daytona 24 Hours