Strap an 8-cylinder, 8-litre, 800 horsepower symphony to the back of your head, and go for a lap of Australia’s great Phillip Island Circuit with Duncan MacKellar in the McLaren M8E.
Video: The Symphony of 8s is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Ex F1 racer and 13 time Grand Prix winner, Scotsman David Coulthard, tries fellow countryman Jim Clark’s stunning Lotus 25 at Silverstone. LOVES it.
Pure Joy: Coulthard buzzes after drive in Clark’s Lotus 25 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
A wonderful up close and personal film showcasing the joyous hardware found at the 2012 Le Mans Classic.
Video: The spirit of the Le Mans Classic 2012 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
“This is the scariest thing we’ve ever done here at the Jay Leno’s Garage.. taking the engine out of a McLaren F1.”
If I had to choose between one of the supercar greats, like the Porsche 959, Ferrari F40 or McLaren F1, I’d find it really hard to get past the McLaren F1. It has it all – power, looks, racing pedigree and the all important wild side that makes these cars special.
Jay Leno doesn’t have to choose. But he does have to look after his various pride and joys, and in this video he and his team take the engine out of his McLaren F1 for the first time in 20 years to give it a little bit of a once-over.
It’s an awesome unit; impressive, beautifully-engineered and looking immaculate after all this time. Check out the video below to find out more about it.
Taking the Engine Out of a McLaren F1 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Hello [click to enlarge]
Photo of the day: 1954 Jaguar XKD is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Images: Warren Edwards
Held from the 16th to the 19th of May, 2013, the 2013 Mille Miglia saw a carefully selected field of 415 competitors, taken from the models which contested the Mille Miglia in the three decades from 1927, contest the 1,000-mile dash from Brescia to Rome and back.
The event was eventually won by Juan Tonconogy and co-driver Guillermo Berisso in their 1927 Bugatti T40, ahead of Giordano Mozzi and Mark Gessler, in a 1933 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Gran Sport, and Giovanni Moceri and Tiberio Cavalleri, who ran a 1933 Aston Martin Le Mans.
These stunning vintage cars, set against the monumental scenery of the Italian cities and countryside, make for an atmospheric adventure, and you can check it all out in this excellent photo gallery by Warren Edwards.
Photography by Warren Edwards – check out more of his work on his website Freelance Images here.
Photo Gallery: Mille Miglia 2013 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
8m13.876s: That’s the length of time it took Sebastien Loeb to cover 12.42 miles (and 156 corners) of smooth Colorado asphalt to shatter the Pikes Peak hillclimb record last Sunday. He took just over a minute off Rhys Millen’s 2012 time and it was light years away from the last time that Peugeot held the record at 10m47.220s as seen by millions in the classic motorsport film Climb Dance showing Ari’s 1988 victory.
By Keith Oswin
I first visited ‘America’s Mountain’ the previous year when Peugeot was running a 205 T16 against Audi’s massive-winged Quattro, driven by Walter Rohrl. Loeb’s spaceframe racer, with the perfect 1:1 power to weight ratio of 850bhp/850kgs is a far cry from the Camel-liveried 205 that Ari had. Over the three days of practice the car’s appearance changed daily; an extra rear wing appeared on day two then end plates were added for day three and the subsequent race. The Peugeot had 550bhp compared to Audi’s 620bhp and it was struggling.
Ari was immense as usual but on the first day of practice I spotted that his car had a co-driver’s seat. I hadn’t seen any evidence of him using a co-driver for the event so asked what it was doing there. “Get some overalls on and I’ll show you…” And so I squeezed into engineer Jean-Claude Vaucard’s overalls, strapped myself in and saw the hill from the best seat in the house…
Sadly I couldn’t bag the seat for the race but Ari did take me to the summit in his road car, sharing the driver’s view of the twists and turns of the famous course. “This corner is Blue Sky,” he said. “That’s all you can see as you approach so you need to remember which way the corner goes. If you go off the edge it could spoil your day!”
As we freewheeled down from the summit (Ari had forgotten to check there was enough fuel on board to cover 25 miles and the run back to the hotel…) we passed a hill-ranger, the Pikes Peak traffic cops who check for speeding and also stop cars to make sure their brakes aren’t overheating. He snapped a sharp salute at Ari and I asked the reason for this act of deference. Apparently he’d stopped the Finn for being a bit too enthusiastic one day. Ari had to accept the cop’s decision but told him to visit the Peugeot team when they were testing the next day. Ari strapped the guy into the passenger seat of the race car and every time he saw him after that he saluted – probably in fear he’d be made to take another ride!
