Celebrating the 40th anniversary of their podium lockout of the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally, Renault Classic is in the midst of the 2013 Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, competing in great style.
They’re running five Alpine A110 Berlinettes, piloted by the likes of 1973 Monte Carlo Rally winner Jean-Claude Andruet, along with Jean Ragnotti, Jean Vinatier and Alain Serpaggi.
This video from Renault talks about the significance of the event and the stunning Alpine A110 Berlinettes, and chats with the people who made history four decades ago, and those working to revive it today.
Fresh from winning the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship in 1992, Nigel Mansell left Formula One and went to race in CART for the 1993 season.
And he got off to a good start, claiming pole position and winning his first race – the season opener at Surfers Paradise in Australia. Things got better from there, and despite a few bumps and bruises along the way he claimed he 1993 Indy Car World Series Championship, and became the only person to hold both the Formula One and CART championships at the same time.
In this video he takes us for a walk around his Newman/Haas Racing Lola T93/00 and compares it to Formula One machines of the time.
What to do if you’re Ford Brazil and need something creative and captivating to introduce your new Fusion to the world?
Make a series of short films telling a tale of one of Formula One’s great rivalries; Piquet VS Mansell, starring the men themselves, and chuck ‘em up on YouTube for us all to enjoy, of course!
The four episodes are online now. They’re great fun, and well worth a watch – especially for fans of classic Formula One!
Norm Beechey’s ’64 Mustang in typical pose at Warwick Farm.
In this first edition of our series of stories from the Shannons Club we head back to 1965 when Beechey, Geoghegan & Jane were kicking off a golden era of muscle cars in Australian touring car racing.
Ford Australia boss Bill Bourke’s decision to import small numbers of the new Ford Mustang from the USA to Australia in 1965 – and convert them to RHD for a few well-heeled Aussies to drive on local roads – was a typically shrewd marketing decision (see Joe Kenwright’s story on these rare imported Fords).
Bourke wanted Australia to get a taste of the euphoric ‘Mustang-mania’ that was sweeping across the USA at the time, as Americans in their hundreds of thousands scrambled to buy one of Ford’s sensational new pony cars.
With the impending local launch of the new make-or-break XR Falcon series in 1966, Bourke wanted to maximise the positive image rub-off the new Mustang could bring to his new Aussie Falcon using the clever ‘Mustang-bred’ marketing theme he adopted.
What Bourke probably hadn’t counted on, though, was the massive free kick his marketing campaign received from three of Australia’s biggest names in motor sport at the time – Norm Beechey, Pete Geoghegan and Bob Jane – when all three chose to race Mustangs in 1965.
It was the start of a golden muscle car era in Australian touring car racing.
“It’s a tale of fast cars, epic battles, and survival against all odds.”
Sit down with Sir Patrick and Sir Stirling for a captivating hour-long tale of adventure, motorsport and wonder, as Sir Patrick Stewart gets together with Sir Stirling Moss to tell the story of his racing career, and much more.
Thanks go to the BBC for putting together this wonderful film.
RM Auctions are set to put another rare and stunning piece of Porsche motorsport history up on the auction block this coming March 9, when this glorious ’70 Porsche 908/3 chassis 004 goes to auction at their Amelia Island sale.
Details about the car are scarce for the time being, but it is said to be the factory test chassis Porsche used to prepare for the ’70 and ’71 Makes Championship and ultimately secure wins in events like the Targa Florio.
It’s also exceptionally rare, as chassis 004 from a very short production run, which gives you an idea of the asking price – an estimated $1,400,000 to $1,700,000.
Back in September of 2012, Ferrari and Shell celebrated a very special milestone. The 2012 Singapore Grand Prix was their 500th Grand Prix together, and although they couldn’t secure a win, the ever-impressive Fernando Alonso took to the podium in third place.
This video celebrates the two businesses’ decades of collaboration, innovation and glory, features key Ferrari folk including John Surtees and Jose Froilan Gonzalez and is full of great footage from the legends that have driven for the team throughout its history.
Nearly 80 drivers have raced for Ferrari in Formula 1 since 1950, here are five you may have already forgotten, or never knew about in the first place. They weren’t all Italian – but it was their dream.
By Andy Hallbery
There is nothing like the passion that surrounds the name ‘Ferrari’, an Italian company that is so much more than a constructor and a Formula 1 champion. It is an aspiration – something founder Italian Enzo Ferrari set out to achieve from day one.
Enzo Ferrari: “The Ferrari is a dream,” he said, long before his death in 1988. “People dream of owning this special vehicle and for most people it will remain a dream apart from those lucky few, No one remembers who took second place.
“Everyone dreams of driving a Ferrari. It was my intent form the start.”
Enzo Ferrari – Photo: The Cahier Archive. Buy pics here
“I don’t sell cars; I sell engines,” Ferrari added, with a smile that didn’t really hide the truth. “The cars I throw in for free since something has to hold the engines in.”
The tifosi, Ferrari’s lusting fans, are just as passionate about the scarlet machines as the drivers. Some of the racers give up promising careers in other teams just for the opportunity to say: “Honestly, I drove for Ferrari…” Here are five such names.
Nicola Larini – Photo: The Cahier Archive. Buy pics here
The Italian managed just four races for the Scuderia, two in 1992 and two in 1994. In ’92, he subbed for the fired Ivan Capelli for the final two rounds with a best finish of11th, and two more races in 1994 taking the place of the injured Jean Alesi crashing out with Ayrton Senna at the first corner in the Pacific GP, and then second place at Imola in 1994. Few remember that as it was the race where Senna lost his life. That was it, Larini’s Ferrari career was over and he moved to Sauber.
Richie Ginther – Photo: The Cahier Archive. Buy pics here
Another American who’s Ferrari career was just two races. Ten for the Scuderia, with a best of two second places in 1960 and ’61 (in the ‘Sharknose’ 156), and four podiums. His career was largely with BRM, but Ginther is best remembered for scoring Honda’s first win, which was his only Grand Prix victory.
Bob Bondurant
The American is hugely known for his racing schools, plus Can-Am and NASCAR careers, and drives in Carroll Sebery’s AC Cobra. Bondurant was inducted into the Motorport Hall of Fame in 2003 for his services to racing. His Ferrari F1 World Championship was just one race – his debut in 1993 in the North American Racing Team’s Ferrari in 1965 at Watkins Glen. He finished ninth, four laps behind.
Ernetso ‘Tino’ Brambilla – Photo: The Cahier Archive. Buy pics here
Yes, a Brambillia, and not Vittorio, his elder Brother ‘Tino’ who was mainly a motorcycle road racer, and a moderately successful Ferrari F2 driver. For 1969. ‘Tino’ was called up to race for Ferrari in the Italian Grand Peiz at Monza. Surely every Italian racer’s dream? He failed to qualify, his car and position given to Pedro Rodriguez, who finished sixth.
Morbidelli’s Ferrari career lasted just 14 laps, yet netted half a point. He replaced the sacked Alain Prost who had said the ‘Ferrari handled like a truck’. The rain-shortened race was Gianni’s only one in scarlet – then it was back to Minardi the following season. “Every driver who follows the team wants to work with Ferrari,” he explains.
“It is a legend,” he laughs. “My parents and I were in holiday in Port Douglas. I thought the call was a joke. Then I quickly realised the dream’s come true!”
That race was it for Gianni. “As in life, it’s always hard to stay on top,” he reflects. “One day you are a star, and the day after, nobody calls you!”
Bonhams’ Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais auction was held in Paris at The Grand Palais last week, and put a stunning collection of classic bikes up for auction. Here are some of our favourites.
1970 Guazzoni 50cc Production Racing Motorcycle
A late example of the Guazzoni marque, this wonderful unrestored light weight racer in is pushed around by Guazzoni’s trademark rotary-valve two-stroke engine with reversed cylinders and has racing history in Italy.
Ex-Fred Merkel, World Superbike Championship 1989/90 Honda VFR750R RC30 Production Racing Motorcycle
Raced by two-time World Superbike Champion Fred Merkel during his brief but immensely successful World Superbike racing career, this bike comes with huge providence.
Ex-Eugenio Lazzarini 1983 Garelli 50cc Grand Prix Racing Motorcycle
Two-time 50cc and once 125cc World Champion Eugenio Lazzarini’s ride for 1983, this bike scored three wins and came close to the championship, finishing runner up to Stefan Dörflinger.
Ex-Bert Fruin, Isle of Man TT 1962 Fruin Dartela 50cc Six-Speed Racing Motorcycle
This unique little machine was built in Middlesex by independent engineer H L ‘Bert’ Fruin. To get around the limitations of a three-speed box at the Isle of Mann, Fruin designed a longer frame and fitted a specially-modified Albion two-speed ‘overdrive’ gearbox to this bike. He took it to the inaugural 50cc ‘Ultra Lightweight’ TT in 1962, but dropped out on the first lap with engine troubles.
Ex-Jean-Francois Baldé 1989 Yamaha TZ250W Grand Prix Racing Motorcycle
This bike was Jean-François Baldé’s ride in the final season of a Grand Prix racing career that had stretched for 16 years and over 200 starts. It still proudly displays the multilingual farewell messages he carried with him that year; great history and a lovely bike.
The streets of Monaco are well-respected for their brutally unforgiving nature.
All it takes is a microsecond break in concentration; braking that foot too late, turning in a heartbeat too deep, hitting the gas that hair too hard or too early, and you’re gobbled up by the walls and out of contention.
Martin Brundle found out the hard way during the 1984 Grand Prix, suffering a stonking great smack into the wall during qualifying. Check it out in the video above, and hear what he has to say about it in the follow up interview with Murray Walker.
Three-car 220SE works team at the 1963 Acropolis Rally, which it dominated in the early 1960s. Image: Mercedes-Benz Classic
In this edition of our series of stories from the Shannons Club, we take a look at a classic rally machine from Mercedes, and its adventures in the ’60s.
The Mercedes Benz 220SE Fintail may not seem like an obvious candidate for a story on the three-pointed star’s greatest competition cars, given the marque’s glorious pre and post-war ‘Silver Arrow’ grand prix and sports cars.
However, this humble 2.2 litre six cylinder sedan proved to be a formidable works rally car and circuit racer in the early 1960s – both in Europe and Australia.
The reason it was thrust into the motor racing spotlight can be traced back to 1955. The dominant Mercedes Benz works team withdrew from Formula One and the World Sports Car Championship at the end of that tragic season, in which one of its cars was involved in a fiery crash at the Le Mans 24 Hour race that killed 83 spectators.
Obviously rattled, Daimler-Benz’s board of directors imposed a blanket ban on all employees getting involved in any form of motor sport. However, given its rich competition heritage, petrol continued to flow through the corporate veins.
It wasn’t long before the ban was lifted, but rather than return to the race track the famous Stuttgart firm changed course for 1956 and decided to concentrate on rallying as its new competitive outlet.
The emphasis would be on using standard production cars, to show the world how Mercedes Benz design and engineering could conquer some of the worst roads and conditions imaginable.
“Jackie stewart was an icon to a generation, who changed motorsport forever. And now I’m going to experience the Jackie Stewart story, from the driver’s seat.”
Chef and petrol head James Martin meets up with Jackie Stewart to retrace the path of Jackie’s career and, eventually, hop in his Tyrrell Formula One for a spin.
Racing is all about speed, action, excitement and, sometimes, incident. Sadly all of those go hand-in-hand with fire, but no day passes by without positive steps to improve motorsport safety
By Andy Hallbery
Ever since racing began, a driver’s biggest fears involved the dreaded fire. The mix of fuel, hot car parts and high speed was a recipe for disaster. In the 1950s to ‘70s it was a major threat where even moderate accidents were accompanied by deadly flames.
Thankfully, today, massive strides have been made in the fire safety area of the sport. But as fire risk is minimised, there are fewer – yet more elaborate – ways for it to take hold.
1) The impact
This is the most obvious and common cause of fire in an accident. Fuel cell safety has evolved to rival the standards of the aerospace industry, but while they’re almost impossible to puncture, you better take a large step back if they do – and drivers, get out quick.
In 1989, Gerhard Berger had a rear suspension failure on his Ferrari at Imola when he was pulling close to 190mph. The terrifying single-car crash and resulting fire was brilliantly and speedily handled by the track’s marshals. Berger reappeared two weeks later at Monaco with his second-degree burnt hands heavily strapped. As the video shows, the Austrian was lucky.
Berger at Monaco two weeks later. Photo: LAT Photographic – www.latphoto.co.uk
2) The trapped driver
Fire is one thing; a trapped driver in a burning car another.
In 1973 Mike Hailwood and Clay Regazzoni collided in a fireball. Hailwood leapt from his car, suit already ablaze, had fire put out by the marshals, and waded back in to the flames to rescue Regga from his car. For that Hailwood was awarded the George Medal for Bravery.
3) Driver safety
As the war on fire gained momentum, so the art and science of race wear gained importance. Nico Rosberg and James Vowels of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 talk us through the advances from cotton sleeveless shirts of the 1950s to the multi-layer Nomex overalls designed to protect a driver in an incident today.
