What do sportscar superstar Bob Wollek, Grand Prix winner Thierry Boutsen, all-round racing legend AJ Foyt and four-time Indy 500 winner have in common?

Bizzare and as random as it may sound… At the start of the 1985 Daytona 24 Hours the four of them didn’t have much in common at all – apart from driving Porsche 962s in that year’s 24 Hours. The all-star line-up was the #8 Valvoline car of Wollek/Unser Sr/Foyt, which had qualified third. In eighth was another 962 of Boutsen, Le Mans hero Henri Pescarolo and Bruce Leven.

Naturally the eyes were on the all-star squad in the #8 car, but they dropped back quite a way at the start, with AJ Foyt behind the wheel staying out of trouble right from the green flag. As the car plummeted down the order, Wollek declared: “That is part of our race plan.”

The first hour was always shown live on national network TV in America, and the sight of Foyt dropping like a stone wasn’t great TV for the network. The squad’s approach was to run as tortoise rather than the hare. By the end of the hour, he was a very cautious 10^th.

“Super Tex” Foyt’s fuel-saving style – as undynamic as people wanted – paid off. After his first stint he handed over to Wollek, who, as they had pitted laps later than the guys going for camera glory, emerged from 10^th in second place.

Wollek was right.

Let’s face it, not a lot happened in the race. It rained, heavily, at 6pm. Then it dried as quickly as it had rained. Chaos, followed by more chaos as teams switched tyres, then back to status quo.

Halfway into the race the car to beat was Derek Bell’s Porsche 962 which he shared with Al Holbert and Al Unser Jr – also a pretty stellar line-up. That car was almost a minute ahead.

Then it all went a bit crazy. The pole position car of John Paul Jr retired with suspension problems. At the same time a Porsche GTU car crashed into the wall at Turn 1. In the 15 minutes it took to clear the wreck up, few noticed that the Pescarolo/Boutsen/Leven 962 didn’t leave the pits.

When it finally did get going, the car didn’t last, and with Al Unser Sr feeling sick, team owner Preston Henn asked Thierry Boutsen to switch cars, and join the Foyt, Unser Sr, Wollek crew. It was 1am, and by then that car was 11 laps, or 15 minutes if you like, behind Derek Bell’s 962.

The Bell/Unser Jr/Al Holbert car had such a big lead that when a misfire came in, they had enough time to not rush pit stops, change the fuel filter, and still have a massive lead.

Around 9am it all changed. Two things had happened. 1) Boutsen and Wollek had been pushing very hard through the night, despite the large gap, and 2) The Bell Porsche was having more fuel filter problems.

The lead Porsche’s gap was now down to four laps – still a lot.

At 10:30 it started raining again. At points the #8 Valvoline car was gaining 10 seconds per lap. The #14 Lowenbrau car of Holbert/Bell/Unser Jr then started having electrical problems. By 2pm, the gap was down to four laps, but the lead car was obviously in trouble. A lot of trouble.

Wollek too wasn’t well, but just the slightest sniff of winning spurred him on. Boutsen was a huge help when Unser Sr was sick, and AJ Foyt, is just… well he is AJ Foyt.

The Bell car basically was finished 30 minutes before the finish. After another stop to try and fix the electrics, the car wouldn’t re-start. Knowing they couldn’t win with such a handicapped car Bell parked it, to do a final lap at the end. They still finished second.

So it was that Bob Wollek, Al Unser Sr, AJ Foyt and Thierry Boutsen won the 1985 Daytona 24 Hours. Foyt became, and still is, the only person to win at Indianapolis (four times), Le Mans, the Daytona 500 and the Le Mans 24 Hours.

By Andy Hallbery follow me @hallbean on twitter.

1985 Daytona 24hrs: The Porsche superstar show is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

In 1988, Swan Breweries showcased leading Australian sports people in television advertisements, with the catchline: “they said you’d never make it”.

In a first for Australian motorcycling, reigning world 500 champion Wayne Gardner was featured. It was further proof of how much Gardner’s achievements changed local perceptions of motorcycling racing.

Gardner was a catalyst for two major developments – live national television coverage of all the GPs and Australia having a world-championship GP. He was tireless in promoting the event.

Schooled in dirt track, then on 250/350 Yamahas and finally on Superbikes, Wayne left Australia in 1981 having never won a national title. Success with Honda in Britain earned him a crack at 500 GP on an RS500R triple in 1983.

In 1986, Gardner won the Spanish GP at Jarama in his first appearance as a full works GP rider on the Honda NSR500 V4. He won again at Assen and a sodden Silverstone. The following year, Honda improved the bike and Gardner took the championship with seven victories, the first Australian premier-class crown.

