Gregor Fisken Goodwood Revival summary

Fisken stars at Goodwood in historic 'Ford France' GT40

Gregor Fisken gave the massed crowds of historic motorsport enthusiasts at last weekend's Goodwood Revival a rare treat when he raced a 1965 Ford France GT40 which hasn't seen competitive action in over 40 years.

This particular chassis, number 1003, was delivered to Guy Ligier in May 1965 and was run that year, and in 1966, by Ford France, making its race debut at the Nurburgring 1000kms in the hands of Maurice Trintignant and Ligier himself.

It went on to compete at the Nurburgring again as well as in a succession of other prestigious events at Magny-Cours, Montlhery, Mont Dor, Monza and Silverstone as well as at the Targa Florio.

The car is as close to its original specification as it's possible to get, with just a spanner check for safety by CKL Developments, yet Fisken, owner of historic automobile specialists Fiskens, performed strongly in the Whitsun Trophy, setting lap times that would be expected of the car in period and, remarkably, just a few seconds off the pace of the several more developed GT40s in the race.

"It was a huge privilege for me to drive such an important car" said Fisken. "I found it very emotive - it was the first time 1003 had been driven competitively since 1969 - and it will be a memory I treasure for a very long time. After a few teething problems in practice, the car performed superbly. And credit to the organisers, as well. You never think that the Goodwood Revival can possibly get any better, but somehow each year it does!"

-source: fiskens.com