Jonathan Bloohn / Andy Nunn

Shelby Mustang GT350 

No 33

The car is the Hertz Rent-a-racer for the "noughtys"!
Its history is incredibly impressive and probably has the most provenance of any Shelby racing today.
1971 - 1973 triple consecutive IHRA World Record Holding Drag car.
Then converted to circuit racing in the US and won every major championship there whilst racing in the mid 70's.
It was then mothballed for 20 years by the original owner who then restored it in the mid 90's.
It was purchased by its current owner and driver at the Shelby Convention 2000 held at Lowes Motor Speedway, Carolina.
It is in Full FIA Spec (save for some stickier tyres). i.e. Just as it would have come out of the showroom (save for roll cage and fire extinguisher) or in this case as rented by Hertz in the 60's!
The car recently raced at Classic Le Mans 24 hours and after blowing up its gearbox and bellhousing in practice, went on to win its class in the first race.
A new gearbox and bellhousing was brought out from the UK to Le Mans overnight by one of the drivers mothers!
The car has raced in the Heritage challenge since it started and will be racing for the whole of the 2007 season and for the third consecutive year is sponsored by Hertz.
 
Jonathan Bloohn
A 40 year-old IT lawyer and company director, Jonathan has been involved in competitive motor racing for the past ten years.
With numerous podium finishes and other notable racing achievements to his name , Jonathan has competed in a number of classic and historic championships and also driven in the hotly contested modern TVR Tuscan Challenge.
Apart from short distance racing, Jonathan has participated in endurance events held in Europe. At Spa 6 hours, Jonathan in a modest MGB, out-qualified a well known professional Le Mans driver (it was wet!) in a 500Hp Cobra and went on to finish second in class.
Jonathan runs a IT support company (the PC-Mac Support Company - it does what is says on the tin!) which provides IT support to home users and small businesses and even this has motorsport connections with clients including Sir Stirling Moss!

Hertz Rent-a-Racer History.
Peyton Cramer, Shelby American General Manager, heard that GM
wasn't going to supply the Hertz car rental company with
Corvettes anymore.
As a promotional idea, Cramer thought he would see if Hertz
might be interested in buying 50 Shelby Mustangs.
Hertz loved the idea.
Cramer walked out of the first meeting with an  order for 1,000
Hertz Shelby Mustangs. The majority of the cars were painted
black with gold Le Mans stripes.
If you were over 25 and had a driver’s license, you could actually
rent a Hertz-Shelby Mustang, a GT350H.
The 65/66 GT-350H is also called the Hertz Rent-a-Racer. This was
because some were rumored to have been rented and raced during
the weekend, sometimes being returned to the smiling Hertz lady
on Monday morning accompanied by a strange assortment of
mechanical sounds.

The GT-350H was also used by the Hertz Sports Car Club with
members such as Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles.
39 years to the day of the original  Hertz / Shelby deal being signed, Hertz Europe revived the mythical GT350H to race once again in those legendary black and gold colours!