That 1987 event was one of the highlights of my days at Autosport, the time spent with Ari cementing a friendship that has endured ever since. For Ari it was also of great personal significance as it completed his recovery from the dark days following his near-fatal Argentina accident. Only Ari and I were present at the exact time the fog lifted for him and I must remain true to my promise not to reveal the details of how it occurred but, for Ari it was definitely a ‘Road to Damascus’ moment that launched the next phase of his illustrious career.
One year on and Peugeot avenged its 1987 defeat by Rohrl. The 205 was now the 405 with 4WD and four-wheel steer. Climb Dance tells the story brilliantly and hopefully Peugeot will release Climb Dance 2 to tell how they conquered the mountain once more, 25 years on. But for Ari and I the true story of Pikes Peak lies behind the records (which can be beaten and forgotten) and firmly in the realm of human emotion which lasts forever.
By Keith Oswin
Memories of riding shot gun with Ari Vatanen up Pikes Peak is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Event commentator and motorsportretro.com contributor Henry Hope-Frost picks 20 machines that stood out at the recent 20th anniversary event
Brabham BT52
Stunningly brought back to original beauty by BMW Group Classic, the BMW turbo-powered Brabham in which Nelson Piquet took the second of his three titles 30 years ago was, for me, the star of the show. The great Brazilian, complete with period-livery crash helmet, was on top form and helped me feel like a first-year teen again.
Jaguar XJ13
The fabulously futuristic Big Cat, the company’s first mid-engined car with a fuel-injected, five-litre, four-cam V12 wailing behind the seats, was showcased by the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust and driven with gusto by legendary period tester Norman Dewis, now well into his 80s. A beauty/noise combo that’s hard to beat.
Ford Capri RS Cologne
Ford’s wheel-waving V6 Capri was built to take on the renewed challenge of BMW’s bewinged CSL Batmobiles in the European Touring Car championship 40 years ago. Shaun Lynn’s immaculate machine was exercised hard on the hillclimb course by five-time Le Mans winner and historic racing devotee Emanuele Pirro.
Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak
Everybody was talking about the sensational Peugeot after its recent record-smashing Pikes Peak victory with Sebastien Loeb – and to have it at Goodwood was a huge thrill. French GT racer Gregory Guilvert hurled it up the drive of Goodwood House, narrowly failing to usurp Justin Law’s time-topping Jaguar Group C car.
Chaparral 2E
A welcome Festival returnee, the bewinged Chaparral 2E Can-Am racer, brainchild of Texan innovator Jim Hall, was driven by Jim Hall Jr and event host Lord March himself. The extraordinary machine features semi-automatic transmission, leaving the driver’s left foot free to operate a pedal to adjust wing angle!
Audi Quattro 200 Trans-Am
Five-cylinder rumble and wooshing turbo wastegate characterise Audi’s Trans-Am 200 Quattro from 1988. Raced by Hans-Joachim Stuck, Hurley Haywood and Walter Röhrl in period, the car was entered by Audi Tradition and the great Stucky himself was back at Goodwood to thrill fans once more.
Lotus 56 Turbine
Looking as though it had been designed by Thunderbirds’ Gerry Anderson, the wedge-like Lotus 56 is powered by a Pratt & Whitney gas turbine engine, so has a soundtrack to match its bonkers looks. The car finished a close second in the Indy 500 in 1968 with Joe Leonard and was sampled by ’96 World Champion Damon Hill.
Mercedes W196
This achingly beautiful and purposeful 1950s Grand Prix car, which carried Stirling Moss to victory in that famous British GP of 1955, was a hot topic this year. Sir Jackie Stewart drove his hero Juan Fangio’s car, while a sister machine from ’54, also ex-Fangio, fetched almost £20million at auction on the Festival’s first afternoon.
McLaren M8D
Star of McLaren’s 5o-year celebrations all weekend – in fact, star of wherever it appears – was the massive M8D Can-Am dominator of 1970. The 7.6-litre V8 sledge was taken up the hill by McLaren F1 star Jenson Button and the 2009 World Champion was wide-eyed at the end of his run. “It’s such a handful – quite scary!” he declared.
