Between 1962 and 1993 an enterprising English school situated near Westerham in Kent decided to make use of its steep tarmaced driveway that wound around its expansive grounds in order to raise funds for the benefit of the school and its handicapped pupils.
FORD GT40 P/1002 – VALENCE SCHOOL HILLCLIMB 1969
It was decided to organise a hillclimb since there were relatively few venues in the south east of England and a good size entry was expected from compeititors who were more used to travelling long distances to compete. With the Sevenoaks and District Motor Club making all the arrangements it proved extremely popular, attracting a wide variety of cars and a huge number of spectators. Due to the nature of the short track (approximately 700 metres) it was a club event rather than a full national championship but it still attracted some well-known competitors who enjoyed the laid-back day and the chance to help a worthwhile cause. A few single seaters entered but the majority of the entries were GT and saloon cars. Seen in the photograph, taken during the meeting in 1969, is a race-prepared Ford GT40, chassis GT P/1002, owned by J. A. Pearce.
This was a well-known and successful race car as, in May 1965, it became the first GT40 to be sold to a private buyer through a Ford dealership in Bournemouth, F. English Ltd, owned by Colonel Ronnie Hoare. It left the FAV premises in Slough in 1965, painted a light shade of powder blue and registered for road use with the number plate ‘FEL 1C’. It raced three times in standard form driven by Roy Salvadori and Richard Attwood, before being displayed at the 1965 Frankfurt Motor Show. Three world championship races followed, driven by Innes Ireland and Chris Amon, at Monza, Brands Hatch and the Nurburgring but it retired each time. In 1966 it was sold to John Macklin who entered it in several hillclimbs before it was acquired the following year by David Prophet. He repainted 1002 in a shade of silver grey with a gold stripe on the roof and bonnet which is the colour scheme shown in the photograph. It also displays some of the bodywork modifications made at the time with a wide rear section moulded from another GT40, wider alloy wheels, various wheel-arch spoilers and a Gurney-Weslake engine.
The GT40 was shipped to South Africa for the 1967/68 Springbok race series and was sold on its return to J. A. Pearce who kept it for two years – taking in the Valence hillclimb – and repainted it bright yellow prior to selling it to Brian Classic. As with so many GT40s, it was repainted and retrimmed on numerous occasions as it was bought and sold over the years, having been painted dark blue, white, yellow (again) and dark green. It was eventually purchased by Alan Lloyd who became a long-term owner, racing it in selected events for many years.
From ‘Moments in Motorsport’ by Trevor Legate.
