Le Mans, June 1959. Bill Kimberly and E.D. Martin taking E.D.’s Ferrari 250TR through the scrutineering process. (Henri Beroul)
Story by Willem Oosthoek
Expecting an early sprint contest between the Ferrari and Aston Martin works entries at the 1959 Le Mans 24 hours, E.D. and Bill decided to drive at a conservative pace early on and see what would happen. After seven hours they had reached 10th place, climbing to 9th overall in the next hour. Bill: “We were very careful not to overdo it and we stayed very close to our set lap times. Then transmission trouble struck, and we had to retire. We were running 8th overall when it happened.” They completed 108 laps in nine hours.