Ferrari 312PB

After watching that movie on speed that car seemed pretty fast despite only having about 45ohp.

Light & Nimble and Top Line Drivers to boot.

PRF

the drivers loved the car...it was basically a gp car with fenders and very small....i was at the glen in 72 and watched the 6 hour race and could'nt believe how efficiently peter schetty as team manager ran the team....like clockwork....i was just dissappointed that the matras didn't show up....i have 7 312pbs from 71/72/73 in my 1/43 model collection....

From memory, the driver line up consisted of a 'whose who' of this discipline. Ickx, Andretti, Peterson, Merzario, Schenken and later in '73 joined by the 'living legend' Brian Redman. I'm sure I've missed someone!

PRF

The 312PB was the best of its era. Had Ferrari continued in sportscar racing into '74 and beyond, Porsche's list of 1970s/80s race wins may have turned out to be somewhat shorter.

Originally posted by PRF
From memory, the driver line up consisted of a 'whose who' of this discipline. Ickx, Andretti, Peterson, Merzario, Schenken and later in '73 joined by the 'living legend' Brian Redman. I'm sure I've missed someone!
PRF

carlos reuttemann
clay reggazzoni
carlos pace

Ignazio Giunti

312PB not a great car. Matra's blew it away in '73, I think Ferrari missed LM in '72 cos they knew Matra would do them there. Great drivers admittedly, but very little opposition in '72, and car not great either in 71. Even the Alfa T33 beat the 917s occasionally, Ferrari never did. If they'd have carried on in 74 Matra would again have walked them, Gulf too maybe, possibly the Alfas/911 Turbo too.

I don't think that is the case Dan. In 1971, the 312 was easily the fastest 3-litre and only missed out on wins due to some incredibly bad luck - I think that they were taken out by backmarkers at least twice. Of course, they could have done with another car...

At Nurburgring, it was particularly good. Ickx absolutely demolished the field of 908/3s and Alfas until trouble struck.

As for the Matra, 1973 was a great year between the 312PB and MS670, with the edge going to Matra over the season. At Le Mans, one 312 (Ickx/Redman?) led until the last couple of hours until the engine blew and one still finished second. Hardly 'blown away'.

Cybers, I'm sure Porsche's win list would be shorter, but I wouldn't underestimate their potential to show Ferrari a thing or two!

Thought we'd exhausted the driver line up. However, cosulted my bible and thought these drivers should be mentioned. Non seemed to be regulars but all the same they were 'works' drivers at any given time:

Nino Vaccarella
Sandro Munari
Helmut Marko

and the bible - Ferrari 313 & 512 Sports Racing Cars by Ian Bamsey ISBN 0-85429-577-1

KRT917 - Yes you are correct. It was Redman who was paired with Ickx in the 73 Le Mans leading car. It was 2 laps up at one stage until a cracked exhaust failed and then a pot failed. This car was some 2 laps up on the nearest Matra at this stage.

Ferrari ran a 'hare' which was the Merzario/Pace car to break the Gulf Mirage's and Matra's. It worked to a certain degree. The more causious 312's of Redman/Ickx and Schenken/Reeutemann failed and the 'hare' finished 2nd O/A.

PRF

Originally posted by Dan Rear
312PB not a great car. Matra's blew it away in '73

check your records....matra did not 'blow them away' in 1973....here are the race results from that year:

daytona: gregg/haywood, porsche carrera
vallelunga 6 hours: pescaralo/larrouse/cevert, matra-simca
dijon 1000 kms : pescaralo/larrouse, matra-simca
monza 1000 kms : ickx/redman, ferrari
spa 1000 kms : bell/hailwood, mirage-ford
targa florio : muller/lennep, porsche carrera
lemans : pescaralo/larrouse, matra-simca
nurburgring 1000 kms : ickx/redman
osterreichring 1000 kms : pescaralo/larrouse, matra-simca
watkins glen 6 hours : pescaralo/larrouse, matra-simca

yes matra did win on 5 different occasions, but ferrari took second on each occasion that a matra won and that year only the best 7 race results counted towards the final tally....if all points that year were allowed for the manufacturers championship then ferrari would have won the title by 13 points....

