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| Derek Bell, Alfa Romeo 33 TT12, Paul Ricard 2017, Dix Mille Tours. |
For more photos of the classic endurance cars from this era, click on this link.
Alfa Romeo / Autodelta, Milan, Italy. This car was the fifth evolution of the Alfa Romeo 33 that Autodelta produced for the the World Championship for Sports Cars. It first appeared in 1973. The TT stood for Telaio Tubolare or Tubular Chassis that was made of a lightweight alloy. The 12 stood for the new 12 cylinder 3 litre flat 12 engine that produced 500bhp. The body was fibreglass. In 1973 the car was unreliable and the best result was a second position for Rolf Stommelen in the 500km of Imola. In 1974 the team took a 1-2 victory at the Monza 1000kms with Merzario and Andretti in the lead car and achieved second place in the championship. In 1975 the car was dominant and Alfa Romeo won the World Championship for Makes with the Willy Kauhsen Racing Team. The drivers that helped them win included Merzario, Laffite, Pescarolo, Bell, Mass, Vaccarella and Brambilla. They did not take part in the Le Mans 24 hours as it was not part of the championship as it had special fuel consumption rules. However, its dominant seven consecutive endurance victories in 1975 makes it perhaps the most successful Alfa Romeo sports cars ever. Victories for Derek Bell, seen above in the car, included the 1000kms of Spa, 1000kms of Zeltweg, Watkins Glen 6 hours and an interseries race at Kassel-Calden, all in 1975.
