The ex-Emilio Marta

1969 FORD GT40 CHASSIS P/1080

& its early race history in Angola

By Lee Maxted-Page

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

Specification

GT40 P/1080 was a production racing coupe built by Ford Advanced Vehicles, Slough in 1969 and assembled to match the definitive Le Mans winning Gulf-Wyer configuration of 1968. Constructed with a light-weight, aluminium roof and powered by a Gurney-Weslake aluminium-headed 289 engine, 1080 was one of ten or so cars built to this later Mk1 race specification which also featured vented disc-brakes and larger, 12” rear BRM wheels which sat beneath extended, flared rear-wheel arches.

On the factory build sheets the specification was recorded as: Cirrus white with Black trim, a “1968 Weslake-heads, 289 c.i.d., wet-deck,” (engine number 67/19) with ZF 5-speed transmission (no: NR 1005) with 4.22.:1 final drive and ‘C’ ratios. Other order details were: BRM 10 inch and 12 inch wheels with 8.5 inch spare, Firestone anti-surge foam in fuel tanks, Stage II ventilated brakes, aluminium spare-wheel cover and light-weight panels; also noted was ‘weighed, dry of fuel, but including oil and water: front 845 lbs, rear 110 lbs., total 1945 lbs.”

The car was despatched to the docks on 06.02.1969 and shipped to Luanda in Angola on 15.02. 1969 to customer A.F. Pires of Carmona, Angola.

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

Angola

During the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s there was great interest in motor racing in Angola. Not only was there a fiercely contested national championship, but it also became famous on the international race calendar for the Grande Premio de Angola, which was held each year under the sun-baked palm trees of Luanda. Races took place in both towns and the several new circuits which were beginning to emerge and become established, such as the Autodromo de Luanda. By 1974 however, Civil War had broken out and sadly the racing slowly disappeared.

A F PiresFerreira Pires was a successful Portuguese driver living in Angola, who acquired the car new directly from Ford Advanced Vehicles in 1969 with the financial support of his home town of Carmona. His intentions were to race the GT40, however an unfortunate accident prompted him to retire from racing altogether very soon after the car had arrived there and it was sold in 1970 to another Angolan-based Portuguese, Emilo Marta.

Emilio MartaMarta was a successful businessman and industrialist in Bengula with wide business interests from his hotel - The Hotel Praia Morena - to his motor-rental company Volante Livre. Having already established himself on the Angolan racing scene during the mid-sixties in his Lotus Cortina, Lotus 47 and a Lotus 23, Marta then acquired the GT40 with which he raced extensively in the Angolan international sports-car races and contested the championship, finishing 3rd overall in 1970, 2nd in 1971 and finally, winning outright in 1972.

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

Marta - Mid-’Sixties racing

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

1970In 1970, Emilio Marta entered his first Angolan Championship with 1080, freshly re-liveried in red with a white- and yellow-striped scheme. The GT40 debuted well and finished the year in 3rd place overall. The 6-hour endurance street races attracted great public interest and a significant international entry. Pictured below at the 6 Horas do Huambo where Marta shared the car with Herculano Areias, the 6 Horas de Novo Redondo and the 6 Horas de Nova Lisboa.

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

1971 - 1974Between 1971 and 73 Marta continued to race the same Angolan championship races with 1080 and also began to experiment with the aerodynamics. Canards can be seen appearing first on the front nose corners, then, soon after, on the rear bodywork together with upright fins in a quest for some kind of aerodynamic improvement which might be found.

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

Team Irmaos UnidosEmilio Marta was successful as both a driver and businessman. He became president of the Angolan Motor Club - Tuku Tuku - and also formed a race team - Team Irmaos Unidos (United Brothers) - of which he was Director of Administration and fellow racer, Herulano Aerias, was Technical Director. The team entered Marta’s collection of race cars in many of the Angolan races and won countless victories over the years which escalated Marta to heroic status in Angola during the early ‘70s.

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

Emilio Marta - Angolan ChampionMarta became arguably the best-known Portuguese driver in Angola in a golden age of sports-car racing under the African sun.

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

Portugal 1975 - Villa do CondoBy 1975, civil war had broken out in Angola and so Marta left for Portugal, taking GT40 1080 with him and settled to live in Villa Nova de Gaia . The car was re-liveried in a silver colour- scheme and soon resumed similar racing in Portugal at Vila do Conde.

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

Portugal 1978-79By the late 1970s, Emilio’s son Carlos Marta also began to race 1080. The car was once again re-painted in its original factory colour of Cirrus White and liveried in the colours of the family car rental business, Volante Livre and registered in Portugal NP 37.92

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

Portugal 1979Emilio continued to drive the car on the road up to 1979, although he did remove the doors for cockpit ventilation and also applied carpet to the sills for added comfort. However, by September 1979 and after ten years of successful racing within a golden era, Emilio finally agreed to sell 1080 to a Swiss friend of Henri Bercher, owner of sister-car, GT40 P1081.

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

Switzerland 1979-1999After acquiring 1080 directly from Marta, Mr M Fournier took it to Switzerland with a view to fully rebuilding the car following its extensive racing career in Angola and Portugal. Despite the numerous aerodynamic and cooling modifications which had been added to both the front and rear bodywork over the years, remarkably the car still retained its original Weslake engine no: 67/19 and original ZF gearbox no: NR 1005. 1080 was then disassembled ready for rebuild, although not started immediately. Instead, 1080 remained fully-dismantled but neatly crated in storage in Switzerland for the next twenty years.

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

France 2001-2004In 2001 the car was sold from Switzerland to Esteves Luis of Paris and the car was finally sent to Modena Motorsport in Germany to be fully rebuilt. Initially the chassis was sent to UK GT40 specialist Bryan Wingfield, to restore the tub, then it was returned to Germany for Modena to complete the full restoration.

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

RestoredBy 2004 the restoration was complete and 1080 was fully rebuilt and resplendently finished in Gulf colours. Post-restoration it was briefly tested at Spa by none other than 6-times Le Mans winner Jackie Ickx, before being sold to Frank Sytner in the UK.

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

2005-2010In 2005, Australian Gary Fitzgerald acquired 1080 from Maxted-Page Limited in the UK and commissioned the car to be returned to period Emilio Marta-Volante Livre livery and then had the car fully prepared for historic racing.

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

Le Mans 2007 - 20081080 re-debuted in the Le Mans Legends historic support race for the 2007 24hr race and then subsequently returned the following year in for Le Mans Classic, racing in Plateau 5.

1969 Ford GT40Chassis P/1080

AcknowledgementsThanks in particular to the following who have helped supply much of the historic information and photographs contained here and in doing so have helped preserve the history of 1969 Ford GT40 1080.

Jose A. Mota FreitasRicardo Duarte / KadypressRui QueirósCarlos MartaHenri Bercher Ronnie SpainBryan WingfieldPaul FlemmingGelscoe MotorsportMathieu HeurtaultSportscarportugal.comPotaldosclassicos.comMazungue.comSanzalangola.com