In 1962, Georges Filipinetti, a wealthy Swiss buisnessman and diplomat, founded his namesake racing team, essentially a Swiss national team, whose primary purpose was the development and promotion of promising Swiss drivers. Filipinetti provided his drivers with the best cars available of the day, Porsche RSK and 904, Ferrari 250 GTO and 250 LM, Lotus and Cooper and Alfa Romeo, all impeccably prepared and maintained.
For the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans, the team planned to enter a Ferrari 250 LM and a new 365P, but Tommy Spychinger’s fatal crash at Monza destroyed the big Ferrari. Enzo Ferrari was unable, or unwilling, to provide a replacement in time for Le Mans, so Carroll Shelby offered Filipinetti a GT40 to use instead. Filipinetti eventually became the Swiss distributor for Ford Performance in Switzerland and campaigned Cobras, Mustangs, and GT40s for the next several years, adding another point of pressure in the Ford-Ferrari wars.
One of the last true privateers, Georges Filipinetti died in 1972, and shortly thereafter, under crushing financial debt and tragic personal circumstances, the Scuderia Filipinetti ceased to exist.
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