Description:

1969 Ford GT40 P/1033

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Chassis P/1033
One of three GT40s ordered by Scuderia Filipinetti in 1965
Car displayed on the Filipinetti stand at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show
Tested by Car magazine and featured on the cover of the February 1967 edition
Participation in Le Mans 1969
3rd place in class at the 1000 km of Monza in 1969
Two second places at the Rallye de l'Ouest and the Coupes de Vitesse of Montlhery in 1970

Ford GT40 P/1033 was shipped to Geneva, Switzerland from the Ford Advanced Vehicles Ltd plant in Slough, Buckinghamshire, England, on January 14, 1966. The car was delivered unpainted and incomplete, as it was destined for the Graber body shop, where it would be finished and prepared as a special road car for Georges Filipinetti, owner of the famous Swiss racing team Scuderia Filipinetti.

As noted by FAV in the production car registration sheet of the time, "1033" was intended to be a road car. It was delivered with a standard race engine and transmission, which would be replaced later. Graber's work was completed in early 1967: the car was finished in light metallic blue with minimal front over-rider guards, power windows, a full leather interior, and the most befitting option for a GT40: air conditioning.

The car appeared on the cover of the February 1967 issue of the British magazine "Car" and was exhibited at the Geneva Motor Show the following month. Mr. Filipinetti then put it up for sale through Geneva Ferrari dealer Jean-Jacques Weber, through whom he found an eager buyer in Bolivian millionaire Jaime Ortiz-Patino, who was then residing in Geneva. On May 5, 1967, "1033" was registered in Switzerland with the license plate "GE 136999."

In subsequent correspondence, Mr. Ortiz-Patino confirmed that he had driven the car quite frequently in Switzerland and France before having all the special trim removed and converting it into a pure racing car so that his godson, Dominique Martin, could use it in competition.

The ambitious young French driver initially gained experience with the GT40 by competing in a series of smaller national hill climb races, such as the Col de la Faucille and Beaujolais in 1968. He later obtained a racing license to race the car at Montlheéry, near Paris. At the start of the 1969 season, Dominique Martin entered “1033” in a series of major international endurance races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Partnered with the more experienced French driver Jean-Pierre Hanrioud at the wheel of the GT40, Martin participated in the Le Mans test weekend on March 29-30, 1969, with the car still in its pale blue livery and with the “ZITRO” lettering prominently displayed on the nose, signifying the Ortiz-Patino family sponsorship.

On April 25, the Martin/Hanrioud team raced the “1033” in the 1000 km of Monza, a race that counted towards that year's FIA World Championship for Manufacturers, finishing 15th overall. Their ambitions for the 24 Hours of Le Mans were dashed by an engine failure during practice, but on October 12, 1969, Martin and Pierre Maublanc successfully drove the car in the 1000 km of Montlhery, finishing ninth overall and fourth in its class. The following weekend, the “1033” competed in the Hockenheim 300 Miles in Germany, again finishing ninth.

In 1970, Dominique Martin shipped the Ford to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the opening round of the new year's World Championship. In a 200-mile preliminary race at the Buenos Aires Autodrome on January 11, Martin retired due to a transmission failure. However, on January 18, he managed to finish twelfth in the Championship qualifying race, the 1000 km of Buenos Aires. Returning to France in March of that year, the "1033" participated in the Rallye de l'Ouest on public roads, where Martin finished second overall with Chini as co-driver.

Dominique Martin later decided to change racing direction, and the now-redundant ZITRO Ford GT40 was repainted a pale non-metallic blue and put up for sale through Michel Berney, a former Scuderia Filipinetti mechanic. Unfortunately, on October 26 of that year, while driving it between his home and the workshop, Michel Berney had an accident and the car caught fire. He escaped unharmed, but could only watch as the flames raged. Local firefighters arrived in time to save the GT40's steel chassis, which remained virtually intact, but almost everything else that could burn was destroyed. 

This example can be considered perfectly suited for world-class motorsport events such as the Goodwood Revival Meeting, for European road races/rallies such as the French Tour Auto, for major American events and virtually any historic race in the United States.

Website:

https://www.autoluce.com/annunci/1965-ford-gt40/

Keyword Search Terms:

Ford GT40; Ford; GT40; Filipinetti; Ford GT40 for sale; GT40 Chassis P/1033; Zitro Racing GT40