Originally posted by PRF
Thought we'd exhausted the driver line up. However, cosulted my bible and thought these drivers should be mentioned. Non seemed to be regulars but all the same they were 'works' drivers at any given time:
Nino Vaccarella
Sandro Munari
Helmut Marko
PRF

vaccarella and munari are correct but helmut marko never drove one of the 312PBs....

Originally posted by jj2728
vaccarella and munari are correct but helmut marko never drove one of the 312PBs....

JJ - Will check it out and post my findings.

PRF

He did - 1972 Österreichring 1000k, #3 Ferrari 312PB, w/ Carlos Pace, 2nd place. It was his last year of competition; later thatyear, he lost an eye in an accident in the French GP.

Originally posted by cybersdorf
He did - 1972 Österreichring 1000k, #3 Ferrari 312PB, w/ Carlos Pace, 2nd place. It was his last year of competition; later thatyear, he lost an eye in an accident in the French GP.

i stand corrected, apologies to PRF....i'm looking at my AUTOMOBILE YEAR 72/73 and there it is....i didn't realize that they'd entered 4 cars for that race....

Marko was with Alfa Romeo in 1972 (2nd in the Targa), and this was his only Ferrari drive that year, and I believe ever. Clearly a one-off deal for Marko's home race.

...it was basically a gp car with fenders...I keep seeing that statement or one similar (along with the 312P & PB being based on an F1 chassis), but can't find anything more about it...

So just how 'based on' or nothing more than an F1 car were they really? Looking at them with the body work removed, I don't see any resemblance to an F1 car...

Anyone have a better design/build history of the cars?

Engine and gearbox were about the only carry-overs from the F1 car.
And even the engine was slightly detuned for endurance purposes..

Many thanks!!! Wish i could see that in an article or a book somewhere... ;)

The boxer engine put constraints on the position of the exhaust and rear engine. The same constraints as in the F1 car, so the Sportscar copied the F1 suspension. It sounds like location points on the gearbox and the layout was almost the same. Possibly the front layout was similar too and this prompted the two seater GP car (ref Motorsport p46 vol LXXXII Nov 2006). According to Motorsport it lapped Modena close to the GP car,sothat helps a comparison!

The engine wsa 40bhp down on the F1 unit; it was based on the F1 unit, but had significant work (shorter stroke, bigger bore, max revs 2,000 lower).

The article you are looking for may well be the Motorsport one that all this is in.

Martin,

You should pick up the new (December 2006, No. 74) issue of FORZA. Bill Oursler wrote a detailed piece on the 312 PB which appears in that issue.

One sentence will likely answer your question: "The basic chassis was a traditional mix of square and round tubing bonded to both alloy and fiberglass stiffening panels...." This does not sound at all like the 312B F1 car, which used a very similar engine.

Fazzaz

Martin,

You should pick up the new (December 2006, No. 74) issue of FORZA. Bill Oursler wrote a detailed piece on the 312 PB which appears in that issue.

One sentence will likely answer your question: "The basic chassis was a traditional mix of square and round tubing bonded to both alloy and fiberglass stiffening panels...." This does not sound at all like the 312B F1 car, which used a very similar engine.

FazzazWhy thank you kind sir... ;)
I take it its on the stands now?

My subscription copy arrived today, so I would expect it on newsstands in the very near future.

My subscription copy arrived today, so I would expect it on newsstands in the very near future.You're my hero. Hope all is well... :)

Would one of my fellow mods kindly move this to the Motorsport History Forum, please!

Thread-whore. :beer:

moved

BTW there is one about a Jaguar engine Ferrari GP car you might like from F1.