The 1988 bike had issues and Gardner was second in the title, and then came the fabulous victory in the ’89 Australian GP. He won it again in 1990, riding with a broken wrist.

Determination personified, Gardner pretty much willed himself to take the last of his 18 GP victories at Donington Park in 1992, ahead of Wayne Rainey. At other times, his determination hurt him.

Apart from GP success, he won two Castrol Six-Hour races, three Swann Insurance Series, five British crowns and four Suzuka Eight-Hour races. At one stage, he had so many wins in Japan that he was nicknamed ‘Mr 100 Per Cent’.

Switching to cars, Gardner raced successfully in Australia and Japan. And now at age 52, he’s taken his two sons motorcycle racing in Spain.

Legends: Wayne Gardner is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

This is the stunning car collection of Juha Kankkunen, winner of  23 world rallies and four drivers’ world championships and the only man to become world champion with three different manufacturers.

Talking to insideline.com about his collection Kankuunen said: “It started as a crazy idea in 1992. I wanted something physical that my family could enjoy from my career. Carlos [Sainz] has a car and Didier [Ariol] has a couple, but I wanted to go further.”

The collection is housed at the Finnish farm on which he grew up and stands as a testament to a life spent at and often beyond the limit.

One of Kankunnens’s favourite machines is the The Peugeot 205 T16 Evo 2, the very car in which he won the Swedish Rally in 1986. “In ’86 I went from a rear-wheel-drive Toyota to a four-wheel-drive Peugeot,” says Kankkunen. “It required a totally different style of driving but it only took me three months to adjust and I won the second rally I entered. When you’re a kid you can learn anything quickly.”

Kankkunen won his first World Championship with Peugeot in 1986, but the infamous Group B cars were banned a year later following the death of his close friend Henri Toivonen.

“The cars were dangerous if you gave them to a normal driver,” reckons Kankkunen, “but the professional drivers could handle them. We knew what was happening. The step to the Group A cars that followed was too big. It was like going from Formula 1 to Formula Ford.”

Images: Insideline.com

Photos: WRC World Champion Juha Kankkunen’s Car Collection is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

In late 1961 a group of drivers including Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, and John Surtees took to the sunny circuits of Australia and New Zealand in the past season’s Formula One cars to go racing while they waited out the northern hemisphere’s winter. It proved a popular idea and grew into the Tasman Championship by 1964.

It was a unique and compelling period of motorsport and Sydney-based photographer Rod Mackenzie was in the thick of it. He and Full Throttle Publishing have put together a collection of his stunning images from ’68 and ’69 in the form of the stunning Tasman Series Calendar 2012.

His subjects include international stars like Jack Brabham, Chris Amon, Jochen Rindt, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Piers Courage and Frank Gardner as well as local legends Leo Geoghegan, John Harvey, Kevin Bartlett and Alfredo Costanzo.

Check out the pics above and head to Full Throttle Publishing to pick one up for $14.95.

Images via Rod Mackenzie

Gear: Tasman Series Calendar 2012 is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

A highlight of the 2012 RM Auctions Monaco sale is the incredible Saltarelli Ducati Collection. One of the largest private collections of Ducati motorcycles ever to be offered at auction, the collection spans the marque’s full history from road to racing machines.

The 100-bike collection was carefully selected over the past 30 years by lifelong enthusiast Carlo Saltarelli, an ex-Ducati factory test rider, racer and owner of a Ducati dealership.

Below is the official blurb from RM Auctions:

In addition to the Saltarelli Collection, RM Auctions is delighted to announce the presence of the Ducati Factory and Museum at the Monaco auction along with the sale of some fantastic ex-Works racing machines, sourced directly from the Ducati Corse racing department. Ducati will also offer a fascinating collection of memorabilia directly from the factory.

“We are honoured to have been entrusted by Mr. Saltarelli to offer his exceptional collection at our upcoming Monaco sale”, says Max Girardo, managing director at RM Europe. “The ability to announce the presence of the Ducati Factory at the sale with the inclusion of some wonderful ex-Works race bikes, makes the Monaco auction a truly once in a lifetime opportunity for Ducati collectors and enthusiasts. We are thrilled to have this opportunity to work with the Ducati Factory as we continue to align ourselves with the world’s leading brands”

CEO and President of Ducati Motor Holding, Gabriele Del Torchio said: “We are delighted that an auction house as prestigious as RM Auctions will be offering the Saltarelli collection of historic Ducati motorcycles and I am proud to complement the event by offering some very special motorcycles from our Ducati Corse racing department. This incredible sale will enable passionate bidders to take ownership of unique pieces of Ducati history, from the Ducati Cucciolo to a Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP machine.”

Carlo Saltarelli is an ex-Ducati factory test rider, racer and dealer, who carefully amassed his incredible collection of bikes over the past 30 years of his amazing career. Of the stunning 100 motorcycles offered ‘without reserve’ are several race machines worthy of specific attention. The highlight of the collection, and a lot that will undoubtedly attract strong interest from discerning bike collectors, is the 1970 Ex-Works Ducati 450 Desmo “Corsa”, a bike presented in the Ducati Museum book and a feature display at the Ducati museum in Bologna in recent years.

The Saltarelli Collection also features a beautiful 1990 Ex-Works Ducati 888 SBK, ridden in period by Giancarlo Falappa. A factory-raced 888 is a rare bike indeed, and this example represents a not-to-be-missed ownership opportunity.  Other significant lots include a brace of 750SS race bikes from the 1970s including an ex-factory 1973/4 Ducati 750SS, Race Number 1, ridden in 1975 works rider Franco Uncini, and a 1974 Ducati 750SS, Race Number 23, which also boasts an illustrious racing history, having scored a number of victories and podium finishes during the 1974 and 1975 seasons, often in the hands of Carlo Saltarelli himself.

Other significant lots include:

1956 Ducati 125 Moto Giro F3, an original factory-built privateer racing machine in splendid original condition;

1979 Ducati 860 Mike Hailwood Replica Series 1, an original, un-restored and desirable Series 1 Mike Hailwood Replica in good order;

2000 Ducati 900MHE, a delivery mileage ex Motorshow machine, previously displayed at the Ducati factory;

1970 Ducati 450 Desmo Scrambler, an original, un-restored and very desirable Desmo Scrambler finished in yellow;

1997 Ex Team Gio.Ca.Moto Ducati 748R, a stunning ex-Team Gio.Ca.Moto racing 748 in yellow livery; and

an iconic 1970 Ducati 250 Desmo “Silver Shotgun”, boasting an excellent, older restoration.

Saltarelli Ducati Collection offered at RM Auctions Monaco sale is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

8380 Laboratories have put together a series of seriously groovy retro motorsport t-shirts based on the idea of a food chain for classic racing cars.

The food chain has three links thus far and 8380 Laboratories have some interesting ideas behind each. The iconic gulf-liveried Porsche 917 prowls as the apex predator – devourer of circuits and the competition. It is followed by BMW’s M1 Procar – the cannibal; “by way of its excessively long development it was rendered obsolete by the time it was ready for competition. It was saved by a stroke of marketing genius, the creation of an M1-only racing series, where identically prepared M1s cannibalized one another.” And finally the Mk. 1 Golf, which uses its nimbleness and speed to keep ahead of larger and more powerful beasts.

And the retro goodness doesn’t stop at the food chain series. Additional designs include the glorious Porsche Yellowbird, Audi’s 700 horsepower ’90 Quattro IMSA GTO and an ’86 DTM shirt.

The shirts are Gildan 50/50 cotton/polyester and the designs are professionally screen printed by hand in the USA, using high quality, durable inks.

Head to 8380 laboratories’ website to check ‘em out, and let us know what cars or bikes you would put on your retro racer food chain and why!

Gear: 8380 Laboratories’ Classic Race Car Food Chain is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

In America in the mid-20th century carnivals and county fairs would hand out cigars as prizes for anyone who might win at the games offered on the midway.  Failure to win might elicit the response “Close, but no cigar.”

Well for Tony Adamowicz and Ronnie Bucknum at the Daytona 24-Hour race in 1971 those words would ring loud and long in their ears following the race.

At Daytona in 1971 few expected that Ferrari had much of a chance against the formidable Porsche 917.  The previous year Porsche had practically swept the field in winning the Manufacturer’s Championship and the only points race won by Ferrari that year was at Sebring after the Gulf 917s succumbed to faulty wheel hubs.

There was a glimmer of hope for Ferrari at Daytona in 1971 in the form of the beautifully prepared Penske-Sunoco Ferrari 512M that was driven by Mark Donohue and David Hobbs.

While the Donohue/Hobbs car won the pole position and led the early stages of the race they began experiencing mechanical difficulties.  On top of that a horrendous accident in the night put them in the pits for over an hour for repairs and when they returned to the track the car’s body was literally held together with duct tape.

In the meantime the Rodriguez/Oliver 917 was running like a train on rails and continued to build up a lead.  After 21 hours of racing their win was thought to be assured and they were 213 miles ahead of the second place NART Ferrari 512S of Tony Adamowicz and Ronnie Bucknum.

With three hours left, and with Jackie Oliver at the wheel the transmission on the 917 crapped out and he coasted off the high banks and down to the Porsche pit with the transmission stuck in top gear.

Under normal circumstances this would be a simple repair since they had plenty of time.  Just swap out the damaged transmission for a working one like Ford did in 1967 when they swapped out no less than twelve units in their Ford Mk. IIs.  However, rules changes by the FIA prevented this and some questioned if there was enough time to rebuild the transmission.

The John Wyer Gulf Team decided to go for it and in an amazingly short 92 minutes rebuilt the transmission.  The time was now 1:05 pm with just under two hours left in the race.  The Porsche had lost its huge lead and was now three laps behind the ailing Adamowicz/Bucknum Ferrari with the Dononue/Hobbs Ferrari coming up fast.

The “little Mexican” Pedro Rodriguez was tasked with regaining the lead and did so in a brilliant piece of driving that took him only 33 minutes.  What followed then were two unscheduled pit stops for Porsche, both for tires.  A brief rain shower forced them to pit for rain tires and when it cleared up they pitted again for slicks.  The Adamowicz/Bucknum Ferrari stayed out the entire time on slicks and regained the lead when the Porsche pitted for tires.

Once back on the track with new slicks Rodriguez continued his aggressive driving style and ended up beating the Ferrari by just over a lap.  It was the closest finish at a Daytona 24 hour race up to that time.

The photo above shows the then leading NART Ferrari 512S of Tony Adamowicz and Ronnie Bucknum as it brakes for turn three at Daytona.  The flames belching from the exhaust were caused by broken valve springs.  Ronnie Bucknum admitted to Tony Adamowicz many years later that he had been running the car at higher RPM’s that he should have and that caused the broken valve springs.  As a result they had to slow the car down to save it for the finish.  If not for that they could have won the race.  “Close, but no cigar.”

Close, But No Cigar: Ferrari 512S – 1971 24 Hours of Daytona is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

For a world-famous multiple award-winning actor, Paul Newman kept a low profile at the race track. He was just ‘one of the team’.

Paul Newman was one of those guys that’s hard to describe. You see him on-screen larger than life, yet when not in front the camera he was – I won’t use the word reclusive – I will just say ‘normal’.

But he was very far from normal, just a quiet human being who rarely gave interviews. He was also a bloody good racing driver, winning his class and finishing in second place overall at Le Mans in 1979 with Dick Barbour and Rolf Stommelen. At the age of 70, he won his class in the Rolex Daytona 24 Hours in 1995. He did it again, amazingly in 2005. Aged 80.

With his passing in September 2008 came the end of an era, not just for the film world, but the racing one too. As a team-owner with long-time friend Carl Haas, they built a formidable IndyCar team. When the previous driver list involves Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Michael Andretti, Cristiano de Matta, Sebastien Bourdais, and many others then you know that wasn’t just a play toy for him. He took it seriously and passionately.

For all the success, sadly the Newman/Haas era is now over. Paul Newman has passed and the other half of the team, Carl Haas (who famously always had a cigar in his mouth which was never lit), decided that despite a promising year in 2011, enough was enough.

That is no reason, however, not to celebrate an extremely modest guy, who was extremely good in films like “Cat on a hot Tin Roof”, and then… where do you stop? “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, “The Sting”, and so many more. It was the film “Winning” which enthused Newman about motorsport, and set his love of racing off.

As a racing driver he was no slouch, and after his passing in 2008 Mario Andretti was quoted as saying. “He really was one of us.”

I’ve not even begun on his charity work, again done pretty much under the radar. He founded the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, and through his “Newman’s own Salad Dressings” (which I buy to this day) has raised over $300m to fund holiday camps for seriously ill children.

A fellow IndyCar team owner and chat show host, David Letterman paid this tribute to his friend in 2008.

There are many reasons to remember Paul Newman: Hollywood Superstar, race team owner, philanthropist, unassuming guy. But in the week of the Daytona 24 Hours, let’s think of him as a quality race car driver – and all-round good guy.

By Andy Hallbery . Follow me @hallbean on twitter.

Paul Newman: Behind Blue Eyes is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Jeff Leisk, Charlie Williams, Ivan Mauger and a nigh-unbeatable collection of Honda’s magic machinery will head to Broadford this coming April for the 2012 Honda Broadford Bike Bonanza.

The event will kick off with a celebration of the golden era of motorcross – the ’70s and ’80s – and bring together the stars, teams, sponsors, tuners and punters that made the golden era shine.

Honda will have a huge collection of its classic racing bikes on display, including everything from 1973′s ‘Elsinore‘ series to the last of the air-cooled bikes from ’84. Jeff Leisk’s ’89 Honda Factory RC 500 will be present, as will his Aussie title winning bikes.

And much of this magnificent machinery won’t be left resting in a display – the bikes will be fired up and unleashed in events and features celebrating all of the pre-1985 motorcycle disciplines. Sounds good to us!

Read on for the official word from the HBBB team and head to their website here for more.

2012 HBBB to open with Golden Era celebration

The 2012 Honda Broadford Bike Bonanza (HBBB) will kick off on Good Friday evening, 6 April, with a celebration of 70’s – 80’s Motocross (the Golden Era).

The evening will take place in the Speedway Shed at the State Motorcycle Sports Complex, Broadford, and is billed to be a once in a lifetime reunion with all your old race rivals, sponsors, tuners, mates and worshippers present.

Event Organiser Peter Drakeford is looking forward to introducing this unique event to the HBBB.

“I know all our lives have changed since we were young, but one thing we all have in common is that Motocross in this golden era was perhaps the biggest and most exciting thing we have ever been involved with,” Drakeford said.

“The proof of that is the way people I’ve contacted to help have put in massive amounts of time and effort at their own cost in creating this ‘never before’ event inside the HBBB.”

The reunion will be a gathering of old bikes, memorabilia, old stories and memories, and a special display of Honda Motocross models from the ground-breaking ‘Elsinore’ series of 1973 to the last of the air cooled models of 1984.

Jeff Leisk, Aussie international Motocross star and pioneer, will be attending the event, and a very special display of Leisk’s 1989 Honda Factory RC 500 and his Aussie title winning Hondas will be ‘eye candy’ for us all.

The evening will start officially at 6pm and will consist of interviews of the old stars of the era including Leisk and legend Ray Owen, films of our old races and racers and the best part – catching up with the old faces you might not have seen for 30 or 40 years!

Unofficial Motocross historian, tragic and illustrator Roger Harvey is compiling a 120-page book of unpublished photos of the stars of the era, which will be on sale at the opening. Limited numbers are available and are sure to be instant collectors’ items.
Bar facilities and a fish and chip dinner will be available, or BYO on the night.

But that’s not all – the HBBB is a celebration of all pre-1985 historic Motorcycle disciplines. You can go and see your favourite old Road Racer, Speedway and Short Circuit riders, Trials and Enduro riders in action on one of the complex’s circuits too, as all disciplines have their own riding area or track with excellent spectator areas. See bikes you haven’t seen or even heard the sound of in years, and re-kindle old friendships. You will probably even see your favourite bike you owned in the era.

For all the latest news and announcements ahead of the 2012 Honda Broadford Bike Bonanza be sure to check out the HBBB website at www.ma.org.au/hbbb.

2012 HBBB to Open with Golden Era Celebration is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Rubens Barrichello, affectionately known as Rubinho, is the the most experienced driver in Formula 1 history, thanks to 322 starts with Jordan, Stewart, Ferrari, Honda, Brawn and Williams.

The likelable Brazillian made little impact on his debut for Jordan at the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami in 1993, however by the third race he was able to show his talent by running as high as second in the pouring rain, having passed the Williams duo of Hill and Prost. His star was on the rise and strong showings for Jordan cemented his place on the grid.

Barrichello then joined Stewart for 1997, the highlight being an outstanding second place at Monaco. Rubens continued his consistent results during 1998 and 1999 and attracted the attention of Jean Todt. For 2000 he would be a Ferrari driver.

It didn’t take Rubens long to claim his first Grand Prix victory, by winning the Germn Grand Prix in 2000. Despite racking up nine grand prix victories, five years as number two to Michael Schumacher forced Rubens to join Honda in 2006.

The Honda experience was hugely dissapointing, but there was light at the end of the tunnel when the team morphed into Brawn for 2009 and Barrichello found himself on the front row for the season opening Australian Grand Prix. Rubens won twice for Brawn, but it was Button who took the Championship.

Barrichello raced for Williams in 2010 and 2011, but there would be no more podiums.

So now, sadly, it looks like we may have seen the last of this talented and passionate racer on the Formula 1 grid.

This is the latest in our series of  photo specials showcasing the stunning images from the Cahier Archive. The collection, by photographers Bernard Cahier and his son Paul-Henri are part of a massive collection of 400 000 originals of which 17 000+ pictures are currently available on their website.

Images: TheCahierArchive©

Buy prints of these photographs from just $49

Best of the Cahier Archive: Rubens Barrichello is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

24 Hours of Le Mans winner and Formula One star Chris Amon is in the midst of a reunion with his 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL ‘Batmobile’. The pair are among an impressive line-up of drivers and machines present at the New Zealand Festival of Motorsport, which is taking place at Hampton Downs over the weekends of the 20^th – 22^nd and 27^th – 29^th of January, 2012.

The 2012 New Zealand Festival of Motorsport is celebrating New Zealand’s rich motorsport heritage with a BMW theme and bringing together many of BMW’s classic machines along with the men who drove them.

Amon, who got his start in Formula One racing in the Tasman Series and went on to demonstrate immense speed with five pole positions and 11 podium finishes, ran the BMW 3.0 CSL during his stint in touring car racing in ’73.

Originally built for the road, the 3.0CSL was stripped down and tightened-up for racing. Skinnier steel was used in the body, aluminium doors, bonnet and boot and Perspex side windows replaced the originals and soundproofing and luxuries were removed. An aero package was added to fill out the signature Batmobile shape and keep everything stuck to the road. The motor was bored out to take it over 3 litres, producing a lovely 340 horsepower in-line six that would launch the car to 100 kilometers an hour in under five seconds.

Amon’s greatest success in the Batmobile took place over six hours of the Nurburgring with co-driver Hans-Joachim Stuck. The pair won the 1973 German Touring Car Grand Prix, securing a one-two for the 3.0CSL with Toine Hezemans and Dieter Quester, who took a class victory at Le Mans in the same year.

Also present at the festival is a BMW M1 Procar previously raced by Prince Leopold von Bayern, who will take it out for a demonstration over the weekend of the 27^th to the 29^th.

Photo by Lothar Spurzem

Amon and his Batmobile Star at the New Zealand Festival of Motorsport is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

When you wake up in the morning, and jump into your car for work, you put the key in, and go. Not so with a Formula 1 car.

If you thought a modern F1 car was complex – it is. To be fair though Formula 1 has always pushed technology.

Take the gorgeous 1990 Leyton House March-Judd Zytec, in it’s Miami Blue livery. The car itself was one of Adrian Newey’s early F1 designs, as you can see by how compact it is. Apparently, it was also hard to work on – as with most of Newey’s cars. Aerodynamics, came first, ‘fixabilty’ came second.

The starting process of any race car has fascinated me, as I have watched in many times, and never truly understood it. Some teams rev madly, others idle the engine to get the heat in the oil up. Horses for courses I guess. This video explains a lot.

The 1990 Leyton House had a mixed season in the hands of Ivan Capelli and Mauricio Gugelmin, not qualifying at a number of races. Yet, at Paul Ricard they ran 1-2, Capelli eventually losing out in the final laps, but still finishing second behind Alain Prost’s Ferrari.

Even though it never won a race, the car was a beauty. And now you know it’s not something you can just jump into, hot-wire, and whizz away in at a moment’s notice!

By Andy Hallbery . Follow me @hallbean on twitter.

Video: How to start a 1990 Formula 1 car is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

The Lotus Seven is a small, simple, lightweight two-seater open-top sports car produced by Lotus Cars between 1957 and 1972.

It was designed by Lotus founder Colin Chapman and has been considered the embodiment of the Lotus philosophy of performance through low weight and simplicity. The original model was highly successful with more than 2,500 cars sold, due to its attraction as a road legal car that could be used for clubman racing.

The Lotus Seven design has spawned a host of imitations on the kit car market, generally called Sevens or sevenesque roadsters. None can match the character, driving feel and heritage of the original.

This original Lotus Seven has undergone a complete rebuild and is the last of the breed pre-Caterham takeover of production. It’s a wonderful driving car and is well balanced and built with the correct amount of power as originally designed. It’s near perfect and sweet to drive and always leaves you with a smile on your face.

Well maintained and sorted, as is evident from the accompanying history file, this little beauty is pure driving enjoyment. Feel the road and the grip as you fly through the gears in this low-slung go-kart-like machine. Great things really do come in small packages.

Red
Roadster
4 Speed Manual
1600cc Cosworth
95,671 miles
VIN-No. SB1391
A$ 39,995

For more information please call the Classic Throttle Shop on +61 2 9922 2036 or email sales@classicthrottleshop.com

For Sale: 1962 Lotus Seven is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Aussie motorcycle racing legend Malcolm Campbell will be reunited with Honda’s RC30, on which he won two Australian Superbike championships, this coming weekend at Phillip Island for the International Island Classic.

Saying that a racing bike is built to win is a bit redundant, but the RC30 really was built to win. Honda saw an opportunity in the fledgling World Superbike Championship to build a no-compromise racer that would capture hearts and minds with its majesty and peerless performance. So they homolegated the RC30 and set it to work.

Fred Merkel rode an RC30 to win the first ever World Superbike Championship in 1988, and then the second one in 1989. Its 750cc V4 happily pushed Steve Hislop to the first ever 120 mile per hour lap of the Isle of Man TT. Around the world and across disciplines RC30s did their thing and did it well.

And they have become incredibly desirable and quite rare classic machines. It’s wonderful that the late ’80s are being opened-up more and more to historic motorsport. At the International Island Classic beautiful machines like the RC30, Yamaha RZ500 two-stroke and Suzuki GSX-R750 will run in the ‘New Era’ class;  a new formula of historic bikes for machines produced between 1983 and 1990.

So, what ’83 to ’90 machine would you take to the track?

Read on for the full word and photos from the Island Classic team.

Veteran rider, Mal Campbell, to reunite with an old icon

A new class of historic road racing – Period 6 – will make its debut on the big stage at this weekend’s   massively popular Island Classic meeting (January 27-29), to be held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

The fledgling formula, to be known under the ‘New Era’ moniker, is for hardware produced between 1983 and 1990, with the eight-year window including bikes such as the Honda RC30, Kawasaki ZX-7R, Suzuki GSX-R750 and the Castrol 6-hour winning Yamaha RZ500 two-stroke.

One of the toughest, bravest and most combative riders to ever pull on motorcycle leathers in this country, Launceston’s Malcolm Campbell, was intrinsically linked with the snarling RC30. Campbell even won two Australian Superbike titles on the free-wheeling Honda — created especially for homologation purposes to compete in the Superbike World Championship – and some of his fierce battles with the likes of Rob Phillis (ZX-7R) are now the stuff of legend.

Campbell, now 58, has just announced he’ll reunite with a restored ‘works’ RC30 in the Period 6 races at Phillip Island. But no Phillis this time – although he does have a ZX-7R that’s all ready to be dusted off. Watch out 2013…

“I competed on some great machines over the years, and the RC30 is right up there as one of my favourites,” said Campbell. “It’s just such a sweet bike to ride, and really set a foundation for the modern Superbikes we see today.

“And it was jus so successful on the race track, from winning local championships to the world Superbike title. I am really looking forward to riding it again at Phillip Island.”

As well as the Period 6 races, Campbell will also compete in the headline Tahbilk International Challenge format for Forgotten Era machines (1973-1982, Period 5) on a Honda CB1100R.

Campbell will combine with the likes of Suzuki Katana-riding trio Phillis, Steve Martin and Shawn Giles in the Australian team, competing against the Jeremy McWilliams-led UK equip and the World 13, a fusion of riders from New Zealand, France, Australia and America. Four races will decide the International Challenge.

The Island Classic will see over 260 riders – and 350 separate machines – in action, with solo classes for bikes dating back to pre-WWI, right through to Vintage (1920-1945), Classic (1946-1962), Post Classic (1963-1972) and the aforementioned Forgotten Era (1973-1982) and New Era (1983-1990) classes. Sidecars will also compete.

A total of 44 races will be held on the Saturday and Sunday.

For more information and bookings, visit www.islandclassic.com.au or contact the circuit on  (03) 5952 2710.

Mal Campbell and Honda RC 30 Reunite at Island Classic is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Here is the latest video created by Finn Antti Kalhol. Called Love For Life, and narrated by Esther Veas, the video asks the question “Why are we prepared to sacrifice everything for love?”

The video covers every decade from the 1950s to present day and includes powerful footage of Dakar, Formula 1, Indycar, Rally and Touring cars.

We like it.

Video: Motorsport – Love For Life is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Silverstone Auctions’ upcoming Race Retro sale will present automobilia collectors with an incredibly rare opportunity to own a pair of artifacts from the Formula One legend – one of Ayrton Senna’s race-used helmets and racing suits.

Adorned with Senna’s iconic yellow, green, blue and white livery and appropriate sponsorship, the helmet was used by Senna during his 1991 season with McLaren. It comes via Ron Dennis and a private collector and sports an authentication certificate from McLaren.

Seriously desirable and seriously rare, it features an appropriately serious price tag. It is expected to fetch betwen  £42,000 and £50,000.

Also up for auction at the Race Retro sale will be one of Senna’s race suits from the same period. It features Senna’s full set of sponsors for the season and is personalised with the Brazilian flag and ‘Ayrton Senna’ across the belt. The suit is expected to fetch £22,000 – £30,000.

The Race Retro Classic Car Sale will be held by Silverstone Auctions on the 25th of February, 2012, at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire. The lots will be available for viewing on the 24th.

Via Silverstone Auctions

Photos via Silverstone Auctions

For Sale: Ayrton Senna’s Helmet and Race Suit is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

As a galaxy of stars get ready for the 50^th running of sportscars at Daytona this weekend at the 24 Hours we celebrate the  event’s most successful marque: Porsche

There are two things that are great about the Rolex Daytona 24 Hours, as it is now. Firstly, you know it’s the start of another racing season, and secondly, as other championships haven’t started yet, it brings a mix of top-line drivers from all-disciplines around the world to ‘have a go’.

One all-rounder to hit the record books in many ways was “Quick” Vic Elford. This is what he achieved in 1968: He won the Monte Carlo Rally in a Porsche 911, then a week later – yes, a week later – scored Porsche’s first 24 Hour win, at Daytona in the 907. It was the first of many endurance race wins for the German manufacturer.

