Photo : D.R. ACO

 

Taxi driver in daily life, Alain David is also a mechanic fan of motorsport. In 2000, he bought a Formula Ford in a pretty sad state.

"It belonged to a Parisian, he recalls. It was a wreck, it was in a pitiful state. He sold it to me assessing that it had belonged to Mark Webber, but I only half-believed it."

In his free time, he threw himself into a long restoration, working whenever he could…

"It was after several years that I finally started to work on the bodyworks, he continued. I started by removing the four or five coats of paint, and to my surprise ended up appearing the original yellow, navy blue and white of Duckhams (Webber's sponsor). I couldn't believe my eyes!"

Our man had paid close attention to what the seller told him when he purchased the single-seater, and then he undertook painstaking research. Right away he discovered it was the car with which the Australian had competed in his first European season in 1995 and claimed the third step of the podium of the Brands Hatch Ford Festival!

"After that discovery, I decided to re-do it identically, including the Duckhams stickers!", he proudly underscored. 

The story could have ended there but, this week, summoning his courage, Alain decided to steel his patience behind the scrutineering barriers, in order to capture the Porsche driver's attention. He succeeded all the easier as Mark immediately recognized his car in the photos and was visibly stunned by the restoration work carried out.

"When I showed him the photos, he concluded, he couldn't believe his eyes either. It was the last thing he expected, to find his single-seater in La Sarthe!"

Now, these same photos are in the possession of Ann, the ex-Red Bull driver's companion…Who knows if the Formula Ford and its first owner will not one day be reunited once again?

JMD / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO