18 replies to this topic

[ry6]

T Spychinger was apparently a Swiss driver.

It seems he bought an RS60 Porsche (ex Fraser Jones) in 1960 and wrote it off completely at a race in Gaisburg, Austria.

Can anyone confirm this and tell me his first name.

Thank you

[WGD706]

I found numerous references to a Tom Spychinger driving Abarths at LeMans and various other tracks. In 1962, he competed in the 46th Targa Florio, 'Tommy Spychinger / CH ,Umberto Maglioli / I, Porsche 718 RSK , retired with gearbox failure.
1000 km Nürburgring, he is listed as an entry but did not start the race:Tommy Spychinger / CH , Umberto Maglioli / I, Porsche 718 Scuderia Sant Ambroeus.
LeMans:Tommy Spychinger / CH, Henri Oreiller / F , Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero, retired after 21 laps with ignition failure.
In the Trophée d'Auvergne, Clermond-Ferrand , Tommy Spychinger / CH , Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero finished 13th out of 22, 2 laps down.
http://wspr-racing.c...scc/ms1962.html
http://wspr-racing.c.../gtcup1960.html
There are other references to races entered in '63 and '64 as well.
I can't find any references to Gaisburg/Galsburg, Austria or a Porsche in 1960.

[David McKinney]

The reference is no doubt to the Gaisberg hillclimb in Austria
But was the man's name Spychiger or Spychinger?
Either way, he was 6th in the 1960 EMC round at Freiburg and 3rd at Ollon-Villars in a Porsche, which I have down as an RSK

[jarama]

The correct spelling is Spychiger, I think.

[Udo K.]

Swiss driver Tommy Spychinger was killed in his Ferrari P2 at the Monza 1000 KM on April 25th 1965.

[Doug Nye]

It was Tommy Spychiger - without an 'n' - and the poor chap was sadly decapitated when the exceptionally fast 4.4-litre Ferrari 365P - not P2 - that he was driving for Scuderia Filipinetti crashed at the Parabolica corner during the Monza 1,000Kms. ..a very nasty business indeed...

DCN

[Don Capps]

And one of the members of the yellow press actually printed a few pictures of poor Tommy and the P2 after the accident..... yuck!

[Udo K.]

Ry6

I could send you a portrait photo of Tommy Spychiger (without "n" - right Doug), which I scanned from a 1964 issue of German magazin Auto Motor & Sport. Just let me know your e-mail.

[WGD706]

David Piper displayed his second 330 P Spider Fantuzzi Rebuild using the s/n 0824 a the Essen Motor Show, Nov 30 - Dec 9, 2001 . This totally rebuilt car sports the livery which it wore when Swiss driver Tommy Spychiger was killed in it in 1964: red with a white band.
http://www.ferrariow...0p_fantuzzi.jpg
Was he killed in a 330P or a 365P?
Ferrari Owners' Club at Broughton Castle in Oxfordshire for their annual concours July 1st 2001 ..
The 365 P Guida Centrale first made an appearance on the Pininfarina stand at the 1966 Paris Motor Show. Of course it is a mid-engined berlinetta notable for its large transparent glass roof and three front seats with the drivers position in the middle.
http://www.ferrariow..._365p_front.jpg
http://www.ferrariow...e_365p_side.jpg

[Udo K.]

To my knowledge it was a 365P.

[ry6]

Thanks Udo for the photo.

I have since done some more delving.

An extract from Classic Car Africa (April 2000) - "David Piper - Forever Young" by Graham Gauld


....His 365 P1 is the car in which Swiss driver Tommy Spychiger was killed when his brakes failed at the Parabolica at Monza.

"Georges Filipinetti, the car's entrant, took the burned out remains to his dungeon in Granson in Switzerland. The car eventually went to French collector Pierre Bardinon. Some years later I offered to buy it and Pieree sent me down to an old hut where the chassis was lying with the body from Pierre's CanAm P4 and boxes of bits. A year later he sold me the chassis (0824) and the boxes of bits but no engine, so I said what about the rest?. His mechanic said 'what rest?'

I paid 150 000 dollars and he gave me a receipt quoting the chassis number and the comment "ex-Filipinetti, burned and destroyed".

That be as may but was Tommy the driver of the crashed RS60 in 1960 at Gaisburg?

[Udo K.]

Originally posted by ry6
Thanks Udo for the photo.


That be as may but was Tommy the driver of the crashed RS60 in 1960 at Gaisburg?

Yes, Tommy Spychiger crashed a RS60 at Gaisberg. I do have the original "Auto Motor & Sport" issue No. 20 from September 24th 1960 and the report deals with some safety problems and lack of organisation at that place.
German driver Häderle had a fatal accident when he was avoiding a small child, which was
skidding down a slope next to the track. He hit a rock head on and died immediately. Almost the same happened to Spychiger.
Original text of Richard von Frankenberg's report: "Der Wagen (Häderle's) hatte größere Mengen Öl auf der Strecke hinterlassen; man schaffte ihn weg, transportierte Häderle ab, aber um das Öl kümmerte sich niemand. Der Streckenposten telefonierte friedlich zum Start: der nächste kann kommen. Der nächste war Tommy Spychiger, und als er in dem Öl die folgende Linkskurve anbremste, erging es ihm, wie Häderle: der Wagen rammte die Felswand, noch vehementer, weil der Spyder ja schneller ist. Gott sei Dank, Spychiger flog sofort aus dem Wagen und hatte nur einen Riss an einem Fußgelenk zu beklagen. Der neue RS60 kann als Schrotthaufen bezeichnet werden."
Translation: The car had lost quite a lot of oil on the track. The car was cleared, Häderle was taken away but nobody cared for the oil. The marshall peacefully phoned the start: the next one should come..the next one was Tommy Spychiger and when he braked for the next lefthander in all the oil he experienced the same as Häderle: his car collided with the rocks, but with even more speed as the spyder is the quicker car. Thanks God Spychiger was thrown out immediately and just suffered a damaged ankle. The new RS60 is to be called a write off."


After these accidents the other drivers refused to go on, before they were not assured of no more oil on the track. All the drivers went up the track in a lorry to inspect the place of the accidents and even help with clearing the oil. Due to the loss of time the second run had to be cancelled.

[Danny1]

Tommy Spychiger

Died in a 4.4 liter Ferrari P365 of Scuderia Filipinetti in 1965 at the 1000km of Monza
source by Helmut Zwickl

Kind Regards Danny

[bschenker]

Mr. Tommy Spychiger, Swiss-German, lived in Castagnola, (Lugano’s periphery) in the Italian part of Switzerland (canton Ticino).
Mr. Spychiger’s Galleria restaurant and bar, located in the centre of Lugano, was the meeting point for all automotive sports lovers in Ticino.
Since Mr. Spychiger was very active in promoting automotive sports, a considerable group of very good drivers from Ticino was formed around him. Drivers like Guglielmo Bellasi, Silvio Moser, Aldo Pessina (City), Gianclaudio (Clay) Regazzoni, Adrianno Ribolzi (Hobby) and others, who were not only very competitive at the local level but internationally as well.
In addition, the Galleria restaurant-bar was located in the same building as the Aldo Sonvico Garage showroom which together with the Amilcare Martinelli Garage from Chiasso, were the Swiss importers of Maserati cars, and provided the opportunities for progress to some of the above mentioned drivers.
Silvio Moser, sometimes accompanied by Clay Regazzoni, would drive Tommy Spychiger’s towing car to various races.

Furthermore, at the beginning of his career, Silvio Moser took part on many races driving the car Spychiger used to haul the race car.

The encouragement provided by Spychiger, Moser and others, als convinced Clay Regazzoni to start racing with his bodywork modified Austin Sprite.
It is crearly understood why Tommy Spychiger’s death was a hard blow to the dense group of drivers from Ticino.

[Doug Nye]

Beat - this is lovely material. Thank you for sharing it...

DCN

[ghinzani]

Seems Tommy was a friend of Beumi's Grandfather.

[Bob21]

Sry, just saw this thread. Here is Mr. Spychiger's 365 P at the start of the 1000k in 1965 from the 1966 Monza Yearbook. Bob



http://img683.images...74/92976707.jpg

Edited by Bob21, 01 May 2010 - 11:16.

[Lotus23]

I cannot claim to have known Tommy well, but I did have the pleasure of meeting him on a couple of occasions in the early 1960s.

He was a real gentleman.

[Fiorentina 1]

My father grew up in Lugano during that era (Moser, Regga, etc) and remembers Tommy fondly. He was a talented driver that had a bright future in the sport. The picture of the aftermath of the tragic accident was sadly printed on the front page of some Italian newspapers btw.