4) Incidents out of a driver’s control
The 1994 season was at best ‘harrowing’, and one of its most fearsome chapters was added by Benetton and Jos Verstappen at Hockenheim. The Dutchman’s refueling rig failed to connect properly, allowing fuel to flow into the cockpit. It may have been over quickly, but the four-second fireball that followed was intense.
On video, it looks frightening. However, when you see Steven Tee’s still photo images from LAT, you realise just what happened in such a short time frame, and left five mechanics and Verstappen nursing burns. The proximity of the oxygen tank was not unnoticed either..
The first image remains one of LAT’s biggest selling photographs. Jos suffered light burns to his back and face – having lifted the visor during the pitstop. I interviewed him a week or so afterwards, and the burns by then had all but gone.
“I don’t think refueling will be a problem for me at the next race,” Verstappen said nonchalantly, “not at all. I’ll still open the visor – it gets very hot and I need the fresh air. I will watch more carefully what the mechanics are doing though!”
5) Added dangers…
In the 1970s, if pitstops weren’t hazardous enough, Indycars in America ran on methanol/alcohol as fuel – which produces an invisible flame when it ignites.
Naturally this causes all sorts of problems, notably ‘the invisible flame’ which can leave drivers and crew dancing around like monkeys in circus. Funny, it was not. It happened in the 1981 Indy 500; the absence of flame and smoke making fighting the fire almost impossible. Mears had taken his helmet off, was treated for burns and had to undergo plastic surgery to his face.
6) The bizarre
We’ve seen gasoline and methanol fires. But what about… Jet fuel? Step forward Former Formula 1 driver and now NASCAR star Juan Pablo Montoya, who in the Daytona 500 slammed into the track jet drier, which uses a helicopter engine to speed up drying the track. Race driver and jet truck driver were both unhurt – and left the spectators scratching their heads!
7) Poor marshaling
Despite every effort to limit the danger of fire there is absolutely no excuse for poor rescue from the safety teams. Unlike Berger, whose injuries were lessened by quick and efficient marshal response, Indycar racer Simona de Silvestro can count herself lucky to escape with only burns to her hands.
As the “Krazy Gang” responded to what started as a minor oil fire, they were bungling around with hoses, no extinguishers and a general lack of coordination, and fire took a major hold. Simona was still trapped in the largely undamaged car, the HANS device hampering her own speedy exit from the flames. The safety crew was far from safe that day.
8) Startline crash
Sometimes incidents are unavoidable, and here’s why. A grid full of hot racing cars, brim-full with fuel, standing starts; one stalls, another hits it at speed right where the fuel tank is housed, and… kaboom. Karl Reindler demonstrates in this Australian V8 Supercar race start.
9) The advances
No stone is left unturned in the quest to make motorsport safer, from the shaky mid-decade to now, thanks in no small part to Jackie Stewart’s crusade, and the general reaction to Niki Lauda’s fire.
Extinguishers today; Jim Clark’s ‘safety’ overalls from the 1960s
10) The casualties
It’s not just fire that is to be aware of, there is asphyxiation and smoke inhalation too. For the badly burned, there is danger in surrounding organs beginning to fail.
Racing will always be dangerous, but advances in race wear, safety equipment, safety crews, fuel cell design and construction all help to reduce the dangers of the dreaded “F-word”.
Among the lucky ones still with us: Niki Lauda, Marc Surer, Kris Nissen
Among those who didn’t survive: Jo Siffert, Lorenzo Bandini, Roger Williamson, Elio de Angelis, Peter Revson. The percentages are still wrong.
Los Angeles has long been home to a healthy and expansive car culture. And it all got started in earnest in the early 20th century, when we were all working out what cars were and what we could do in them. Where They Raced kicks off at that time of innovation and speed, and heads back to the places where the pioneers of Los Angeles auto racing raced to tell their story and preserve their history. Check out the first two episodes and make sure to check back every Tuesday for new episodes. If you enjoy the films you can contribute to the project by leaving tips with the links under their videos on their Vimeo channel. Via Where They Raced
A seat in a Formula One car, while incredibly desirable (and lucrative), is a cosy, but not particularly luxurious or comfortable place. Murray Walker’s seat in this double-seater McLaren Formula One car looks like it takes that to the nth degree.
Somehow they managed to cram the pair of Formula One personalities into a late ’90s McLaren F1 car for this video, and then head out for a few laps of Silverstone.
The pair chat about preparing for the drive, give a blow-by-blow commentary of the drive and enthuse about a brilliant day on the track. Fun stuff.
