THE SONOMA COUNTY FALCONS FOR FUN CHAPTER
My previous 3 articles discussed
Ford’s extensive but hectic preparations for the 1963 Monte Carlo Rallye. Now the
stage is set for Ford to make its first formidable entries (three Falcon Sprints) into the
famous Rally.
First of all, and not to be anti-climatic about it, but a Ford Falcon did not win the 1963 Monte Carlo Rallye. Regardless of what you may have thought, and it would be easy to think that a Falcon won based on the Ford advertisements of the day, the Rally Falcons did not place high in the final standings. However, there were some results from the Rally that placed the Falcon on a pedestal and led to news releases, such as one from a London Newspaper that proclaimed, "The Falcons are part of a power and performance plan that will shake up motoring in every country of the world."
As you may recall from an earlier article, rally
participants were allowed to select from eight starting points that included the following
cities: Glasgow, Stockholm, Paris, Warsaw, Athens, Monte Carlo, Frankfurt, and Lisbon. All
of the rally participants would converge at the city of Chambery in France. Then, all the
participants (at least those remaining) would make a final "special" run from
Chambery to Monte Carlo.
Perhaps the fate of the Falcons were determined when Ford executives selected Monte Carlo
as their starting point. Monte Carlo was selected over the objection of Ford’s top
Swedish team who wanted to begin in Stockholm.
This is a 1963 stamp from Monaco that commemorates the 1963 Monte Carlo Rallye. The stamp shows the rally route from Warsaw to Monte Carlo.
Three Rally Falcons were entered into the race. Drivers and Navigators were as follows: (1) Bosse Ljungfeldt (Driver), Gunnar Haggbom (Navigator); (2) Peter Jobb (Driver), Trant Jarman (Navigator); (3) Anne Hall (Driver), Margaret McKensie (Navigator).
The rally started on a beautiful sunny day, but the conditions quickly changed to blizzard conditions. Remember, the rally occurred in January and European winter conditions can be and were brutal.
Right after the Falcons began the rally from Monte Carlo, Bosse (Bo) found some trouble on an icy corner south of France. He skidded off the road, but was able to get back on the road with a little help from a Falcon support vehicle. Not too long thereafter, the first major disaster for the Falcon teams happened when all of the cars that started from Monte Carlo got stuck in an icy traffic snarl near the town of Lodeve. The Falcons were stuck behind other rally entries and were unable to proceed.
Anne Hall did not wait for the jam to get cleared. She decided to join other cars on another route that proved to be barely passable. By the time she made it to the next checkpoint, she was hopelessly late. Over an hour late, she was eliminated from the rally.
The tie-up was a costly problem for the Falcon team. One team was completely eliminated from the rally, and the team of Peter Jobb and Trant Jarman was heavily penalized due to their tardiness at the next check point.
Bo Ljungfeldt reportedly assisted other drivers stuck in the jam and was able to free himself and move on. He was able to make up lost time and only arrived one minute late at the next checkpoint. However, Bo and his navigator Gunnar would run into considerable trouble on the next leg of the rally.
The next day, Bo’s Falcon blew a tire while he was cruising at about 100 mph. Bo was able to bring his bird to a safe stop and he quickly changed the tire. However, shortly thereafter, Bo’s clutch completely failed because a mechanic forgot to install a cotter pin in the clutch assembly. Bo kept moving at a rapid pace for 50 miles despite the fact that he had no clutch. Finally, he reached a Ford service center. Bo stopped to get the clutch repaired, but the down time to repair the clutch ultimately cost Bo and Gunnar the overall victory for the rally.
Bo’s problems did not end with the clutch. Later that night, his radiator fan sliced one of his radiator hoses. He quickly replaced the hose with a spare that he had in the well-equipped parts and tool shed he had in the back seat of the Falcon. He had to wake up a farmer at 3:00 AM in order to obtain water from his well to refill the radiator.
Some would claim that the "real" rally began on the final leg from Chambery to Monaco. This is where six "special" rally stages began with 6 all out speed runs. This is where Bo and his Falcon clobbered the competition.
Bo Ljungfeldt and his Rally Falcon won all six of the final stages. This was the first time that one team won all of the special stages. Bo won the special stages despite the overzealous handicap placed on the Falcons due to their V-8 engines. During the final leg, Bo finished four minutes and 24 seconds in front of the overall winner of the rally--Erik Carlsson in a Saab.
Despite this great showing by Ljungfeldt, it did not make up for the time he previous lost due to the failed clutch. Overall, the Falcons did not fare too well in the final standings. One Falcon was completely scratched from the rally. Bo Ljungfeldt and his Navigator (Gunnar) finished 43rd overall. The other remaining Falcon team of Peter Jopp and Trant Jarman placed 35th overall, and first in their class. So with the first in their class, and Bo’s heroic finish in the special stages, Ford had something to brag about in their advertising for the new Falcon Sprint.
This beautiful 1963 Sprint Hardtop is owned by SCFF Secretary--Carol Whitcombe. The new Sprint and its performance at Monte Carlo was advertised in many magazines in 1963.
Below are some interesting results for the 1963 Monte Carlo Rallye: