Testing is Everything: John Surtees in Modena, 1964

This is World Champion John Surtees doing duty as a test driver for Ferrari in a new prototype Ferrari 330P2 at the Modena Aerautodromo test circuit on December 11, 1964. The test ran over three days as the mechanics with Surtees' input worked to make the prototype ready for its introductory appearance at the Daytona 2000km race set for February 28th of the coming year. Eventually, the 330P2 would receive a much higher windscreen with an airfoil mounted behind the cockpit on the rear bodywork.

One can tell the time of year by the foggy and obviously cold weather at the Aerautodromo which was Ferrari's main test location in the years before its Fiorano circuit was constructed next to the factory in Maranello.

The man in the dark coat standing next to Surtees who is in the car is Ferrari's designer and race manger Mauro Forghieri. To Forghieri's left, also in a dark overcoat, is Ferrari's engine specialist Franco Rocchi.

The engine bay of the 330P2 shows the four-camshaft dual ignition V12 motor of 4 liters displacement with its twin 12-plug distributors and four ignition coils. Behind the motor is the five speed Ferrari-built transaxle which had its clutch assembly mounted off the back of the transaxle unit. This arrangement made it much easier to get at the clutch if needed for on-track maintenance. That was a good idea because these Ferrari multi-plate small diameter clutches could be quite unreliable if abused by the driver.

The cockpit of the 330P2 was a study in cleanliness of deign and pure functionality. For this test a small auxiliary gauge was mounted on the central spine of the chassis, most likely for a reading of transaxle oil temperature. In addition to the large central tachometer, the other dashboard gauges were for fuel pressure, oil pressure, and a combined oil and water temperature gauge. Fuel was carried in two tanks mounted inside the sills at the sides of the body. Two fuel pumps took fuel from the tanks to a large swirl pot mounted in the engine bay

behind the driver which overflowed back to the tanks and from which two more pumps supplied fuel to the carburetors. The gearshift tower was on the right as can bee seen above. It incorporated a manual reverse lockout and a lockout slide to avoid selecting more than the next gear up or down.

At the end of the 1965 season, the ex-Scuderia P2s were re-engined with a less complicated 4.4 liter two-cam V12, were generally given updated bodywork similar to the 1966 330P3 and sold to some of Ferrari's national distributors who would run them in support of the factory's entries.

Photos by Peter Coltrin ©The Klemantaski Collection – http://www.klemcoll.com

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