The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
When the artwork is more interesting than the chassis number.
By Pete Vack, photos by Jim Sitz and Allen R. Kuhn
VeloceToday originally ran this photo in September 2023, and in an effort to find the chassis number and owner of the 550 Spyder Richie Ginther drove one fine day at Santa Barbara, and perhaps the meaning of the Happy Face on the front, we asked our readers to help.
Richie in the 4.1 Ferrari at Pomona on February 1, 1959.
Story by Jim Sitz
Photos by Jim Sitz unless otherwise noted
You have already read (we hope) Allen R. Kuhn’s photo essay on Richie Ginther, which looks at a few of his racing efforts from 1956 to 1965. In this article, we asked Jim Sitz to provide a few of his Ginther photos and even more importantly, recall his friendship with Ginther. These two articles constitute a small part of Richie’s life. For a much more complete look at Richie’s life, we highly recommend “Richie Ginther, Motor Racing’s Free Thinker” by Richard Jenkins. Both Kuhn and Sitz contributed to this effort. Here, Sitz provides his recollections of his times with Richie, and is by no means meant to be a biography. Some of Jim’s thoughts below can also be found in Jenkins’s book. Ed.
My own intro to Richie was after he and Phil Hill drove in the Mexican Road Race in 1954. I introduced myself, and told him he must be very brave to ride at such high speeds through Mexico. He replied, “Oh, no. I’ve known Phil for a long time, and we did a lot of cross-country trips together.” In July of 1950, Richie had left his day job at Douglas Aircraft to join Phil at Roger Barlow’s International Motors. Seems that the pair would deliver and or collect cars. For example, they would drive a new Rolls Silver Wraith to Memphis, go on to Texas and pick up a new Simca from Bob Evans and drive that back to Barlow’s. [Read more…] about Jim Sitz Remembers Richie
Sometimes size does matter, as at Santa Barbara on June 1, 1958, when Richie Ginther got behind the wheel of John von Neumann’s ungodly beautiful #211 Ferrari 250 TR capturing 3rd OA, but 1st in DM. Ginther was bested that day by Lance Reventlow in his Scarab Chevy in 1st, and Max Balchowsky in the Buick Ol’ Yeller in 2nd. Both were class BM, where size does matter.
This is the first of two articles about Richie Ginther, a great driver who never quite got the press he deserved. Below is Allen Kuhn’s portrait of the driver, and we’ll follow that up with personal recollections from Jim Sitz, who knew Ginther very well. These are fleeting bios; for a really good look at Richie, we urge you to get a copy of Richard Jenkins’ “Richie Ginther, Motor Racing’s Free Thinker”. Both Kuhn and Sitz also contributed to Jenkins’ book. Ed.
A Pictorial Essay By Allen R. Kuhn
My pictorial essay for this week actually began as I searched my negatives for a particular car. I found out that the auction house RM Sotheby’s is offering the John Edgar Ferrari 410S s/n 0598 at the Monterey Car Week this month. Was there a story for VeloceToday.com here? [Read more…] about Richie Ginther Tribute Part 1