Additional Race Photos

Sebring 1963 practice wire service photo. Ken Miles is in the car with (L to R) standing: Lew Spencer, Dan Gurney and Phil Hill. Lew has a pretty good description of endurance roadracing in the book, Chapter 14.

Roger Penske and his 1962 GTO just before the start of the April 1963 USRRC race at Pensacola, Florida. Penske is standing behind the car in the center of the three men. Bill Brannon photo.

John Surtees in his works Ferrari 250P at the 1963 Nurburgring. The 250P was the basis for the Ferrari 250LM which was the car Ferrari wanted to defend his title with against the Cobras. See the book, chapters 30 and 39.

Bob Johnson driving his worm and sector ex-team car in the 1963 June Sprints at Road America. Johnson qualified on the pole and won with Bob Brown's Cobra second and Dick thompson's Corvette third. Bill Brannon photo.

Geoff Howard sent me 15 photos from the archives of AC Cars. I have arranged all photos in these pages, including Geoff's fifteen, in date order. Most of Geoff's are black and white of the AC coupe. This photo is the AC entry at Le Mans 1963. The aerodynamic hardtop cars reached 161 mph., about what a roadster with a tilt-back windshield could do. Steele Therkleson told me that, in 1964 in South Africa, Bob Olthoff reached 173 mph. in a roadster with a small plexi racing windscreen.

Unloading the "American" Cobra at Le Mans 1963. Ford wouldn't finance a 1963 Cobra Le Mans effort, so Shelby had to do some dealing to get a car there. The story is in the book, pages 51-57. Another AC Cars photo courtesy of Geoff Howard.

The winning Ferrari 250P is pushed into the start line prior to the 1963 Le Mans race. Mario Foghieri is on the left rear fender. Foghieri, the designer of the 1964 GTO, discusses that car in chapter 10 of the book.

Lake Garnett, Kansas July 1963. Cobra team members (red shirts, possibly Jim Culleton and Charlie Agaipou) unload Ken Miles' USRRC. car. The other two USRRC. cars were black . Good shot of the original kidney bean Halibrand wheels. You can click on this photo to enlarge, as with some of the other photos on this page. Photo courtesy David Sweers who became ill from the heat that day.

Roy Salvadori listens to some last minute advice prior to the 1963 Goodwood Tourist Trophy. Salvadori would never drive for Shelby, but they remained good friends and Salvadori was slated to race one of Shelby's ex-1964 European team roadsters in 1965, but the car was handed over to Alan Mann Racing instead. See the book, chapter 34.

The Aston Martin 214 Project GT car winning Monza 1963 and defeating the Ferrari GTO for the first time ever in an FIA race. John Horseman, Aston's team manager at this race, sent me this photo. See the book, page 66.

Roy Salvadori accepting the Monza Cup. This race played a central part in the Cobra's loss of the World GTIII Championship the following year. See the book, chapters 8 and 27.

Click on the photo to expand. Dan Gurney at the Riverside Three-Hour GT support race for the L.A. Times Grand Prix. This is first-lap action with Allen Grant's yellow Cobra behind Gurney and Bondurant's black Cobra behind Grant. Bondurant and Grant have not yet collided. Grant now admits that he "did not protect his line" and allowed Bondurant to close up on his backside under braking, whereupon both cars collided.