24 Hour Party People

Ferrari had built its reputation on selling its sports racing cars to private entrants who then promoted the brand  through their exploits on the circuit.  Among the most successful was Colonel Ronnie Hoare’s Maranello Concessionaires who took many a works team scalp at the highest level in the 1960s.  Le Mans eluded them, however, and by 1967 the increasingly sophisticated sports prototypes were becoming prohibitive to run.  This was their last attempt at an overall win at La Sarthe (they returned in the early 1970s with entries in the GT classes) and the 412P of Piers Courage and Richard Attwood (their striped helmets denoting their educations at Eton and Harrow respectively) retired with engine failure.  Here, Courage leads the Ford MkII of Mcluskey and Gardner and the Lola Aston Martin of  John Surtees and David Hobbs, both of which retired.