Ferrari Dino 246SP

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Willy Mairesse in the Ferrari Dino 246SP during a refueling stop during the 1962 Targa Florio

The Ferrari Dino 246SP was a racing car that the Scuderia Ferrari engineers developed for sports car races in 1961.

Background and technology

When Ferrari presented the Dino 246SP at the annual press conference in February 1961, it was a surprise for the representatives of the international motorsport press who were present. This vehicle was the first mid-engined racing sports car from Scuderia in its history. The new Formula 1 racing car , the Ferrari 156 , was also presented alongside the sports car .

The Dino 246SP, of which only two chassis were built, had a Spider body from Fantuzzi , all-round independent wheel suspensions and disc brakes, which, like the Formula 1 racing car, were located directly on the rear differential housing. The engine was derived from the engine of the 246F1 . The 2.4-liter 6-cylinder V engine developed 270 hp.

Racing history

The Dino 246SP made its racing debut in 1961 at the Sebring 12-hour race . Chassis 0790 was driven by Richie Ginther and Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips . The car did not reach the destination after a defect in the tie rod.

The second race was at the 1961 Targa Florio . Two racing cars were prepared for Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill (chassis 0790) as well as Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips and Richie Ginther (chassis 0796TR). Porsche and Ferrari dominated the race from the start. Stirling Moss took the lead in the Porsche 718 RS61 and after an accident on the first lap, after a few kilometers, he retired from the first 246SP with Phil Hill at the wheel. At the first pit stop of Trips, Ferrari racing director Romolo Tavoni decided, to the chagrin of Richie Ginther, that Olivier Gendebien should continue driving the Trips car. Gendebien succeeded in significantly reducing the gap to Graham Hill , who had taken over the car from Moss. The race was decided by a gearbox damage to the still leading Moss on the penultimate lap. This cleared the way to victory for von Trips and Gendebien, who drove the new 246SP to its first victory on its second outing.

In the 1000 km race on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring , both vehicles were at the start again. The Ferraris already impressed in training; Wolfgang von Trips achieved the best training time in 9: 33,700 minutes, which corresponded to an average of 143.134 km / h. Halfway through the race, Hill / von Trips' car was more than five minutes ahead of Masten Gregory and Lloyd Casner's Maserati Tipo 61 when Hill had an accident. Hill had hit an oil trail in the airfield section and lost control of the car. The car got into a ditch and then caught fire. Hill was previously able to get out of the wreck unharmed. The chassis was later rebuilt in the Ferrari factory. Gregory and Casner won the race, the second Dino came third in the classification.

After failures at the 24-hour race at Le Mans and the 4-hour race in Pescara at the end of 1961, two more victories in the sports car world championship followed in 1962 . Willy Mairesse , Olivier Gendebien and Ricardo Rodríguez won the Targa Florio ; Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien at the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring . In August 1962, Mike Parkes celebrated the last success with this type of racing car at the Guards Trophy at Brands Hatch .

Literature and Sources

  • Pino Casamassima: Storia della Scuderia Ferrari. Nada Editore, Vimodrome 1998, ISBN 88-7911-179-5 .
  • Peter Braun / Gregor Schulz: The great Ferrari manual. Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-501-8 .

Web links

Commons : Ferrari Dino 246SP  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ 12-hour race at Sebring 1961
  2. ↑ Wolfgang von Trips in the Dino 246SP 1961 in Sebring
  3. ↑ Targa Florio 1961
  4. ^ The car from Gendebien / von Trips at the Targa Florio 1961
  5. ↑ 1000 km race at the Nürburgring 1961