Yamaha YZR500
Built to take on the challenge of the faster Suzukis for 1980, the OW48R Yamaha, with its reversed outer cylinders, took King Kenny Roberts to a third straight title that season. The gritty Californian was again on show at the Festival, giving the iconic black-and-yellow 500cc winner a good workout.
LCR Yamaha TZ500
Remember the famous sidecar-in-the-ditch clip from the 1985 Dutch GP meeting at Assen?
This very outfit, with its original ace – future 10-time World Champion Steve Webster at the controls – reminded everyone what an exciting discipline of bike sport sidecar racing is.
Ducati GP11
Randy Mamola, the greatest rider never to lift the World Title despite 13 wins for Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha during the halcyon 1980s, and a man who remains one of the sport’s greatest showmen, wheelied Valentino Rossi’s raucous, 2011-spec MotoGP bike all the way to the top of the hill – and back down again – several times.
Honda NSR500 (Spencer)
‘Fast Freddie’ Spencer, the only man to win 250cc and 500cc World Titles in the same year (1985), returned to the Festival astride the 500cc, two-stroke Honda on which he won seven races en route to his second big-class title. The American’s appearance in period leathers on the Rothmans Honda was a ‘wow’ moment.
Porsche 935-78 Moby Dick
The dramatic whale-tail (hence the nickname) Porsche made its debut at the 1978 Silverstone 6 Hours and, driven by Jacky Ickx and Jochen Mass, won by seven laps – seven laps! The Martini-liveried beast formed part of a giant Martini 150th anniversary celebration and was aired by, among others, Force India F1 driver Adrian Sutil.
Lancia LC1 Barchetta
The futuristic LC1 – where are the wheels?! – was conceived by Lancia to circumvent the new Group C fuel-limited regulations. It won at Silverstone, the Nurburgring and Mugello in 1982, with F1 aces Riccardo Patrese, Michele Alboreto and Teo Fabi on the driving strength, before being replaced by the Group C-legal LC2 for ’83.
Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT12
Sent to Goodwood by the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo, the battleship-wide flat-12 sports-racer won the 1975 World Sportscar Championship with Derek Bell and Arturo Merzario and the diminutive, Stetson-wearing Italian was on hand to demonstrate the Campari-branded beast once more.
Ferrari 312PB
A flat-12 Formula 1-engined sports-racer, the 312PB utterly cleaned up in the World Championship in 1972, winning 10 of the 11 rounds (only Le Mans proved elusive), with Jacky Ickx, Mario Andretti, Ronnie Peterson and Brian Redman on the books. Owner Paul Knapfield brought his Kyalami 9 Hours winner to the Festival.
BMW M1 Procar
Surely BMW’s M1 Procar series of 1979-’80 was the best one-make formula ever? Identical 3.5-litre, straight-six M1s doing battle on Grand Prix weekends – with F1 aces at the wheel: what’s not to like? Period racer Riccardo Patrese drove this BMW Group Classic-owned, BMW Motorsport-liveried machine on the hill.
Toyota TS020 GT-One
The pacesetter at Le Mans in 1998 and ’99, Toyota’s GT-One, codenamed TS020, suffered a series of problems on both occasions, with second place in the final year its best result. Both Martin Brundle (’99 polesitter) and Emmanuel Collard drove the 3.6-litre turbo V8 in period and again at the Festival.
Porsche 911 RSR (Sebring 1973)
Part of Porsche’s huge half-century celebrations, this authentic 911 RSR was driven to victory in the Sebring 12 Hours of 1973 by Peter Gregg, Hurley Haywood and its then owner Dr Dave Helmick. Now owned and run at the Festival by Philip Basil, it was restored in its yellow, #59 Sebring ’73 livery in 2001.
Words by Henry Hope-Frost. Images by Graham Dalley GDphotographic.com
20 machines that rocked the Goodwood Festival of Speed is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
The guys and girls from Live2Race are back with new ranges for men and women, featuring colours, styles and, of course, classic racing designs to suit the new season.
Up first is this Made in the ’80s t-shirt or hoodie, which features the RS500 Cosworth Sierra. It’s available in Sky Blue or Sport Grey in a soft cotton t-shirt, or as a Sport Grey hoodie.
The tees continue with the Old Skool Race Gear t-shirts, which feature a four-spoke racing wheel in a distressed finish and are available in a limited edition ‘Black Label’, or Cool Blue.
For the ladies Live2Race has created the Racy86 line of t-shirts and hoodies. These Cherry Red, White Navy and Black Tees feature a slim fit and 100%, soft feel cotton.
