CMC M-263 1/18 Ferrari 250 LM #21 RHD 24H Le Mans1965 Rindt/Gregory
Description
Limited edition of 1,500 pieces
NART entered chassis 5893 for Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt in the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans. The NART 250 LM outperformed the inherently faster Ferrari and Ford prototypes and won the race. In 1970, the car was acquired by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, where it has been on display ever since.
Jochen Rindt competed in the Indy 500 and won Monaco in legendary fashion on the last corner in 1970. His breakthrough, however, came with his victory at Le Mans in 1965.
At short notice, Rindt had the opportunity to drive for the North American Racing Team.
This was a kind of semi-factory Ferrari team. The team owner was Luigi Chinetti, who had competed in all Le Mans races between 1932 and 1953 and won three times. Chinetti had excellent relations with Maranello. After obtaining US citizenship in 1946, he developed over the years into the most important Ferrari dealer in the growing US market.
Rindt, who only received his clearance two days before the race because he had a BP contract but was running the car on Shell fuel, was by no means one of the favorites at the Sarthe. His Ferrari 250 LM was considered hopeless. His partner at the time was Masten Gregory, nicknamed "Catastrophy Gregory" because he had previously jumped out of moving race cars five times due to brake failures.
At 7 p.m., Rindt and Gregory were at the back of the field after numerous breakdowns in the early stages. Rindt was about to give up and had already changed his clothes to head home, but veteran Gregory persuaded the debutant to continue. He made one condition, however: "I'll just go full throttle from now on."
Three Fords had already retired in the first two hours, and the factory Ferraris' disc brakes caused unexpected problems. By midnight, Rindt and Gregory were already in 13th place.
Rindt drove completely unleashed in the dark and gained position after position – a sensational comeback that hardly anyone had thought possible, aided by the retirements of all the factory Fords and Ferraris.
At dawn, the Rindt Ferrari took the lead for the first time – and Rindt held on to it before handing Gregory over for the final lap, as agreed. The Ferrari 250 LM, badly battered by Rindt's full-throttle bruiser, didn't exactly make it easy for him, but it held on to the checkered flag. Only on the out lap did the gearbox fail. "It's a good thing Masten finished the race," said the winner, Rindt, later. "I would have kept going full throttle. Then it might have torn everything apart."
Notice
Limited edition of 1,500 pieces
NART entered chassis 5893 for Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt in the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans. The NART 250 LM outperformed the inherently faster Ferrari and Ford prototypes and won the race. In 1970, the car was acquired by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, where it has been on display ever since.
Jochen Rindt competed in the Indy 500 and won Monaco in legendary fashion on the last corner in 1970. His breakthrough, however, came with his victory at Le Mans in 1965.
At short notice, Rindt had the opportunity to drive for the North American Racing Team.
This was a kind of semi-factory Ferrari team. The team owner was Luigi Chinetti, who had competed in all Le Mans races between 1932 and 1953 and won three times. Chinetti had excellent relations with Maranello. After obtaining US citizenship in 1946, he developed over the years into the most important Ferrari dealer in the growing US market.
Rindt, who only received his clearance two days before the race because he had a BP contract but was running the car on Shell fuel, was by no means one of the favorites at the Sarthe. His Ferrari 250 LM was considered hopeless. His partner at the time was Masten Gregory, nicknamed "Catastrophy Gregory" because he had previously jumped out of moving race cars five times due to brake failures.
At 7 p.m., Rindt and Gregory were at the back of the field after numerous breakdowns in the early stages. Rindt was about to give up and had already changed his clothes to head home, but veteran Gregory persuaded the debutant to continue. He made one condition, however: "I'll just go full throttle from now on."
Three Fords had already retired in the first two hours, and the factory Ferraris' disc brakes caused unexpected problems. By midnight, Rindt and Gregory were already in 13th place.
Rindt drove completely unleashed in the dark and gained position after position – a sensational comeback that hardly anyone had thought possible, aided by the retirements of all the factory Fords and Ferraris.
At dawn, the Rindt Ferrari took the lead for the first time – and Rindt held on to it before handing Gregory over for the final lap, as agreed. The Ferrari 250 LM, badly battered by Rindt's full-throttle bruiser, didn't exactly make it easy for him, but it held on to the checkered flag. Only on the out lap did the gearbox fail. "It's a good thing Masten finished the race," said the winner, Rindt, later. "I would have kept going full throttle. Then it might have torn everything apart."
