Stormy weather not enough to stop Wang Ferrari

If the sight of a Ferrari 512S on French public roads wasn’t enough to liven up your weekend, then the weather gods helped by throwing snow and driving rain at Brandon Wang and Gary Pearson’s sports-racer on last month’s Tour de France Automobile.

But the duo survived to win the event in the ex-Scuderia Filipinetti Ferrari 512S raced at Le Mans in 1970 by Herbert Muller and Mike Parkes. “The Ferrari went like a dream, although it needed a major service after each of the rust three days,” said Pearson. “Brandon coped brilliantly with constant aquaplaning on the road sections, but it was incredible on the special stages. Some were so narrow and snowy that I was on the grass on both sides of the road at once!”

British crews fared well on the gruelling race circuits, mountain climbs and rally-type stages which took competitors from Paris to La Rochelle. David and Deborah Franklin finished fourth in their Ford Mustang, while Dudley and Sally Mason-Styrron brought their Ferrari Daytona home seventh. Actor Rowan Atkinson co-drove Don Shead’s AC Cobra to a strong finish with David Clark. MP