Designs feature the Racy86 brand, as well as a ’Speed Shop’, ’Race Fuels’ and ‘Engine Start’ designs.
Live2Race’s clothing is of the highest quality and offered at great prices, with free global shipping. Check it out at their site here!
Via Live2Race
Images via Live2Race
Lookin’ Good with Live2Race’s Retro Racing Designs is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
F1 ace Adrian Sutil takes on the beastly Porsche 917/30 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
F1 racer Adrian Sutil powers up Goodwood hill in 1200HP Porsche 917/30 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Honda has created this incredible a video tribute to Ayrton Senna. They took the actual data from Senna’s 1989 McLaren-Honda to create an audio/visual lap of Suzuka. Wow.
Video: The ghost of Ayrton Senna, Suzuka 1989 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
British racers Steve Webster & Tony Hewitt crash into a ditch whilst leading the 1985 Dutch GP. Both men emerge relatively unscathed and Steve Webster goes on to be a 10 time world sidecar champion.
Video: The most famous sidecar crash in history? is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
I don’t know which member of this delightful little historic racing duo I like more: the supremely-rare Porsche single-seater open-wheeled racer, or the gorgeous VW pick-up!
Happily, you’ll get both if you decide to pick up this race car/pick-up combo from Jan B. Lühn.
Built by Porsche and supported by the factory, the Porsche/Formcar Formula V is a rare member of a very small family of race cars – Porsche single-seater, open-wheeled racers – and is one of just two remaining.
Recognising the importance of Formula V as a launchpad for young driving talent, Ferry Porsche and Huschke von Hanstein got involved in the series in the early ’60s. This meant acquiring and developing some cars, and so the Porsche/Formcar Formula V was born.
The racers had 1200 cc VW Bug engines, which could put out a monumental 40 bhp and push them up to the not-to-be-trifled-with speed of 160 km/h.
Hans Hermann, Gerhard Mitter and Ben Pon raced this car in its time, and it has since been restored to that glory and received suspension, brake and engine testing and set up.
And, to get it to the track, it comes with a period-correct fully-restored and modified 261 pick-up to match the Porsche Renndiensts which Porsche had originally used to carry their Formula Vs to races. Stunning!
Head to Jan B. Lühn’s site here for more.
Images via Jan B. Lühn
Buy One Get One Free: 1964/5 Volkswagen Pick-Up with Porsche Formula V is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
The 41st edition of the Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nürburgring will be held from 9th – 11th August 2013. During the three-day event it is possible to see the most beautiful, rarest and most fascinating race cars in the history of motorsports.
The 2013 Oldtimer Grand Prix will revive the glory days of Formula One, sports prototypes as well as touring cars and GTs. For the 2013 the organization managed to get former race legends to the Nürbrugring such as Hans-Joachim Stuck, Christian Danner and Derek Bell. Briton Derek Bell will drive the Rothmans Porsche 956 used by the late Stefan Bell during his record lap over the famous Nordschleife in 1983. Other stars from the past present over this unique weekend are Johnny Cecotto (driving a Chevron Formula 2), Jochen Mass
Another highlight is the presentation of BMW in an actual race and demonstration presenting unique types from the famous Bavarian brand including a 1983 Brabham-BMW BT52 Formula 1 driven by the former Swiss F1 driver Marc Surer.
In keeping with tradition, on Friday, there’s the AvD Historic Marathon held on the legendary Nordschleife. The original track, also referred to as the Green Hell, was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the beautiful Eifel region. In 1984 a Grand Prix track was built in accordance with the demands of F1 drivers. Nowadays the Grand Prix track is used for the F1 Grand Prix and several other international events. The Nordschleife however is still used for the famous 24 hours as well as the VLN events and is open to the public.
One of the highlights of the AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix 2013 weekend are the races of the FIA Masters Formula One, featuring Formula One cars between 1968 and 1978. The series are open to 3-litre F1 cars built between 1968 and 1978. Fans of historic sports cars will be treated with a large field of former Le Mans Type Group 4 Prototypes, built between the mid-60s up to 1974, such as the Lola T70, Ferrari 512 and Chevrons gathered into the FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Championship. GT and two seat race cars from 1960/61 will see action in a race open to cars built until 1960/61. For the delight of the spectators, the round of this race will start on Saturday with the demonstration of a classic Le Mans start. The FIA Lurani Trophy will see a full field of historic single seaters from 1957 on. Fans of classic GT´s from the golden era will be treated with the British Masters Gentlemen Drivers featuring cars such as the Ferrari 250 SWB and 275, Lotus Elan, AC Cobra, Aston Martin DP214 atc.
