Wire wheels in motorsport

[RosscoPCole]

I was wondering what was the last car to win on wire wheels in Formula 1 and at Le Mans.
Any ideas?

[davepoth]

It looks to be Ferrari for F1 - Here's Phil Hill in a Ferrari in 1962.



The 156 won the championship in 1963 before being replaced with the 158 which was running solid wheels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_156

At Le Mans, it seems to be Ferrari again. This is either Jochen Rindt or Masten Gregory in 1965.



The Ferrari 250LM won the race that year, the last one before the GT40 period.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1965_24_Hours_of_Le_M...

[Eric Mc]

The advent of the 1.5 litre Formula 1 more or less removed the need for fuel and tyre stops and these didn't return until the turbo era of the 80s. Wire wheels with a single knock off hub had been the norm in motor sport since the 1920s by alloy wheels had been gradually taking over as the 50s progressed. With no need to change wheels during the race, the multiple nut, lightweight alloy wheel became the best option.

[RosscoPCole]

Thanks for the information. Did that mean that wheel changes took longer at Le Mans after wire wheels?

[CanAm]

Although Surtees in a Ferrari 156B won the German GP in 1963, this was on alloy wheels. Jim Clark and Lotus won the 1963 championships by a country mile. The last F1 win on wire wheels was Phil Hill in the Italian Gp in 1961. After the death of Von Trips at Monza, Ferrari did not contest the final race, which was won by Innes Ireland, the first championship race win for a Team Lotus F1 car.

Although cast alloy wheels were almost universal by 1966, knock-offs rather than bolt fixings were common in endurance racing, eg the Ford GTs at Le Mans.