In 1970 the Scuderia Ferrari regained its competitive edge once more due to the design and engineering skills of Mauro Forghieri who was responsible for overseeing the 312 series of sports and Formula 1 cars that featured the legendary flat-12 ‘boxer’ engine that lowered the cars centre of gravity.
Forghieri joined Ferrari as an apprentice in 1960 and was thrown into the deep end in 1961 when the majority of the senior staff walked out of the company. Shortly after Enzo Ferrari decided to appoint the young Mauro as technical director of the race car department, a position he held until 1984 prior to leaving Ferrari in 1987. The 312B series of Formula 1 cars arrived in 1970, along with drivers Jacky Ickx and Clay Regazzoni, and continued in various forms until the end of 1975. The photograph shows an early outing for the 312 B2 of 1971 when a single car was entered by the factory for Clay Regazzoni in the non-championship Race of Champions held at Brands Hatch on March 21st of that year. Regazzoni went on to win the race from the Tyrrell 001 of Jackie Stewart who experienced technical problems during the latter part of the race.
From the book ‘Moments in Motorsport’ by Trevor Legate