Popular amongst the spectators is the Deutsche Rennsportmeisterschaft Revival, featuring the legendary Porsche 935 K2 and K3.
Ticket sales for this unique event have started online.). All tickets include access to the open grandstands and to the paddocks. (Friday 18,00 Euro, Saturday and Sunday both 38,00 Euro, Weekend from Friday-Sunday 58,00 Euro).
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://www.avd.de/ogpracing/home.html
© Marcel Hundscheid/Speed-O-Graphica.com
Preview: Oldtimer Grand Prix, Nurburgring 2013 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
And do it with the aid of their awesome retro muscle car bottle openers.
They’re made in the United States, machined from 12 gauge stainless steel and feature icons of classic muscle car culture, like the Corvette, Mustang Fastback, Dodge Charger (including the General Lee) and Pontiac GTO, and even a few modern sports car classics like the 911 Turbo.
If bottle opening isn’t your thing, they do race track key rings as well, featuring tracks like Imola, Circuit de la Sarthe, the Nürburgring and a whole lot more.
They’re cheap, fun and awesome, and you can check ‘em out over at the Racetrack Style site here.
Via Silodrome
Crack a Cold One with Racetrack Style is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Class of ’76
Photo of the day: 1976 Formula 1 illustration is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
One of our favourite discoveries of the year, Tom Havalask’s art is emotive and stunning, and does great justice to the bombastic character of the golden age of motorsport.
Tom’s art captures the feel, power, speed and character of historic motorsport wonderfully. It’s all broad strokes, big colours and emotion and doesn’t get caught up in the search for fiddly fine details.
We love it, and you can check out more in his story below!
Tom is available for commission work and you can contact him via email at tomhavlasekart@gmail.com.
Check him out on Facebook at his page here.
Art thanks to Tom Havalask
By Tom Havalask
I was born in Brno, Czech Republic in January 1984. Since my childhood, motorsport has been part of my life and my passion, and I now live very close to the well-known Brno Circuit. As a child I was there with my father nearly every free weekend. I loved the atmosphere of races and of course am still love with it
I graduated from a secondary school with a specialization in computer graphic design, but as I progressed through my studies I prefered to hand-craft my art more and more.
I began to present my art through secondary school, which was mostly street art paintings or legal graffiti paintings, painted with spraypaint. As time passed I started to grow fond of using canvas and water-based colors, because they seemed to provide something more than street paintings.
In the last year I’ve only painted with acrylic colors, almost entirely with the palette-knife, and developed a preference for the square ratio canvas size of 95 x 95 cm.
My philosophy is simple. I find an interesting photo of a classic racing car, or find a way to make a photo of my own, then choose the aspect of the photo which inspires me and create the right composition on computer. I then transfer the motive on the canvas. I like to paint dirty, without a clear style; splashes, drops and blurs everywhere. I’m not interested in defined shadows or detail work. It could by said, that I try to conect abstract and concrete together. But the topic must be always clear and immediately recognizable what’s going on.
Portraits are another favourite of mine, especially, of course, of racing drives from the “golden age” of motorsport.
My most recent exhibition was this spring in the Classic Show 2013 in Wannieck Gallery Brno. The series of three paintings was called “Blue Series”. I’m preparing my own solo exhibition in Wellington Cafe Gallery for the fall, where I will show motorsport paintings which have been made this year.
Next year I am planning to attend some of Europe’s famous classic car meetings and show more of my art there.
I hope you have enjoyed my work!
I am available for commission work and you can email me at tomhavlasekart@gmail.com. Please also head to my Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/tomhavlasekart
The Ravishing Retro Art of Tom Havlasek is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Onboard with Daytona 24 hour winner Jim Pace in a McLaren M6B during The Hawk at Road America. Turn it up and hang on
Video: Epic Can-Am Battle – McLaren vs Shadow is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
It was The Man’s 285th time at attacking a circuit in racing anger. It was The Man’s 225th start of a MotoGP race. It was The Man’s 181st Podium. It was The Man’s 145th MotoGP podium.
