Ferraris Blowing in the Mistral Wind: Dix Mille Tours
Report from Jean-Bernard Héros
Created in 2010, the Dix Mille Tours, on October 21-22, 2017, finished the season of events run by the famous organizers Peter Auto. The weather was fine on Saturday but on Sunday a strong wind (called Mistral and well known in the south of France) and a low temperature did not prevent the many spectators to enjoy the show.
No less than 240 cars were present (with Lolas, Chevrons, Fords, Alfa Romeos, Porsches… and of course Ferraris). Let’s not forget the 400 or so club cars that also raced on the circuit for the enjoyment of all. One of the two main races of the meeting (ten in all during the weekend) was Classic Endurance Racing 1 with GTs cars between 1966 and 1974, also with prototypes between 1966 and 1971. Its duration was one hour.
Among the 55 starters were present two Ferraris 512s. Pierre Mellinger had brought his 512 S, chassis 1004, a former factory car. A beautiful car with beautiful sound. Whereas Carlos Monteverde was running with a 512 M stamped s/n 1030, a replica made in 2016 by Roelofs Engineering with a chassis decoration like the 512 M, s/n 1002 (whose authentic 1002 is owned by Monteverde himself!) (In some cases, owners will have a replica made for historic racing so as to keep the original undamaged.) In the final standings, Monterverde finished fourth behind winner Mark Piercy on a Lola T212. Mellinger placed a modest fortieth place.
The other race where a lot of Ferraris were engaged was the Trofeo Nastro Rosso dedicated to Italian sports cars and GT cars from the fifties to 1965. This race was run in two rounds, one on Saturday afternoon and the other Sunday morning for 35 minutes each. In the race of Saturday with 24 competitors, Monteverde with his 250 LM, s/n 6313, went in pole position. But he will finish not ranked, not without having made the fastest lap. Finally, it was Peter Muelder (Bizzarrini 5300 GT) who won in front of Clive Joy's splendid 250 LM, s/n 5907 (formerly Maranello Concessionaires).
In Race 2, Vincent Gaye at the wheel of his 275 GTB/C, s/n 09057 was in pole position and started very well but will finish seventh overall with nevertheless the lap record. The victory came back again to Peter Muelder (Bizzarrini 5300 GT).
Among the Ferraris present, we can report the 250 GT SWB chassis s/n 1933 GT of Carlo Vögele. In fact, it’s a conversion made from a 250 GT PF Coupe 1960 with obviously the same chassis number. It's so well designed that you could think of a real 250 GT SWB. Another curiosity was Christian Dumolin’s 250 GT Drogo, s/n 1717 GT. This car was originally a 250 GT PF Coupe from 1960, but after an accident, it was rebodied by Piero Drogo in 1965. It’s a very nice car.
It was a very pleasant event with many spectators who despite the impetuous Mistral wind on Sunday left delighted. With its different events in the year, Peter Auto knows how to attract competitors from around the world but also the public.
Info and images from Jean-Bernard Héros.
