Against all odds: Roy Salvadori's epic victory in an Aston Martin
An unreliable car, poor practice and tough opposition did not bode well for Roy Salvadori’s chances in a three-hour sports car race in Italy. But the Englishman still went out and beat the lot
Roy Salvadori wins the Coppa Inter Europa in a DP214 Aston just yards ahead of Parkes’ GTO
Aston Martin played a very important part in my career. I drove for Astons for about eight or nine years consistently, and then they pulled out of Formula 1 and played around with the GT car. I drove with Jimmy Clark and Innes Ireland for John Ogier, which was really a works team, and I also drove with Jimmy in the Border Reivers car, which was always sponsored by the factory.
Then I had a lapse of about a couple of years when they weren’t racing or they were only racing at Le Mans. It wasn’t until 1963 that John Wyer said, “Look, we’re getting the GT in sensible form, will you drive at Monza? It’s our last race.”
It was the Coppa Inter Europa, a three-hour race supporting the Italian Grand Prix, and I agreed to do it. So I came back to the team for a one-off after a couple of years away. Prior to that Bruce McLaren, Phil Hill and Graham Hill had driven the car, but it was breaking an awful lot.