The last time The Man stepped onto the podium at Laguna Seca Raceway was during the summer of 2010. However on Sunday, July 21, 2013 – and three years ex post facto – The Man found his way up onto the podium, and smiling that inimitable elfish, charming smile, made the 40,000-some fans on-hand in the pastoral farmlands that John Steinbeck made so famous smile back, collectively, at him.
The Man had come through.
Tapping through the six-speed cassette-type gearbox and maximizing the 250-horsepower of the 1000 cubic centimeter Liquid Cooled inline four cylinder engine framed in an aluminum twin tube delta box and otherwise known as the 2013 Yamaha YZR-M1, The Man mercurially streaked around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile Laguna Seca circuit 32 consecutive times to place third at round nine of the 2013 globetrotting MotoGP World Championship.
“I am so happy about this podium,” said The Man, a seven-time World Champion. “It is more positive and more important compared to Sachsenring, because here with the Yamaha we suffer a bit. It looks like we have some disadvantage compared to the Honda’s. But I did a good race, with a good pace and I was the first Yamaha. I did a fantastic start, but I don’t have enough pace for stay with Stefan and also Marc make a great overtake. But anyway he was too fast for me.”
When the lights went out and the race turned on, The Man almost pulled off a miraculous holeshot, but had to come to terms with a second-place starting position, immediately in the wall-of-sound wake of pole-sitter Stephan Bradl. Just behind – and also a part of M-claw festooned MotoGP band of brothers – were The Man’s teammate and defending MotoGP champion, Jorge Lorenzo as well as Cal Crutchlow of the Tech 3 Yamaha outfit. (Tail gunning for the “bats out of hell” power trio was Tech 3 MotoGP rookie Bradley Smith and Cardion/AB/Motoracing’s Karel Abraham).
A mere three laps into the torrid affair, a demonically determined Marc Marquez pulled a banzai pass in Turns 8A and 8A – internationally known as “The Corkscrew – and in a “stomach in the mouth” elevation drop equal to that of a 5-story office building (seriously) passed The Man the famous “Corkscrew” – and loose gravel and dirt and dust be damned, passed The Man. The blistering pace of the Honda would quickly ratchet up at the sharp end of the field as the rookie Marquez took off after the leader, a German named Stefan Bradl. The Man, getting his wits back after nearly being punted off California asphalt, was content to motor along and held station in third until Alvaro Bautista and his #19 machine came creeping up. And so it was that David (Bautista) tried to crack The Man (Goliath) in the head with the proverbial rock. But it would not come to pass for the Motorcycle Spaniard as the two fired-up a skinned knuckle, club swinging brawl, The Man – who cracked off his best lap time in the twilight of the race – a tire blistering 1:22.369 – coming out on top – and atop of the podium – at the flapping sight of the flag with black and white checkers.
“From that moment I have to do a great battle with Bautista that today was very strong,” added The Man. “I always try – always try to push without making mistake. I had a big, big moment with the front where I pick up the bike with the elbow, so I think, ‘This is a sign. I have to go to podium if I don’t crash here.’ At the end I have a lot of problem with the slow guys because no blue flag – I don’t know why. And I get a small gap on Alvaro, but Alvaro come back and we arrive on the last corner together, but anyway I am happy this is my third podium in a row. I am the first Yamaha and I’m happy about the race and the result.”
Meanwhile, a few seconds adrift of the fray, Lorenzo and Crutchlow had settled in to their 6th & 7th place positions, while Smith’s Yamaha ceased to run on lap eight and, having put together back-to-back top ten finishes in the previous GPs, Smith had to take a long walk back to the pits with a DNF. And so it was… The points leader heading into the round prior to Laguna (Germany), Dani Pedrosa, would catch and pass the injured Lorenzo with 21 laps to go and moved into 5th place. Crutchlow would move up onto Lorenzo’s rear tire at the midway point of the race, but that’s as close as the Brit would get to the factory-backed champ as Lorenzo would buckle down in an effort to preserve as many points as possible despite his surgically-corrected (and subsequently bent @ Sachsenring) titanium shoulder.
And of The Man? At the age of – precisely – 34 years and 155 days, Valentino – “THE MAN” – Rossi became the oldest rider in MotoGP history to score back-to-back-to back podium finishes since the Great Phil Read did the deed way back in 1975. And that, race fans, truly is saying something.
