1957 Grand Prix of Venezuela

[Joseph T.]

Dick Thompson, Jim Jeffords, Fred Windridge, John Kilborn and Tom Pistone drove Corvettes at the Grand Prix of Venezuela in Caracas November 3rd, 1957.

If anyone has any information on this race or these cars..please contact me. I beleive at least one of these cars to be a factory 1956 SR1...or former 1956 Sebring team car.

Thanks,

Joe Trybulec
Trybulec@aol.com
479-435-1855

[James G.]

Re: 1957 Grand Prix of Venezuela

Jim Jeffords told me the cars were shipped back to the states in containers and stacked on their sides or end to end, I can't remember. All I remember he said when they finally got the cars home, they were all a mess because of fluids that had leaked everywhere.

I am suppose to have lunch with him next week. I will ask for mor update.

[Joseph T.]

Re: 1957 Grand Prix of Venezuela

Jim

It looks like Jeffords was driving partners with Fred Windridge in Caracas..driving a 57 Corvette #26...as the semi narrow stripes look the same as the #99 car featured in the Rosenthal ad with the Bark Henry car.

This could be the car delivered through Rosenthal Chevrolet...to Fred Windridge.

I wonder who financed the cars being at the event! Maybe Jim will remember. I suspect his expenses would have been covered by someone. Jeffords would have then gone to Nassau one month later to drive the Bill Mitchell SR2.

Joe

[Loren L.]

Re: 1957 Grand Prix of Venezuela

Currently, the best information I have is that #22 was a '58 and driven by
Thompson/Doane (perhaps Doane's last run in a production racer - he was on to the "Chevette" CM after this); #26 was a production '57, perhaps
a Rosenthal original that had now been sold to Windridge - if so, this was probably the same car Fred ran at 1957 Sebring; #24 with Kilborn/Pistone is probably another Doane car, but not a '56 - November '57 is too deep into the model year to think about the '56 Cars being competitive.

[Joseph T.]

Re: 1957 Grand Prix of Venezuela

Loren..Thanks that helps. Regarding 56's..Richard Jalbert drove what is most likely a 56 Sebring car at the New smyrna event in Feb.57..He rolled it and was sent to the hospital ( he went on to buy a 57 airbox car that Bob Pinkney bought earlier this year). Not sure which 56 Sebring car this was. It does seem that November 57 would be very late for a 56 to compete at the Grand Prix level. Pinkney has a contact # for Jalbert and it would make for an interesting conversation.

After the 57 airbox car..Jalbert bought I believe a 60 big brake fuelie and then a 63 tamker..or so I am told...and may still own them or know where they are!

Joe