In that summer Elford also made his Formula 1 debut, finishing fourth, and if that wasn’t enough won the terrifying Targa Florio road race that year too. Later in his career, he added NASCAR, Can-Am and rallycross to his resumé…

His Daytona win, with Rolf Stommelen and Jochen Neerpasch was a landmark, though, Porsche’s first of – to date – 18 wins at the high-banked Florida track. Not only was it the first, they filled the podium too.

Among Porsche’s 18 wins at Daytona came a spectacular run of victories between 1977 and 1983. To put this in perspective, fierce rival Ferrari won just five times between 1963-1998.

And there is no doubt that the iconic Porsche 917 from the 1970s – whether in the legendary light blue and orange colours, or different liveries – even 40 years on, is a work of art. Porsche’s sportscar success has continued, as has the Stuttgart company’s commitment to motorsport. As the cars and stars from all worlds of racing at Daytona for this year’s 24 Hours, the grid will again be full of Porsches racing for the GT class win, and continue the legacy.

By Andy Hallbery. Follow me on Twitter @hallbean

Follow @MotorSportRetro on Twitter

50th Anniversary of 24 hours at Daytona: 1968 – Vic Elford wins for Porsche is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

Qualifying for the 1983 1000km of Nürburgring and a young Stefan Bellof sets a pole-position time around the infamous Nordschleife of six minutes eleven seconds. He is five seconds ahead of second-place man Jochen Mass.

During the race he sets the fastest lap – a time of six minutes and twenty five seconds.

Fast forward to 2012 and both times still stand as unofficial and official records for traversing the twenty kilometre long Nordschleife really quite quickly indeed.

These were truly exciting days and the combination of the danger and thrill of the Nürburgring Nordschleife with the wild, rambunctious and impossibly fast Group C cars captures them perfectly. Sit back and enjoy ‘The Last Ringmeisters’, which follows the ’83 running of the 1000 kilometers of Nürburgring.

Video Documentary: 1000KM Nürburgring 1983 “The last Ringmeisters” is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

“People would not understand that you could be frightened. Well, it’s all part of it. If there was nothing to be frightened of there, and nothing, and no limit, any silly bugger could get in a motor car.” – Jim Clark

Personal, captivating and unique – spend a quiet Sunday hour ‘The Quiet Champion’ in this wonderful BBC Four documentary about Jim Clark.

It’s full of rare footage provided by Jim’s family, interviews with the man, his family and friends, and the stars of a glorious period of motorsport and, of course, wonderful race footage featuring everything from his early club events to his Formula One career.

Enjoy!

Video Documentary: Jim Clark – The Quiet Champion is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.

For around six weeks, Daytona Beach, Florida is taken over by motorsport, its history growing by the year

The first event at Daytona International Speedway is the Rolex 24 Hours which celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2012 at the end of January. Then there is a weekend off which allows the NFL Superbowl to take over the world on TV – then NASCAR comes to town. And after that the bikes and their fans arrive for Supercross. Then it’s the start of the AMA Pro Racing season on the road course, which still includes most of the track’s super-steep banking. That truly is for the guys with no imagination at all.

For those who have never been to Daytona International Speedway, add it to your list. The 24 Hours and the 500 are two totally different events in character, the bikes are just insane.

One thing that is permanently insane throughout is the infield. For the 24 Hours, motorhomes, caravans, tents, sofas and BBQs. It fills up quickly, and the party starts right then.

For the Daytona 500, the infield is again full – and so are the stands. So what is the draw of NASCAR? Well, here is how it all got started, which will give you an idea… It’s a racing series, that has its roots in a party.

Naturally not only has NASCAR changed immensely since the early days of racing on the Beach then, as have the facilities. The Speedway track, though used for the first time 50 years ago, not a huge amount. After the 24 Hours, the road course is reconfigured back to the four-turn oval-only, with its 31 degree banking.

The Daytona 500 has bred legends, from Junior Johnson, ‘Fireball’ Roberts, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allsion, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr, and of course many more. It also has fans worldwide, perhaps the most surreal being The Who’s rock legend Roger Daltry… It’s true!

Here is the singer’s take on NASCAR.

The party starts for NASCAR after the Superbowl with the Shootout, which takes place the week before the 500. That truly is a win-or-bust event, winner-takes-all. And if you thought The Who could rock n’roll, you ain’t seen anything until you hit Daytona’s infield with the race fans and their campers.

If you missed it, they do it again in July!

By Andy Hallbery follow me on twitter @hallbean

Follow @MotorSportRetro on Twitter

The history of Daytona Beach and NASCAR is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.