USGP – Laguna Seca – Sunday, July 21, 2013
1 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda Team Honda
2 Stefan Bradl LCR Honda
3 Valentino Rossi Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha
4 Alvaro Bautista Go&Fun Honda Gresini Honda
5 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team Honda
6 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha
7 Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha
8 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team Ducati
9 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team Ducati
10 Hector Barbera Avintia Blusens FTR
14 Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing ART
MotoGP overall standings (after 9 of 18 rounds)
1 Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA 163
2 Dani PEDROSA Honda SPA 147
3 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha SPA 137
4 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 117
5 Cal CRUTCHLOW Yamaha GBR 116
6 Stefan BRADL Honda GER 84
7 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati ITA 81
8 Alvaro BAUTISTA Honda SPA 71
9 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati USA 65
10 Aleix ESPARGARO ART SPA 52
11 Bradley SMITH Yamaha GBR 51
Photo Gallery: “The Man” makes history at Laguna Seca is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
Finland is the spiritual home of rallying, a land where the only things that fly higher, longer and faster than the local rally drivers are the Finnair pilots cruising the skies between Helsinki and the rally base at Jyvaskyla. It’s the only event in the World Championship that has been there, unbroken, from the start (nor has it moved from its central Finland base in its 62-year history) and in all that time only four non-Scandinavian drivers have ever won.
In 1992 Didier Auriol took the honours, two years after Carlos Sainz finally broke the local stranglehold on the event but it was the man who finished eighth behind Auriol who won the crowds over.
Colin McRae, then still with only five overseas WRC events to his name, made his debut on the 1000 Lakes Rally (the event also known as the Finnish Grand Prix in keeping with its status as the fastest event in the series) as it was called before the less evocative Rally Finland. There’s an old motorsport adage that says, ‘to finish first, first you must finish’ and for the young McRae that was still something of a challenge…
Back then Subaru was still running the early pre-Rothmans/555 liveried Legacy but the white car with its flashes of green and pink would become the star of the show. It didn’t start well though.
Pre-event testing saw McRae’s car battered and bruised from a hefty roll as the Scot tried to learn the nature of the roller-coaster gravel roads. They are so smooth that cars can almost run asphalt suspension but the grip-levels are notoriously hard to read and pace notes need to be almost three-dimensional as cars can literally turn in the air if a jump is in the middle of a corner. The locals learn this at the same time they learn their incomprehensible language but for visitors it’s a tough one.
There is a famous piece of video footage of McRae having a second go at turning his Legacy into an Impreza. The car appears over a crest and veers off the right side of the road, rolling quite literally through and over the trees (fortunately young and flexible saplings) and as soon as all four wheels hit the deck the Scot has the car in gear heading back to the road.
The fans quickly decided that McRae was far more fun than their bottles of Koff beer and gathered in their droves to see this youngster who was matching their previous heroes of Henri Toivonen and Ari Vatanen for sheer commitment. Having said that, while they lined the stages to see the action even the Finns took a precautionary step backwards as the sound of the Legacy approached – you never really knew where Colin was going to have his next accident!
In 1992 servicing wasn’t centralised as it is now and teams set up camp after almost every stage in lay-bys, garage forecourts and, in this case, someone’s driveway. I was chatting to Subaru’s technical guru David Lapworth when we heard Derek Ringer on the radio explaining that they had finished the stage and were on their way to service – albeit with some damage that needed fixing. David and I wandered down the drive to wave the car in and our jaws dropped as the legacy lurched over the brow of the road, crabbing sideways from the second roll of the event.
The mechanics set to work as David Richards joined us to oversee the operation. The extent of the damage was clear when the spannermen jacked up the rear of the car and the axle stayed where it was, held in place by little more than gravity! ‘DR’ admitted later that he probably should have pulled McRae out of the event there and then for safety reasons (his as much as anyone else’s!) but as the Scot was winning the hearts and minds of the Finns with every stage kilometre he decided to send the wreck out once more. This time the wheels stayed pointing downwards – mainly – for the rest of the way to eighth place and possibly the biggest cheer of anyone when what was left of the car dragged itself over the finish ramp.
McRae never did really master Finland. With Ford he managed second in 2000 and third the year after but on his six other starts between 1996 and 2003 he never even made the finish, crashing out of the ’96 event in front of the team management was one of the catalysts for a change of co-driver for the 1997 season. But the memory of that debut drive in 1992 will linger forever in the minds of anyone who was there!
By Keith Oswin
Rally Finland 1992: Colin McRae and the unbreakable Subaru is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.
